Our Singapore scribe, Julian Lim, has given us 4 grid spanning theme answers, where two phrases which share a common word are put together into a single answer. ABC, the single response is made up of both AB C and A BC. The A's are all coins (Penny, Nickel, Quarter & Dime).
Julian usually gives me fits and this was no exception, the theme jumped out at me, so that helped, but some of the hard ones were really hard. The puzzle was also heavy on initialisms. Some interesting fill like EMERITI, EXECUTE, IN A SUIT, LET'S SEE, MIXTAPE, RIP OPEN, SENECAN, STETTED and TONE LOC and some very up to date fill like DROPBOX and KINECT. The corners with their side by side 7 letter down fill gave this kind of a themeless feel for me, and I know Mr. Lim does those well. But the DAYO and TONE LOC and even ST. BEDE were very challenging; ah well let's get to it.
17A. Snap of part of one's portfolio? : PENNY STOCK PHOTO. You have Penny Stock followed Stock Photo.
32A. What a Canadian band owes annually? : NICKELBACK TAXES. Nickleback is a successful Canadian family band that makes lots of money and must pay taxes, and if they are late they will owe Back Taxes.
38A. Cheap Valentine's Day gift? : DIME-A-DOZEN ROSES. I do not think there is much left for a dime a dozen, but a dozen roses generally still does the trick.
57A. Injury sustained before the semis? : QUARTER-FINAL CUT. Did anyone watch the Australian Open Tennis with all the upsets?
Across:
1. Out of the rat race, maybe: Abbr. : RETired. A nice gentle beginning.
4. Country inflection : DRAWL.
9. Discombobulate : ADDLE. If you make it Discombobulated, it is 15 letters and a prime crossword fill.
14. Chatter's caveat : IMO. In My Opinion.
15. Family nickname : AUNTY. She is the most popular of relatives, for crosswords it seems, she is also always at reunions. The AU I guess.
16. Prized mushroom : MOREL. A real shout out to C.C. and the Corner, as along with the Loon (our blog bird) we have this as our fun phallic fungus.
20. Chocolatey, circular cereal brand : OREO O'S. Great letter combination but I have never seen this LINK.
21. Gerrymanders, say : REMAPS. No way to explain without politics, but it comes from Elbridge Thomas Gerry, the 5th Vice-president who also was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. from Marblehead, Mass.
22. Medication unit : PILL.
23. Brawl : FRAY. Comes from the same Latin stem as Friction.
25. Org. with den mothers : BSA. Boy Scouts of America.
27. Zone for DDE : ETO. European Theater of Operations.
28. Big name in 30-Across : MCAN. Thom McAn, a once leader in retail shoe sales, now just a name at Sears and K-Mart. Founded in Worcester, Mass.
30. Flats, e.g. : SHOES. Yes they did not make heels.
36. "Gun Hill Road" star Morales : ESAI. Great CW vowel name, who I know better from NYPD Blue.
37. Recover : HEAL. I meant heel.
45. Sassy ones : SNIPS. All perps.
46. Indian intern in "Dilbert" : ASOK.
47. Business card abbr. : EXTension. Mine is 11, if you call.
48. Far from draconian : LAX.
49. Smartphone downloads : APPS. 11D. Big name in cloud storage : DROPBOX. Speaking of APPS.
51. Giants lineman Chris : SNEE. His father- in-law is the coach, Tom Coughlin. Chris played his college ball at Boston College.
52. "Venerable" Eng. monk : ST. BEDE. An 8th century monk who was canonized while still alive. LINK.
55. Motion-sensitive Xbox accessory : KINECT. The Microsoft answer to the Wii.
60. Two-footer : BIPED. Cute.
61. High-muck-a-muck : MR BIG. Or a recurring character in Sex and the City.
62. Had a taco : ATE. Or you could have....
63. Makes tender, in a way : STEWS.
64. "We __ please" : AIM TO. The rest of the sign in the Men's room reads, "so please aim, too."
65. Composer Rorem : NED. Getting to be a regular.
Down:
1. Unwrap in a hurry : RIP OPEN. How to slow them down. LINK.
2. Retired professors : EMERITI. Plural of Emiritus, Latin E = "from" and meritus = "merit." Those who have earned the right to retire.
3. "Funky Cold Medina" rapper : TONE LOC. No clue. Listen? (4:28).
4. Ballpark rallying cry based on a 1950s hit : DAY O. More music; I have no idea about the ball park reference, but I do remember Harry Belafonte and this Banana Boat SONG. (3:02).
5. "Twin Peaks" actor Tamblyn : RUSS. A wonderful performer who was the lead Jet in West Side Story, the psychiatrist in the cult classic Twin Peaks and even worked with his daughter Amber in Joan of Arcadia.
6. Barbecue buttinsky : ANT.
7. Commerce gp. headed by Roberto Azevêdo : WTO. World Trade Organization.
8. Girdle material : LYCRA. A brand name for Spandex. IMAGE.
9. Letters on some faces : AM/PM. Clock faces.
10. Capital west of Dubai : DOHA. A too late shout out to our River Doc.
12. "Well, now ..." : LET'S SEE.
13. "Turn to Stone" band : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.
18. Exiled Cambodian Lon __ : NOL. The palindromic despot.
19. Critical : KEY.
23. One-named Milanese model : FABIO. He was (is?) cute.
24. Protein producer : RNA.
26. Mule kin : ASS. A shout out to...oh never mind.
28. Arizona landscape features : MESAS. A shout out to our desert dwelling dears.
29. Sporting, with "in" : CLAD. Just a loincloth.
30. Desolate : STARK. Also the family name from Winterfell in Game of Thrones.
31. Symbolic ring : HALO. Trickery.
33. Put in storage : KEEP.
34. It may include a checking account : CHESS. Oh, a punny clue; last Friday's Chess themed episode of Bones was wonderful. IMO.
35. Atlantic City game : KENO. There is a great scene with Sid Caesar and Keno in what movie?
38. High-tech connection letters : DSL. Digital Subscriber Line
39. Formally attired : IN A SUIT. In the old days my daily attire, but still a nice long fill.
40. Homemade collection of songs : MIXTAPE. Lots of great movie plots around this form of musical compilation. How many of you have ever made one for a loved one?
41. Shock : ZAP.
42. Like some Lake Erie residents : SENECAN. Native American tribe.
43. Fulfill : EXECUTE. Like the game plan Denver and Seattle each hope to..... in the Super Bowl.
44. Undid a dele : STETTED. Never seen STET as a verb.
49. Fruity quencher : ADE. A nice Friday shout and the subject of a big debate at the Fiend a few days ago, as this may not be a word!
50. Prefix with frost : PERMA. A portmanteau of permanent and frost to represent under 0 degrees C. for two or more years.
51. Hit with skits and bits : SNL. Saturday Night Live.
53. Cook up : BREW. Not beer this time Tin, or is it?
54. DFW schedule data : ETDS. Estimated Time of Departures.
55. Use needles : KNIT. My youngest is dating a knitter; interesting to see a 20 something take it up.
56. "Othello" schemer : IAGO.
57. Brees and Brady: Abbr. : QBS. QuarterBacks. Our Super Bowl shout out.
58. T.G.I. time : FRIday.
59. ThinkPad maker : IBM. International Business Machine. The Apple of my childhood.
Well the puzzle, like the month went quickly. I hope you all have a Super Sunday (with Football, Downton Abbey , and BBC's Sherlock there is much going on) and we will see how Floyd Mayweather Jr. does in his $10,000,000.00 bet on Denver. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear Bill G! Love your lunch & bike ride reports. Love your animal tracks.
 |
| Bill G & Grandson Jordon, Oct 18, 2012 |
I had started with STOCK PHOTOGRAPH and CANADA ROYALTIES, but perps had already sunk them before DIME A DOZEN ROSES changed my outlook, and helped me find the other three. A hidden shout-out to me, since my discontinued webcomic, Money Talks, had Pennies, Nickel, Dime, and Quarter as main characters.
ReplyDeleteFinally got it filled (NE was last, but I got discombobulated in every quarter), no ta-da. Turned on red letters, and had 2 wrongs, both natiks. DAYe✥OREOeS and SENECAs✥sED. I've probably seen a commercial for OREO-Os sometime (I watch a lot of kid's shows), but it didn't stick in my mind; what a Harry Belafonte hit song has to do with baseball I don't know (though I've sung it enough times in the shower); the proper suffix for SENECA eluded me; and I've just flat never heard of NED Rorem. Still, all fell easily without look-ups once I knew they were wrong, so I'll claim a win.
Fun clues, BIPED, CHESS, and the theme entries.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteReally wonderful theme today. Once I figured out what was going on, it was fun to be able to guess the theme answers based on only a few letters here and there.
The rest of the fill was tricky, but fair and (mostly) doable. I turfed it completely in the NW, however, at the crossing of DAYO and OREOOS. Never heard of the former and could only think of OREOHS for the latter.
SNEE would have been a complete unknown, except I just saw it in another puzzle.
I remember RUSS Tamblyn from the classic Japanese monster film "War of the Gargantuas," which gave me nightmares as a kid. On the other en of the spectrum, I just heard about DROP BOX for the first time a few weeks ago.
Took me awhile to get AMFM and CHESS due to the tricky cluing, but once I got them I loved them!
In closing, T.G.I. FRI!
Tough Puzzle almost a DNF but I just pulled it off. 25A is a bad clue as Boy Scouts do not have Den Parents (Moms or Dads)(or Dens for that matter) but are run by the boys themselves who are in Patrols. It is Cub Scouts that has the Den Mothers or Fathers as in the case of my sons Pack and Den. TGIF all
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried the puzzle yet, but wanted to say the Denver news reports this morning are really emphasizing the "Chinese New Year" of the horse being a good omen for the Broncos. After CC mentioned it yesterday, I am noticing it a lot on several stations. I am neutral as to the Super Bowl, but I sure know I am in a city with a team in that event.
ReplyDeletePostponing my trip home to Montana due to weather and closed interstates.
Montana
I got the theme immediately after penny and nickel. It was the rest that had too many proper names. It was a technical DNF because I had to Google Twin Peaks. Never heard of OREOOS or DAYO. Was guessing OREOAT making 5D RUST. Not being a texting person, I have seen IMHO nut not IMO. Who knows or cares about Robert Azevido because the WTC really makes many stupid decisions. 59D Thinkpad was sold by IBM many years ago to Lenovo, which yesterday bought Motorola's phones from Google. Was a challenging puzzle that required many perps and WAGs.
ReplyDeleteMontana- I am a Saints fan but have to pull for Denver for multiple reasons. First and foremost is that Seattle beat us twice and the refs never call defensive holding or pass interference on them. Secondly, Peyton, Eli, Archie, and Cooper Manning are all from NO.
ReplyDeleteThis was looking like a DNF (not unheard of for a Friday) as I went across the top third with plenty of nothin'. I had better luck after that but the theme fills were eluding me. Then, if I recall correctly, I got DOZENROSES, figured out the beginning, and the other ones came fairly quickly after that.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the "Milanese model" would be female (not that I knew any female models from Milan of course), and had no idea who ASOK was so that "S" was my last guess (since CHESS didn't make sense to me).
As a one-time English major I knew the Venerable Bede but don't remember ever seeing him referred to as ST BEDE.
[18:41]
Middletown Bomber@6:58: The Cub Scouts are part of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThere's was a lot that I could relate to in this puzzle. There was DRAWL (which started as a TWANG), a shoutout to suthenas. There was ASS -- our local police chief has confirmed we've got a wild ass band roaming in our woods. There was HEAL, a real shoutout to Oral Roberts. I go in today to see how I'm HEALing. I think I'm doing fine.
I had to do an alphabet run to get that first S in CHESS. It was so clever I just couldn't see it.
Back in the 50's Stan Freberg, (remember him?) did a takeoff on Belafonte's Banana Boat Song.
In the end, I have to admit to a DNF. I thought only Cub Scouts had den mothers, so I had CSA rather than BSA. In retrospect, DROPCOX does sound more like a drill sergeant than a "Big name in cloud storage."
Happy birthday, Bill G!!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Definite DNF for me today--too many unknowns, including all the theme phrases and half the rest of it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as to STET being a verb, it is a subjunctive form of the Latin verb STARE (to stand), meaning "let it stand".
HBTY, Bill. Enjoy your day!
TGIF everyone,
ReplyDeleteAs forecasted yesterday, my grid was a sea of white. a BIG TIME DNF. Wasn't really into it today, but it would not have mattered.
Happy birthday Bill G. Would you consider a day or two of rain a nice present? Whatever, hope you have a wonderful day.
Be "working" both days this weekend, so I'll talk to you good folks on Monday.
Fun, but challenging. I spent extra time on this, but finished with no look ups or red letters. Hnad up for TWANG and NASAL before DRAWL. DROP BOX and KINECT were mostly perps. I knew BEDE but it took a while to come up with ST. I knew DAYO which helped because OREO O'S was all perps.
ReplyDeleteBSA was easy. Cub Scouting with its den mothers is part of the Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America.
Lemonade, I saw the debate about ADE and other words. ADE is in the unabridged dictionary as a stand alone word. Are these people the sole arbiters of what is legitimate in puzzles? They seem too picky for me.
Speaking of picky, did anyone see my comment on the horses @ 7:15 last night? Did it seem strange to anyone except Gareth and me?
Have a happy birthday Bill G. Will you eat out? I really enjoy your posts.
Very tough puzzle today, IMO. As rough as a Silkie, but the theme did help a lot as it came sneaking in. Had numerous perps for all, but the first one to fill completely was Dime a dozen, so that opened up that lock. Also fell into the cSA trap, but thankfully knew of Dropbox, so it self-corrected. Grab your socks indeed, D-O :-)
ReplyDeleteHBTY BillG. Hope it rains all day. Not to ruin your day, but because you need it so badly in CA.
Happy Birthday, Bill G.!! I hope it's a stellar one for you. Bike ride and then lunch, where? I'll bet it will be someplace special - my stomach is growling already in anticipation of your description...
ReplyDelete¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫
Oops, forgot to wish Bill G a happy birthday. It's puzzling that I missed it. You gonna be dancin' the macchiato?
ReplyDeleteCaptured! On our morning march through the 'hood we spied the Precinct 4 Constable and his livestock wagon. And there, corralled in one of our nieghbor's fenced back yard, were the three donkeys. We watched briefly as they were lassoed and led one-by-one into the trailer. And then the Constable, (you saw this coming didn't you?), hauled ass.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Bill G.
I've lived in NYS all my life and in Western NY near the Senecas for 20 years. Never heard SENECAN ever. Always Seneca or Senecas. Adjective; Seneca. Furthermore, such a resident would dwell on the Lake Erie littoral. A resident of the Lake itself would probably be a fish. Sheesh!
Otherwise the puzzle was hard with several red letter being invoked. Too many modern music names for me.
Liked CHESS; very clever. Some other good fill, too, like LYCRA and PERMA.
Have a good day.
WTS !
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Bill G., and many more.
ReplyDeleteYR, of course we read your comment about the inconsistency in the horse types used by Mr. Sessa, in fact 9 people posted after your comment. As a general rule this audience is more interested in the entertainment value of a puzzle rather than its adherence to a set of rules. In addition, most comments do not generate direct additional comments. In every blog I write there are at least 15 links or references which could inspire someone, but very few do. Your observation was accurate and I am not sure what else, I or others could have said.
Hi All ~~
ReplyDeleteA tough puzzle for me today resulting in a DNF. I caught the theme early and that helped with the theme answers, but I had many unknowns. My downfall was TONELOC crossing OREOOS ~ just had no idea on either of them and rather than look them up, I let Lemonade fill me in. Thanks for clearing up the mysteries!
~ ASOK was an unknown but finally got it after filling in CHESS - loved the misdirection of the clue.
~ Had 'Latex' before LYCRA and 'Choo' before MCAN.
~ I'm not so sure SNL is much of a hit these days.
~ Always good to see the Corner MOREL pop up.
A very Happy Birthday, to you, Bill G! I hope you have a wonderful day and enjoy a scrumptious lunch!
The puzzle was too hard for me today,
ReplyDeletesort of like Bill G's math puzzles.
HBD Bill G!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteAn unsurprising TDNF today. I simply never heard of Oreo O's or Dayo, so that got Googled along with that rapper's name to finish up. Julian Lim's Friday puzzles are generally a challenge. Apart from that corner, though, I managed to fill in unassisted.
Morning, Bill G, HBTY!
Yellowrocks - I noted your horse & pony comment, and had to agree. I noticed the inconsistency while doing that puzzle but figured it was just the nature of puzzle constructing.
At last we are a whisker above freezing temps today. We intend to head over to the local college's private pond for ice skating.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWell, this was a DNF for me due to the Oreo O's/Tone Loc cross; I have never heard of either of them. Caught the clever theme early and it did help with the solve.
Fine effort, Mr. Lim, and kudos to Lemony for a very informative expo. Does anyone know what the song Dayo had to do with baseball?
Very Happy Birthday wishes to Bill G. I hope you have a special day and that you will share all the details with the Corner.
Have a fun-filled Friday.
the signs I've seen say: "You aim too, please"
ReplyDeleteAnon 11;25, you are correct; I am afraid I was very tired doing this blog, working on a project with a deadline of 4:00 PM today.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe if my brain were still functional I would know why they sang DAY O at the ball park, but at the moment it rings no bells at all.
Lemon: Excellent write-up explaining my Rorschach Ink Blot.
ReplyDeleteDNF on a Saturday "Scale-of-a-Silky" ... **it happens!!!
Surprisingly, TONE-LOC is one of the few "Rap Artists" I ever listened to.
He had a lot of humor in his songs. Funky Cold Medina (4:12)
In the NE, I got DOHA and enjoyed seeing a 'shout-out' to our "former" Doha Doc (now River Doc).
I prefer yesterdays meaning for BREW, just sayin'.
Cheers!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Julian Lim, for a good puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Bill G., and many more!
Got started slowly, and that's the way the whole puzzle went, slowly.
I slowly got the themes. They were clever.
However, I could not finish without assistance. Too many names. I did get ST. BEDE with perps.
I liked CHESS. That was a clever clue, as others have said.
I had LAN for 38D. Finally I dug myself out with DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). The company I used to work for manufactured an ADSL line card for our system. Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line. Had greater throughput in one direction. It assumed that people would download more data than they would send.
REMAPS reminds me of the recent Gerrymandering in Illinois. With the Democrats in control they shredded the state after the last census.
I used to like to play KENO when in las Vegas. It was a calm game.
We have more snow coming tonight and tomorrow.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(43 5246584)
Happy birthday, Bill G! And many more. I also love your interesting lunch reports.
ReplyDeleteNo time to comment at the moment only to say this puzzle ate my lunch money. Kudos to Julian Lim but too much for me though I got about 80% before having to stop.
Later.
Good morning! I finished this late last night and found it about as hard as I was expecting, which is to say, pretty damn hard. Enjoyable though.
ReplyDeleteDay-O is just one of those cheers that is played loudly over the PA system at baseball games to get the fans hyped up. If it's done too much, it seems like bush league stuff to me. The Dodgers had a really obnoxious one last year starting out, "Everybody clap your hands...!"
Thank you all very much for the birthday wishes. Our kids aren't available until tomorrow so we are all heading out then for lunch at one of my favorite local places, Il Fornaio. I'll report back tomorrow.
I forgot.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Bill G !
Lemonade, thanks for the fine writeup.
Morels. I still hunt them. I have a couple of places I find them every year.
Inre your Morel pic. That's a "half free."
"The half-free is a more brittle species that often breaks at the stem in your mushroom bag. Often times, these kinds of morels are given derogatory names in association with their funny shape."
I don't know what that means. We always called them pecker heads.
I can't believe I got the WHOLE THING! Took me forever, like Abejo, it went slowly, slowly, slowly. But somehow or other it came together bit by bit.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle started out so well for me because I'm a RET professor, which makes me one of the EMERITI.
It helped that not long after I sort of guessed at QUARTER I also got NICKEL which gave me a hint about theme. Still lots of goofs along the way (QUARTER FINALIST before QUARTER FINAL CUT, for example). And so many unknowns. But little hunches helped, e.g. that FLATS may refer to SHOES rather than apartments, which helped with MCAN. Anyway, Marti, I dedicate my success this morning to you. You're the one who a year or two ago advised me to be very patient and to persevere. It paid off this time.
Lemonade, great expo, as always.
Happy birthday, Bill G.! That is one sweet little Jordon you've got.
Have a great Friday, everybody!
Bill G., have you actually heard someone sing the Banana Boat song at a ball park? When my father was alive and when my kids were young I watched countless games and have never heard it. I cannot even imagine making it into any kind of cheer....
ReplyDeleteI am a lifelong baseball fan, and I can't say I ever heard Day-O chanted at a baseball game. But all the questions today made me want to search it.
ReplyDeleteI believe I found the answer. Remember the line, “Daylight come and me wan’ go home”? So (a) it is a way of involving the fans, (b) making some noise for a rally, and (c) the fans encouraging the home team to score a run by going home!
Another learning momentfor me!
Day-O Ask
Day-O Yahoo
Day-O chacha
Happy birthday, Bill G!
ReplyDeleteHard puzzle today. Ran into the same stumbling bock as many of you did at OREOOS, TONELOC, and DAYO. Totally guessed at the letter O, so I finished the puzzle simply by chance.
Best wishes to you all.
Hello, friends. Now I have a few minutes to comment and post. This was very tough for me and so I chugged along slowly. RET was one of the easy ones. That is where I fit but DRAWL started as TWANG and then AUNTY, again, one of my monikers.
ReplyDeleteMOREL, DROP BOX, BEDE though it took a while for ST, were quick fill. Then ASOK seeped out of my brain cells and had to research FABIO and SNEE. Amazingly knew Brees and Brady because of this blog.
What is terrific about the blog is that an expert appears to exist for every incidence such as MOREL today. I love it!
I certainly salute Julian Lim for the brilliance of the theme but first, had too many interruptions for me to adequately concentrate, then many details to take care of before leaving to CA to visit my sister in Highland.
I hope you all have a terrific TGI Friday!
Yes, I've heard Day-O often at baseball games. The PA plays just the words "Day-O" loudly, the crowd yells back, "Day-O" enthusiastically and hilarity ensues. It's one of several artificial ways to get the crowd pumped up. Then on another pitch, the PA blares "Charge!" played on a trumpet. Then rhythmic hand clapping. Then...? A little of it is fun but for me, it gets tiresome when it happens on almost every pitch.
ReplyDeleteI think of the Dodgers as a classy organization but they've fallen into the artificially-generated spirit abyss too.
Bill G @2:01, yeah, that's exactly how it happens. I am not really a sports fan, but living at one time in a household with 5 sports fan males,attending a few baseball games with them, and having games on TV constantly I could relate to this clue. Even when trying to ignore the game on TV, DAYO and CHARGE came through loud and clear. Now I briefly glance at the sports pages and pay some attention to sports in the newscasts.You can't avoid the Super Bowl hype here in NJ, although I suspect our state is getting the short end of the stick.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, before I tuned into the coin theme, I suspected that with NICKELBACK, QBs, and QUARTER FINAL (in high school) the theme was football.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteWow. Very tough. Kudos to those who finished without "red letters" or Googling.
For me this was tough to the max, to the point of interfering with the fun of it. I cheated more than I wanted to. Too many stand-alone toughies couldn't be solved by perps, and even when uncovered did not seem to match their clues--such as DAYO & CLAD-- and others were just outside my purview-- as SNEE (who he?) and OREO OS (Yes - I got the OREO part, but ....).
I did appreciate BIPED, but CHESS (which rec'd a lot of thumbs up from colleagues), while full of "checking," does not have an "account" in any normal usage. A record or score maybe, but that would ruin the forced gag.
HBTY ♫•*¨*•.❤.•*¨*•♫♪ HBTY ♫•*¨*•.❤.•*¨*•♫♪ HB Dear Bill♫•*¨*•.❤.•*¨*•♫♪HBTY Hope your day is a great one.
ReplyDeletePuzzle? It was. Definitely a DNF for me with the brilliant theme, and clever unknown fills.Did laugh filling in morel.
Hi Y'all! I got and liked the theme, but found the fill hard to EXECUTE. It's FRI though, so okay. Thanks, Julian for pushing the envelope.
ReplyDeleteLemony, thanks for plowing though the hard ones.
I did the puzzle just after midnight with red-letter help, but did not catch onto the "checking account" clue for CHESS until this morning after reading Lemon's account. Oh, check mate! Meh.
All the electronics clues were troublesome to me. Did you notice there were a large number of fills ending in "O"? IMO, WTO, ELO, ETO, DAYO, HALO, AIM TO, PHOTO, IAGO. O-O-Oh, my!
I had to google "draconian". I knew it wasn't good but not why or what. Learning exercise for the DAY-O.
Like Spitz, I was looking for a fish dwelling in Lake Erie, not an Indian tribe. They must spend a lot of time in their canoes.
Happy birthday, BillG., bringer of much enjoyment to the rest of us. May your DAY be O so blessed.
Where has Hahtoolah gone? I miss her.
oops...almost forgot..for you, Bill
ReplyDeleteIf you'll indulge mne, here's a final thought, or afterthought, regarding yesterday's German language discussion.
ReplyDeleteI believe the very closeness of English and German may account for our tendency to mock the Deutsch. The shared iambic beat and Saxon sounds probably cause many ears to wonder why the other doesn't just close the gaps and speak correctly.
Germans feel a special kinship with English through "unser Shakespeare." To this day, Shakespeare is the most popular playwright in German theaters. From the mid 1700s on, Will's plays and poetry have been memorized in German translation-- to the point that Germans "feel" Shakespeare as one of their own.
Language etymologists know that English is an off-shoot (like Yiddish) of the root German language. I suppose Germans see translation as an irredentist recovery of a poetic genius who just happened to write in a dialect and so stands to benefit from a "cleaning-up."
This was a workout that required Google and red letters to finish but gave several smiles and learning moments.
ReplyDeleteSmiles for CHESS and AMPM. I was trying to fit CanadianEh into 4A COUNTRY INFLECTION but settled for DRAWL! I had to settle for a Canadian band shout-out (even though they are from the other side of the country).
I have never seen OreoOS. Apparently they are only available now in S.Korea. I would not have wanted my kids to eat them. Like Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs and lots of other children's cereals they probably have more sugar than food value.
Hand up for LATEX before LYCRA and CHOO before MCAN (although I associate stilettos with Jimmy Choo not FLATS!)
HBD Bill G.
Ah, yes, of course, HBD BG!. Here's a happy wish For Bill G’s Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks BB and Birthday Bill G. on the Day O front. \\
ReplyDeleteI really want to emphasize how cool it is the theme going from Penny to Quarter in order,,,
Forgot to thank Julian for this terrific puzzle!
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion of the German language, Keith. Did not know Shakespeare was a German favorite (Maybe Schiller? Did Goethe write any plays?).
I too like the varied discussions on the blog. Don't know if and when I'll ever get to another Angels game, but if I do and they want us to yell Day-O, I'm joining in.
OK Lemon, your post @3:43 made me take another look at the theme...
ReplyDeletePenny
Nickel
The title of this pic was "would you throw this bag lady a dime?" & honestly, I didn't bother looking any further...
Hey Manac! Can you spare a Quarter?
& odd coins...
Happy Friday everybody!
ReplyDeleteWell, had to use red for the three final letters, but since this was a late week puzzle and I got all the theme answers, I'm happy with the result....
Hands up for TWANG. Also had DOSE for PILL and INC for EXT....
Never got over to Dubai during my short term assignment in DOHA, but would have liked to....
NICKELBACK's music generates a lot of ire, but I like them. I also like Lenny Kravitz, who some describe as derivative. One thing I've learned is that taste in music is unique to the individual, so I won't dis yours if you don't dis mine....
Does anybody wear girdles anymore...? In any case, thanks Lemon for the link....
Finally, like others I can't stand the playing of DAYO at a baseball game. Ditto for We Are The Champions and Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye....
Postscript: HBD to Bill G...!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Bill!
Puzzle was a disaster for me.
Cheers!
Daughter #1 was reading over my shoulder while you guys were talking about "Day-O," & said, "you have got to see the Beetlejuice clip!"
ReplyDeleteNow that I have seen it, I am making you watch it...
(note: if you haven't seen the movie,,, they are possessed by ghosts...)
Possessed by the calypso spirit, eh?
ReplyDelete34. It may include a checking account : CHESS
ReplyDeleteNext time, it may be HOCKEY. just sayin'.
Misty,
ReplyDeleteYes, Goethe is the author of some famous plays, especially his FAUST, Parts I and II. Part I is the basis for Gounod's opera.
The final scene of FAUST I--the dungeon scene-- was our first major directing test in grad school. I still assign it sometimes today: Faust, feeling guilty, comes with the devil to rescue Gretchen from death row, where she is about to be executed for murdering their bastard baby. A pretty heavy scene, as you might imagine.
Yes, Schiller is the other "classic" writer still performed on the German stage. Of the moderns, Brecht is most often revived. There is a strong experimental theater in Germany. Handke and Mueller, although somewhat dated now, are the deans of the avant garde.
In German literature class we read the Gretchen Episode, the first act of Goethe’s Faust. a “closet drama”, meant to be read rather than performed. After Faust sold his soul to the devil, he fell in love with a beautiful girl with tragic consequences. The second part of the drama was too difficult for neophytes like us.
ReplyDeleteLink Goethe drama
Gounod, a French composer adapted Goethe’s drama as a lovely opera. This is where I first became acquainted with Faust. I believe it is in French.
Link opera
Wow! I really appreciate the thoughtful birthday wishes. Thank you all! (And thanks for the rain wishes. That would be nice.)
ReplyDeleteWe are going out for lunch tomorrow with the kids, Jordan and a couple of other members of our extended family (boyfriends, girlfriends...) But I could tell Barbara felt guilty about not doing something today. So we just got back from our usual little Cuban restaurant where we had our favorite; roast pork with grilled onions, black beans, fried plantains. We split a flan for dessert.
Probably no bike ride today. It's cool, damp and a bit windy. I actually like the weather OK but riding a bike along the ocean when it's windy isn't much fun.
When I see a discussion on the news about all of the onerous security precautions in place for the Super Bowl, it makes me frustrated that a few terrorists have done this to us. It's also frustrating to see the power of hype. After all, it's just a football game; not always a very good one. Still, I'll be watching.
Checking account for a hockey game. Heh heh. Good one!
Subbing today and their filter called you guys a “game” site and so I couldn’t get on to discuss this fine puzzle that was rife was interesting fill and somehow came up with those grid spanners that were true to the theme.
ReplyDeleteHello. WFS. (what fermatprime said).
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, BillG! I hope you have a wonderful celebration tomorrow.
Pat
Here's the FAUST opera finale--missing only the most difficult part. Goethe's stage direction calls for a chorus of angels to suddenly appear and sing out that Gretchen (Marguerite) is SAVED!
ReplyDeleteGounod wrote some magnificent organ chords to mark that ending.
Here you can see a modernized staging, with the soprano in a strait jacket. I actually prefer the naturalistic awkwardness of this version to the traditional stone-faced stoical posturing (with the devil Mephistopheles in his red suit and forked tail). Gounod still comes through with Gretchen’s uplifting Hymn, a march-like aria as she calls on angels to help her resist the temptation to escape.
You go, girl!
OK - I can't resist!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see the "impossible" achieved with old-fashioned stage craft, take a look at this clip. I warn you that the video is old and fuzzy, so please use your imagination to have a glimpse at what the live audience must have seen.
If you start at 7:30, you can see Gounod's musical response to Goethe's difficult stage direction. Mirella Freni is Gretchen here. Having sung her heart out, all she has to do is turn upstage while the orchestra and offstage chorus (angels) take over. The lighting designer actually showers Angelic Grace down on her.
Note how at the right moment she lets her dark outer robe slide to the floor, revealing her white undergarment. Finally she is absorbed into the light.
Wow.
My goodness, Keith and Yellowrocks! What fabulous literary, operatic, dramatic treats your discussion of German language engendered. This will remain among my favorite set of posts on the blog! I am delighted and thankful to you both!
ReplyDeleteEvening All,
ReplyDeleteTough Friday offering.
For 3D Rapper I wanted Tone Deaf but that didn't fit, made sense though. Then for 8D Girdle material I tried to Squeeze in Kevlar, I'll stop at that.
Did anyone answer Lemon's ? for 35D?
The nerve of you to actually discuss the crossword puzzle !!!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to stop in and wish Bill G a Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day tomorrow with the family!
ReplyDeleteI've caught up with crossword puzzles today, but still behind on reading blog comments.
I've been working on planning party for my daughter. She defended her dissertation on Jan. 23rd and now has her PhD in Toxicology. She wants the party to have a "Dr.Who" theme. I've ordered a banner that is a Dr Who quote, "Trust Me, I'm the Doctor!" She is having a Tardis cake made by a friend. She's made invitations that say time and space( instead of place).
Is anyone here a Dr Who fan and have any ideas for a party. I'm winging it!
Oops,
ReplyDeleteMy Bad!
Happy Bday to BillG!
Open with CARE :)
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Bill G!
That's all I really came to say....
Oh, the puzzle? Yeah, about that. Florida did me in. I was certain Esq. for EXT and WAG'd my way to an un-recoverable ink-blot. ReSTTED and ERIEIAN were way out.
CHESS was the only thing that fit that area (E was the blank square and A,I,O,U,Y didn't work). I scratched my chin a long time before the V8-can hit. Ooouuuch...
Really, someone thought OREO O's was a good idea? Really?
On the fruit loops front, I heard last week that "if red is your favorite, then..." A study found all colors taste the same (and test subjects now all have diabetes).
Oh, well. It was a fun Lim offering and LEM write-up.
But why I'm posting - Happy birthday Bill G.!
Cheers, -T
Manac, I appreciate the thought and effort that went in to your present. She must have driven the Colombian high school boys crazy.
ReplyDeleteCED, I love your bag lady photo. Poor thing with torn, ill-fitting clothes...
AnonT, I'm glad you were able to stop in too. Thanks. Thanks again to all of you for the kind wishes. It's amazing to me how I feel the warm bonds of friendship among so many people who I haven't met. I'm sure many of you feel the same.
The answer is Vegas Vacation
ReplyDeleteWhat! no, abv. for 51 down?
ReplyDeleteBlue Iris - I just saw your call for Dr. Who ideas...
ReplyDeleteFirst congratulations to your daughter (and you! - I was a dissertation husband, I know your pain) on a successful PhD defense.
So, if you want the party to take a dark turn, Daleks! Exterminate, Exterminate....
Most modern Whovians like a mystery assocaited with historical context. So you can just make up your own theme and put out flashy lights for mood and sonic screwdivers to save the day - and you're good. A weeping stone angel can't hurt.
Hope that helps.
And a second dose of HBD to Bill G. I second his suggestion of connections to all.
Cheers, -T
D-O:
ReplyDeleteSo they caught the ASSes. DId you double-check that none were Leon Hale's talking Mule rable-rousing up north? The G-Men are after that mule for BACK apple TAXES... :-)
Cheers, -T
I don't have much more to say but I wanted to 'tick' the E-mail box. Is there a way to do it without making a new post?
ReplyDeleteDo any of you watch the new version of Robin Hood on a PBS cable station? I like it. It doesn't have Errol Flynn but it's still enjoyable.
I like the new girl on NCIS. Still, I thought they missed a bet by not signing up Traji P. Henson after they killed her off on Person of Interest.