Theme: Clueless
20-Across. " " : I'M DRAWING A BLANK.
36-Across. " " : HOW WOULD I KNOW?
53-Across. " " : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE.
I don't know if your paper had a blank for the clue, a dash, or just empty quote marks (as my Across Lite version did.) I remember seeing a similar theme from Daniel Finan, where "CLUELESS" was the revealing entry, and each theme entry described some sort of airhead. It was a few years ago, so many solvers likely would not remember it. But when I saw it I was blown away by the cleverness, so it stuck in my mind.
In this one, I thought 20 and 53-Across were spot on, since they refer to a blank or not having a clue. But 36-Across didn't quite hit the same note. Maybe I'm picking a nit here? Or maybe I'm just crabby and frazzled from dealing with contractors who never show up when they are supposed to.
Let's move on...
Across:
1. Rewards for waiting : TIPS. Simple words today, but some devilish clueing had me scratching my head.
5. Sauce finisher, often : CREAM.
10. Bit of Halloween makeup : SCAR.
14. Gray subj. : ANAT. "Gray's Anatomy" was my bible in pre-med. The TV popular show was spelled "Grey's Anatomy."
15. Expansive : LARGE.
16. Parting words : TA-TA.
17. Family nickname : NANA. Funny to see nana after tata...
18. Parting word : ADIOS. Clecho of 16-Across.
19. Erelong : ANON.
23. Presidential nickname : ABE.
24. Inflationary fig.? : PSI. Pounds / Square Inch. It's the number on your driver's door telling you how much to inflate the tires.
25. Drive off : REPEL.
26. Language of Pakistan : URDU.
28. Peak on the 1,000-yen note : FUJI. Yen = Japanese. What other mountain would it be?
31. Language suffix : ESE. JapanESE, ChinESE, JavanESE, etc.
32. __-Julie, Quebec : STE.
33. Nail-biting way to win : BY A NOSE.
40. Jerks : YANKS ON.
41. Morse code letter after dit-dit-dit : DAH. (Or, last syllable after ZIP-A-DEE-DOO...)
42. Outlaw Clanton : IKE.
45. Get rid of : LOSE.
46. Gorilla trained to use sign language : KOKO. "Supposedly" trained...
47. Holiday air : CAROL.
49. Mao __-tung : TSE.
51. Ten-cent pres. : FDR.
58. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA.
59. The Joe in Detroit, for one : ARENA. Joe Louis Arena.
60. Superb : A-ONE.
61. Tallow source : SUET.
62. Huge : GIANT.
63. Earthworm habitat : SOIL.
64. Stun, in a way : TASE.
65. Bout of retail "therapy" : SPREE.
66. Fine subject? : ARTS. Kind of a mini-clecho with 14-Across.
Down:
1. "Lost" actress Raymonde : TANIA. No clue.
2. How soldiers may lie : IN AMBUSH.
3. Gratify the baser side of : PANDER TO.
4. Have the lead : STAR.
5. Shellfish morsels : CLAWS. Mmmm, we just had crab that our buddy in New Orleans shipped to us the other night.
6. Lines from the center : RADII.
7. 33-Down's homeland : ERIN.
8. Open-mouthed : AGOG.
9. Western landform : MESA.
10. Clichéd : STALE.
11. Happy hour morsel : CANAPE.
12. Makes amends : ATONES.
13. Rub the wrong way : RANKLE.
21. Manjula's husband on "The Simpsons" : APU.
22. Like autumn mornings : BRISK.
27. Like morning grass : DEWY.
28. Made-up : FALSE.
29. Loosen, as laces : UNDO.
30. Enroll : JOIN.
33. U2 frontman : BONO.
34. Belly laughs : YUKS.
35. Prefix with morph : ENDO.
37. Pixar title robot : WALL-E.
38. Hardwood option : OAK FLOOR. I'm leaning toward an engineered oak floor for the living room next door. Any thoughts on durability, Splynter?
39. Mystery : WHODUNIT.
42. Most distant : ICIEST.
43. Black Russian component : KAHLUA. I had the "K" so it was a gimme.
44. Fulfills a takeout order? : ERASES.
46. Alpine parrot : KEA.
48. Roundish : OVATE.
49. 1,000 kilograms : TONNE. Metric ton. Not to be confused with the short ton or long ton.
50. Kerry's department : STATE. John Kerry, current Secretary of State.
52. Projection room stack : REELS.
54. Badgers : NAGS.
55. It may be round : TRIP.
56. Stuff in a backpack : GEAR. GORP was my first thought...
57. José's home : CASA. His casa is su casa.
That's it for me. Gotta run!
Marti
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteWell, this was a super annoying puzzle! At least, it was until I finally got enough perps to guess one of the theme answers, after which the theme became pretty obvious. Took awhile, though, in part because I had CRISP instead of BRISK at 22D, which messed up TWO theme answers. Having CLAMS instead of CLAWS at 5D didn't help matters any.
[hionfir]
Today I'M DRAWING A BLANK.
ReplyDeleteMy mind's a dungeon, fetid and dank.
I try to think funny,
But I'll warn you, Honey,
The ideas I've come up with all stank!
A block-breaker, HOW WOULD I KNOW
What goes on in my subconscious below?
I feed it choice viands
They produce, from its tail-end,
Horse puckey (though a nugget may glow).
So I ask you, what should I do?
I tell you, I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE.
I rely on my Muse
Who sometimes will ooze
Through my fingers, to write what I rue!
[I'm surprised today's analysis didn't mention WHODUNIT trailing off from HOW WOULD I KNOW and crossing I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE. Also nice was the symetric placement of LARGE & GIANT.
Anywho, contrary to the limericks, today was one of the easier sets to lim on, after a couple this week I couldn't get a handle on.]
Good Marti and friends. I wasn't so much taken but the theme as I was by all the fun and misleading clues.
ReplyDeleteRewards for Waiting = TIPS was a great clue, but a tough start for the puzzle. It doesn't bode well when I initially trip over the 1-Across clue!
KoKo had a kitten it named All Ball.
I know freezing and wintery weather is blasting the country, but here we will have temperatures in the low 80sF.
QOD: I hadn’t thought that I was generally a pack rat, but it turns out I am. ~ Joan Didion (Dec. 5, 1934) I can relate!
[sonshs]
[aobiums]
Same comment as Barry but also had SOON instead of ANON at 19A which slowed me down for a tad.
ReplyDelete44D was also troublesome as I incorrectly had ELLA for 58A as a wag.
Hi Y'all! What slowed me down and puzzled me was I thought those quotation marks were ditto marks for the clues above. I couldn't figure out what "I'M DRAWING A BLANK" had to do with ANON, etc. I won't even say Duh! because I'm not sure it was I being stupid. Unclear communications annoy me. The clue wasn't even a clue.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the puzzle proceeded pretty well although I had trouble in the NW getting started.
They have parrots in the ALPS? I don't get 46D being KEA. Please someone explain this.
Thanks, Marti! I can understand your frustration with contractors who don't show up as expected. I spent more days than I cared to this summer not daring to leave home because I thought my yardman would show up and I needed to be there.
Well I got up very early and worked my way through this puzzle except in the NW. I had the theme phrases but they didn't make sense. Thanks for explaining, Marti.
ReplyDeletePerps gave me IN AMBUSH and PANDER TO and I was able to finish. Woo-hoo! And it's a Thursday!
My Montana home is seeing temps in the --30s so a few degrees below zero here in Denver doesn't seem too bad. Locals think it is very, very cold, though.
Have a good day,
Montana
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI thought this one was pretty easy for a late week offering. My only stumbling block was the W in WALLE -- I thought it might be a C, but WALL-E sounded better. When I got the K, I knew it was KAHLUA, but I couldn't remember how to spell it. Perps to the rescue. I also thought there should be two N's in WHODUNIT.
Marti, engineered oak makes a very nice floor. And it's more dimensionally stable than solid oak would be. The only downside I know of is that the top veneer is pretty thin, so it takes real care when refinishing. You don't want to sand right through the oak to the plywood underneath.
Just read the late nite comments, & as far as the lady on the plane goes, a little more tolerance from everyone would go a long way...
ReplyDelete& as far as getting old goes,,,
well,, I'll let Grandma tell it!
Nice puzzle perfect for a Thursday. Pk on 46 down I think Alpine is not referring to the region of the alps but a more general term of mountainous area.
ReplyDeleteWow, this was a toughie. I was able to get most of the fill but the SW corner did me in. With so many write overs I finally had t thrown in the towel and rate myself a DNF.
ReplyDeleteI liked these clues
- 1A: Rewards for waiting: TIPS.
- Inflationary fig.? PSI (I have an Econ background so I was thinking GDP or something similar.)
- 34D: Belly Laughs: YUKS (I always like to see the word YUKS)
Well I'm off to face my day. I hope you all have a great one!
Alpine Parrot Kea
ReplyDeleteBoy, those Keas are smart birds... I saw the whole slew of youtube videos following, and now am much more enlightened. That a bird without hands or opposable feathers ( like opposable thumbs) can be so adroit, ... and do so well, speaks highly of its innate intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the Kiwi's ( not a pejorative -), take good care of these precious creatures. In most uncivilized nations, they would have been hunted out of existence,
Talking of Creature, I trust , and hope, she is happy , at peace and keeping well.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteI was DRAWING A BLANK with the " "'s, until 53a became clear from the perps. The rest of the theme fill became easy enough. We saw WALL E when it came out a few years ago. Cute. Most of my wite-out was used in the NE. Had soon/passe, before finally choosing ANON/STALE. There were many clever clues/fill; ie. 65a, SPREE, and 55d, TRIP. Ultimately got it all without searches. Lucky guess with KEA.
Have a great day.
What a delightful chore! After getting the first theme answer, it was easy to fill in the missing letters of the second and I got the third with no letters showing. Combined with the cluing for TIPS, PSI, IN AMBUSH, ERASES, et al this made for a great start to a very BRISK (1°F) fall morning where, like Marti, we are waiting for a plumber to show.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I started with URDU and APU. I don’t speak the former and have never seen the latter
-Ever left a penny TIP for bad service?
-ADI _ _ wasn’t ADIEU
-REPEL? Ah, my high school dating strategy
-I thought dit-dit-dit was Morse for S and so I first put TEE as the follower. Over thinking?
-My SIL always confuses LOOSE/LOSE
-Are ubiquitous Christmas CAROLS starting to wear on you already? And if I hear Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree one more time…
-No more SUET for my birds! It only draws annoying birds
-I’ll bet you know who played Ike CLANTON in this movie we had last week
-Earthworms on a putting green after a rain can be a nuisance
-Pols will PANDER TO whatever audience is front of them
-Detasseling in a DEWEY cornfield gets you as wet as a downpour
-People on HGTV rave about hardwood floors. We like carpet.
-We all sincerely hope John Kerry has made real progress with the Iranians and is not the next Neville Chamberlain
Clueless...
ReplyDeleteHG,
ReplyDeleteWalter Brennan played Ike. By the time I saw this movie, Brennan's roles had already become the daffy old coot type and usually partner to the hero.
Husker, you weren't over-thinking it. Dit-dit-dit is, indeed, S. Dah is the symbol for T. You were on the right track, but got the wrong answer.
ReplyDeleteNo wall-to-wall carpeting in our house. We've got hardwood floors in the bedrooms and a stone-like ceramic tile everywhere else. We did put an area rug in the family room for comfort and acoustics. Works well in our mostly hot, humid climate.
The level of difficulty today is worthy of a Saturday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's only Thursday. Can't wait to see Friday and Saturday.
DeleteA Kea is a large parrot that is found only in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. Alpine in the clue was misdirection. I got it from the perps, didn’t know it. Apparently it is a nuisance, but protected. Here is a link to the Wikipedia article to learn more about it.
ReplyDeleteKea Wiki
So now we are supposed to know morse code as well. Great.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Greg or Pittman shorthand. How do you sign off," with hugs and kisses".
Tomorrow, coming up, what's the distress signal for Ahmed, in morse, ..... in Urdu.
Now, I'm getting 2 Captcha's ???
This is blatant discrimination ... And an obvious attempt to dissuade all Anon's !! ACLU, can you hear me ?
Today was a paradox to me.
ReplyDeleteI made one pass through the Across clues and one pass through the Down clues. I was still looking at a puzzle with few answers written in, and a lot of white space. I started working the Acrosses and Downs together, and more answers emerged. I just kept at it and the perps helped get it done. Thankfully no Naticks! In the end, it took about 5 minutes longer than the Wednesday puzzle, but I never expected that after the first pass.
I do not have a problem with the “ “ theme clues, but they sure didn’t help me either. I got 53 Across I HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE, but it still didn’t help me with the other 2 theme answers. I needed the perps for them too.
Hand up for CRISP before BRISK, SOON before ANON, CLAMS before CLAWS, ADIEU before ADIOS. Wanted CPI before PSI. The perps set me straight on all of them.
All in all, I think it was a good Thursday-level puzzle, with lots of vague clues, and some clever misdirection.
Good day, amigos y amigas!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fine Thursday challenge and though it took a few passes, I finally started with CLAMS which later changed to CLAWS. But I'm AGOG at the clever misdirection of TIPS, ERASES, PSI and CAROL though we've seen that one before.
APU was my first fill and that's ironic because I've seen it only in crosswords.
Once I had some downward fill, the theme became clear, not as a theme, but filling it.
Thanks, Marti, for explaining that part. My newspaper had " " which meant nothing to me so I guess that's the idea.
Well done, Steve Blais. I enjoyed this puzzle very much.
My friend is greatly improving and is practicing speech. He came home last night and sounds vastly improved. Thank you for your concern.
Have a thoroughly GREAT Thursday, everyone!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI made the same mistakes that Barry mentioned, plus lard before suet, Ike before Abe (funny that Ike appeared later for Clanton), ecto before endo, and ovoid before ovate. So, there for awhile, I had a big mess. Finally, it all came together and I finished w/o help.
Thanks, Steve, for a very challenging offering, and thanks, Marti, for your concise and informative write-up.
A shout-out to Tin, our least "iciest" Corner Colleague!
Have a great day. Just noticed that there are two captcha words.
Lucina:
ReplyDeleteThat is excellent news about your friend. May he continue to improve daily.
Where to start. I liked URDU, UNDO, ENDO and BONO in the puzzle. I too thought the placing of TATA and NANA was great. My thought for JERKS was the noun, not the verb. PANDER TO seemed like fresh fun fill. I had SOON also, but realized ERELONG was an old word, so ANON made more sense. I also went the IKE/ABE then IKE route.
ReplyDeletemarti, I too loved Daniel Finan's take on 'clueless', which gave me fits when I blogged it back 3 years ago. That was the week of the first annual Thanksgiving for the Corner which drew 150 comments on the 24th that year.
Today South Florida is a bit of paradise, 80s and dry, but I work, so...later
Good morning. I REALLY liked this puzzle. The clues were tricky but fun and I really enjoyed it when the AHA came. Initially, I had a number of mistakes that seemed OK at the time. For example, I had crisp instead of BRISK. I also had gorp instead of GEAR. At 2D, I had IN A --USH. I was thinking, in a brush, in a crush, etc. but I didn't think of putting the 'A' connected to the last five letters. For 41A, I knew the letter for did-dit-dit was an 'S' so I figured the letter after it was a 'T' so I had TEE for the longest time. (I see Gary had the same problem.) Clever, tricky but fair. There were other rough patches too but I eventually figured them all out without using any red letters. Yeah for me!
ReplyDeleteIt's a cold morning locally but I'm too lazy and stubborn to change out of my tee shirt and shorts uniform. But I will add a sweatshirt.
Our son has been out of work for a while but his conservative approach to spending and saving pulled him through with no extraordinary help from us. Good for him! He just got a new job in medical sales. He says the salary is about the same but with much more upside.
Later. {'-'}
I found this puzzle so weird when I started, with all those strange quotation marks. And I made the same mistakes as many others (CLAM, SOON, ADIEU, ABE for FDR, LARD for SUET, etc.). But surprisingly it all slowly fell into place. And I thought the theme was a hoot once I got it. In the end, I got the whole thing--very satisfying and a lot of fun! Many thanks, Steve, and you too, Marti, for the helpful expo.
ReplyDeleteI too couldn't imagine a parrot in the Swiss or Austrian alps and so was glad to get the information on the KEA. Also KOKO was a real ground-breaker in illuminating primate intelligence, as I remember.
Lucina, how wonderful that your friend is home already! That's great!
Hope I pass the eye test at the DMV for my driver's license renewal today.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Advice to today’s initial poster – if you append the words “for me” to your first sentence today and in subsequent judgmental postings, you would seem less offensive to those of us who appreciate the efforts by the constructors and Rich. Another alternative would be to switch “annoying” to challenging, unique, tricky, complex, devilish, demanding, devious or some other adjective would work as well. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether it's time to require a license of every adult internet user before they can post to blogs. To get the license, they must take a certain amount of training in basic civility and in the rules governing blogging, and must be willing to take a pledge to behave to a certain standard. Failure to do so would be grounds for loss of the privilege of blogging. Blog owners, contributors and the like could hold the power to turn away unfit posters. To me, this sounds not only reasonable, but necessary in today's rude world. Opinions?
ReplyDeleteTo the Anon above.
ReplyDeleteThat's Barry's opinion. And everyone knows that it is so. And so it is with every other opinion on this blog. Why should he suddenly have to be extra careful and extra politically correct for his own opinion ? He has never claimed to speak for the rest of us, or even for some of us. .... Even though what he writes seems to reciprocate in many of the subsequent post opinions.
Remember WBS - What Barry said.?
Let there be freedom of expression and let us allow people to voice their opinions without oodles of fine print or legalese. It's bad enough trying to write notes on the fly, without worrying about the small stuff. Read all posts with a kind, and forgiving heart. Pass on the posts that distress you. Meant very respectfully.
CED & Dudley (last night comment) it was revealed that the "rude lady flying" that was linked here last Friday ... was IN FACT a hoax passed off by the guy tweeting.
ReplyDeleteIt never happened.
My faves today (of course) were KAHLUA & CREAM ... though with some Vodka would be a White Russian.
But that gives me an idea ...
Cheers!!!
Here is the article posted a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteAirplane feud a hoax
Tinbeni:
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting that. After reading the dialog when it was posted I was certain all civility had been lost in the world. Apparently a silly sense of humor still exists, though.
Thank you for the good thoughts about my dear friend. It is, IMO, a miracle that he suffered only speech impairment from the stroke. Luckily, too, our hospital is a stroke center so no time was lost waiting in the ER and a quick acting medication given within three hours of the occurrence. We live two miles from the hospital so that was also a factor. Speed is of the essence.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you all enjoyed my puzzle. I came up with the theme after considering I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE as a theme answer, and literally cluing it "without a clue". I'M DRAWING A BLANK came naturally after that, but i couldn't think of a third until HOW WOULD I KNOW came to mind. I decided to keep it to three themers lest the theme itself stray too far from my original intent.
And no worries re Barry's response. I took it in the spirit that was intended--a light-hearted poke in the ribs. To me, being annoyed at a puzzle is actually a good thing. When everything finally falls into place, it makes the aha-moment that much more satisfying!
Have a great day everyone :)
Steve Blais
Tinbeni,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the now-you-know- the- rest - of- the- story. About the fictitious airline feud about the mean mommy jeans, inflated egos, wine and twitter notes.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
So, the twitter who ( I don't know and don't care about) , ... had enough and confessed.
I must remember never to believe anything again. If it sounds too strange or too weird or too awful to be true .... It probably isn't.
Remember the golden eagle that tried to kidnap the baby in the park ?
eagle kidnap attempt
Steve B.: Thanks for stopping by and for presenting the perfect attitude for constructing puzzles. Hard to take any of it too personally when the editors change so many clues. If I have fun, struggle some and learn a little, it is all good, especially if there are no golden eagles or reality tv people in my world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the KEA links. I always forget that "alpine" sometimes just means "of the mountains". The only KEA I could think of was Mona KEA in Hawaii. Well, I guess I was right in that it was an island mountain thing, but still miles from the right answer. I do puzzles to expand the mind. This did.
ReplyDeleteClear and precise rhetoric is needed in communication. If Barry & I are annoyed, why muddy the waters? My mother always put a good face on everything and I learned not to trust much of what she said in matters of importance.
Steve Blais, you succeeded in making me shake out the mind FOG, so I'll forgive you the "ditto" marks. Look forward to seeing your next puzzle.
Temperature was 17 degrees during my first posting. That will make most everything seem annoying.
Actually PK, i didn't even have quotation marks. When i sent it to Rich the theme clues were completely blank. I was wondering how he would ultimately clue them, and whether certain crossword-solving software would even allow missing clues.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to anyone else who enjoys the "huh?" followed by the "aha!" that all great puzzles afford, might i recommend cryptic crosswords? The UK versions are, imo, better than US versions, although the latter might be better for those just starting out. The Guardian website is free to solve at http://www.theguardian.com/crosswords, as is the Financial Times at http://www.ft.com/intl/life-arts/crossword. But you have to print theirs out. The Daily Telegraph is also a really good source, but you have to subscribe to them, and their website has been down for almost two weeks (grrr). Wikipedia also has an article on cryptic crosswords if you have no idea what they are. Enjoy!
Steve Blais
R.I.P. Nelson Mendela
ReplyDeleteNot only a great historical figure, but one who has left a remarkable legacy of forgiveness, persistence and freedom.
R.I.P. indeed. Nelson Mandela's passing
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, I just read here about the death of Nelson Mandela. What an amazing humanitarian and political figure, and wise, gentle person. May he rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteThis calls for some tuneagement:
ReplyDeleteNelson Mandela
Today my brain is AWOL. This was a Saturday level for me. Thanks, Marti, for the teaching moments.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a numbers person. In college I had to take Calculus. That year "Take it to the Limit" by the Eagles was popular. The only thing I remember about Calculus is that you take it to the limit. I just heard the song on the radio, which brought back the memory.
We're supposed to get freezing rain, sleet, then heavy snow tomorrow. Sounds like a good day to stay home. DH owns his company and he told dear daughter not to even think about going in to work tomorrow. They both took work home with them.
Stay safe everyone affected by this storm.
RIP Nelson Mandela.
Pat
Nelson Mandela quotes.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite?
"Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination. "
Thursday thru Sunday I don't even bother trying the puzzle without red letters, and today's I used them more than most. But I didn't have to google or t&e anything, so for me it's a win.
ReplyDeleteOn the lady on the plane, that particular example might have been a hoax, but it paralled this story in yesterday's papers.
I'll second what Steve said about cryptic puzzles. I've set them myself for 3 monthly magazines over the past few years, (only one online, and that always had a Masonic theme). I've only once set an American-style crossword. The clues are much easier in American, the grid is much easier with cryptics. I do one daily here.
G'Eve All:
ReplyDeleteI saw it here first this afternoon. Then a tweet from a former pres. with a picture of him and Mr. Mandela. RIP.
WEES re: CLAM, cRISp, etc. The only theme answer I got was HOW WOULD I KNOW. And I still don't.
IMDRAmINGAB--- and I HAVE----T-CLoE - oh well, Steve provided puzzle where I suprised myself pulling URDU out of air.
Thanks HRx for the write and Tin for pulling Paul Harvey duty.
Owen - fun!
nit @10:01 - noticed the two CAPTCHAs last night. Now I'm cross-eyed like our friend CED.
Cheers, -T
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Steve Blais, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot through most of this easily. I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE was my first theme answer.
41A DAH was a piece of cake. I did know that dit-dit-dit is S and I knew that T was a DAH. Still remember most of my Morse Code.
Tried IKE at 23A. ABE appeared later.
As someone else said, I had CRISP for 22D and CLAMS for 5D. 20A did not work, so eventually I fixed all that.
Had HOW COULD I KNOW for 36A. Finally changed COULD to WOULD. Did not know 37D. Relied on perps.
Worked on this off and on all day. Did not have much free time. Was at the eye doctor for a while. Another laser surgery next week.
I'm cashing in my chips for the night. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(ficpplo)
Abejo, surely you aren't 'cashing in your chips' tonight? At least I hope not...
ReplyDeleteI came across an episode of 'Dirty Jobs' I had never seen before. I recorded it and set the DVR to record any other reruns. I really liked that show. The dirty jobs in question were usually important and interesting. But what made the show so good was the host, Mike Roe. He is intelligent and witty. He is now a spokesperson for Ford.
Other shows I liked but got cancelled before their time were Friday Night Lights, Veronica Mars, Cash Cab, Vegas, Men of a Certain Age and some others I can't think of right now. I guess my tastes in TV shows is not in the mainstream.
Even though it's been mentioned a couple of times, I haven't seen more than one Captcha anytime today.
BillG:
ReplyDeleteI like Cash Cab, too, and it airs here on an independent channel (7). I don't know what that would be in your area, though.
BIll G.
ReplyDeleteRow is a funny guy. I saw an interview of him and learned he started on QVC - talk about a dirty job!
B-I-L just sent this - I thought some might like it, but HOWWOULDIKNOW?
From the how-engineers-think department:
A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.
Engineer: What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!
Doctor: I don't know but I've never seen such ineptitude!
Priest: Hey, here comes the greenskeeper. Let's have a word with him.
Priest: Hi George. Say George, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow aren't they?
George: Oh yes. That's a group of blind fire fighters. They lost their sight while saving our club house last year. So we let them play here anytime free of charge!
(silence)
Priest: That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.
Doctor: Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them.
Engineer: Why can't these guys play at night?
Cheers, -T
Lucina, yep, that's how I find Cash Cab too, on independent channels. I think they are all repeats though because I'm pretty sure it's off the air now. The really old ones have a cab ceiling with fewer but larger lights than the newer ones. I like it for one of the same reasons I like Dirty Jobs. I enjoy Mike Rowe and I enjoy Ben Bailey. Plus, the questions are just about right for me. Not as hard as Jeopardy and not the impossible arcane trivia of Millionaire. I'll bet you and I would make a good team. Maybe we should go to New York and ride a bunch of cabs together. Oops! I guess that wouldn't work anymore if it's off the air now.
ReplyDeleteAnonT, heh heh! Good one!
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. Nice to mix it up a bit.
ReplyDeleteThere was a blogger on here earlier with ID of Md(and something I can't remember now) with links that I see now have vanished. I think it was some type of trap as stupidly I clicked on one of the links and thought it was going to take control of my computer.
I was able to reboot and do a scan and now I think I'm ok.
Anyway, can someone please advise. I received an early xmas gift of a MS Surface tablet and can't get the LA Times online to work. I know this has been discussed, but I wasn't paying attention as it previously wasn't important to me. Thanks for any help on this.
Nite all...
Md Rashedul
ReplyDeleteI marked him as spam.