Theme:
GET A ROOM (63A. "Whoa! Do that somewhere else!" ... which hints at
what can be
shared by the beginning and end of the answers to starred clue) - Room
can follow the first word & precede the second word in each theme
entry.
16A. *Colonial imposition that led to a "party" : TEA TAX. Tea room. I had to ask Argyle what "Room tax" is.
17A. *After-school chum : PLAYMATE. Play room. Roommate.
28A. *FedEx, for one : DELIVERY SERVICE. Delivery room. Room service.
37A. *Wrestling move : LEGLOCK. Legroom. Room lock. I just call it "lock", never "room lock".
46A. *Some like it hot : BATH TEMPERATURE. Bathroom. Room temperature. This is often a TEA clue.
65A. *Summary of atlas symbols : MAP KEY. Map room. Room key.
C.C. here, filling in a blogging gap.
It's
hard than it looks to come up with natural phrases where both words can
precede/follow a certain word or like today's, one precedes/one
follows.
This type of grid with stacked 8's & 6's
start is notoriously hard to fill cleanly. There is a reason why most first theme entry is 9+ letters. And this grid has 7 themes (2 grid spanners). So you could imagine the changes the constructor faced during the filling process.
I think this is Rick Papazian's LAT debut. Congratulations, Rick, I'm sure your next grid will be easier :-)
Across:
1. __ Husky : SIBERIAN
9. Shoot for, with "to" : ASPIRE
15. Like poisonous mushrooms : INEDIBLE. I'm not an adventurous mushroom eater. I also find it hard to make mushrooms tasty.
18. "I __ a clue!" : HAVEN'T
19. Fun-with-bubble-wrap sound : POP
20. Sign of success? : SRO (Standing Room Only). Marti might have gone with ALTA for 7D to avoid the ROOM dupe.
21. Sweetie : DOLL
22. Novelist Hunter : EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain. Lemonade likes him.
24. Dropped in : CAME OVER
32. Simple : BASIC
33. Sty fare : SLOP
34. Prince Valiant's boy : ARN. ALETA isPrince Valiant's wife. I learned both from doing xwords.
41. Record producer Brian : ENO
42. Tract for Heathcliff and Cathy : MOOR. "Wuthering Heights"
44. Any Elvis number : OLDIE
53. Direct opposites : INVERSES
54. Receiving customers : OPEN
55. Wild party : BASH
56. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. Who is your favorite sportscaster, Buckeye Bob?
59. Hwy. : RTE
60. 7-Up, in old ads : UNCOLA
66. Notice in passing? : OBITUARY. Nice clue.
67. Cheers up : AMUSES
68. They're often displayed on a cart : DESSERTS. This Apple strudel is waiting for me at the fridge right now. I was too full to eat yesterday.
Down:
1. Nursed : SIPPED
2. Under Cupid's spell : IN LOVE. I was 16 when I fell in love with the boy I grew up with. We were together for 7 years. How about your first love?
3. "Help me out, will ya?" : BE A PAL
4. Eponymous ice cream maker : EDY
5. Salty spots on margarita glasses : RIMS
6. Steel beam : I-BAR
7. Midrange voice : ALTO
8. Wedding column word : NEE
9. Where telecommuters work : AT HOME. Do you work at home also, Anon-T?
10. Deck coating : SEALER. Oh, I thought it's called SEALANT.
11. __ dog: conditioned reflex experiment : PAVLOV'S
12. Meteor tail? : ITE. Meteorite.
13. Was published : RAN
14. Telephone no. add-on : EXT.
21. Courtroom VIPs : DAs
23. Beak : NIB
24. One-eyed monster : CYCLOPS
25. Repulsive : VILE
26. Nobel Prize subj. : ECON
27. Confiscated auto : REPO
29. Actor Kilmer : VAL
30. Laramie-to-Cheyenne dir. : ESE
31. Big truck : RIG
34. Prefix with dextrous : AMBI
35. Colorful horse : ROAN
36. Kid's punishment : NO TV. Like GOUP & PERSE, Tricky to parse at times.
38. Bullfight "All right!" : OLE
39. USN officer : CDR. Spitzboov was a Commander when he retired from the Navy Reserve. I love these pictures.
 |
| Sallie & Spitzboov |
40. Sephia automaker : KIA
43. South African antelopes : RHEBOKS
45. Ike's WWII arena : ETO (European Theater of Operations)
47. Seat of County Kerry : TRALEE. Unfamiliar to me. What's it famous for?
48. School writing assignments : ESSAYS
49. "So what" : MEH
50. Racket : UPROAR
51. Sharp comeback : RETORT
52. "The __ in view; draw up your powers": "King Lear" : ENEMY'S. For Keith.
56. Actress Neuwirth : BEBE
57. Elevator name : OTIS
58. Dugout rackmates : BATS
60. Thurman of "Kill Bill" : UMA
61. '60s-'70s arena, briefly : NAM
62. PC component : CPU
63. Word on U.S. currency : GOD
64. Repent : RUE
Here is one more tip for Sallie and those who want a clearer picture for their avatar.
Click
on your Blue Name, then "Edit Profile" on the upper right, then scroll
down to "Profile Picture", then click on "From Your Computer", then
upload the picture & click on "Save Profile".
If you click on my blog picture on the left, you'll
notice that it can be enlarged while others on the blog remain the
same. It's because I did not click on "From Your Computer", I picked the
second "From the web. Paste an image URL below". See below (click it, a clearer picture will show up).
I simply copy and paste a link from my Ginger Roots blog. You can copy & paste
any link you like, whether it's from my Ginger Roots Blog Photo archive,
or your Facebook, Instagram or any website (like here for Sallie's Crab).
Again, it might take a few tries. Be patient.
C.C.
76 comments:
(Six triplets of theme entries [TEA TAX, TEA ROOM, ROOM TAX, etc.] plus the reveal. Wow! I am NOT going to do 19 limericks today! You'll get one per triplet. Sorry if you recognize the first one as an old joke. The rest are more original, if less funny.)
The TEA ROOM was quaint and was cozy,
The pillows we sat on were cushy.
Very good was the service,
The cook came and assured us,
"If you knew Sushi, like I know Sushi ...!"
The kids love the fast food joint's PLAYROOM.
They pretend like they're hamsters and go zoom.
But they make such a fret fuss
When for fries we switch lettuce.
They note our hamster's as round as the moon!
His wife says he's an insensitive baboon,
The baby was born half-past-noon.
While her labor got deeper
He ordered a pizza --
After all, it was the DELIVERY ROOM!
The LEG ROOM in my car is too small.
I drive curled up in a ball.
Opportunities are to seize.
I've made friends with my knees;
Left one's Mona, the right one is Paul!
When the old roué came in with his "daughter"
The ROOM TEMPERATURE got much hotter.
The girl looked first-rate,
But also like jail-bait.
If he doesn't know better, he oughter!
The treasure map needed the MAP KEY
To show where the loot chest might be.
But it couldn't be found,
They presumed it was drowned.
The bugler played Taps, key of sea.
(I breezed through today without a pause, but then got confused by the reveal and spent more time trying to figure out the theme than I had on the entire puzzle! I was matching up the first and final letters, and trying to figure out how that fit with "do that somewhere else". With 50 US states + ~200 countries + provinces/departments/oblasts et al., every 2-letter pair fit some place, and I was trying the figure what was significant about Texas, Prince Edward Island, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia!)
Morning, all!
Mostly straightforward solve today with a very well-executed theme. Got a bit hung up on the spelling of RHEBOKS (I always thought it was spelled REEBOKS) and TRALEE was a complete unknown to me, but the perps came to the rescue. Also shot myself in the foot by putting ADM instead of CDR and MAC instead of RIG, both of which hid LEGLOCK from view for awhile.
Other than that, though, smooth sailing.
[Arabste]
The Rose of Tralee(3:06)
I was amazed at all of the theme, especially with after and before theme. Quite a debut RP. I also enjoyed the cluing of OBITUARY and did not know TRALEE. It all came together once I got going.
I will have to try your picture s suggestion C.C., always something to learn.
Happy hump day. Two weeks til Xmas....
Good morning all !
Thank you Rick and thank you CC.
Pretty much what Owen said. Quick and fun fill, good cluing. Did have a stumble in the southwest with adjacent RHEBO-S and TRAL-E. Knew neither, and surprisingly, MAP--Y wasn't coming to mind quickly. Isn't it funny that sometimes it is the easy answers that cause the problems ?
As I believe Owen said, I couldn't work out the theme. Spent twice as much time on the theme than on the puzzle. D'oh !
It's obvious now, but I got hooked on the "GET A" aspect and forgot about ROOM. Get a PLAYMATE. Get a DELIVERY SERVICE. Other such as Get a LEGLOCK or TEATAX didn't make as much sense.
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. I enjoyed this Before and After theme. After GET(ting) A ROOM, I realized the gimmick, but had already filled in all the starred answers except for the LEG LOCK. Room Lock does feel a bit awkward.
My favorite clue was Notice in Passing = OBITUARY.
Joseph EDY must be the Man of the Week. I think this is his third appearance in recent days. He and William Dreyer co-founded the ice cream company.
QOD: Everything you add to the truth subtracts from the truth. ~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Dec. 11, 1918 ~ Aug. 3, 2008)
[fmideni]
This felt like a Monday puzzle until I got to the last three lines. A DNF for me because of one square. The R, in MOOR and RHEBOKS did me in. I got the rest of the bottom with perps. I am in a hurry and forgot to look for the theme. After reading about it, I don't think I would have gotten it anyway.
Have a good day, everyone,
Montana
I submitted this puzzle about nine months ago and then had to do a revision. About 90% of the clues are Rich Norris'. I felt that mine were more clever, thoughtful and fun. I also sent in many puzzles that were rejected; some I felt were better than this one. Are there other crossword writers out there that had almost all of their clues re-written?
I’m glad some of you liked my theme but I will not send in another puzzle. In the nine months that I wrote this puzzle I penned a mystery novel. Trying to publish it will take up most of my spare time for a long while.
Sincerely,
Rick
Good morning!
Rick, thanks for dropping by. I'm sorry to hear that you're going on hiatus. This was a good one. No, I didn't get the theme, but that's the rule, not the exception. Let us know when your book comes out.
C.C., nice job pinch-hitting today. I, too, would not call it a ROOM LOCK. I am familiar with ROOM TAX, though. That's what always jacks up the price of the hotel room. It's an easy sell to the voters, since it's the out-of-towners who have to pay it.
C. C. Regarding mushrooms, there are several ways to make them tasty. Maybe I should say tastier.
Sauté them in olive oil and garlic.
Stuff them with bread crumbs, cheese & and Italian sausage.
Portobello mushrooms are as close to eating steak as you can get.
Get a cook book by Giada DeLaurentis or the Barefoot Contessa. They will show you the way.
I don't mean to sound crass but you're really missing something.
Good luck.
Good morning everyone. Thanks to C.C. for explaing the theme so well.
I enjoyed Rick's debut puzzle. I didn't focus on the theme until coming here, but it did not interfere with the solve. Only strikethrough was 'reeboks before RHEBOKS. (Must be an Afrikaner spelling).
TRALEE stuff.: Argyle posted a link to the well known song. Here are the 1st 2 stanzas:
"The pale moon was rising above the green mountains
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea
When I strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain
That stands in the beautiful Vale of Tralee
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me
Oh no 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning
That made me love Mary the Rose of Tralee."
Also, the area factored in the capture of Roger Casement during the Irish rebellion of 1916.
See Link
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Rick Papazian, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the fine review.
Just read your note, Rick, hope you reconsider and do some more puzzles. This one was great!
This puzzle appeared daunting at first, but once I got started it fell together quite well, for a wednesday. A little tough, but not too bad.
Tried UNEDIBLE before INEDIBLE became obvious.
Liked VILE in place of EVIL.
Never heard of RHEBOKS. But, do not get to South Africa very often.
I hope GOD stays on U S Currency. There are those who would like to erase that word.
MOOR arrived with perps. I was thinking of cartoons. Boy, was I off.
Theme was very good. As others, I pieced it together after I was almost done.
Off to the eye doctor today for another laser surgery. Then one more next week. Hope that is it.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(ndamewse)
I failed to get the theme today. I think because I wasn't thinking of "room" fitting in between the beginning and end, but was looking for a way to link the ends together.
My other foul-up was with RIMS/SRO. I had RIME/ERO, not making any sense of ERO, but was looking for the actual spots of saltiness rather than where they would be.
Good morning everybody. Good puzzle from Rick Papazian today. It started out almost too easy for me, but ended in a DNF.
I did not know Rheboks, Bebe, or Tralee. Plus, I wanted STAG for the wild party (BASH).
I liked the clue for 66A: Notice in passing: Obituary. 20A was also good: Sign of success: SRO.
I hope you all have a great day. I'm off to figure out my avatar per CC's instructions.
What a clever theme that hid until the discouragement of PDA (secondary teachers dealt with this)
reveal!
Musings
-Nice shot of your dessert and place card in a DINING ROOM, CC.
-My neighbor’s dog is not a Husky but is a St. Bernard/Pyrenees mix and is romping in the snow as I type this
-What does she really mean? I HAVEN’T got a clue.
-INVERSE error – “If it rains, the grass gets wet”, “It isn’t raining”, “Therefore the grass is not wet”
-My favorite sportscaster was the terse Ray Scott who might have called a 60’s Packer score thusly, “Starr….Dowler…..Touchdown” and never sound like his hair was on fire
-After researching OBITS and calling relatives last night about my grandparents, I am finding out that there was illicit sex even a hundred years ago. No, really!
-Too many funny Pavlov cartoons to choose one. Browse away!
-Approach/avoidance conflict between Frasier (Kelsey) and ( hot/cold Lilith (BEBE)
-Remember the movie with this freaky DOLL?
-Great inside baseball stuff Rick. You have to follow your muse but I’d love to see you here again!
Good morning C.C. et al.
Nice to see you sitting in on a Wednesday, C.C.! I agree with you about ROOM LOCK - I just say "lock" or maybe "door lock" but never "room lock." Other than that nit, the rest of the theme entries were spot on. And yes, I probably would have avoided SRO at 20-A, as you would, too!
I see some had trouble with RHEBOK. I think we may be getting the african antelope confused with a sneaker brand? I also fell into that trap, though!
Thanks for dropping by, Rick, and good luck with your novel!
It's going to be a good day. The contractors showed up next door, and already have demo'd the ceramic tile in the LR. Guess what they found underneath a layer of veneer plywood? Beautiful old wood floors that will be salvageable. So no need for engineered laminate flooring (YAYYY!)
Rick, fine debut. I liked your theme. After the reveal I had to look back over the clues to find it. For a moment I thought PLAY and MATE were things you needed to GET A ROOM to do. When I was a waitress we told some “hot’ couples sitting at the bar to get a room.
Soon I found ROOM in the middle.
I feel your pain about the severe editing of clues. From time to time some of the constructors have posted some of their original clues, which I liked just as well or often better than the final ones. I realize some editing is necessary and improves the puzzle. However, keeping quite a few of the original clues, many of which are quite good, lets the personality of the constructor shine through. Severe editing every day by the same editor lets the personality of the editor shine through.
When we were kids we used to love to climb up on the fence to watch our neighbor SLOP the pigs,
Most people, including adults like me and little tots like to mindlessly POP bubble wrap. I’m not sure what the attraction is.
I knew the antelopes were RHEBOKS, not spelled REEBOKS like the sneakers, but I needed the H in BATH to spell it correctly. V-8 can, please.
Fun to listen to The Rose of Tralee.
OOPS! See last post. I didn't find ROOM in the middle of the "hot couple"
-Please replace the judgmental word “illicit” with the MYOB “recreational” in my previous post.
-Marti, I’m glad you found that flooring. Would you trade it for a healthy Gronkowski? ;-)
-The silent H in RHEBOOK is the reason we have spelling bees
-If it isn’t considered bad form or offensive to the LA Times Cwd gatekeeper, I’d love to see your original cluing Rick
-My new avatar shows Joann and me in Vedauwoo, WY 40 years ago. I tried to link it to the actual picture in my profile but it left the avatar blank on my postings. BTW, grandchildren immediately said Joann looks like Lady Gaga in that picture
-Off to clean my golf clubs so I can play in two months, unless Tin invites me down to Tampa…
Good Morning:
I found this a little chewier than a typical Wednesday, but eventually finished w/o help. Clever theme, which took awhile to suss out.
Nice debut, Rick. Good luck with your novel and hope to see you return to the puzzle world. Good job at pinch-hitting, CC. Argyle, thanks for the musical interlude; Dennis Day was, indeed, a true Irish tenor.
Great pictures of the Florida gathering.
Have a good day.
56A – My favorite sportscaster is Chris Welsh. He is probably not well-known nationally, but is well-known regionally in the Tri-state area (SW Ohio, northern Kentucky, and SE Indiana).
I live in SW Ohio, and I love baseball. Chris Welsh is part of the Cincinnati Reds TV broadcast team. He is a former pitcher, and brings a lot of “been there” insight and strategy to the broadcast booth. He also does features that provide “how to” insight before the games.
Chris is partnered with Thom Brennaman who may be better known nationally, or at least in the Chicago and Phoenix areas.
Here are links to read more:
Reds Broadcast Team
Chris Welsh Wiki
Tralee is where the Mountains of Morne rush down to th e sea
47D – TRALEE
I was initially surprised by how many people on the blog didn’t recognize Tralee. But after thinking about it, I think that is a sign of our diversity. I am a second generation American. My grandparents came from Ireland in 1909 and 1910. I grew up with Irish songs in the family. The Rose of Tralee was one of those songs. Dennis Day recorded a lot of Irish music albums, and was a regular on the old Jack Benny show.
Thanks to Argyle at 5:55 AM for the song and to Spitzboov at 7:57 AM for the lyrics.
Why I wear New Balance sneakers and not Reeboks.
Reebok - Dutch for Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)
Rehbock - German for Roe Deer
Rehbuck - Low German for Roe Deer
Rhebok - S. African species of antelope (Pelea capreolus)
Sigh.
Good day, all! Good to see you, C.C., on a midweek commentary.
I really liked this puzzle with its many theme spanners which at first had a Saturday fill but with time and a little patience filled up nicely.
Favorite cluing:
OBITUARY(we so often see only OBIT)
SRO
TRALEE was familiar only because of that song which Dennis Day often sang on "The Dennis Day Show." I believe that was in the early 60s.
Just recently I read an article about Reebok shoes which explained the origin of the name and how they changed the spelling for easier pronunciation.
Rick, congratulations on your puzzle debut; I hope we see more of them in the future and please do notify us when your book is published.
Have a joyous Wednesday, everyone!
Diversity is good when the clue is right up your alley and pertains to you. (. Thus, other people can get an education, as well ... )
If it's meant for or relates to, someone else, it's uselessly exotic, and a meaningless natick.
Does the editor keep a census tract of the nationality or the background, of the solvers of the crosswords. I'm pretty sure we have no solvers from Papua New Guinea.
G'Morning everyone...
Rick - this was fun. Tell us when your book comes out. Also, I think there's a blog for un-published puzzles. C.C.?
C.C. Thanks for the writeup - I was doing it backwards - is MATE ROOM synonymous with bed-room?
Alas, like others, things went easy in the north. It was the SF area that I couldn't get. I had ARi & MOOR and REEBOKS (WBS) kept me from the BATH ROOM (I gotta go! :-)) DNF for me.
There was so much sparkly fill - I was very AMUSEd. Favs were OBITUARY and MEH. I also liked POP and the UNCOLA.
Did anyone else see Tin SIPPing Scotch @1d. For 34a, I have to ask again - does anyone read Prince Valiant? *
And for those who don't know They Might Be Giants, here's a song about PAVLOVS dog.
Cheers, -T
*Everytime the paper tries to pull it there's an uproar.
I've heard of springboks which is the S A rugby team, but was not familiar with rheboks.
Hello Puzzlers -
An impressive debut for Rick Papzian. No trouble with the solve, although I did make that same Reebok mistake. I wish I had Spitz's knowledge of German - it wasn't available when I was in school, so I took seven years of French. There were no German speakers in my family.
I'm no expert on military rank, but I notice that the fictional space crews from Star Trek and others seem to use the Navy system, more or less. I wonder whether Commander is a rank, or a title. It was once explained to me that the Navy doesn't have Captain as a rank (the way the Air Force has), but it is used as a handle for whichever officer is in charge of a vessel. Perhaps Commander is the same - Spitz?
Morning, C.C., enjoyed your pinch hitting. I know nothing about cooking mushrooms, except that I excel at turning them to rubber.
Marti - Salvageable floors? Woot! :-)
Mr. Papazian:
Thank you for stopping by, and we have all learned that crossword editors change clues without input from the authors. We would all enjoy seeing your submitted puzzle with your clues, if you have it in puz or pdf format.
Also, many of us at the corner are voracious readers of mysteries and would love to be kept in the loop on your book. We have had a past reader who had her mystery published.
Thanks for the puzzle.
Of course now that you all mention the song, I do recall Dennis Day and Tralee. Drat
Delightful Wednesday puzzle, Rick--many thanks! Breezed through it, but like others, needed a minute to figure out how the theme worked. But what a complex and interesting production! Don't stop doing puzzles, Rick--we want more!
Good luck with your mystery novel, also. My advice is to try to find a good agent to market your book. My husband and I have published two mystery novels with an on demand publisher called PublishAmerica. They do a nice job, but the books are not reviewed and so this would be a last resort only. Anyway, we'll keep our fingers crossed that your book does fabulously well!
Thanks for pinch-hitting, C.C.. (Is that a baseball term?). And for the advice on Profile images. I may give it a try.
Ah, Tralee. So glad to see "The Rose of Tralee" posted--a lovely song! Since I work on the Irish writer James Joyce I've visited Ireland quite a bit and once made a lovely trip with my mother to Tralee.
Good luck with the laser surgery, Abejo. And so glad you found a beautiful floor, Marti.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Dudley, Captain is a rank in the Navy. It's the equivalent of Colonel in the other branches.
C.C. Great job Pinch-hitting. (That gives me an idea !)
Considering the numerous themes, this was a FUN Wednesday. Great debut!
My 38-D, USN Officer was an ENSign before CDR correction. Otherwise a smooth solve.
Fave today was OLDIE for 'Any Elvis Number'.
Time that something gets SIPPED ...
Cheers!!!
Anon - thanks for that correction. It's not unlike me to scramble my facts!
Spitzboov and Argyle have, happily, beaten me to it. "The Rose of Tralee" is one of the loveliest of those old and sentimental Irish ballads, and it was nice to be reminded of Dennis Day's true talent.
My wife and I spent a wonderful time there as part of a driving tour of Southern and west coast Ireland not so long ago. The only negative thing I recall was being served a yoke-free omelet for breakfast once at a B&B. Someone explained to me that egg whites are "healthier" than the whole thing, but I guess I just don't want to be that healthy.
This pzl was a DNF because like others here I did not know the proper spelling of RHEBOK, and, moreover, thought BATE TEMPERATURE might actually be something.
marti, hidden hardwood hello!
great
@ Dudley 1118 - What Anon @ 1129 said. The commanding officer of a vessel is normally addressed as Captain regardless of his rank. ie, our destroyer captain held the rank of Commander.
Similarly the commander of a squadron of ships is addressed as Commodore, regardless of rank.
A Navy Lieutenant Commander is the same rank as an Army Major.
A Navy Lieutenant is the same rank as an Army Captain.
A Navy Ensign is the same as an Army 2nd Lieutenant.
Thanks, Spitz! Back when I did a lot of business with the military, I had a little pocket guidebook (published by Pratt & Whitney) that tabulated the various ranks and their insignia. It was quite helpful in business meetings. I've been out of that game so long I recall practically nothing.
Ranks in the US Army, Air force ..... And US Navy
1. Second Lt.. .... Ensign
2. Lieut. Lt. ..... Lt. Jr. Grade
3. Captain Cpt. ..... Lieutenant
4. Major. ....... Lt. Comdr. LCDR
5. Lt. Col. ..... CDR. - Commander
6. Col. Colonel. ........ CPR. Captain
7. BG. brig. gen. .... RDML Rear Admiral, lower half.
8. MG. major general. .... RADM Rear Admiral, upper half
9. LG Lt. Gen. ...... VADM Vice adm.
10. Gen. ....... ADM.
Spitz - Thanks! I've always had a hard time with the Navy ranks - esp. when it came to who was Captain.
Marti - Sweet! Wood floors. It is the whole room right? I ask because my dad's house (built in 1880's) has hard wood around the room's edges and plain boards in the center (a rug covers it nicely).
C.C. I forgot - Yes, I was able to work from home about 70% of the time over the last 3 years. That's over with the new position begining Monday.
I don't think I've heard BOB Costas call a game (I only listen to baseball), but I loved his late-night show years ago. He seemed to know so much about everyone he interviewed and would ask intriguing questions. Did anyone else watch it?
Cheers, -T
HG and Anon T, the hardwood covers the entire floor, under the ceramic tiles. I know they use tile in southern homes, but why would anyone in their right mind cover up beautiful hardwood in an old New England home?
On another note, we demo'd a bathroom yesterday and found lots of nesting material in the ceiling....(shudddder!!)
My brother bought and rehabbed a house, and was shocked when a 9 foot boa constrictor was found living comfortably behind a wall he was tearing out. Luckily he had hired people and there enough of them to get the little guy.
Marti:
What a wonderful surprise to find salvageable wood floors! I wonder if they were covered because they required maintenance? Seems like it would be worth it.
John R said...
Tralee is where the Mountains of Morne rush down to th e sea
December 11, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Rick! Great expo, C.C. Wish I could have gone to that dinner with you.
I got the theme with the reveal although it took some studying. The puzzle sounded racy in places, but not obscene. Maybe that was Rich's hangup.
Marti, great about the floors. The old finishes before polyurethane made hardwood floors harder to clean and less desirable in the old days. They weren't water and abrasion friendly.
The clue "cheers up" was apt for me. We had some lovely 40 degree weather with sunshine yesterday so I ventured to the grocery store for the first time in over two weeks of being housebound. I came home with 7 big permanent sacks of foodstuff.
I wasn't finished putting it all away when my older daughter & granddaughter arrived with six sacks of groceries because my last email to her said my cupboards were bare. Cheered me up/AMUSEd me greatly. I had to send some of the food home with her because I didn't have room for two whole frozen chickens and more milk in my fridge.
My daughter is on a gluten free diet, so much of the food was gluten free because she thinks much of my troubles will be solved by this. Okay, I'll try just about anything at this point. If it works, I'll even retract my wheat grower rant of several weeks ago here on the blog. That "crow may have come home to roost."
I enjoyed the puzzle. Rick, I hope you'll reconsider and construct some more. Good luck with the book too. Thanks for the writeup CC. I also enjoyed Dennis Day and "The Rose of Tralee." I remember him while listening to Jack Benny Sunday nights in front of the console radio with my mother and father.
Here's a little math puzzle for those of you so inclined:
How deep will the hole be?
I was digging a hole and Humphrey was bugging me as he often did "Well," he said appropriately, "how much deeper are you going?"
"OK," I said, "You figure it out. I am exactly 5 feet, 10 inches tall. I am one-third finished. When I am finished, my head will be twice as far below ground as it is now above ground."
How deep will the hole be when finished?
@ Bill G 1:48 PM
I submit 11 ft. 8 in.
OOPs! "Never mind" ~ Gilda Radner
Bill G
Should I give you the answer I gave you here at the Blog when you asked the exact same question on September 24, 2012 at 11:24 AM?
(I answered you on September 24, 2012 at 12:17 PM)
I didn't! So I submit:
13 ft., 7 3/4 in.
Now to go find Tin's previous answer...
Argh! Tomorrow will be a better day!
Fun puzzle today. Thanks Rick & CC. WEES. I didn't get the theme until I came here (same as OWENKL) and same problem with spelling RHEBOK. (Didn't see them in Kenya trip)
Busy working and Christmas party yesterday and didn't make it here but did puzzle. Can't believe nobody commented on ALICE Munro our Canadian 2013 Literature Nobelist!
Bill G - 7' 6" = hole depth when finished.
Hole will be 10' 6" deep.
Not so Deep as a Well?
@ EOE 10:56 AM
I’m sorry if you didn’t know Tralee. Or if my comment offended you. That was not my intent. I strongly believe in diversity. This blog has people from east coast to west coast, from the northern border to the southern borders. We have many different backgrounds and experiences. A puzzle cannot be so bland that all people will know all the answers. With luck, the perps will solve it. Without luck, you get a Natick. It happens. So when someone knows an answer, and can illuminate it for us, we learn from each other.
My comment about Tralee this morning started with me thinking, that was an easy one, why are there so many misses? Then I realized, no, it wouldn’t be obvious if you weren’t exposed to it. Knowing it depended on your background. So we learn by doing the puzzle or from each other. Hence, diversity of the bloggers is important.
Hello everybody. It was a fun puzzle today. It was a pleasure solving it and reading all your comments. Best wishes to you all.
Thank you "C.C." all for your work and everyone who commented so kindly.
Also I'll probably look into that PublishAmerica company that Misty recommended. Seems you have to be famous or dead to get something published.
Thanks again,
Rick
buckeye bob @ 4:46, well said! I learn something every day from reading this blog. Or re-remember things I had forgotten…(or wanted to forget??)
Bill G. @ 1:48, your math problem is almost a logic problem, that even I can understand:
at first, the hole is 70" - x/3
when he finishes, the depth would be
x - 70 = 2(70 - x/3)
Solving for x,
x= 70 + 140 - 2x/3
5x/3 = 210
5x= 630
x = 630/5= 126
So, when he begins, he is 126/3 = 42 inches deep
and when he is done, he is 126 - 70 or 56" below ground. So, the hole would be 56" + 70" = 126" deep
TA-DA!!!
HGary:
Regarding your comment about sex: in the book I am currently reading, The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, the accepted norm to propose marriage is a "lie in the corn field" followed by the announcement of Banns and a later wedding.
The predominant characters are Friends, i.e., Quakers and I assume the custom is a real depiction of the facts because Ms. Chevalier has written other books about real women with solid credentials as to research.
Buckeye BOB, I accept your apology, which was NOT necessary..
It is I who should apologize, for bitching on a common, innocent remark.
Like a kid who grows up to be like her mother ... I am becoming too PC, ..... something I despise. .... Vehemently to. Your remark was so right, so common sense, and no PC correction is necessary. I regret my earlier post, which I cannot delete because I made it as a cowardly Anon. I wish I could apologieze to you in person.
Oops! That's embarrassing. Sorry about that Tin. My CRS is getting the better of me again. You don't have to rub it in. :>)
Marti, I'm impressed all to pieces. Good job! Also to DH.
Marti, was that a bird's nest? Mouse nest? Why shudder? The nest was probably from a previous year and was abandoned. We've had a mouse or two. I hated to dispatch them but it was hard to coexist.
A woman befriends a moose.
My favorite math/science video from Carl Sagan. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Hi everyone...
Another long one, but on my penultimate day at work, I didn't mind blogging while there. What are they gonna do, fire me? :-)
I deleted my earlier post when I realized the error I made with Bill G.'s puzzle. I had the guy 1/3 of the way in the hole not to his final destination. Doh! I did read the posts from last year, and Marti - the pine box comment was LOL.
Did anyone listen to the the TMBG I link'd earlier. Was it was fun or an annoyance (so I don't do it again). The song is from PAVLOVS dog point of view.
C.C. You asked about 1st INLOVEs in the write-up. I met mine 26 years ago (sure, I had crushes before). We married 8 months later. We've been PLAYMATEs for 25 years now. She's still a DOLL.
Cheers, -T
Re. CC's first love question; I felt so insecure around girls. I wanted them to like me but hesitated to make much of an attempt for fear of rejection. I would have convinced myself that I was in love with most any girl who seemed to be interested in me. Alas, that didn't happen often. Barbara and I met (1962) at a dance in my living cooperative (like a fraternity without all the hazing and drama). We danced a lot and enjoyed each other's company. I asked her to the big Heptagonals track meet. It went OK but I was chagrined to learn later that she had me mixed up with someone else she had met at the dance and was surprised when I showed up. But all went well anyway. We continued our relationship even long distance when I moved to California. I went back to Cornell in 1965 where we got married in Sage Chapel.
Bill G. On your Holey. problem.
If x is the present depth of the hole.
And Man ht is 70 inches.
His ht, above the hole is. 70 - x.
If the top, of his head, in the completed hole, ... is y inches, under ground level.
y = 2(70 - x)
Also. y + 70. =. 3x
Solving for x, x = 42. Inches.
The holy hole will be, 3x. Or 126 inches deep., when completed. Or 10 feet 6 inches .... Unless the sides of the hole collapse on him, first. Then all bets are off.
So, Marti and DH (dear husband?). At 3.41 were both right. Spitz will have to explain himself.
I just found out that a proton is not a fundamental particle ... But only a hadron ( .. Careful how you spell that ...), composed of 3 quarks - of which are 2 up quarks, and one down quark. Where have I been ?
Really late today, I managed to do the puzzle in between making 3 separate dinners. (Don't ask...)
Rick Papazian, excellent 1st offering. I would look forward to more if you are willing. There were many clue/answer combinations I really liked, but I hesitate to comment on them if I do not know who to thank. (Rick, I hope it helps you to know that editing is a thankless job.)
One minor, & one major nit...
Minor: Being cross eyed makes it very difficult to figure out which side of the word to put "room".
Major: It is my trademark to put a silly spin on a puzzle (where possible),,, & I do not have 9 months to come up with this stuff!!!! (+ u put me over the 20 line limit!)
Tea Room
Room Tax
Playroom (Also can be used as Blogging rules...)
Room mate (really?)
Delivery room
room service
Leg room
room lock
Bathroom
Room temperature
Tinbeni,,, I will meet you in the Map Room
At least I always know where my room key is...
Phew! Dang it Rick,,, you're wearing me out....!
CED wonderful links, I liked the cow best, I drink instant coffee in cold milk.
, and you'd think the entire blog is in bed by 2200 hrs...
Bill. G. Since you are so math ingenious, and so scientific minded - and you were kind enough to link your favorite video ......
..... I have a question about Carl Sagans intro to how Eratosthenes actually calculated the circumference of the earth.
From what I understood, Erato made 2 obelisks, one in Alexandria and one in Syrene (?) . The distance between the two cities, he measured to be 800 kilometers, exactly. (Say). On the longest day of the year, June 21 (?) ,at exactly mid-day, he saw that there was no shadow in Syrene, but a shadow on the ground from the obelisk in Alexandria.
From the length of the shadow, he deduced that the angle, between the obelisks, was about 7 degrees , to the center if the earth, presumably circular ....
..... or about one- fiftieth of the circle of 360o. (About). So the circumference of the earth was 800 Kms. X. 360"/ 7" =. About 40,000 Kms.
Question number one. In an age, about 300 BC, when there were no clocks or holographic instruments to keep time, or check matching time, how could he, and another experimenter, or lab assistant, 800 Kms. Away, know that they were taking the critical shadow measurements at the SAME time ...of the day .... Plus they had no jet planes to travel instantaneously, nor did they have a telephone or a telegraph.
a. Number two. How did he come up with seven degrees in the angle between the obelisks ? How does that correlate to the length of the shadow ? .... That's more difficult to come up with.
Maybe I should ask CED to look Erastosthenes up on the Ecloud, and link us the answers .... Ha. Ha.
CED Admirer: I have wondered about those same questions. If Sagan's story has some little holes, I still like it 1) because it shows what a great thinkers some of those old timers were with little else to work with other than their brains, and 2) because it reminds me of my father who loved this story. I think estimating the angle wasn't too difficult and could be done with simple tools or pencil and paper. Also, I don't think they would have to make their measurements at the same time. One observer would note that on the summer solstice, columns didn't cast shadows while the other observer would notice that on the same day there was a shadow. If you know the height of the column (stick) and the MINIMUM length of the shadow whenever it occurred, you could use trigonometry to calculate the angle or you could draw out the stick and the shadow, complete the triangle and estimate the angle fairly accurately.
Just some ideas (even though I wasn't there). Good questions.
Anon@ 9:59 ( my ego will not allow me to say CED Admirer )
Number one: In 300 BC, they told time "by the Sun," they knew when the solstice occurred, & if there were no shadow on the solstice, it was midday. 800 kms away, it was easy to determine midday because that was when the shadow was at its shortest.
Number two: (will always be just stinky to me...) but if you watch Bill G's Cosmos link (as many times as it takes) between 3:50 & 6:00, Carl Sagan does explain it beautifully. (makes me want to watch the series all over again, thanks Bill...)
CED - You filled up the tabs in my browser - Funny Stuff. And you just beat me to the 1st Q.
For Q2: I would suspect a simple protractor or Pythagorean math could determine the angle (with a bit of trig thrown in). I'd think it would be the angle between the top of the stick and the hypotenuse. This is off the cuff, but it's too late to think about it more. Bill G - whadda you say?
Cheers, -T
(still no takers on the TMBG link? Oh, well.)
I may be one-post-over-the-line...
Some of the Downton Abbey cast were interviewed on Diane Rehm (NPR) today (12/11). I just heard it on a SiriusXM re-run. I know some here are fans. I think you can get the full show from NPR.org if you care to.
Cheers, -T
AnonT, I admit I skipped over TMBG link at first. So I just went back and listened but I'm sorry to say I couldn't get into it much. I don't know what it's about and it didn't grab me.
I agree with you about a way to measure the angle. Eratosthanes was so smart I'm sure he could figure out a good way to do it.
I am looking forward to Downton Abbey resuming.
Correction: A steel beam could be an I-Beam because it has a cross-sectional shape of an I. An eye-bar is a tension-only member that has an "eye"or hole at each end. A member that can resist bending is called a beam. An eye-bar doesn't resist bending, thus cannot be called a beam. I know of no structural member called an IBAR.
Post a Comment