Theme:
It's Friday, time for a definition puzzle
Well here we go again, this time we have 5 theme answers to the same clue, including a grid spanner in the middle. This is also almost a pangram, just one letter short. (want to guess the letter?). It is the work of LAT editor, Rich Norris' assistant who was very upfront in talking with C.C. in an April INTERVIEW. This does not feel like a Friday for me with so many 3, 4 and 5 letter fill, but there was some nice stuff like ISUZUS, TOO TOO, MEG RYAN, SHIHTZU, AIRCRAFT, BABUSHKA, COLOGNES and RED CROSS.
16A. Legs : CRAB MORSELS. (11). Crab legs are big business in So.Fla. I do not think of them as morsels. I guess they call them legs because King Crab chelipeds does not sound appetizing.
22A. Legs : STAYING POWER. (12). That rumor had legs.
36A. Legs : RELAY RACE STAGES.(15). Most relays have four.
47A. "Legs" : ZZ TOP CLASSIC.(12). The original VIDEO (4:56) for Splynter.
58A. Legs : VOYAGE PARTS. (11). The around the world cruise usually had 11.
nexxxxxxxxxxxxt,
Across:
1. Smooth to a fault : GLIB. I was still thinking of the legs; needed the down to get going.
5. Song on a CD : TRACK.
10. Have chills, perhaps : AIL.
13. Vidal's Breckinridge : MYRA. Born Myron, a book by Gore Vidal and a Movie.
Recognize the young man 43 years ago?
14. Oh so very : TOO TOO. This always makes me think about this SONG.(2:06).
15. Messenger __ : RNA.
18. Scrap : RAG.
19. Provide with necessities : EQUIP.
20. Great Lakes' __ Canals : SOO. All new to me.
21. Cold Stone Creamery buy : CONE. When they first opened in Florida, they had lines out the door, we do like our ice cream.
25. Fluffy toy : SHIH-TZU. A tricky clue, because toy dogs did not jump to mind; my ex has two of this BREED.
28. Turkic flatbread : NAN. My LESSON.
29. Ivory poacher's prize : TUSK.
30. Name on 2008 and 2012 campaign posters : BIDEN.
33. Thurman of "Gattaca" : UMA.
40. "__ on a Grecian Urn" : ODE.
41. Start of a child's rhyme : EENIE. Meenie.
42. The "kid" in "Here's looking at you, kid" : ILSA. Ingrid in Casablanca
43. Done to death : OLD.
44. "Serious Moonlight" actress : MEG RYAN. Speaking of old, did you see her as the hoarder on Web Therapy?
52. Frontier lawman : EARP. Wyatt et al.
53. Strike with force : RAM.
54. Expensive outing, probably : SPREE.
57. CCCV ÷ V : LXI.
61. Veggies go-with, perhaps : DIP.
62. Rodeos, e.g. : ISUZUS. Another one that took some thought, but she must like car model with 1D. Canyon or Sierra : GMC.
63. "Works for me" : FINE.
64. Biblical mount : ASS. We have seen this often.
65. Vail alternative : ASPEN. Assssssssssspen?
66. Dairy farmer's fistful : TEAT. Dennis? Is that like a handful?
Down:
2. Harp relative : LYRE.
3. Where the Tigris meets the Euphrates : IRAQ. The old fertile crescent; they sometimes venture out to get some Turkey.
4. Russian head scarf : BABUSHKA. The Russian Jewish women shave their heads, but apparently many others just gave up their teeth.
5. Only Canadian MLB team : TOR. Blue Jays, who spent a fortune on free agents to finish last.
6. Martini's partner : ROSSI. I was thinking of people smoking.
7. Used for dinner : ATE ON.
8. Cosmetics counter array : COLOGNES. PERFUMES?
9. Flattens : KOS.
10. Turn lane signal : ARROW.
11. Fatuous : INANE. Nero Wolfe like the word fatuous.
12. Yuengling offering : LAGER. A great BEER Story.
14. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ.
17. Kitchen protector : MITT. Not to be confused with the mittens of Michigan and Wisconsin.
21. Cell user : CON. Every Friday.
23. Kraft coffee brand : YUBAN.
24. Gasp : PANT
.25. A.L. West player, informally : STRO. Houston Astro
26. Shaded : HUED.
27. Vacation site : ISLE.
31. Here, in Le Havre : ICI.
32. Regards : DEEMS. A popular legal word, "as the Court Deems just."
33. Hardly fair? : UGLY. Step-sisters?
34. Rise in the West : MESA.
35. Wise-owl link : AS AN.
37. [You stepped on my paw!] : YELP.
38. 1864 Geneva Convention creation : RED CROSS. Clara Barton and the HISTORY..
39. Blimps, e.g. : AIRCRAFT.
43. "Alley __" : OOP. The cartoon.
45. They're common in Mississippi : ESSES.
46. Reagan's role in "Knute Rockne, All American" : GIPP. Win one for Dutch! This poor SOUL.(1:06).
47. "Save Me the Waltz" author Fitzgerald : ZELDA. F. Scott's main squeeze. Her only NOVEL.
48. 3-D graph line : Z-AXIS. You have X and Y on all graphs only the 3-D need the zed..4 Zs and not one J!
49. Sends sprawling : TRIPS. Remember sticking your leg out when Michael Morris was going to the blackboard? Oh that was me.
50. Many a fast-break result : LAY-UP. Basketball.
51. Outstrip expectations : AMAZE.
55. Buffalo's lake : ERIE. My son, his wife and baby are back.
56. Sicilian tourist attraction : ETNA. Let's go watch a Volcano, Joe.
58. By means of : VIA. We get there by boat.
59. Rev : GUN. Sp turn up the speed, so we make it to the
60. Filming site : SET. before the curtain falls on another episode of Lemon's Friday frolic.
Well another one done, a day where a tree fell and knocked out the power so I am very late and must run until next time. Thank you Ms. Varol and for those fasting, may it be an easy one.
L714 out.
Notes from C.C.:
Over 600 people showed up for the "An Evening with the Puzzle Master" presentation last night. Will Shortz was not as intimidating as I imagined. He was very unassuming & easy-going.
He talked about the history of crossword (It'll turn 100 years old this Dec); his amazing crossword collection (click here); his all-time favorite crossword Clinton/Bob Dole (click here); his favorite word (Ucalegon, meaning "a neighbor whose house is on fire"); how he edits NYT crosswords (on average, 50% of the clues are his, and clue accuracy is of the most importance to him); what kind of fill he likes (Everyday phrases, not words like ESNE). The Q & A session was particularly lively and the word game was very entertaining and engaging.
Together with a few other Twin City constructors (George Barany, who made the fun puzzle for the night, Victor Barocas, Tom Pepper, Jay Kaskel, etc), Boomer and I were invited to a private reception with Will Shortz before the speech. Mr. Shortz asked Boomer if he had ever bowled a 300 game, you can imagine how lit-up Boomer was.
Notes from C.C.:
Over 600 people showed up for the "An Evening with the Puzzle Master" presentation last night. Will Shortz was not as intimidating as I imagined. He was very unassuming & easy-going.
He talked about the history of crossword (It'll turn 100 years old this Dec); his amazing crossword collection (click here); his all-time favorite crossword Clinton/Bob Dole (click here); his favorite word (Ucalegon, meaning "a neighbor whose house is on fire"); how he edits NYT crosswords (on average, 50% of the clues are his, and clue accuracy is of the most importance to him); what kind of fill he likes (Everyday phrases, not words like ESNE). The Q & A session was particularly lively and the word game was very entertaining and engaging.
Together with a few other Twin City constructors (George Barany, who made the fun puzzle for the night, Victor Barocas, Tom Pepper, Jay Kaskel, etc), Boomer and I were invited to a private reception with Will Shortz before the speech. Mr. Shortz asked Boomer if he had ever bowled a 300 game, you can imagine how lit-up Boomer was.
64 comments:
Awesome C.C., great pics and I wish had been there.
Morning, all!
Fine, fun puzzle today. But YUBAN? YUBAN??? Maybe I just don't get out enough (or drink coffee, for that matter), but this was such an outlier that it totally stopped me in my TRACKs for awhile until I checked and double-checked my crosses to make sure it had to be correct.
The only other minor hurdle today was getting AIRCRAFT. Started with AIRSHIPS and then, when I realized I needed the final letter to be T in order to get TEAT, I went with AIRFLEET. Yeah, I know.
I always thought COLOGNES were at the perfume counter instead of the cosmetic counter, but I got this easily nonetheless so no harm, no foul.
[nioamers]
Good morning, gang - damn near fell flat on my face getting out of bed this morning, after yesterday's session at the Marquis de Sade's house. Even Lois would've been challenged by some of those positions...
As to today's offering, I really enjoyed both the overall puzzle and the theme. I got through it ok, but it was certainly no speed run. I particularly liked the two deceptive car clues, 'Canyon or Sierra' and 'Rodeos, e.g.'
I fought COLOGNES for 8D for quite a while, thinking that colognes were masculine (vs. perfumes) and therefore not found on a 'cosmetics counter'. Needed perps for ZELDA Fitzgerald, and I don't drink coffee so I needed help with YUBAN too, but no other unknowns.
Lemon, fun write up and yeah, I think that equates to a 'handful'.
Have a great weekend.
PS - my heart goes out to the poor people of Seaside NJ who spent a huge amount of time and money to repair the boardwalk/shops after Sandy (they just finished Labor Day), only to have it go up in smoke yesterday. Damn shame.
Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.
You did a heroic job with this one, Lemony. Considering a tree knocked out your power. Are you back up now?
I only had the "Y" at 23-Down, and immediately filled in YUBAN. I think I have tried every coffee brand ever made, but have settled on Peete's Major Dickson's blend. Mmmm...sipping it right now!
Like Barry, I wanted AIRships at first, but had to re-think that section when SPREE appeared. ZELDA and ZAXIS were gimmies, so ZZTOPCLASSIC was pretty easy to figure out, even though I had never heard the song.
So it was pretty much a speed run for me today. TGIF!!
1A Smooth to a fault. FLAT? THIN?
15A Messenger __ OWL? (From Harry Potter)
63A "Works for me." NICE?
33D Hardly fair? BIAS?
39D Blimps, eg BALLOONS?
37D [You stepped on my paw!] MEOW?
38D 1864 Geneva Convention Creation WAR CRIME?
48D #D Graph Line X-AXIS? Y-AXIS? Z-AXIS?
I also had RAP for RAM and TBJ for TOR. I didn't get any of the theme fills but I actually thought I did okay: I just think the clues weren't limiting enough; there were too many possible answers.
Doh! Z-AXIS was right! I didn't think it could be because no word could start with ZZ, right?
I'm sure we all wanted OBAMA instead of BIDEN. That came out wrong. I'm sure Joe's a great guy.
Rather easy for a Friday, but I had one dumb look up. Ask me, "Are you smarter than a second grader?" No! I taught Roman numerals for 32 years and knew that 61 is LXI. I wrote LDI and didn't re examine it even when I had -ADIS for 3-D graph line. If I had had the X, AXIS would have triggered the Z. I also forgot the second letter in ZZTOP.
Ach, ve get too soon alt and too late schmart.
Lemony, I thought CRAB MORSELS a little odd, too. BTW, Cheliped refers to the claw, for me the tastiest part. The other 8 appendages are called legs.
I prefer cologne to perfume because it is more subtle.
Yuban is one of the major coffee brands on our supermarket shelves.
Thanks, Lemony, for a great blog under difficult circumstances.
MITT and BIDEN in the same puzzle. I'm surprised MITT wasn't clued as BARACH's opponent in 2012.
Happy Friday everybody!
Hands up for AIR SHIPS and OBAMA. Also had SCORE for LAY UP and EIEIO for EENIE. Good news ---> finished with no look-ups...!
Must have gone through AL West teams in my head a dozen times before remembering the 'STROS changed leagues this year....
Z-Axis was a gimme for this former Mathalete....
Howdy,
I'm always happy when I don't just "follow the crowd" and act independently. Today I did it. Glad to know so many had an easy time of it. I got my arse kicked. Could be my ongoing ignorance or lack of shut eye or both. Overall, I guess I had 50% complete and maybe another 10% filled incorrectly. no worth comments about the details either.
Time for a wee nap before beginning to fave a convoluted weekend.
We are in for a super weather pattern over the next week, Hope it is the same for all of you too. If we have any bloggers in Boulder, be safe.
Morning to all,
When I moved to Wheaton, IL, during high school years, BABUSHKA, was always used for head scarf.
Now, through a xword puzzle, I now know where this word originated....Russia!
Of course, everyone else must have known this answer.....no other comments on this word.
Gotta learn more about baseball names!
Hope everyone has an uneventful Friday 13th.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Patti Varol, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the fine write-up.
C.C., sounds like you had a great time at the Will Shortz meeting. 600 people, wow! Nice photo of you and Will. Who sponsored the event?
This puzzle was not easy, but it is a Friday. NW corner was fairly easy. I always thought BABUSHKA was Polish. But the two countries are close. Got the first three theme answers fairly easily. The last two were bears.
Had RED C for 38D. Tried CHINA, but then realized I was about a century off. Could not think of a convention in Geneva in the mid 1800's. I guess there was one. Most of the world was still run by kings and queens. Finally got ISUZUS for 62A. Was trying to think of a cowboy rodeo word. Then ASPEN appeared. Then RED CROSS. Then the rest fell into place.
Not sure I ever heard of ZZTOP, but ZELDA made sense and Z AXIS did too.
The gimmie was ERIE again. My home lake. I will be there again in less than a month.
Grew some some corn in my garden this year. Will be picking it tonight and eating it as well.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(famentee)
Southern Belle: Wheaton has changed since you lived there. You can get a beer now.
Abejo
(calesfer)
I almost forgot, my favorite beer is in this puzzle. YUENGLING. You cannot get it in Illinois. When I go back to PA I load up. You can get it in Ohio now. So, it is moving west.
Abejo
Good Morning:
Kudos to Patti V. for a challenging, but doable, Friday offering. Clever theme, some fresh fill, and, overall, a fun solve. Smooth expo, Lemon. Had chi chi before too too, and Obama before Biden; both were easily and quickly corrected. (I have a feeling tomorrow might bring us a Silkie.)
Nice pictures, CC. Sounds like you had a fun, interesting evening.
Doha Doc. - are you packed and ready to go?
Happy Friday 13th.
Good morning everyone.
C.C. - sounded like a real interesting night. Thanks for sharing Will Shortz's insight; especially about recrafting about 50% of the clues. About the same level as what Rich does?
Real prickly puzzle today, but like Abejo said, it's Friday. Favorite clue was for SHIHTZU. Got most of the theme fill ok, but ZZ TOP CLASSIC, came from the perps, especially in the ZZ end. More Z's than usual today. Only red letter was the N in RNA. Well clued.
Dennis, thanks for your thoughts on our latest Jersey shore tragedy. Seaside had just rebuilt the boardwalk and its businesses. They were on the way to recovery when fire swept away four blocks yesterday. No loss of life, but still terribly sad.
My friend had a second home at Ortley Beach. We could walk to the Seaside boardwalk from there. Although her home never before flooded she lost it to Hurricane Sandy. The house was passed down through generations, so was not initially costly. Alas, she cannot afford to rebuild.
BABUSKA is also a Russian and/or Polish term for the old woman wearing one.
Voyage by Alfred Lord Tennyson
We left behind the painted buoy
That tosses at the harbor-mouth;
And madly danced our hearts with joy,
As fast we fleeted to the South:
How fresh was every sight and sound
On open main or winding shore!
We knew the merry world was round,
And we might sail for evermore.
Warm broke the breeze against the brow,
Dry sang the tackle, sang the sail:
The Lady's-head upon the prow
Caught the shrill salt, and sheer'd the gale.
The broad seas swell'd to meet the keel,
And swept behind: so quick the run,
We felt the good ship shake and reel,
We seem'd to sail into the Sun!
Link Entire poem
Irish Miss, bags will be packed on Tuesday for a Wednesday flight. I've been ready to go for a while now, just have to clean up a few things at work first....
(Semi) bad news - I got to travel in the first class cabin on the way here, but it will be economy on the flight back. 16 hours to HOU, 2 hour layover, 4 hour flight to Vegas. My ass hurts just thinking about it....
Good morning. Late again. Yup! Harold.
I fell into the OBAMA/BIDEN trap; also AIRSHIPS/AIRCRAFT. And for good measure, ATE AT / OF / ON. But in the end, it was much easier that yesterday, IMHO.
Martin, congratulations. You turned this one into a pangram by fitting a J in there.
C.C., great pics from last night. I can't believe Will Shortz has all that stuff in his house. I bet there's no room to fit a wife in there. That Clinton/Bob Dole puzzle was amazing -- and it was the creator's first outing to boot. I'm impressed!
Luckily I was able to finish today's puzzle with no help, Not an ink pen day, but my erasures didn't tear through the paper. Perps really helped and a few SWAGs.
Heart RX - Have you tried Douwe Egbert coffee? I found it at the Hawthorne hotel in Salem Mass a few years ago. Very smooth with real body. It's reasonably priced and can be found on Amazon and a few other web sites.
"... but my erasures didn't tear through the paper."
I like that rating, very descriptive.
oc4beach - Douwe Egbert. I ordered it once out of a Dutch products catalog. But I was disappointed. Reminded me of the German Jacobs? coffee. Guess they cater to the European taste.
My favorite is Starbuck's French Roast. I like Seattles's Best and Green Mountain, too. Loaded up on Starbuck at the Commissary in Saratoga, yesterday.
I guess coffee is very personal, like beer. FWIW.
From last night --
CED, I really enjoyed the names for 48 things you didn't know had names. Somehow, he missed "ucalegon" -- gotta find a way to sneak that one into a conversation. But he did have one of the best palindromes I've ever seen: Marge lets Norah see Sharon's telegram.
Manac, "How you doin'?" Hilarious.
Abejo, downloaded puzzle at home & was able to solve without WiFi at airport.
In Denver now. Can't figure out how to get online so I am on my phone.
Neat, difficult, fun puzzle today. DNF without help.
Boarding call.
Later,
Montana
Hello Puzzlers -
Managed to avoid any missteps in this puzzle, so it was a straightforward top-to-bottom. Was able to accept a double Z once it became clear we were talking about the bearded band. Yuban was no problem, it was sometimes in my mom's cupboard. Clever theme today!
Morning, Lemon, did you get the Sage Allen photo I sent?
Hello C.C. - great photos! Sounds like you had a good time as well. I've never met Will Shortz of course, but from the Wordplay movie I got the idea he's a friendly and approachable guy.
Speaking of Wordplay: I don't recall seeing it mentioned here in the Corner, so in case some of you aren't aware, Wordplay is a documentary style movie whose main event is the Crossword Puzzle Tournament hosted by Will Shortz. Marti has posted about attending the tournament recently. Crossword fans will find the movie worth renting, it's an interesting look at serious puzzle-solving.
I came across this Bliss comic in this mornings paper and thought of the Manac/CED, dog/cat discussions.
I like how the artist captured the cat's front LEGS crossed. My last three dogs must be very comfortable crossing their front LEGS as they did/do it often. I don't remember my earlier dogs doing this.
Here we go again. What's the matter with Rich Norris? Definition puzzles every Fri?
I was really daunted by this Patti Varol puzzle at first. But I adhered to Marti's advice and hung in there, and slowly, slowly it all fell into place. My only miss was the ZZ since I didn't know the _AXIS or the Z_TOP. My guess was O, incorrect. But I found the theme delightful, many thanks, Patti. And great expo, as always, Lemonade.
Made my first pot of Peet's coffee yesterday for a lunch group, who brought potluck lunch and dessert but requested coffee. Most cups I've ever served to guests go un-drunk (is that a word?), so I figured I'd better get a better brand. It worked--pot and cups were empty by afternoon.
I felt stricken seeing that Seaside, NJ fire on TV last night. What those people have endured in the last year is simply heartbreaking.
C.C. what great photos, and how delightful that you had a wonderful time with Will Shortz. I loved both the movie "Wordplay" and the book that came out at the same time, which taught me so much about the complexities of puzzle construction. (Not that I could ever construct one in a kazillion years).
Have a great Friday, everybody!
Pretty easy run for a Friday. The only real puzzle I had was on 57A. Why did my newspaper have a symbol with two intersecting bi-directional arrows? Luckily, my bleary eyes initially read it as a division symbol and I just went with it.
Spitzboov - I agree that coffee is an individual taste, like beer. I like Yeungling in that arena, but I will drink others.
I should have stated that the coffee was Decaf. Most brands of decaf taste like dishwater to me, but the Douwe Egbert is stronger and reminds me of real "leaded" coffee. My doctor told me to drink decaf because of blood pressure issues. He got upset when I told him I was drinking 1 to 2 pots of leaded coffee each day. I've cut back a lot.
Greetings, friends!
Oooh, a great Patti Varol puzzle today! Though I don't relish definition puzzles and was at first pass daunted by this one, it filled eventually.
All four corners were fairly easy and that's how I started then little by little branched out toward the center and gradually completed the theme phrases.
Like Marti, the Y immediately gave me YUBAN and BIDEN so no problems there. One of my friends loves their decaf so I always keep some on hand.
I personally like Don Francisco's French roast after having tried numerous brands. It's robust and I'm limited to two cups a day, so it serves well.
ISUZUS and GMC were tricky but doable but had to look up the 1864 Convention to finish the bottom center. RED CROSS, who knew?
ZZ TOP CLASSIC was brilliant fill and took some thought to finish it, but I did.
However, I misspelled ISUZUS as ISUZIS and never checked on GIN. Drat!
That is devastating news about the Boardwalk. They took so much pride in having finished it after all that tragedy.
Thank you, Lemonade. You never fail to AMAZE with your blogging.
Have a phenomenal Friday, everyone!
Nice write-up Lemonade - especially with a power outage!
I didn't know I knew BABUSHKA until I'd filled it with crosses.
Looks like a fun evening, C.C!
I always thought Florida was famous for its stone crab claws while crab legs(king and snow) mainly come from Alaskan waters. I've never seen Florida king crab legs.
Learn something new every day.
I was on the look out for this guy today.
Jack "Legs" Diamond, also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era.
C.C.:
I just went back to look at the links and was AMAZED at Will Shortz's puzzle collection. He is a puzzle aficionado for sure.
Very nice photos, too. How special that you got to meet with him privately.
Outstrip expectations >> AMAZE brings to mind one of the most overused words of the last five years. AMAZING is right up there with AWESOME. If you take away those two words and LIKE, some young people couldn't carry on a conversation with a friend.
Wow.
Wow. Fun puzzle today. Very tough for me, but do-able. One thing that impressed me is that none of the theme responses (to "Legs") was obvious. I was in particular awe of ZZ TOP CLASSIC, as I know nothing of this now-venerable group's music, and I purposely avoided the double ZZ start for the longest time by choosing the (more obvious, right?) perp Y AXIS as my 48D answer.
Other scratch-overs on this one included SOD for SOO, AIRSHIPS for AIRCRAFT, CAKE for CONE....
My only "gimmes" in the whole Xword were MYRA (because of a long admiration for Vidal) and IRAQ (because of enforced decades of familiarity).
Yes, a very fine puzzle....
Yellowrocks!
Just checking in to be sure you caught my response late yesterday to your inquiry re THE GOOD LORD BIRD.
I'm currently reading THE TRAGEDY OF ARTHUR. Were you the one who recommended it?
Argyle - Your mention of Legs Diamond jogged a memory of him having been shot and killed in Albany, so I went to Wikipedia to verify it and, yes, he was. What surprised me is how much he looked like a young Whitey Bulger. Apparently, they also shared a propensity for mayhem and violence.
Well, I finished unassisted, but 'twern'teasy. Had a terrible time with the theme answers.
I thought CRAB MORSELS was strange too, but it all depends on the size of the crab, I guess.
King crab legs came to mind first, YUMMM.
My only WTF moment was STRO. meh.
C.C.: Glad you had fun and thanks for the pictures and the youtube link. Wow! Sooo many puzzles!
It's almost Moon Festival and I need to get some Moon Cakes!
C.C., which would YOU pick?
MOON CAKES
Thanks all, must go and get ready for the holiday; my best to you all until next time
L 714
I've just started following this blog a couple weeks ago, and this is my first time writing in. I usually work it so late in the day that adding anything doesn't seem worth it. But today, well...
30A I also started out with OBAMA, but the first crossing letter I got was the D, so changed it to perennial candidate NADER.
14A & 16A were my Waterloo, though. I had T----O & CRABMO----S, but then filled in TBJ for Toronto Blue Jays. That gave me TBASCO & CRAB MOJITOS. They didn't make any sense going down, though. Then I tried TOR, and tried googling, which gave me CRAB MORNAYS! Finally gave my eraser another workout to put in CRAB MORSELS, but 7D still doesn't make sense. How did "used for dinner" give ATE ON? *sigh*.
OwenKL, welcome.
Think of it this way: If you decided to use your good china for dinner, you ATE ON it.
Keith, thanks for your comment last night on The Good Lord Bird. It makes me feel a little less out of it. I hope you are enjoying The Tragedy of Arthur.
Agree. Also where is abbrv in one down clue???
What a lovely pic, CC. Your longer hair is very becoming.
Anon @ 1602 - GMC has been a division of General Motors since 1912. It is a brand name just like Pontiac or Buick. It is not an abbreviation in this usage.
Maybe this isn't the place to ask this. If so , I apologize. I am getting a little box with a red "x" in it on any crossword or Sodoku and a small percentage of pictures.
Does anyone know how to fix this.
I will check here tomorrow. If you send me a message, please do.
John, I have no idea. But some of our techie bloggers may be able to help if you'd tell us what type of computer/tablet/phone you're using, which browser, and which crossword/sudoku apps you're running.
Evening everyone,
Finished the puzzle without too much difficulty. Forgot the second h at 25 Across thinking zus. After reading the second theme clue I had ZZ Top's ear worm in my head for the rest of the solve then there it was... Fancy That!
Billy Gibbons, Loved the Bliss comic link! I bet CED could hear me laughing as I opened it.
Hello everybody. Darn good puzzle today. I screwed up by entering ATE IN, which of course gave me SIO, which I didn't recognize as wrong. Now, however, I remember SOO.
C.C. I'm glad you had a terrific time at the get-together with Will Shortz. I have changed my mind from what I thought 6 months ago: he is not a sadist.
I have always liked Peet's coffee, but my wife now buys something from Sprouts (I do not know the brand) which is very good.
Best wishes to you all.
PK,
Get well soon!
Abejo,
The University of Minnesota Library sponsored the event.
Spitzboov,
Yes, same level as Rich. I'd say. Will Shortz normally edits puzzles one week in advance. For Rich, it's a month.
Pas de chat,
I'd probably pick the second one: mung bean mooncakes.
I forgot to mention earlier that the 3rd MN Crossword Tournament will be held on June 22, 2014 at the Landmark Center St Paul. I'll pass along more info when it's available.
Thank you Patti Varol and thank you Lemonade.
Lemonade, Who is Michael Morris ?
At any rate, great write up for a great puzzle. I lost focus a few times during the solve, and that didn't bode well with a number of the deceptive clues. However, when I saw "Legs" in quotes, I was ready for ZZTOP in some form or fashion, just like Manac.
CC, what a special evening that must have been. Especially the pre-speech event.
Thanks C.C.!
I'll try the mung bean moon cakes this year and let you know how good they were after Thursday night. Can't wait.
We took a Chinese student and a Mexican student ( both drummers)to lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant last week. We asked him if he knew Ranch 99 and come to find out he didn't know it by the American name. I think he said that in Chinese it just means "big store" or something like that. Anyway, the stores have a FABULOUS seafood (live and swimming)section and lots of things that I WISH I knew what they are.
I came across these just now. I enjoyed them. I thought you would too:
Sir Humphrey Davy
Abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.
The people of Spain think Cervantes
Equal to half-a-dozen Dantes;
An opinion resented most bitterly
By the people of Italy.
Loved the puzzle and the pix. I just finished as we are in a hotel on a spur of the moment trip. God I love being retired!
Thank you, Abejo, for the advice.
I am in New England tonight. Nice weather here.
Montana
G'Eve all,
Comming in late again. HG, I wanna be retired! Youth is wasted on the young and retirement on the old :-)
Total DNF. I got about 50% of the pzl and only one theme answer (CRABMORSELS). 7d. ATE it. Like I used the CRAB for dinner. I ate it.
39d I tried so hard to stuff dirigible with a T at the end (who, knows it could be French like ballet - can't hear the T there either, right?. Right? Who's with me?)
23d - Maxwell House just didn't fit. Darn.
I got ZZTOPhitSong for 47a. I liked ZZTOP before Eliminator. The Top 40 Ranch is about 15 minutes away from home. For those that don't know ZZTop, here's their song La Grange about the Best Little Whore House in Texas. Day 1 of the MS150 ends in La Grange - I try to cue the iPod for the ride into town.
DohaDoc - I'll be thinking of you Wed sitting at IAH waiting for the connection and rubbing your arse.
CC - Greate Pics! I remember listinening to Will on NPR Sunday Edition when I was in college.
Pas - Don't knock our Astros... OK, maybe this year, meh.
One more week on my current gig. I'm 90% done now so they are searching for more things for me to fix. I was hoping they'd just tell me to play the crossword.
Bill G - I like the new Avatar.
Cheers, -T
Greetings!
Swell Friday puzzle, Patti, and review Lemon!
Took longer than usual, but no cheats.
Haven is back on!
How did you like ending of Burn Notice?
Cheers!
Didn't like Burn Notice ending.
It's been a long time since a daily-paper crossword stumped me, but this one sure did. Is that a compliment or a complaint? I'm not sure. But I felt sufficiently motivated to find a way to let you know. Thanks. Or not. As the case may be.
Red x usually means it couldn't find the picture. See if you can get it by right clicking and selecting Show Picture Could be a bad link or slow conection. You might need an addin like Flash to display Sudoku or crossword. If so it usually tells you what.you need to install. Check to see if addin you need is present and enabled. Check the site FAQs for info on system requirements. You could also try a different browser.
My handle here is Freond but I forgot how to login esp. using my phone.
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