Words: 70 (missing Q,U)
Blocks: 31
I get very dismayed when I see Mr. Bickham's name listed as the
constructor on the crossword, because I find his Saturday puzzles to be
very difficult to solve. While today's grid has a very cool look to it,
there was also a LOT of white, and my first pass did not yield
much. BUT - as is always the case, by plugging away, and throwing a few
WAGs in, I was able to complete it. There was a technical glitch, so forgive me for typos and omissions. Two grid spanners:
17a. Traditional Austrian dish : WEINER SCHNITZEL - I started to fill in VIENNA SAUSAGE, but that just wasn't working with the down answers that I knew were correct
56a. Annual People feature : SEXIEST MAN ALIVE - Adam Levine of "The Voice" and Maroon 5 fame was the winner in 2013 - very racy pic here
Onward~!
ACROSS:
1. Lake Titicaca forms part of its border : BOLIVIA - oh, what a name~! map
8. Rug treatment : SHAMPOO - for both the carpet and the toupée versions
15. Demanding attention : EXIGENT
16. Performing a spiritual ritual : CENSING - the wafting of the thurible - I just learned something
19. Promise that doesn't always work out : I DO - I did, but now I don't; maybe....
20. Baby blues, e.g. : PEEPERS
- I have blue eyes; the hostess at the Italian restaurant has gorgeous
ones - she's so adorable, I'm thinking about "I DO" again
21. Half a Gabor? : ZSA-zsa
22. It can help you avoid ads : TIVO - or your local cable company's DVR, which is just about the only way I'll watch television these days
24. _____ Gras : MARDI
25. Swabber's aid : PAIL - I thought we might get our "Q" with Q-tip, the cotton swab, and the "U" on the DOWN side
26. Bohemia native : CZECH - could be from right here on Long Island, too~!
28. Food often served in chains : PIZZA - not links, as in sausage
29. Cry upon arriving : HERE I AM~!
32. Breezes (through) : WALTZES - tough, but entertaining clue/answer
34. Anabaena or chlorella : ALGA
35. Andean root vegetables : OCAs
36. Cyclist's wear : SPANDEX
39. Milky : WHITISH
43. Patty Hearst's SLA alias : TANIA
44. "Pearly Shells" singer : DON HO - now that I think about it, this should have been an easy WAG
45. Prophetess in Luke : ANNA - Saturday cluing for a common name
46. Conforms : JIBES
51. Fresh-mouthed : PERT
52. Way to go: Abbr. : RouTE
53. More than just enthusiastic : FANATIC
55. Mark, as a ballot : X IN
59. Didn't need instructions : KNEW HOW
- I'm a "Type 5"; even if I do KNOW HOW, I still read the instructions -
which came in handy doing a laminate floor last year; the installation for
the larger tile style requires the longer side to be tapped into place,
not the shorter one
60. Christmas eave sparklers : ICICLES - Did NOT fool me - I saw the "a" in the homonym eve
61. Straightforward demand : YES OR NO ?
62. Banks, e.g. : LENDERS
DOWN:
1. Entrance : BEWITCH - DAH~!! totally fooled by this en-TRANCE, not EN-trance; I was looking for a doorway that ended in ---ITCH
2. Discolor, as banana peels, e.g. : OXIDIZE
3. Be postponed for later attention : LIE OVER - meh; I think of LIE OVER as in airports
4. Engine starter: Abbr. : IGNition; too bad there was no way to deceive us with "KEY"
5. #2 : VEEP - The "V.P."
6. Directed against a thing, to lawyers : IN REM - Lemonade?
7. Clueless : AT SEA
8. TV listing : SCHEDule; TV is technically an Abbr.
9. '50s-'70s Montreal Canadiens star ____ Richard : HENRI - brother of Maurice, the "rocket"; this led Henri, younger, to be nicknamed the "pocket-rocket"
10. Spanish cordial : ANIS - anise in English
11. Colo. hours : MST - Mountain Standard Time
12. Dash : PIZZAZZ - Scrabbly fill
13. It fits all, so they say : ONE SIZE
14. Crazy Horse and Red Cloud : OGLALAs - according to Wiki, one of seven subtribes of the Great Sioux Nation
18. "Kiss of life", briefly : CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - and I spelled it correctly without looking it up~!
23. "1984" location : OCEANIA - or Eddie Van Halen's backyard, if you're thinking about this 1984
25. Rest area visit : PIT STOP - I had PI-S-O- , and thought....naw, can't be
27. "Broom-____": comic strip : HILDA
28. Geometric pattern : PLAID
30. Gray : AGE - put it in, took it out, went back in
31. Nth degree : MAXimum
32. Blow away : WOW
33. Rhine whine : ACH~!
36. 2004 Stiller title role : STARSKY & Hutch - IMDb; Owen Wilson as Hutch, but even better was Snoop-Dogg as Huggy Bear
37. Pro-V hair care brand : PANTENE
38. Takes over : ANNEXES
40. Banished : IN EXILE - better than "ENISLE"
41. McGovern's running mate : SHRIVER
42. Sex appeal : HOTNESS
46. Bourne of Ludlum's novels : JASON - I saw a fourth book at the Salvation Army last week; almost bought it for $.99
47. Apart, in a way : IN TWO
48. "... like THAT!" : BAM~!!!
49. .biz biz : ETAIL - I like the redundancy
50. "____ I Don't Have You" : 1959 hit : SINCE - I would link the Guns N' Roses version for Slash's great opening guitar work, but Axl ruins the rest of the song
53. NHL Player's Association director Donald : FEHR - Oh, I know this name all too well for the fiasco from last season, and its shortened schedule
54. "Am I my brother's keeper?" speaker : CAIN
57. Iconic Japanese island, familiarly : IWO Jima
58. PC monitor type : LCD
Bob really digs that cult jive.
ReplyDeleteTo join new ones he'll scheme and connive.
He'll espouse any ism,
Support any schism,
He's the SECTS-IEST MAN ALIVE!
Dave can name every bee in his hive.
To know all beetles and ants is his drive.
He's not an apologist,
He's the top entomologist,
He's the inSECTS-IEST MAN ALIVE!
Matthew learned legal codes to survive.
Into contracts and fine print he'll dive.
He needs no reflection
To quote every §,
He's the SECT.-SIEST MAN ALIVE!
There was redemption today, after the thorough thrashing I took on yesterday’s puzzle. I WALTZed through this one, more like a Thursday puzzle. I was on Mark’s wave length all the way. Any puzzle that begins with WIENER SCHNITZEL (yum) has got to be good. I was able to fill in the NE rapidly, and the momentum carried me through the rest.
ReplyDeleteI loved FOOD OFTEN SERVED IN CHAINS, CHRISTMAS EVE SPARKLERS, and PROMISE THAT DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK OUT, all gimmes.
BEWITCH was last to fall and was all perps. I was stuck on ENT-rance instead of en-TRANCE.
PK, my shoulder is healing and has greater weight bearing ability, range of motion and agility every day. I can do many chores with that arm and hand. Folding sheets and blankets is next to impossible, as yet. Ibuprofen keeps the pain under control. But, my knee which caused me to fall in the first place, is very painful and keeps me awake at night. I will have it checked out in the coming week.
PK,if you have email, please email me. If not, maybe one of your friends or relatives could set you up in email and we could write to each other. I would suggest having a separate email account just for the Corner.
Happy birthday, Blue Iris. We haven't heard from you in a while. I am hoping your health is improving.
Got it all today, thanks to red letter help and perps for the ones I didn't know (ANIS, OCAS, EXIGENT, IN REM) and a couple awkward phrasings (LIE OVER, KNEW HOW). Expected Sashay before WALTZ. And we shared a Broom-HILDA cartoon earlier this week!
ReplyDeleteMorning, all (and Happy Birthday, Susan!
ReplyDeleteStruggled with this one. I got got WIENERSCHNITZEL right off the bat (had the chance to try some in Vienna many years ago) and thought this was going to be a romp, but it didn't work out that way.
Unknowns today included ANNA and FEHR, but the perps took care of them. Some of the missteps that ended up hurting me were QTIP for PAIL, AD REM for IN REM and IOU for IDO. The first one I eventually corrected, the second two killed me in the end as I needed to turn on red letter help to finish in the NW. With those two mistakes, I just couldn't see BOLIVIA or LIE OVER or EXIGENT to save my life.
Oh -- and I totally thought "entrance" was a noun and it BEWITCH never even occurred to me as a result. I had __WIT_H and was completely stumped. It didn't help that I just couldn't think of where Bohemia was.
Anyway, pretty fun overall, but deadly in the NW for me.
I too usually find Mark B. puzzles very hard but this one was a slow and steady affair abetted by getting the grid spammers almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteCENSING was a complete unknown and SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU did not ring a musical bell but the rest filled as I worked my way around. Thanks Mark and Splynter
HBDTY Blue Iris ND many more
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one was almost a speed run. Like YR, I thought it felt more like a mid-week puzzle than a Saturday stumper. I guess words like EXIGENT and PIZZAZZ force it into the late week category. I liked it.
Here's an HG-style question. In what comedy film does one of the other beauty pageant contestants call Miss Hawaii a "Don Ho?"
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris. Hope you're feeling better.
[chowood] -- even the captcha is easy today.
Not my fastest Saturday.
ReplyDeleteMessed up early on clue "be postponed for later" with answer SHELVED. It fit with WIENER, TIVI and CZECH.
Hand up for noun verb dilemma at 1D.
Hey Splynter, I read 9D '50s-'70s Montreal Canadiens star ____ Richard and promptly keyed in MAURICE for 16A. It fit nicely. Had no delay in filling FEHR. Hawks beat the Ducks last night.
Too much nonsense again in yesterday's blog.
I did like your proposed avatar Manac.
Happy Birthday Blue Iris !
Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Blue Iris!
¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫
Ahhh…now this is more like it. I was able to finish it correctly and unaided, in half my typical Saturday solving time. But I loved all the scrabbly entries, like WIENER SCHNITZEL and PIZZAZZ.
Thanks for all the explanations, Splynter. I'm glad you knew FEHR - it only took me four perps to get his name! (And when I typed it just now, I put an "L" instead of "F" at first, which shows how quickly that bit of information just leaked right out of my brain!!!)
No time off for me today - I have nine rooms to paint next door, so I'd better get cracking!
I was at first discouraged by all the long answers but I guess I don't give myself (or my subconscious) enough credit. So I made more progress than I had expected but was stuck with a lot of empty squares in the NW quadrant. I was at the point where I was wishing I hadn't gotten so close. I could only think of URGENT so was missing a letter. And, as others, thought of "Entrance" as a noun. I was also thwarted by my Achilles' heel (short multi-word answers) so HEREIAM came late. (I got DONHO with perps and couldn't figure out who it was until I realized it was two words!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what I would have predicted to be a DNF turned out not to be.
[16:48]
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteImpressive grid design today - once I got Sexiest Man Alive filled in, I wondered whether the black squares were meant to look like a man, which they kinda do. With all those X's and Z's, I figured we must have a solid pangram, but discovered there's no Q or U.
Censing was all perps. Even my spell check didn't recognize it.
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris!
PK - the real one, that is - I hope you'll choose to go back to being blue.
For 17A you spell it Weinerschnitzel, but tosolve 2 & 3 down it must be spelled Wienerschnitzel!!!
ReplyDeleteT.F.Quirk@8:46: "For 17A you spell it Weinerschnitzel"
ReplyDeleteSez who? (i.e. citation please)
At first I thought all would be lost, since the top seemed hard to get a foothold. But working from the bottom up, it slowly fell into place.
ReplyDeleteGot a kick out of the cross between JASON Bourne and SEXIEST MAN ALIVE, since Matt Damon was named as People's SMA one year.
I had to boomerang back to the start to finish and that NW corner was a mélange (how ‘bout that word) of AD REM, LAY OVER, MUTE, and graphite and rubber before I declared victory. The two grid spanners were easy and helpful.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Butch and Sundance reportedly died in a shootout in San Vincente, BOLIVIA
-CENSING makes me want to sneeze
-Jeepers, creepers, make a move on those PEEPERS
-Yeah, those Gabor sisters were loaded with, uh, talent
-We wordies gotta love this Bohemian t-shirt
-My Czech MIL still polkas and WALTEZES at 91 years old
-Patty Hearst wrote a novel called Murder at San Simeon based on rumors that her grandfather killed movie mogul Thomas Ince while AT SEA on his yacht with Chaplin, Negri, Barrymore, et al on board
-Oh, now I get it, ENTRANCE is a verb!
-Shouldn’t Saturday cluing for MARDI be “Follows lundi”?
-This feature spelled, OGALLALA, is very important to Nebraska
-There is a lot of angst when big cities ANNEX smaller surrounding communities
-HBD, Susan!
Yes! Yes! Yes! After yesterday's Friday fiasco (for me) this was (almost) Saturday redemption! I almost, almost got the whole thing, even in a puzzle with two grid-spanners! Yay! I should have gotten FANATIC but didn't know FEHR and stupidly had EMAIL instead of ETAIL. And I still don't totally get AGE for Gray. But everything else was perfect and I loved so many of the clues and all those ZZZZZs in the NE corner. But most of all, it was wonderful to have another AUSTRIAN clue! So, a million thanks, Mark, for getting my Saturday off to such a great start. And you, too, Splynter, for the always fun expo.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, I'm with you on many of your comments, and hope your knee feels better soon.
Have a wonderful birthday, Blue Iris!
And I wish you a great weekend, everybody!
The dictionary and spell check don't recognize Weiner Schnitzel, only Wiener Schnitzel, named after the city Wien in Austria, known in English as Vienna.
ReplyDeleteThe dictionary gives the name for hot dog as wiener, naming weiner only as a variant spelling of wiener, without even a definition.
In German a Weiner is a wheel wright.
In German when i and e are side by side (ie or ei), the first vowel is silent and the second vowel is long. WIENER would give you weener and WEINER would give you winer.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Blue Iris. Can't wait to see CED's cake selections.
Got the top half fairly easily but had to claw my way through the lower half. Too many unknown names like FEHR, DON HO, and JASON, but eventually WAGged thru it. Favorite clue was for ICICLES.
BTW - Argyle was right yesterday in describing the best way to add cream to coffee. It is hydraulically more efficient to effectuate mixing, than stirring with a spoon, and more environmentally supportive, SINCE there is no stirring spoon to wash; saving water, water treatment, soap, sewage treatment, dryer energy, and so on and on. Just sayin'.
Have a great day.
Hi, effectuater here.
ReplyDeleteLink for Mr. Peepers. I'm sure some of us remember him.
Sorry, that veener and viner in my last post. W is said as a V
ReplyDeleteThank you Mark for a challenging puzzle. Thank you Splynter for an enlightening review.
ReplyDeleteHand up for BEWITCH. I got the answer with help from the perps, but couldn’t understand why it was correct until I read Splynter’s splendid review.
This was a good Saturday challenge for me. What Splynter said – I got very little on my first pass through, but by plugging away, a few memory jogs, and a few WAGs, I got most of it. At 57 minutes, I had one Natick -- CE_SING / A_IS. Mentally ran through the alphabet several times. Changed MST to MDT and ran through the alphabet again. No luck. Changed MDT back to MST. Finally turned on red letter help and ran through the alphabet. CENSING / ANIS! Ta-da!
I am a baseball fan, not a hockey fan. Didn’t know 53D NHL Player's Association director Donald, but got FEHR via the perps. I thought “that can’t be right, he was in baseball”, but all the perps looked right. Then I learned about his role in hockey from Splynter’s splendid review and Wiki.
Happy birthday, Blue Iris!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI started out like gangbusters in the upper half, filling in wiener schnitzel, bewitch, Bolivia, shampoo,,etc., right off the bat. I thought (mistakenly) this is going to be a breeze. Aha! The lower half was a different story altogether.
But, with patience and perps, finished w/o help in a reasonable amount of time for a Saturday. So, thanks Mark Bickam for a challenging but fair and fun offering and thanks, Splynter, for an enlightening expo.
YR - That's good news about your shoulder. Let's hope you get back to normal soon and that you get some relief and treatment for your knee.
Happy Birthday, Susan; I hope you are feeling well enough to celebrate in style.
We have a clear, sunny day, but chilly. I think the Polar Vortex is returning in the next few days. Brr!
Have a geat day.
Okay, I've got to make this confession: my first fill for 5D ("#2") was . . . POOP.
ReplyDeleteMusings 2
ReplyDelete-Otto, I kinda knew that movie and that Sandra Bullock starred in it but had to look up the title
-The Bourne Identity was on AMC two weeks ago and I finally got to see it. I can skip the commercials by counting to 8 on 3X FF. OCD? Who has OCD?
-Sargent Shriver was a good party man when he stepped up to take the VEEP nomination after it was revealed that Thomas Eagleton had mental health treatments. He and George got shellacked
-I just noticed I missed EVES/EAVES but still got ICICLES
-Getting that creamer to mix into Ice(d) Coffee is a lot harder no matter how you attack it
-Off to Omaha (you know, that city that Peyton Manning (:37) will be screaming tomorrow) to finalize our west coast trip.
YR@9:55:
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, the road the goes up the west side of the Hudson is (US Route) 9W. It's also the answer to the question, "Herr Wagner, do you spell your name with a V?"
I'm glad you're feeling better. After fracturing my left ankle four years ago, when I (only) sprained my left wrist last Wednesday I imagined the worst. Watch out for black ice (and, while we're on the subject, yellow snow too).
Thanks to Mark for a snappy puzzle. I started off slow, but breezed through it the second time. Must have been on the same wave length!
ReplyDeleteThanks Splynter for a fine review!
Easy, peezy, breezy, I said as I filled in with glee. Than, WHAM. The SW corner threw me. Not a hockey fan, had JOINS for JIBES and then just said head for the CW Corner; there'll be help there. I think there's no really bad crossword construction, just days when my brain wave lengths can flow and the solves come more easily. So, off for Saturday chores and watching the winds blow all the pine needles into Nebraska. Thanks, All!
ReplyDeleteHi All ~~
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this puzzle once I was able to get going on it. I'm always frustrated when I can't get 1A AND 1D at the start, but I never for a moment thought of 'Entrance' as a verb! Only after perps helped with BOLIVIA, was I able to get that corner.
I liked the grid-spanning fill and the cluing on ICICLES, PIZZA and WALTZES.
A wonderful write-up, Splynter!
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris / Susan ~ hope you are able to enjoy your day!
Hello, weekend warriors! Great commentary as always, Splynter.
ReplyDeleteNo time to read comments today as I'm going to stay with my granddaughters.
I definitely enjoyed this puzzle and chuckled over the grid design. Loved all the Zs and Xes. Unlike yesterday's, this was pleasurable.
PEEPERS was clever and I winced at AGE because I know that verb!
I truly hope you all have a splendid Saturday and I'll read you later!
Good afternoon everyone! Thanks, Mark, for a Saturday-worthy challenge; and thanks, Splynter, for an enlightening and entertaining review.
ReplyDeleteFinished with red-letter help, but was able to resist Googling Lake Titicaca’s location, which eventually filled with perps. Fell into the noun/verb trap at 1D; gave myself a mental head slap when the lightbulb finally came on. CENSING was in my wheelhouse, as we always have incense at my church on holidays such as Christmas and Easter. PEEPERS reminded me of this little ditty I used to sing to my girls when they were little.
A very Happy Birthday to Blue Iris!
I’m beginning to think those hibernating animals are really on to something. Eat a whole lot, sleep for three months, and wake up in the Spring – works for me!
Have a great weekend, all.
Morning all,
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean to stir the pot and run out the back door yesterday , but I had some computer issues to attend to at work.
Considering the fact I blog here once in a BLEU moon , it was wrong of me to criticize the puzzle.
My problem started after coming up with Smooth Orator and the reveal right after , seeing no P or E in the answer led me to believe the rest of the answers would be sans P or E.
I assumed wrong , and my inability to finish the puzzle is not a good excuse to criticize . I should be thankful for the free learning experience I get from doing the puzzle and this group's input .
Spitzboov's 9:43 post made me groan because I remember how hard it was last year to find Blue Iris cakes.
ReplyDeleteBut I got lucky this year:
Happy Birthday Susan (from Vincent Van Gogh.)
Although I am intrigued by this cake with white carnations, & green poms.
How you add milk to your coffee can be very important...
Hmm, my mistake...
ReplyDeleteI went to see how to make carnations out of frosting, & it turns out that pic is not a cake, but real flowers!
Got this one through more WAGs than I usually dare to try. It seemed very tough at first. I knew only OCEANIA and CZECH and pulled my first crazy guess on LENDERS. At the intersection of 17A and 12D I next gambled on PRETZEL and PIZZAZZ. PRETZEL had to give way, of course, when I cheated to get HENRI - but at least the ZEL ending kept me from getting too obscure with such Austrian treats as Germknödel and Kaiserschmarm!
ReplyDeleteI loved "Entrance" as the clue for BEWITCHED!
Splynter: Very informative write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteGotta like a puzzle that was FUN to solve, with lots of PIZZAZZ.
@14-d, Crazy Horse and Red Cloud, I had "Dakotas" before my (solid) perps changed that to OGLALAS.
Also when I vote, @55-a, Mark, as a ballot, I had "X-ED" before X-IN.
Both were ... easy fixes.
Fave today (of course) was ANIS. I do enjoy a cordial every now & then. Go figure ...
Windhover (yesterday) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Dimple Pinch.
(IMHO, at 15yo, it is the best teenager I know. lol!)
Cheers!
I never enjoy themeless puzzles much. I did like 1D "Entrance" = BEWITCH when I finally figured it out.
ReplyDeleteHere's something I'm guessing we will all enjoy. It's a series of beautiful photographs of a woman's children interacting with farm animals in Russia. I really liked them. ANIMALS
Hi again ,
ReplyDeleteSometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug !
I had fun with this , not too hard
Liked the crossings of Anna , Tania , Oceania , and Sexiest Man Alive and Hotness.
All and it was a nice rebound from yesterday !
Fore !
In the write-up
ReplyDelete"17a. Traditional Austrian dish : WEINER SCHNITZEL - I started to fill in VIENNA SAUSAGE, but that just wasn't working with the down answers that I knew were correct."
It should be WIENER SCHNITZEL.
(The "IE" are backwards)
Al Cyone, at 8:56, does that satisfy your "Sez who? (i.e. citation please)?"
T.F. Quirk at 8:46 was right.
It was correct in the grid.
Happy Saturday everybody!
ReplyDeletePretty close, but no cohiba w/o having to resort to google to finish the Pacific Northwest. It certainly was no WALTZ, more like a two steps forward, one step back kind of dance. Here's hoping the 49ers don't have as much trouble in Seattle tomorrow as I had today....
Favorite clue = promise that doesn't always work out....
My SHAMPOO happens to be PERT....
From yesterday, I wrote in CAP not HAT, and I always pour the milk first, then add the coffee, as Spitz and Argyle mentioned, to avoid having to wash a spoon....
Was MARDI a semi-shout out to HeartRx...?
I had the pleasure of meeting DON HO in Laughlin NV a few years ago - what a nice guy...!
Plenty of cycling SPANDEX in my closet, just waiting for nicer weather to put it on and blind the neighbors....
A Scandal in BOHEMIA introduced the world to Irene Adler, aka The Woman....
Finally HBD to Blue (not Bleu) Iris...!
Like Yellowrocks and others I got all of the West and all of the South but I had trouble with the NE mostly because I didn't see SHAMPOO until nearly the end.
ReplyDeleteBecause of my last name I knew about the double vowel in German. Its called a diphthong per my High School English teacher a long time ago.
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle! Great expo, Splynter!
ReplyDeleteI'm encouraged about my puzzle solving since I have quit fearing Saturday stumpers. Not an easy solve, but the long answers came before much of the fill.
I knew Titicaca from reading Randy Wayne White, but it took a few perps to remember Bolivia. I believe the lake is known for its fresh water sharks.
Adam Levine, the sexiest man alive? No way! A travesty, I tell you. Splynter, how did they pass you over again? Really, when they announced Adam's honor on "The Voice", I kept waiting for the punchline because I certainly didn't think Adam qualified. He doesn't turn ME on!
Happy Birthday, Blue Iris! May you find some respite from your ills before your next BD.
YR, glad to hear from you. I think old age in winter is when all the injuries to our bodies come back to haunt us. Take care of yourself!
T.F. Quirk said@8:46 AM
ReplyDeleteFor 17A you spell it Weinerschnitzel, but to solve 2 & 3 down it must be spelled Wienerschnitzel!!!
The problem is the statement can be read that it is Quirk saying it should be spelled Weinerschnitzel. If he(?) had used the past tense, (you spelled it), it would have been clearer he meant Splynter misspelled it in the write-up. Splynter did say, "There was a technical glitch, so forgive me for typos and omissions."
Point of order@1:53 "does that satisfy your "Sez who?
ReplyDeleteAhh. When T.F. Quick wrote, "you spell it Weinerschnitzel" I took it to mean that it should be spelled that way, not that it was mis-spelled that way in the write-up. Thanks for clarifying.
Blue Iria - A very happy birthday is being sent your way via happy thoughts and good wishes.
ReplyDeleteMy lunchtime hunger has been satisfied with a BLT with avocado on sourdough toast. A very excellent sandwich indeed.
Al Cyone, me, too. As it turns out C.F. Quick was correct. Splynter had a typo which I missed. It is true that we read this and many other things as what we expect to see rather than what is written. I always see Al Cyclone at first and also Mainiac.
ReplyDeleteAnd my own typos are much harder for me too see than anyone else's.
I just love your picture of blue irises, Splynter. They are my favorite flower, too.
Evening everyone,
ReplyDeletePerfect day to stay next to the stove and take my time to solve this. Cold and snowy all day.
The south fell rather easy but Spandex brought back some not so nice images from X-mas shopping this year. There oughta be a law!
North was a bear! Lake Titicaca...All I could think of was George Carlin, so was thinking USA - Canada Border.
And for 17A I swear, I read it as Traditional Australian Dish but Shrimp on the Barbie didn't fit.
50 Min. in til the TADA!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark, Splynter!
A very rare Saturday no-cheat, but, boy did it take me a long time. (Yesterday was a disaster.)
Annoying wind has disappeared. However, it is cooler. (Fibro likes it over seventy-five. Well, eighty is even better.) Had a swell swim, though.
Blue Iris: I hope that you are having a pleasant birthday. Are you going to have a cake?
Feel better YR!
Can't wait until Sherlock tomorrow, after Downton. How on earth does he survive the fall from the rooftop???
Cheers!
(First try was captcha from hell. Just unbelievable.)
I check this site when I am stuck, stuck, stuck! It had to be "censing," but since when is that a word? Thanks for confirming. Anyway, I was just wondering, what's a WAG?
ReplyDeleteWild Ass Guess
ReplyDeleteIrises, regular or bearded? I love irises too, right up there with daffodils, lilies of the valley (growing up in Virginia), ranunculus...
ReplyDeleteNow that I got started, I realize how many flowers I enjoy.
I've just started recording and watching old shows with Huell Howser, "Visiting" and "California's Gold." They were human interest shows with an emphasis on California. He died about a year ago. I didn't used to pay much attention to him or his shows, probably because I had a hard time getting past his accent, his ugly shirts, his constant enthusiastic expressions like "Gosh!". "Wow!", "Louis, look at this!", etc. But I've come to realize what treasures he and his shows were. However, my favorite human interest shows of this type were from longer ago. Can you guess who I'm thinking about? Charles Karault, that's who. I absolutely loved his old shows.
Bill G, couldn't agree with you more regarding Huell Howser. I watched one the other day that had him climbing to the top of Half Dome, which brought back a flood of memories from when I took the same trek about 30 years ago...!
ReplyDeleteHuell was California Gold personified...l
fermatprime@6:43
ReplyDeleteTx2 daughter#2 Internet wizardry, I have already seen Sherlock Season 2 Episodes 1 & 2. Unfortunately she went back to College leaving me with episode 3 without sound, (something about a missing Codec?) So I was very happy to see it will be on PBS USA starting tomorrow.
They cover every possible explanation of how he could have survived in Episode 1, but I think Episode 2, with "The Wedding", was even better... Can't wait to see episode 3, but I think I will watch episodes 1 & 2 again beforehand, just because they were excellent!
P.S.
ReplyDeleteDaughter #2 also made me watch an unaired version of the pilot episode of Sherlock. Almost everything was the same, but for some reason the BBC made them reshoot it with a different Director. I had some questions about the 1st episode, & watching the UnAired version explained them all...
Note: the final scene doesn't take place in an abandoned warehouse, but in Sherlocks apartment. (also 1 hour instead of 90 minutes...)
IrishMiss:
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry I failed to wish you a happy birthday earlier. I do hope it was wonderful and special!
Dear Lucina @ 9:06 - Thank you for your lovely sentiment, but it is Blue Iris's birthday, not mine. We have been mixed up before. -:)
ReplyDeleteHey!,, It's my unbirthday too!
ReplyDeleteIrishMiss:
ReplyDeleteI'm so very sorry. That's what I get for doing things in a rush.
BlueIris:
I apologize to you as well. And I sincerely hope your birthday was special.
CED:
No one out does you when it comes to finding cakes!
Just found this site and love it already. I have been doing crosswords for more years than some of you have probably been alive. Got much of today's, but was googling a few stumpers when this site came up.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be back.
Thank you to all my blog friends for remembering me. I actually forgot it was my birthday until my son called.
ReplyDeleteCED, I loved the Van Gogh cake.
Lucina, I thought of you and wondered if you might WALTZ through some puzzles instead of sashaying.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep up with the blog lately and missed a few crossword puzzles. I am very grateful for my friends here.
Each time I see a doctor the news seems to get worse. I found out last Friday that my kidneys function is only 45% :(
The news made me stop and evaluate what is important to me. I am so glad that my hope is in Jesus and he has given me a husband that has always been so good to me.