Wow, that took me almost as long to explain as C.C. probably spent coming up with the idea!
4A. Hartford market checker's action? : C.T. SCAN. Get your Computed Tomography scan in Connecticut.
17A. Boise jewelry? : I.D. BRACELET. Identify yourself in Idaho.
31A. Harrisburg loudspeaker network? : P.A. SYSTEM. Address your public in Pennsylvania.
41A. Jackson hair styles? : M.S. DOS. Microsoft boots your computer in Mississippi. I wanted to put AFROS here before I figured out the theme, and then one shows up at 53D!
46A. Tulsa bull pen? : O.K. CORRAL. Host your neighborhood gunfight in Oklahoma.
64A. Richmond medical center? : V.A. HOSPITAL. The Department of Veteran's Affairs takes care of you in Virginia
70A. Baton Rouge equipment? : L.A. GEAR. Get your Angeleno kicks in Louisiana.
Morning all! Steve here in a rather chilly Manhattan (18F as we speak) checking out the weather before the "Big Game" on Sunday. I can't call it by its proper name otherwise I'll get sued by the NFL! I'm scooting back to Los Angeles later today to defrost.
I thought this was a neat theme and execution from C.C. today; I was a little bamboozled at first but then had my "aha" moment with OK CORRAL and things went a lot more swimmingly after that.
Two minor nits - the 1A "Question Mark" clue was the only one of these not theme-related, and the second word of the 41A theme entry is technically also an abbreviation, the only one of the six.
Let's see what else caught my eye:
Across:
1. Fly-by-nighter? : OWL
10. To be, to Brutus : ESSE
14. Pod resident : PEA
15. La Quinta rival : RAMADA
16. Mocked, in a way : APED
19. Radius neighbor : ULNA. The smaller of the two forearm bones. I broke my right one a couple of times as a kid before my mother pretty much told me if I did it again I'd wish I'd never come home.
20. Huffington Post piece : ESSAY
21. Catches on, with "up" : WISES
23. Helen Reddy's "__ Woman" : I AM
24. Signs of approval : NODS
26. Seek, as a fugitive : HUNT
28. Like Mont Blanc : ALPINE. It's the tallest of the Alps and forms part of the border between France and Italy.
35. China's Chou En-__ : LAI
36. "My Fair Lady" composer : LOEWE. I can't miss up the opportunity to link to the lovely Audrey Hepburn singing a Lerner and Loewe classic.
38. Piddling : MERE
39. Best of Hollywood : EDNA
42. Pull an all-nighter, perhaps : CRAM
43. "The Ides of March" actor Gosling : RYAN
44. Grind to __ : A HALT
45. Environmental prefix : ECO. Have you ever heard of anything being eco-unfriendly?
48. Lyric poems : EPODES
51. New Rochelle campus : IONA. 20 miles north of where I'm sitting. Very cool old seal.
52. Agenda unit : ITEM
53. Every little bit : ALL
54. Like Richard Burton, by birth : WELSH. Because "Hell-Raiser" doesn't fit.
58. First name on a 1945 bomber : ENOLA
62. Commotion : FLAP. Also part of a 1945 bomber.
66. Start from scratch : REDO
67. Pass by : ELAPSE
68. Spleen : IRE
69. Evangelist Roberts : ORAL. Quiet in the back.
71. Doo-wop horn : SAX
Down:
1. Mayberry kid : OPIE
2. Unites : WEDS
3. Physical exam tests : LABS
4. Coloring stick : CRAYON
5. "Tic __ Dough": old TV game show : TAC
6. Small diving ducks : SMEWS. Small enough to escape my attention all these years. They can't even be good to eat, otherwise I'd surely have heard of them. Pretty though.
7. City SW of Bogotá : CALI
8. Lemony drinks : ADES
9. Cager Archibald : NATE. Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald, basketball Hall-Of-Famer. Of course I had no clue (and thankful for the crosses) being as he retired in 1984 and I didn't see a pro basketball game until 1993.
10. Evian water : EAU
11. Broke into small, sharp pieces : SPLINTERED.
12. Contest for a seat : SENATE RACE. I prefer musical chairs, much more fun.
13. Cheese in a red coat : EDAM. Food! Finally!
18. Delhi royal : RANI
22. Hardly outgoing : SHY
25. Beach town NW of San Diego : DEL MAR. "Where the Surf meets the Turf". The Del Mar Racetrack hosts the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes each summer. Pretty place.
28. Last Olds model : ALERO
29. Playboy : LADY KILLER
30. Rum-and-coconut drink : PINA COLADA
31. Organ part : PEDAL
32. Illegally off base, briefly : A.W.O.L. Marines Absent Without Leave at Del Mar?
33. Six-line sonnet section : SESTET. Crosses helped me out here. I was going to use this as an excuse to quote one of my favorite Shakespeare sonnets, but then I discovered that it's Italian sonnets that have an octave followed by a sestet, whilst English ones have a quatrain followed by a couplet. I'll forget all that by tonight.
34. Bulletin board postings : MEMOS
37. Workplace protection agcy. : O.S.H.A.
40. Like most Internet trolls: Abbr. : ANON. We have our share of Anons on this blog, but most of them appear to be shy, rather than trolls, which is rather different. Unless they're cute trolls:
47. Unpolished : RAW
49. Eye : PEEPER
50. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI. Is this one in San Diego where all the Marines who go AWOL from Camp Pendleton stay when they've been to the track at Del Mar? There's a Ramada and a La Quinta close by too. Now there's a mini-theme for you!
52. "Fingers crossed" : I HOPE
53. Curly hairdo : AFRO
55. Stunt legend Knievel : EVEL
56. Singer's syllables : LA LA. Not to be confused with L.A. in 70A
57. Chase, as flies : SHAG. I had SWAT first, which slowed me down a tad.
59. Elevator man : OTIS
60. "60 Minutes" correspondent Logan : LARA
61. "Jeopardy!" fixture, to contestants : ALEX. "Crosswords for 600 please, Alex." "Answer: Rich Norris keeps this newspaper's puzzle on track".
63. Capitol Hill fig. : POL.
65. Fed. benefits agency : S.S.A.
That about wraps it up from me. I've got a nice view of the Chrysler Building from my hotel room which makes a change from the backside of the hotel next door that I'm usually looking at. Keep warm, everyone!
Steve
84 comments:
[7 states today, I'm just going to do 3 of them.]
There once was a man in CT
Who taught his cat proper ET.
Also how to be
A crack EMT,
So the cat was a whiz with a MT!
A cute Farmer's daughter in ID
Got tired of just driving the RIDE
So she moved to the city
And was soon sitting pretty,
When her dad asked her how, she said, "ID!"
O'Claw had to earn his diploma
By ballplaying for U. OK
He oft hit the ball
Right over the wall --
The crowd would shout, "It's another OK!"
Morning, all!
The cluing on the theme answers gave me a headache at first, but once I figured out the theme about halfway down the grid the light bulb went off and I was able to rip through them pretty quickly. Well, all except MSDOS. I totally forgot that Jackson was the capitol of Missouri and, like Steve, was thinking about Michael Jackson. Had UPDOS there for awhile since AFROS wouldn't fit.
The rest of the puzzle was just fine. I don't think of a SAX being a "horn", but that's just my ignorance showing. And it took awhile to change TODO to FLAP. But that was about it.
Almost had DNF in two sections. In the south, I had SHOO for SHAG, thinking of bugs instead of balls; and PEEP AT instead of PEEPER, thinking verb instead of noun. That left me with ELOPSA where I thought ELIDED should be, and LA OEAT, instead of LA ?BACKHOE?. I did finally figure those out.
In the west, Best and Gosling were know-or-nots which I knew not, which left _ _ O N for "Internet trolls: abbr." That was so open:
"Idiots WithOut Neurons"
"Wastes Of Oxygen & Nitrogen"
"Spammers Kicked Out of Nairobi"
"AbNormally Obnoxious Narcissists".
That last one finally rang a bell.
Jackson capital of Missouri?? Jeff City is cap. Of MO.
But Jackson is the capital of Mississippi.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
Of course I entered BAT for 1A. That did not last long. OWL was it!
Got ID BRACELET easily and that gave me the theme after PA SYSTEM confirmed it.
Some of these personalities caused me sticky areas, ie; EDNA, RYAN, NATE, LARA, and ALEX. Perps and wags helped. There was one I knew; EVEL.
ENOLA, one of our favorites.
I remembered that Richard Burton was WELSH. Good for me!
Nice start for the day. Lots to do, including fixing my sump pump. Took the lid off and it is the switch/float assembly. I will pull it out and see what I need. I suspect the easiest action is to replace the pump.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(cloosh many)
Good morning!
This was a Wednesday whoosh. I got the theme early (really!), and zipped through it in Monday time. The only unknown for me was LA GEAR -- thanks for the photo, Steve.
I, too, managed to break my wrist twice as a kid. Both times during P.E. class.
That's Audrey Hepburn on the screen, but it's -- you guessed it -- Marni Nixon's voice. We talked about her recently for her work on West Side Story. She also sang for Deborah Kerr in The King and I.
Nice shoutout to LALA Linda as well as to our ever-present ANONs.
d-o, read the write-up with that video; it is Audrey singing. Very interesting how the videologist created it.
Good morning all,
Very little sleep last night so very little to say today.
Picked up on theme early, so this was an orderly completion. Only error was 62A. Commotion. Had entered Flac, but for once I reviewed my fills before entering cyberspace. Col looked weird and FLAP & POL looked better.
No nits here about 1A or 41A.
Do we have a consensus on capitols now?
Off to crawl into the sack.
Barry knows MS is Mississippi, but it all bets CRAZY early.
I loved the theme and I amazed where C.C. gets these ideas.
Good puzzle today with a nice catchy theme. I originally wanted BAT for Fly by nighter? at 1A, but realized OPIE was the 1D Mayberry Kid so I needed an across word starting with O.
I wanted AFROS for Jackson Dos at41A, thinking of the Jackson Five. Oddly enough, AFRO was used at 53D.
I never heard the term SHAG flies.
After two days of working from home due to the extreme cold, I'm back in the Chicago office. It's still frigid here, but above zero degrees. After a bit of cabin fever I'm glad to be back in the office.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Nice Shout Out to Chickie, who once lived in Cali, Columbia.
THeme was easy to figure out after just a few clues. Did the puzzle yesterday because paper delivered it a day early due to sleet and snow predictions. Only unknown was SMEWS. Does anybody use MSDOS? I have friends who use it for accounting programs on old rebuilt systems because it is so much faster than using a mouse on a MAC or WINDOWS, as they are very competent on the keyboard and don't care about learning new software, as they are in their 60s.
The last three across were interesting. LAGEAR was easy ( I went there). But did the preacher play ORAL SAX?
I got OWL and CTSCAN right away so figured I might be on the creator's wavelength. Like probably most, I had AFROS before MSDOS and still didn't understand it until I read the write-up. It's been a long time since MS-DOS was part of my everyday life (though, under the shiny surface of Windows, I guess it still is).
[8:20]
BigEasy@7:50: The next time you get the paper a day early, turn to the sports section and place some bets on the ponies. :)
This was a very interesting theme, C.C. Can't say I've ever seen anything similar. Took a while to grasp what the trick was, but once that happened it was pretty smooth sailing. Well done.
As for Oral Roberts, back in the early 80's he was demanding contributions or "The Lord would take him home." Reading that, my BH made the comment that he'd been named after the wrong orifice.
Monday type sashay. Using the state capitals was clever. I found the theme right away with ID BRACELET. I was thinking about the Jackson Five hairstyles until I remembered that Jackson had to be a capital city.
I forgot RYAN so it was all perps. I heard of NATE (Archibald) although I have never seen him play and don't know his team.
Thanks for the Norwgian music yesterday, Spitz.
Argyle@7:22 -- Velly intellesting! But I think I was happier without hearing her sing.
Big Easy@7:50 -- MSDOS programs were much smaller, and in most cases much faster that today's bloatware. In the early 80's I wrote an air traffic control simulator game in C -- total size of the .COM file 21K. Of course, it had to be small; the total memory in my computer in those days was only 64K. Years later I rewrote the same game for Windows -- total size of the .EXE file 420K. It's archaic, but still a challenge to win.
Well, I'm usually one of those just reading along occasionally and enjoying everyone's comments, but am finding myself checking in more frequently. And today I have to comment on 41A. I don't think it's MS-DOS, at all. I think it is hairstyles in Mississippi: a play on "up-do", which is what a woman (currently mostly brides and sometimes red-carpet stars) does when she wants a more formal hair-style. Used to, one of the first times young ladies had an up-do was for the high school prom.
I really enjoy everyone's comments. Cheers from our 2 degrees in Cincinnati.
Hello Puzzlers -
What Yellowrocks said.
Today's clever theme reminds me just how observant of details our gracious hostess must be. Well done, C.C.!
Morning, Steve, sorry 'bout all the cold air. We've been trying to get it fixed. :-) Thanks for Audrey, what a lovely creature.
D-Otto - ATC simulator? Interesting. Was this used for amusement, or training, or -?
Hi Everyone ~~
I really enjoyed solving this today ~ thanks for the fun, C.C. I started the first theme answer trying to fill in IDaho... but that wasn't working. IDB just didn't look right, but as more perps filled in I saw the light. Duh. Loved the theme idea! I think OK CORRAL was my favorite even though my own CT SCAN was in there.
For a while I thought there might be a dual-theme going on, the second being a bit more subtle. With LEMONY, SPLINTERED, USMC and even my LALA ;-) I saw references to our Blog people ~ probably not intended, but fun!
I enjoyed your write-up, Steve ~ you always have interesting observations.
Enjoy the day!
Brilliant offering again today from C.C.
I got hung up a bit on the names here and there, but the theme really helped open things up for me early after I got PA SYSTEM. Last bit to fill was the SE corner, due to my not even reading the clue for IRE on my first pass through that area.
I also wanted AFROS in the wrong place at first, and had SEN for POL for a while. I felt quite smart getting it all out finally though.
Good morning everyone!
I loved this one, and am always amazed at how C.C. can pack in the theme entries without compromising the fill.
WLLLS (what LaLaLinda said!!) exactly! I noticed the references to some of the corner denizens, but I bet it was intentional. C.C. never misses a beat.
Happy Hump Day!
ALPINE could be for you, Marti.
Good morning all. Brrr. Still cold in Chicago. Below zero again at - 1 at DuPage Airport. -16 wind chill. Felt colder as I took the garbage out. Warming up to 21. May wash the car later today. Maybe not.
Very clever puzzle CC. You sure have a discerning mind's eye to see things that I think most of us would not even consider. I liked the theme.
The only other one I could think of was KY JELLY.
Thank you Steve. Your write ups are always enjoyable.
Loved 1A OWL and 2D WEDS.
Never heard of SMEWS and was not sure on CALI. Wagged the i and then w became evident in WISES (up). That was my last fill. DELMAR wasn't familiar, but backed into the L and M to complete that.
Abejo, A couple of years ago, my sump float switch stuck so I repositioned the sump. Thought it was a quick fix. Nope. My wet-vac and dehumidifier both got a great workout the next day. So I replaced the float. A few months later... new ejector pump. Good luck to you.
Late to work today so I better get hopping ! See all y'all later n'at !
Wow, what a clever exercise! I had to let go of AFROS for Jackson hairdos (you knew that was going to happen, didn’t you CC and you even planted it later) and then laughed out loud at my old friend MSDOS! Did I say WOW?
Musings
-OK CORRAL – Take Doc and the Earp boys and lay the points
-Today’s weather - no where to hide. Snow in Florida, look out Tin!
-I’m still waiting to hear APE used as a verb in the real world
-Getting attention in Hollywood these days requires you to cause an outrageous FLAP
-Being on this site causes some wonderful time to ELAPSE
-OPIE’S career and hair really took off after he left Mayberry
-NATE was the marquee player in Omaha during the time KC and Omaha shared this NBA team
-If you’re in a SENATE RACE, your opponent will find someone to swear you cheated on a 3rd grade spelling test
-I watched a terrible movie last night about members of the USMC called The Rock. Have you ever hung in on a bad movie because you just wanna see how they end it?
-Her feminist anthem is great but this is my first memory of Helen Reddy. Name the musical.
desper-otto, WAY back in 1970 we wrote our programs in FORTRAN on an 8K IBM-1130 computer. Remember 80 column cards? We had to program for speed using the memory. Computers were expensive and programmers were cheap. These days it's the other way around. Programmers are sloppy because of massive memory and disk storage.
Good Morning:
Thoroughly enjoyed this clever and fresh theme from our always amazing CC. It was fun to see splintered, lemony drinks, LaLa, USMC, Alpine; all direct or indirect references to some of the Corner's regulars. Nice job, CC, and neat expo, Steve.
Still very cold but bright and sunny, which helps a little. How cold did it get in Florida, Tin and Lemony and Sallie?
Stay safe and warm.
Here ya go, HG. wait no longer.
"In China, an Empire Built by Aping Apple" from the NYT
Link Aping
"Top looks to ape in 2014" from MSN LIfestyles
Link To ape
Dudley@8:31 -- It was just for amusement, sort of a test of one's multi-tasking abilities. You pick a time limit 20-50 minutes. During that "real" time you have to handle 26 planes named for the letters of the alphabet. Some are jets which travel twice as fast as the prop-driven planes. You have to get 'em all to their intended destination without getting too close to each other at the same altitude. Wanna try it? I'll send you a copy.
Good morning everyone.
Nice shoutouts to some of the regulars: SPLINTER, USMC (Dennis), LALA, and ANONs. Ha ha. Cool theme. Hand up for swat before SHAG. Knowing C.C.'s love for baseball, 'swat' was quickly questioned. Learning today was how to spell LOEWE.
Have a great day.
Irish Miss, awesome observation. I never saw the clue for 8D, and did not see the shout out.
Big Easy you solved my dilemma as to whether that comment would not survive the breakfast test.
Big Easy, yes I do remember those IBM cards. I "punched" a deck for a FORTRAN converging iteration routine. That must've been mid-60's. You had to be careful not to drop your deck, because putting the cards back in order was misery.
Smithsonian has an interesting (well, I thought so) article on the 30th anniversary of the Mac Computer.
I also was punching out do loops for Fortran 4 back in college, 67-69, analyzing data. Yes, we all were very protective of our cards one we got the programs to run.
Great them and puzzle, C.C! Your ability to create new and interesting themes is amazing and enviable.
Steve, enjoyed the write-up, as well.
Lemon said: "Yes, we all were very protective of our cards one we got the programs to run."
At least the compiler punched sequential numbers into the 73-80 columns in case you dropped the program on the deck.
HG @ 9:12 I'm pretty sure "I Don't Know How to Love Him" was from "Jesus Christ, Superstar." I saw the play in Boston many moons ago, and still remember how impressed I was with the cast. I don't remember who played Mary Magdalene and sang that song, though...
Good Morning All,
KentuckyKate @8:22am your comments could have been written by me! I used to just read the write up to learn how to solve the puzzles. Then I started occasionally reading comments, and now I am getting brave and actually commenting!
And I completely agree with you that 41A has nothing to do with software and is a reference to "Hair-Do's" MSDo's! I'd like to hear what C.C. thinks.
Here in the beautiful Black Hills it is 29 degrees. It has been a very unusual winter for us. We are often called the "banana belt" of South Dakota due to our often mild winters, but not this year. One day it's 50 the next day it is below zero and the never ending wind - no wonder the prairie women went crazy!
Enjoy your day!
Greetings, friends!
Our amazing C.C. strikes again! What a clever puzzle with a fresh theme apparently inspired by muses right here on the blog.
It was fun to solve and my pencil moved right along though I started in the east with ESSE and sashayed straight down to the bottom.
Hand up for wanting AFROS at MS DOS and being surprised when it appeared later.
I agree about 41A. Though it seems like software the clue is "Jackson HAIR STYLES."
Steve, thank you for a witty and observant dialogue as always.
Have a fine Wednesday,everyone!
Thanks to everyone correcting me on the MS DOS - of course it was. I guess I was distracted by my first AFROS thought!
I love a C.C. puzzle on a Wednesday morning because I just know it's going to be incredibly clever and fun! And so it was! I did goof up by putting SMEES and EASES instead of SMEWS and WISES--silly me. But I got the theme early on, and especially loved PA SYSTEM since my old home of Lancaster is not far from Harrisburg. It also helped that I knew RYAN, LARA, and ALEX, whom we watch every night. Had the same hair-do problems as everyone else. And Steve, loved that sweet TROLL and your great riff on SAN DIEGO!
I didn't get the shout-outs to the bloggers, though--a fun bonus!
C.C. every time we hear about the weather on the news these days I think about you. How have you been surviving the cold this past month?
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Does CC work at Ridgedale? She's there every day.
I messed up the MSDOS because I forgot that seven people is a sextet and six is a SESTET.
D-Otto - Thanks for the offer,but I'll pass. My life experience has shown me that I'm not a multitasker.
Back when I was punching IBM cards, there was a big sign on the keypunch room wall reading: "There are two kinds of programmers in this world: those who have dropped an important stack of cards, and those who are going to". I haven't dropped a big stack yet...
The quality of the keypunch machines still amazes me. Those things ran day and night without missing a beat.
Hi Y'all! So many really great theme entries, C.C.! Bravo! Thanks, Steve!
I had never heard of SMEWS so Googled them and learned they are "old world" Eurasian ducks. No wonder C.C. knew them and we in the "new world" didn't. Interesting.
OKC is that state's capital and shows up in OKCorral.
I went to the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Race Track. Beautiful Spanish architecture for the buildings & grand stand. Fun day with a friend.
Tin, are you getting the dreaded ice, like it or not? Don't freak out. You CAN survive.
12* last night. Supposed to rise to 48* this afternoon. Yippee!
Did anyone watch the State of the Union address last night? The ovation for the wounded warrior was especially touching.
Mari @ 7:43 - here's the wiki definition of 'shag flies': In baseball, shagging is the act of catching fly balls in the outfield outside the context of an actual baseball game.[1] This is most commonly done by pitchers during batting practice before the ball game,[2] where they assist their hitting teammates by catching or picking up their batted baseballs and throwing them back to the pitching area in the infield.
CC - WEES - What a delightful theme puzzle and many shoutouts to bloggers. This is one of the best yet.
Greetings!
Impressive offering, CC! Great expo, Steve!
Brain was working rather slowly--took a while to catch the theme. Hand up for AFROs in the wrong place.
Thanks for Mac article, desper!
I had boxes and boxes of punched cards for collecting data for my thesis. Don't recall how I hauled them around. Was using an IBM 709. I was feeding in the primes up to N and thereby generating the primes up to N^2, for N = 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000 and more (cannot remember exact upper limit). Punching program cards was not my favorite thing, but it sure beat punching paper tape! (Note: Was using Fortran. I only punched in the primes 2, 3, 5 and 7. However I had to keep punching in my various programs to use the data generated.)
It's going to get cooler here this week (so they say). Maybe 63 degrees in the daytime. Many of my plants will get very confused!
Cheers!
C.C. Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. Great (though easy) theme!
Just curious, how does 68-A, Spleen, clue the answer IRE?
(perps filled it, and I didn't see the clue until Steve's excellent write-up).
Fave today, of course, was PINA COLADA ... and here's it's Song (4:50)
Husker, Irish Miss & PK:
Here at Villa Incognito it is 52 degrees.
No snow, No "3-letter-word-I-won't-type" ...
I guess you could say ... everything is NEAT! LOL!!!
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Cheers!
73 here Tinman, but drizzly.
Anon at 11:43. your comment sounds a bit stalkerish... do you work at Ridgedale Mall?
For Boise Jewelry? I was thinking "IDAHOSTUD" :) but soon figured out they were all the abbreviations. Great puzzle!
The problem with the hairdo slant on 41A, is that the answer has to be read M.S. DOS, and there is no such phrase about hair. Only Micro Soft DOS makes sense
Tin @1:24 - I too was curious about the spleen / ire connection and found this on Dictionary.com: Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin īra anger
Related forms
ire·less, adjective
Synonyms
fury, rage, choler, spleen.
lemony, your 1:52p post makes no sense. MS DOS refers to MiSsissippi hair-DOS.
Happy Wednesday everybody!
Cool puzzle today, so thanks C.C.! Like most, it took a while for the theme to seep into the ol' cranium (CTSC _ _?), but once the Aha sounded, it was a stroll. The only Corner shout out I noticed at first was to Splynter, thanks for pointing out all the others, even a shout out to ANONs...!
Altho, I really wanted SNARKY for Internet troll, but it didn't fit....
Hands up for two AFROS at first pass....
La Quinta had me grasping for another golf course initially, and I don't even play....
Also wanted HUGH HEFNER for LADY KILLER (the Playboy clue - hey, it fits!)....
Finally, we had an opportunity to visit the OK CORRAL (Tombstone, AZ) on one of our annual Spring Training trips. Favorite character, of course, is Doc Holliday....
I finished this puzzle earlier in the day but did not get a chance to comment and already we have 54. Everyone must be snowed/iced in at home!
I saw it was a C.C. puzzle and anticipated a good one and was not disappointed. (Thanks C.C. and Steve) I filled in 1A "FLY BY NIGHTER?" confidently with BAT and thought "oh what a clever clue to combine the meaning of the mammals/a baseball clue to start off" but it was OWL!
Hand up for SHOO and AFROS (in Mississipi). Tried LOONS, ERNES before SMEWS. I smiled at all the shout-outs (even to the trolls).
Our Canadian Senators are appointed so we don't have a SENATE RACE. But with all the Senate scandal in 2013 and 3 senators suspended, there is talk of abolishing the senate or having senators elected. More new developments just today. But forgive me for talking Canadian politics!
RYAN Gosling caused a sensation when he attended (with Eva Mendes) his mother's graduation ceremony at Brock University in Niagara in 2012.
Stay warm and safe all!
kjinkc: (Wonderful avatar BTW, there are a few NY Yankee fans here!)
Thanks for the IRE info.
Figured the answer was something archaic.
Lemony, I was trying to decide what I think about MSDOS. I think that the clue is not based on the phrase MS DOS. There is no base clue for the others, no prior phrase about BRACELET or CORRAL. So DOS stands alone to represent hair dos.
I’ve been thinking about “climbing the RUNGS of the corporate ladder” from yesterday. It is a very much in the language phrase. I was reading that today there are many avenues and permutations to reach the top, so there is not a straight up vertical climb any longer. It is more like a lattice than a ladder, with many ways to ascend. Interesting.
Link text
http://businessfinancemag.com/hr/shift-corporate-ladder-lattice
It believe that many crossword answers that seem obscure or unheard of are actually very much in the language depending on what material you read. I find lots of examples of words people protest in the NYT and in novels
In novels about the different social classes, some of the lower classes are said to be APING their betters. Snobby, huh?
Vent one's SPLEEN is also very much in the language and is still common today.
IDIOM: vent one's spleen. Fig. to get rid of one's feelings of anger caused by someone or something by attacking someone or something else.
Lemony: I am in agreement with you about MS DOS, but we both must be wrong because Yellowish said so and she is never wrong.
An excellent puzzle, CC!
I often don't get the theme until it's over, but this is one where knowing the theme is necessary. Before catching on to it (with PA SYSTEM) I had no clue and could never have solved CT SCAN and others requiring impossible consecutive letters (CT, MS, etc.).
MS DOS was my favorite. Like others, I fell for the Jackson Five/Jackson MS misdirection, Very clever, Mr. Burnikel.
In the end I got it all except for SMEWS. Like Misty, I was flirting with SMEES even though that kept me from WISES UP. I guess you could say that, in the long run, I did not wise up.
Keith, C.C. Burnikel is not a "Mr." She's the founder, rule-maker, Sunday host, and chief bottle-washer of this blog.
Feeling snug (smug?) and warm here in SoCal while the rest of our continent seems to be undergoing worst ever winter blasts. I know it is not fair, but I count myself not just lucky but, well, foresighted. As pleasant as I found the changing of the seasons during my middle years living in New England and then in Virginia, I knew I needed to settle into a "Mediterranean climate" before hitting old age. Even here, of course, the winter nights get a bit chilly for these aging bones, but, well, they're nothing like NW Massachusetts ...
I suppose the luckiest aspect of my choice is that, given the vagaries of climate change, SoCal's balmy weather hasn't changed during my lifetime. Hmm. Maybe it will yet.
~Kf
PS. And then there are always the earthquakes.
Thanks, desper-otto...
- for catching my gender error. I haven't had any direct contact with CC, hence my ignorance. I still feel like a newbie.
Apologies to CC!
I say yes to MS-DOS. All of these clues have double meanings, e.g.
Hartford market checker's action would be a Connecticut [grocery UPC] scan, which is quite a different thing from a C.T. SCAN.
Boise jewelry is an Idaho Bracelet, a different thing from a medical I.D. BRACELET, which is not considered jewelry.
Jackson hair styles are each a Mississippi [hair]do, which is different from M.S. DOS.
Steve got it right in noting that the secondary, unclued parsing had the initials as separate letters on all of them.
The one that cracked the pattern was Harrisburg loudspeaker network, which would be Pennsylvania P.A. system, rather than just a Pennsylvania system, clued as Harrisburg network.
Musings 2
-46F but still too chilly with a brisk south wind. I’m glad you’re still warm enough Tin but I read there is snow and that other ITEM not far north of you.
-California weather problem on the horizon?
-YR, thanks for the use of APE as a verb. I went… Well you know!
-Marti, yes Helen’s song was from JC Superstar. These lyrics from that play have weighed on my mind many times. Especially “If you'd come today you could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication.”
-I was wondering how Hefner would do as a LADY KILLER if he had my income ;-)
Owen 3:57, you have a good point. I always admire a well reasoned,logic approach, as opposed to a snarky, personal, anonymous attack.
Good afternoon all,
We ALWAYS know that the CW will be a fun creation when we see C.C.'s name attached to it. Today was no exception. After filling IDbracelet, I couldn't wait to solve the other theme answers. After reading your great blogging, Steve, I JUST got the MS Dos reasoning., but then I had MS Dox...which was a mystery.
Hand up for Misty's mistake...glad I wasn't alone in filling smee and cala to make eases up, instead of wises up.
Knowing Loewe and spelling Loewe are 2 different things, so I waited for pedal,and OSHA.
Is Mt Blanc part of the Dolomites? Nestled in the alps is a beautiful little town, Cortina D'ampezzo where we stayed while in Italy.
Always looked forward to Nora Ephron's essays on the Huffington Post.
epodes-only in CW's, not in my memory bank yet.
Stay warm.
Yellowrocks @ 4:08 those cowardly; pathetic; anonymous attacks are really annoying. Just to let you know I think you rock.
Barry knows MS is Mississippi, but it all bets CRAZY early.
You'd think, huh? Geography was never my strong point. I actually did realize my mistake about an hour later as I was taking my son to school, but didn't have time to post again until right now...
I'm surprised by all the discussion about MS-DOS. My take is that all the theme clues were necessarily silly references to in the language items or phrases. MS DOS falls under that umbrella. The only inconsistency that stood out was that Tulsa isn't the state Capitol, but that was forced since it would have been a giveaway. It might not be a perfect execution of a theme, but it's very close. It certainly worked for me.
Catching a little news and weather channel today, I'm stunned by the problems in Atlanta with 2" of snow. I realize that many drivers have little experience with those conditions, but the total gridlock that resulted is nothing short of amazing. I sure hope that that problem doesn't return this winter.
I really do not understand how anyone's take on MSDOS makes a reference to anything other than hair-DOS, hence the clue "hair styles".
I think what confuses some is this fact:
"The central MSDOS is the weak link. It is the only one that modifies the second part of the theme answers, and it does so not only in meaning but pronunciation too."
- some other reviewer on some other blog
Internet Troll - it's like when you look at the candlestick/or/kissing Rorschach - I see software, some see Prom
On another nit:
I was playing Words With Friends the other day and confidently placed my tiles to form "ADES" to which I was told it was not a word. Huh? I removed the "S" to which I was told ADE is not a word either. I muttered some choice words to myself and tried SADE. Not acceptable. So I played SAD. Yes, I know, its ironic.
So now I see there is a "is ADE a word" discussion on some other blog, with some heavy hitters(constructor, editor and publisher) saying it not a word should not be used. Shocker for me.
I guess Rich falls into the "other" camp since he allows it. A lot.
I can't think of anything funny to link for the theme...
CC, you have left me speechless!
@ Keith Fowler 3:52 p.m.
You may want to explore this blog's Home page, upper right-hand corner, under the header About us. Click on the C.C. link and read her profile. C.C is an amazing woman we admire.
Helen Reddy may have sung the song "I Don't Know How To Love Him", but this is the original- and best from the Broadway play "Jesus Christ Superstar. I went to see the whole play just because of this song. (Not on Broadway, here in Phoenix). Nobody can do it like Yvonne Elliman!
Cat Scan
I'm still working on the rest :-)
OK Corral
That's all I got.
Time will tell...
Holy Crap!
How could I forget Bill G's ID Bracelet
CC, I enjoyed the puzzle though I had more trouble than I would expect on a Wednesday. I entered a wrong word or two even though they seemed OK. Those led to other wrong words and it snowballed from there. But it all worked out OK including MSDOS. Thanks Steve.
Manac, good ones.
I had a few minutes to kill before tutoring this afternoon so I went for a short bike ride and lunch al fresco. (It was outdoors too!) I had a really good grilled cheese sandwich with white cheddar, tomato and avocado. Yummy!
I caught a bit of today's All Things Considered on NPR. There was an interesting interview with a fellow who thinks we ought to retire from American speech certain borrowed words; today's targets were Frisson, Schadenfreude, Mensch, and Sympatico. His motivation is unclear to me. Personally, I'm not ready to abandon fun Yiddish words, such as schlepp, and those amusing Euro language words are just too entertaining. How can you improve on Schadenfreude? (Def.: taking pleasure in another's misfortune)
Google showed me that there is a tongue-in-cheek fake rework of that word, Freudenschade, which means sorrow at another's good fortune. Good for a smile!
Going to school at Cornell, I learned some Yiddish. Growing up Protestant in Virginia, not so much. A word I learned late in life (from Joy Behar) that I enjoy using is 'Verklempt.' (Overcome with emotion.)
Hi All!
Late to post. I played the puzzle again between meetings today. I was stumped with ID..... CT...., not realizing they were the states of the cap's. Finally OK Corral. Bam. The NE was the hardest for me to get a foot-hold but I finally finished (with two missed WAG nat-niks).
I left the puzzle at work, so I can't say which clues, but when I read Lemony I though "C.C.?" " Yep, Yeah!"
C.C. - you packed so much, States, shout-outs, and mini themes. Fun! Steve - great write-up, all non-ANONs great posts!
Cheers, -T
Here's a little video of a watch cat protecting her house from an intruder. A cat guarding the house,
I just want to thank C.C, for this forum, where we are sometimes surprised with a visit from the constructor. Perhaps he could shed some light upon 41 across.
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