18A. Governor's pet projects? : STATE PORK. We all know about pork barrel politics. State park.
29A. Utensil that gives you ideas? : CREATIVE SPORK. When you need to backpack light, but creatively. Creative spark.
43A. Bully's secret shame? : FEAR OF THE DORK. Biff's private stigma? Fear of the dark.
56A. Say "Come in, Orson!" e.g.? : QUOTE MORK. Nanu nanu! Quote mark.
OK, so this has to be one of my all-time favorite theme types, with a simple letter change. Other than stork/stark, can you come up with any other solid themers? I think Gareth has covered them all!
This was a speed run for me, and seemed more Tuesday than Thursday-ish. Your experience may vary.
Across:
1. One who's always on the go? : NOMAD.
6. Pear that's good for poaching : BOSC. What a pair!
10. Glass sheet : PANE.
14. Superior to : ABOVE.
15. Member of the opposition : ANTI.
16. One on a pedestal : IDOL.
17. Pick-me-up : TONIC.
20. Like one who forgot the Dramamine : SEASICK.
23. Nutritionist's recommendation : DIET.
25. Causes to quail : DAUNTS. Funny word, "quail." A small, migratory gallinaceous game bird.
32. Take to task : SCOLD.
34. Cock or bull : MALE.
35. Blues-rocker Chris : REA. Probably my favorite of his is this one. 2:37
36. Clothes : TOGS.
37. Alex Haley classic : ROOTS.
39. Abarth automaker : FIAT.
41. Talent : GIFT.
42. Precipitation : HASTE.
47. Day spa offering : FACIAL. My face is beyond help...
48. First name in fashion : YVES. St. Laurent.
49. Pundit's piece : OP ED.
51. Olympic Airways founder : ONASSIS.
60. Empty room population? : NO ONE.
61. Poetic lowland : VALE.
62. Iroquoian people : ERIE.
63. Compass dirección : NORTE.
64. Rep on the street : CRED.
65. "Law & Order" org. : NYPD. New York Police Department.
66. Composer Bruckner : ANTON. He was described by Mahler as "half simpleton, half god." Listen to some of his best here.
Down:
1. Expos, since 2005 : NATS. Washington D.C. baseball team.
2. High wind : OBOE. Nice misdirection.
3. Pulitzer poet Van Duyn : MONA. Her "Near Changes" won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1991. Maybe YR can share something from the collection.
4. Budget alternative : AVIS. I sooooo wanted "spree."
5. Ruled : DECIDED.
6. Hoops score : BASKET.
7. London's prov. : ONT.ario
8. Shot in the dark : STAB.
9. Fortresses : CITADELS.
10. Find one's voice : PIPE UP.
11. Stir : ADO.
12. Eur. kingdom : NOR.way
13. Antlered bugler : ELK.
19. Take out : ERASE.
21. "Charlie Wilson's War" org. : CIA. Great movie.
24. Recipient of two New Testament epistles : TIMOTHY. First and second epistle to Timothy in the New Testament.
26. Without a downside : NO RISK.
27. Pet's reward : TREAT. My cats love Greenies.
28. Use the rink : SKATE.
29. After-dinner drink : COGNAC. For Tin, it is at sunset.
30. Jekyll creator's initials : RLS. Robert Lewis Stevenson.
31. Distillery vessel : VAT.
32. Things : STUFF. My favorite routine by George Carlin. 5:09
33. Chick of jazz : COREA. More music. 3:25
37. Winchester wielders : RIFLEMEN. Chuck Connors, for one.
38. Frequently, in verse : OFT.
39. Hardy's "__ From the Madding Crowd" : FAR.
41. Freak out : GO APE.
.42. Liturgical shout of praise : HOSANNA.
44. Was revolting? : RIOTED. [chuckle]
45. Brought to mind : EVOKED.
46. Place for a wide-screen TV : DEN.
50. Fishing boat : DORY.
52. In short order : SOON.
53. Spreadsheet function : SORT.
54. Liking quite a bit : INTO.
55. Not hidden : SEEN.
56. Home shopping channel : QVC. "Quality, Value, Convenience."
57. Nasser's confed. : UAR. United Arab Republic.
58. Cry for a picador : OLE.
59. Fashionable jeans feature : RIP. And may today's blog rest in peace...
'Til next week!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Allen, Marti's Ole Miss husband.
2) If you revisit the web pages associated with Crosswords with Friends ... of the University of Minnesota Libraries puzzle, or its explanation, you can now find links to the full presentation (one-and-a-half hours) that Will Shortz made on September 12, 2013.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeletePretty straightforward for me this morning. The theme was cute and the theme answers were all based on well-known phrases. Well, except perhaps for QUOTE MORK. Loved the pun, but I've never heard of a QUOTE MARK before (only QUOTATION MARK). Juts seemed a little jarring. Maybe it's a British thing?
A couple of completely unknown names in the rest of the grid (MONA and REA) and I had no idea that Ari ONASSIS founded an airline, but the perps took care of those.
The one sticking point was the REA/HASTE/NO RISK section. REA was unknown, as I said, I was thinking RAIN, SLEET or SNOW for "precipitation" instead of HASTE and NO RISK just didn't spring to mind. Once I thought of the other meaning or precipitation, though, everything quickly clicked into place.
[syslysi]
Thank you for the kind words Marti!
ReplyDeleteMy original set included [Upmarket maribou?] but the base phrase was (understandably enough) deemed too obscure for wordplay. My own favourite (of many) Chris Rea numbers:
The Blue Cafe
Good Morning, Marti and friends. I agree that this was a much easier puzzle than our usual Thursday fare. The few unknowns were easily resolved through the perps.
ReplyDeleteHigh Wind = OBOE was my favorite clue.
Empty Room Population = NO ONE made me laugh.
El NORTE is also the name of a wonderful movie.
Happy Birthday, Alan! Will you talk like a Pirate on your special day?
QOD: Childhood is a disease ~ a sickness that you grow out of. ~ William Golding (Sept. 19, 1911 ~ June 19, 1993)
[oeseai]
Marti, thanks for enlightening me. Couldn't figure out what was going on, but the"ORKs" looked solid. One nit however, 18A was clued as a plural, the fill was singular. Too early in the day for that. CRED was a new term and had me wondering.
ReplyDeleteOverall though, have to agree it was not a very difficult solve.
MONA Van DUYn & Chick COREA were unknowns and soon to be forgotten. An extension from yesterday: BASKET, a two point Lay Up.
Good morning, gang - I agree, a relatively easy puzzle for a Thursday. My only screw up was going with BUCKET for 6D, but ANTI quickly fixed that. Clever theme, clever clues, as is the norm for a Gareth Bain puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHondo, I don't have a problem with 18A; I think 'pork' can, in this case, imply plural as well. "There's a lot of pork in that proposal" could mean many pieces of 'pork' are in it.
Marti, great write-up as always.
Have a great day - do something fun.
Hi Y'all! Nice visit to the Planet Ork (isn't that where Mork came from?). Good one, Gareth! Great expo (not NAT.), Marti. Will go back for your nice musical interlude after this.
ReplyDeleteAs with yesterday, I had trouble in the NW with that block last to fill. ABOVE was the only thing I got on the first pass. Did the rest and backed in there. Not knowing the ball club or poet frustrated me along with the misdirection for high wind (not "gale") and the rental car (spend didn't fit). NOMAD was out of my mind wandering somewhere. Picked and perped to TADA.
Although they were all good, FEAR OF THE DORK tickled my funny spot the most.
Not airSICK. We are aSEA today. Coffee hour item was not cup or mug. We had to URN that line.
I had momentary confusion on RIOTED. Because of the "ing" on the clue, I expected "ing" on the answer. Then I tried "Er" before ED. Gotta love red-letters. A great assist. Levels the playing field.
Hands up for not knowing of REA, MONA & COREA.
Such fun to have Gareth follow a C.C. masterpiece. I love puns, wordplay and good imagery. The cluing was very fair and it went faster than yesterday. Loved seeing PICS FOR in the puzzle; they are Monte Hall's favorites.
ReplyDeleteWell I am not in South Carolina so I must go to work.
Enjoy all
I hate autocorrect. It is PICADOR which is Monte' s choice
ReplyDeleteThe fastest Thursday ever along with some learning and fun.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-We got two things at a Popeye’s Chicken on Tuesday night – a SPORK and lousy service. I wrote to the company and I’ll let you know what they say
-Those bullies are AFRAID OF THE DORK when they apply for a job in his company
-Joann and I would last about a day as NOMADS in an RV
-Good pols bring home the PORK. “Yeah, I know he’s an SOB but he’s our SOB”
-Who came to Eleanor Rigby’s funeral? NO ONE
-This spring we visited the CITADEL in Charleston, SC and were told the story of how 152 years ago on an April day the cadets marched down to the harbor and shelled Fort Sumter into submission
-Charlie Wilson’s War was a wonderful movie and its theme was about another super power that got caught in the quagmire that is Afghanistan. “When will they ever learn…”
-My 3 wood is my Jekyll and Hyde club. I can hit a ball 210 yards or 210 inches
-STUFF? Do you watch American Pickers?
-Johnny Crawford last week and Chuck Connors this week
-When spoken in church, HOSANNA and ALLELUIA have all the emotion of reading the phone book
-Jeans with that RIP are expensive. Dolly Parton says, “Do you know how expensive it is to look this cheap?”
-I’m subbing and somebody just let some annoying adolescents in the room ;-)
I'm getting early for once, instead of being the last comment of the day. Not too bad, didn't have to google anything for once, though did have a lot of erasures. GALE for OBOE (which meshed with 20A, so I was fain to change it). WIN-WIN for 26D. DEBT for 4D. COFFEE at 29D, which meshed with 29A & 32A, but I knew had to be wrong when 'coffee' was part of the clue at 40A. Enjoyable punny theme. :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Fahlman#Emoticons The smiley emoticon was invented this day in 1982.
Arrr!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteNo real problems, other than not knowing Rea, Mona, and the creator of Dr. Jekyll. There was a strong WTF when Haste filled in, because I never associated that meaning to precipitation. Live & do crosswords & learn.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gareth Bain, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the swell review.
ReplyDeleteBefore I started this puzzle I had to finish yesterday's puzzle, which I started at Midnight last night. I will comment on C.C.'s puzzle on yesterday's blog.
Anyhow, got started easy enough. Worked across and down, with a few holes here and there. First theme was CREATIVE SPORK, after NO RISK appeared. That gave me the theme. Then went back and got STATE PORK.
Lucked out and chose COGNAC for 29D. I do not drink the stuff but it surfaced in my head.
For 25A, I think DAUNTS is referring to another term for Quail, not a bird. Maybe acting like the bird acts? Maybe hiding? I might check later.
I also thought OBOE was excellent. A little misdirection.
My home town again, ERIE. And my home Lake, ERIE. And my Home County, ERIE. All named after the ERIEZ indians.
Not sure what CRED refers to. Perped it. Anybody know?
Off to yesterday's blog. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(ettedxc)
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI chuckled (note the L) at your "Stork Naked", and even though I've heard it many times, I laughed out loud at Carlin's stuff. The truth is always funnier than fiction. And thanks for 'splaining what QVC stands for. I've often wondered while skipping over it with the remote.
I found several ways to go wrong today GALE/OBOE (Hi, PK), BUCKET/BASKET (Hi, Dennis), NO LOSS/NO RISK. What almost stumped me was how could "not hidden" be SEHN -- what the heck is that. Oh, I didn't notice the spelling "dirección" -- it's NORTE not NORTH. Whew! DNF avoided.
Doha, welcome back to the land of the big PX, or in your case, the big liquor store. You've managed to escape from a truly "dry" part of the world.
HBD, Alan! You don't look a day older than last year.
Abejo, 'street cred' (credibility) is your reputation.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you, Gareth! I think TONY STORK would would have been fun - The Iron Man character is quite well known in the US. And thanks for The Blue Cafe - that is a great one.
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah, I had never heard of El Norte, but it sounds really good. I'll have to look for it on Netflix.
With all the excitement about DH's birthday today, and our friend arriving from New Orleans for a week's stay with us, I forgot all about "talk like a pirate day." ARRGH!
Fun puzzle with a lot of bite. No major hang ups, but no speed run. Solved the theme answers in turn and really chuckled over Creative Spork. Probably wouldn't have gotten Quote Mork without knowing the theme.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Chris Rea links. I was only familiar with Working On It
Oh, and I always thought that QVC stood for "Quantum Vendor of Crap". :-)
I almost mentioned SPORK the other day when we had SKORT.
ReplyDeleteGood late morning all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gareth and thank you Marti. I found enough bite in the puzzle to get the old neurons firing early this morning.
Did someone post this link recently ? It's a pretty comprehensive site of The Rifleman
RE: Quail - 2nd def
quail2
kwāl/
verb
verb: quail; 3rd person present: quails; past tense: quailed; past participle: quailed; gerund or present participle: quailing
1.
feel or show fear or apprehension.
"she quailed at his heartless words"
synonyms: cower, cringe, flinch, shrink, recoil, shy (away), pull back; More
Gee, if I'd known it was "talk like a pirate day" earlier, I would have said C. C., Marti & all the other blogmeisters & constructors are "golden" and dig up a lot of "buried treasures" for our enjoyment here. Is that "piraty" enough to count?
ReplyDeleteA walk in th park today.
ReplyDeleteWelcome home, Doha Doc.
Happy birthday, Alan. Enjoy your day.
I was familiar with this meaning of precipitation, sudden haste.
One of my favorite songs in Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado is A Wandering Minstrel, which uses the puzzle's meaning of quail.
Our warriors, in serried ranks assembled,
never quail--or they conceal it if they do--
and I shouldn't be surprised if nations trembled
before the mighty troops of Titipu!
The warriors are never daunted (overcome with fear) so they never quail (cower or shrink back in fear.)
Link They never quail
Although I never cared for his character, Mark McCain, I was impressed when I found out Johnny Crawford was probably one of the best horsemen on the set. I believe he even was on the pro rodeo circuit for awhile.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many of you, this was a really difficult challenge for me. I've never heard of the sports teams expos or Nats, and was trying to think of another name for expos as world fairs, and finally gave up with only -O-D for 1A, since I don't know MONA either, and was thinking of money matters instead of car rentals for -VIS.
ReplyDeleteSo a DNF for me, after taking an age to guess my way through the rest. ONT stumped me for a long time wondering about the English London until it finally hit me it has shires and burroughs rather than a province.
Getting the theme helped considerably.
Happy Birthday Allen!
Forgot to mention that we used the Oz invention, Splayds (play on the words spoon and blade, since they have fairly sharp edge for cutting too) last night for our tuna casserole. I think Sporks were a later version here of much the same thing.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteor -
Avast me Hearties -
Gareth never disappoints.
Very clever theme.
I knew REA and COREA, bot not MONA.
Lots of trouble in the NW corner. Forgot where the NATS came from.
They were projected to run away with their division, but are only 10 games over .500, and 9 games out of first place behind Atlanta.
IMBO
Cool Regards!
JzB
Happy Thursday everybody!
ReplyDeleteNice 'n' Easy for a Thursday....
Had OESTE for NORTE until convinced otherwise by perps....
Hands up for thinking of Corner expos before the baseball version came to mind - D'Oh...!
My first boss turned me on to Chick Corea and Return To Forever, so thanks for the tip Jon...!
No shortage of DORKS on TBBT.....
Well, I'm off to see a Wizard about selling the house. One nice thing happened while I was away - the price of homes in Vegas rose by about 30%...!
Really liked the oboe. I wanted gale but it would not work. Glad to learn what QVC means, now I can forget it. As for the "quote mark", I took it as "quote Mark" as in quoting the evangelist Mark. Now that I think about it, it works either way.
ReplyDeleteDoc, welcome back; I know it feels great to be home
ReplyDeleteDoc, welcome back and what are everyone's favorite Pirate MOVIES ?
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for the homecoming greetings - GREAT to be back...!
ReplyDeleteLeast favorite pirate movie - Cutthroat Island (just a sad waste of Geena Davis' time, imho....)
Favorite pirate movie - anything rated Arrrrrrrrgh...!
I just learned that Marti's husband, Allen (not Alan) attended Ole Miss (not Bama). I tried to find a YouTube version of this song without success. So I'll just post these lyrics. They should bring back some fond memories for Allen:
ReplyDeleteBright college years, we sing to thee
The golden years that quickly flee
Oh, shining moments of our youth
Where we can seek the truth
May what we learn midst toil and strife
Direct our footsteps throughout life
No man can ask for more than this
We sing to thee, Ol' Miss
We bow our heads, and give thee thanks
We'll ne'er forget, alas
Those teargas raids, the army tanks
Those riots after class
The National Guard, the barricades
Where we shared our first kiss
The senior prom, the hand grenades
We're going to miss Ol' Miss
We'll miss the cafeteria
That's crawling in wisteria
We'll miss the classrooms where we learned
And effigies we burned
My girl was only seventeen
When she was chosen riot queen
These memories we'll ne'er forget
God bless thee Ross Barnett
We're going to miss Ol' Miss
Glory, glory, what a helluva time we had
We're going to miss Ol' Miss
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteA Gareth Bain puzzle is always a treat. A clever theme and some fresh fill; what's not to like? Thanks, GB, and thanks, Marti, for a dandy expo. Happy Birthday to Allen-make sure you whip up something special, Marti!
Welcome home, Vegas Doc. Enjoy some R & R before your next venture.
Have a great day.
Hello, friends!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Alan; I'm sure Marti will have some surprises for you.
Thank you, Gareth Bain for a semi challenge today. Most of it was quite easy though it required thinking outside the box such as HASTE for precipitation. I like that.
Hand up for OESTE then NORTE. El NORTE is a very good film but I wonder if it's available since it's really old.
The NE almost made me quail because of my preconceived notion of GALE and CAR SICK. It seemed logical that ruled would be an RE- word. Once I erased it all and realized Budget referred to car, AVIS gave me ABOVE and OBOE sang out at me. Didn't know MONA but it perped itself. Same with NATionalS.
Fav clues:
shot in the dark, STAB
causes to quail, DAUNTS
was revolting?, RIOTED
And of course, Marti, your EXPO was illuminating as always.
Have yourselves a fantastic Friday, everyone!
Precipitation = HASTE? I only got it with perps. My "Weird Word of the Day"! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking in, Gareth, and for a really fun puzzle. I did have trouble in the NW, thinking GALE instead of OBOE, like OwenK and many others. Loved FEAR OF THE DORK, and wondered if a STORK was going to make an appearance. When I got to the blog, Voila! there is was, STORK NAKED in all its glory. Delightful write-up, Marti, and I wish your husband a wonderful birthday today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder of the "Mikado," Yellowrocks.
Have a great Thursday, everybody.
In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. ARRGH!
ReplyDeleteTHE PIRATE by Shel Silverstein
Oh, the blithery, blathery pirate
(His name, I believe, is Claude),
His manner is sullen and irate,
And his humor is vulgar and broad.
He has often been known to imprison
His friends in the hold dark and dank,
Or lash them up high on the mizzen,
Or force them to stroll down a plank.
He will selfishly ask you to dig up
Some barrels of ill-gotten gold,
And if you so much as just higgup,
He'll leave you to fill up the hole.
He may cast you adrift in a rowboat
(He has no reaction to tears)
Or put your ashore without No boat
On an island and leave you for years.
He's a rotter, a wretch and a sinner,
He's foul as a fellow can be,
But if you invite him to dinner,
Oh, please sit him next to me!
Oops! Sorry, Marti, I misspelled Allen's name.
ReplyDeleteWEES today. Being Canadian helped with the London province and the Expos clues!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day everyone.
My mileage certainly varied from Marti (nice expo!) I found this tough going from start to finish. Great cluing - High wind/OBOE was awesome!
ReplyDeleteLoved the Pirate poem Yellowrocks!
Lemony @ 11:02, favorite pirate movie? Anything with Johnny Depp in it!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Vegas Doc! LOL about the Arrrgh-rated movies!
D-otto @ 11:18, thanks for the song lyrics. But if I point that out to Allen, he will go around belting it out before he segues into their Fight Song
... since he has a tin ear and sings off-key, I don’t know what could be worse? (Talking like a pirate??)
Lucina, I just went on Netflix and found “El Norte.” I can’t wait to see it.
I must be the only one, but
ReplyDeleteI didn't enjoy it
I don't get it, and
I couldn't wait to NOT finish it.
Who is Orson? Talk about obscure.
DAUNTS?, HASTE?, and the theme answers were "Whaaa?"
Plus, I don't even understand Gareth's alternative, Upmarket maribou.
Sheesh, I think I should go back to bed.
Marti: Wonderful write-up & links. I hope Allen enjoys his Birthday present.
ReplyDeleteGareth: Thank you for a FUN Thursday offering.
Living in the Tampa Bay area we have more than one "Talk like a Pirate" day ... ARRRGGG!!!
BTW, who is this guy NOONE who sits in an empty room???
My first theme to fall was QUOTE MORK, I guess that explains my slog solving.
Faves today were the 'After dinner drink' COGNAC along with the Distiller's VAT.
(Though I really wanted Scotch ... until I remembered that was a 'Before & During dinner drink').
Vegas Doc: Glad to see you made it back OK.
A 'toast' to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers!!!
PS I'm rooting for Oracle today in the America's Cup ... but only because I want to see more racing.
What's wrong with having a "Tin ear" ???
ReplyDeleteI have two of them ...
I really enjoyed the misdirection at 2D. Who didn't try GALE first? SEASICK was the only gimme in that corner. Nothing else broke for me there until TONIC warned me that GALE wouldn't do.
ReplyDeleteThe rest was pretty easy -- except that I didn't understand CREATIVE SPORK until reading the explanation. (Still don't like it; the PORK part is used elsewhere.)
Marti, I'm glad you found the movie! Be advised, it's in Spanish with English subtitles, but I suppose they noted that.
ReplyDeleteVegas Doc:
So glad you made it home safely. Now I just have to get used to your new handle.
Tinbeni: Tin ears and a hollow leg? Man, you are so well equipped!
ReplyDeletepas de chat, Orson was Mork's long-suffering boss on "The Mork and Mindy Show.". He reported to him every week with his "Mork calling Orson" shout. After his report, he would sign off with "Nanu-Nanu."
ReplyDeleteTin, no disrespect to tin ears intended!
Lucina, thanks for the heads up - it did not say anything about being in Spanish. Maybe they made an English version since it came out in '83? Even so, I can usually follow along if I have subtitles.
Oh, and the "Upmarket maribou" answer would be a TONY STORK. Tony Stark was the hero of the "Iron Man" movies, but Rich thought that was too obscure. (...More so than Orson on "Mork and Mindy", evidently!)
ReplyDeleteHello everybody. Fun puzzle today, which I enjoyed solving. Hand up for having the most difficulty in the NW corner, due to: (1) entering GALE too quickly, (2) not knowing MONA Van Duyn.
ReplyDeleteWaited for a perp to decide whether the first name in fashion would be YVES, VERA, or OLEG.
Knew ANTON Bruckner right away. I dearly love his 4th symphony. He may not have been actually a simpleton, but he was very naive and unassuming. As one story goes, after a performance of one of his works, he walked up to the stage from his seat in the audience and shook the conductor's hand in thanks.
Lemonade, when you asked what was our favorite pirate movie, Horatio Hornblower immediately sprang to my mind. Then I looked up on your link to see whether it really was considered to be a pirate movie. It was! 2nd favorite was Treasue Island with the great Robert Newton as Long John Silver. It was Newton who invented the accent and affectation we now call talking like a pirate. Before him, I guess pirates didn't talk like pirates.
Greetings!
ReplyDeletePuzzle and expo lots of fun. Thanks Gareth! Thanks Marti!
Happy birthday to Allen! Do you read the blog?
Glad you are safely back VEGAS/DOHA!
Cheers!
Thank you Marti.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who Tony Stark is either.(sigh)
And get this, my horoscope says:
As for that thing that was bothering you yesterday,you'll be feeling SMARTER and more aware of the spectrum of POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS.
Hah!
I join with those who never watched the "Mork & Mindy Show." I've just learned through doing Xwds that whenever a clue or entry uses the letters ORK or NANU, it probably relates to that defunct program.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, OBOE is the musical instrument that most often appears in pzls--and usually with some misdirection involved.
As far as the use of QUOTE MARK goes, I agree with Barry G that we prefer QUOTATION MARK. He wonders if the Brits use the shorter version, but I believe they take the time to say "inverted commas" for a first citation and even "double apostrophes" or "double inverted commas" for our version.
As a professor, I'm often correcting student papers for following the British system of using single apostrophes for a quotation. The American practice always requires double apostrophes for a first quotation and single apostrophes for an internal quotation--a quote within a quote. Those who err probably pick it up from books and periodicals published abroad.
Hi everybody. I started this last night and found it harder than usual. Why you ask? I think it's because I confidently entered a few wrong words (like GALE instead of OBOE and WIN WIN instead of NO RISK) and consequently, lots of stuff built upon those words wasn't correct. Anyway, it's been a harder-than-usual puzzling week for me but it's all good.
ReplyDeleteI found the America's Cup race coverage on an HD channel and am watching. Some musings (though not worthy of HG): I've done a little sailing from time to time. My sailing experience is about as close to these races as soggy cornflakes is to eggs Benedict. San Francisco Bay must be one of the best possible choices of places to race in the world. It's always windy and it's just beautiful. Even though I don't understand most of the tactics, I am glued to the TV mesmerized by the beauty of the whole experience.
Hola Everyone, A DNF for me today. I just couldn't get my head around something other than Gale for High Wind. What a Duh moment when I came here and read Oboe for the answer!! I didn't know Mona Van Duyn, and Expos, since 2005 was totally unknown. That whole NW corner went begging.
ReplyDeleteI got everything else and enjoyed the puns in the theme answers. Thanks, Gareth Bain, for keeping me on my toes and teaching me something today.
Happy Birthday, to Marti's "Ole Miss" husband. I hope you and Marti celebrate in high style!
Much to do today so will read the rest of the blog later on.
Have a great rest of the day everyone.
Good job, Marti and Gareth,
ReplyDeleteSince I finished this puzzle without resorting to RED LETTERS, I have to rate it easier than the normal Thursday one.
A little trivia:
There were two Charley Wilson's in the Eisenhower Administration. Engine Charlie was Secretary of Defense who, with Ike, reorganized the Defense Department. He came from being President of GM. Electric Charley was Secretary of Defense Mobilization and he was President of GE.
D-Otto @ 11:18
ReplyDeleteI found what you were looking for.
Marti, he wants to dedicate this to Allen.
ALMA MATER
And Marti, this is for
ALLEN, ALLEN!
C.C. -
ReplyDeleteThe Washington Post crossword link at the right side of the blog page has changed. If you use the one posted here, you get an error message now, as of sometime yesterday.
Thanks, pas de chat. But I guess you have to be a member of MySpace in order to view/listen to it. I eschew (damn, I love that word) social media like Facebook, Twitter, and also MySpace. I value my privacy, even though it's probably only an illusion. "Allen, Allen" was very cute -- no login required.
ReplyDeleteD-Otto, I'm with you, I do not participate in social media at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a member of myspace. I just googled "Chad Mitchell Trio Alma Mater" and google gave me a link to myspace.
You should be able to listen to it by moving the mouse close to
01 "Alma Mater" and a blue arrow comes up.Click on it and you should hear the song.
Pas, Just to bust your chops... But what do you call this blog ? Isn't this a version of social media. One that I am happy to have found. This is a great group of people!
ReplyDeleteG'Eve All:
ReplyDeleteI was going to try to do the whole post in Pirate, but I realized I'm really not good at it...
Fantastic Thursday offering from Mr Bain. I say that 'cause I got the whole thing w/o help. I know Marti said it was "Tuesday-ish" but I'm going to ignore that and bask in the glory of it.
2d was fun, but I liked 44d as it reminded me of this Wizard of Id .
My DAUNTing corner was the SE as I could think of lots of things, but to afraid of the ink blot. I took a STAB at 63a (we saw that a few days ago) and DECIDED NORISK no reward. I GO'd APE and no ERASEures. OLE!
LEM - Pirates in Movies - I tried to find a good link to Meaning of Life with the corporate raiders :-)
Here's two guys that will lose their Street Cred if anyone walks by. Anyone else watch Key & Peele? No, NOONE?
Time to build dinner. Gulf shrimp over pasta!
Cheers,
-T
Thank you for all the birthday wishes, everyone! Marti has made this a really special day, and to have my best buddy from NOLA here to celebrate with us, is a "TIN"!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Ole Miss song, brought back a lot of memories, but here is his fight song, that I remember from being 8 years old and yelling in the stands:
Hotty Toddy
Are you ready?
Hell yea!
Damn right!
Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty,
Who the hell are we?
HEY!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam, OLE MISS GOD DAMN!
Allen
sorry, meant "this" fight song...damned auto-correct!
ReplyDeleteAllen
Manac @ 6:12 I don't consider this blog social media, is it?
ReplyDeleteI mean Facebook.
Story: gave close relative large cash wedding gift. Asked if the pictures were good, told to "go to Facebook"
Think they could just email me a few, don't you?
Anon-T: Street cred hilarious!
D-Otto, I think Allen heard the song, let me know if you were able to also???
God is not the dammer...Look some where else for the dammer.
ReplyDeleteAll right,
ReplyDeleteI admit it! I am the dammer!
I am so ashamed...
(P.S.. what's a dammer? )
I'm a dammer...
ReplyDelete"I'm a dammer..."
"I'm a dammer..."
"We are all dammers."
-T
I donno what a dammer is either. Probably beaver related...
Anon T,
ReplyDeleteLove your sense of humor!
Damn you dammers! Beavers! Hoover! Tinkers!
ReplyDeletepas de chat: I don't do "social media" except this. I have the same problems getting pictures from my relatives. My daughter finally went on Facebook just so our branch of the family could get the pictures. She emails them to me. What really frosted me was that my niece cashed the big check I sent her and a year later has not bothered to even email a thank you. She used to be my favorite. Three others haven't acknowledged the cash baby gifts. Email is so easy.
ReplyDeleteAllen, how nice to see you and thanks for taking the time out from your birthday celebration to say hi. and many more.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on Facebook either. I also don't text. I feel like a pariah. Since my kids post some photos on Facebook, they don't take the extra 30 seconds it would take to attach them to an e-mail to me. It pisses me off but not super seriously.
ReplyDeleteANNOUNCEMENT: Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The iTit will cost from $299 to $399 depending on cup and speaker size. This is considered a major social breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.
Bill G:
ReplyDeleteiBoobies - funny. DW thinks I listen as I nod between eyes & chest :-) (is it music, NPR, or just the office gossip amplified?)
I am a gen X-er and pretty tech savy but I don't do social networks outside of what I need for a gig (LinkedIn) except to hack others. Dear mother doesn't understand why I won't friend her ('cuz ma, that's a hack account - Gosh...). I text with family, facetime, have a twitter account (lurk, but never tweet), and play @ CC with you friends mostly as anon.
Here's my issue: With SM (Social Media - get your mind out of the gutter) services, YOU are the product they sell to advertisers. Every data point about you will be sliced and diced and put into a bucket that describes "your type" to better sell to you. Google "Custom Wrist Bands" tonight & see what ads show up on your favorite web sites for the next few weeks. Donate to the party of your choice and see what happens when looking for those wrist bands.
Big Brother is here, but it's not the gov't (despite Snowden's leaks), but the Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Bing, et.al.
-T
/end tin-foil-hat rant :-)
Well, the Dodgers clinched the Western Division. Now they are celebrating. Why is it that reasonably intelligent young men, some of whom went to college, can't find any way of celebrating other than to spray each other with champagne? I wonder if it's expensive or the cheap stuff?
ReplyDeleteBill G: I should hope the cheep stuff. BTW, Houston just got it's 1st $22,000 bottle of COGNAC from Remy yesterday - delivered by a YVES dee Launay in a Roll's Ghost. Any one up for going in w/ me? Tin?
ReplyDeleteI should have pointed out earlier that if you are retired or work at menial labor (I'm not knocking hard work - they work hard) and don't need credit or a job, then "FaceFriends" is fine. For everyone else, SM is where clients, hiring staff, etc look first to find out who you are and who your friends are. Judgements are made about you based on that - right or wrong. And don't think your security settings can't be bypassed - sometimes its trivial. Brave New World* indeed
-T
*I read 37a as A Huxley at first - did I mention dyslexia sucks :-)
Bill G, The answer to your question is that it is baseball tradition to pop the bubbly after a big win. Kind of like drinking milk after winning the Indy 500. My older sister, who is a Dodger fan, sent me a pic of her team celebrating their playoff clinching win, frolicking in the Leslie's pool in right field at the D'Backs stadium. Her caption was, "if you can't clinch at home, the next best thing is peeing in your opponents pool...."
ReplyDeleteBTW, that Apple announcement was priceless...!
BillG:
ReplyDeleteThat was really funny from Apple. iTIT, LOL!
I just come home after a night out with my sisters and nieces. We saw Little Women at a local playhouse. It was excellently performed.
Allen,
ReplyDeleteHi! Welcome to our blog! Now I won't forget your name and alma mater.
Buckeye bob,
Can you please give me a new link when it's available?
ReplyDeletehttp://games.washingtonpost.com/games/daily-crossword/