Words: 72 (missing Q,X)
Blocks: 28
Considering the last two Saturday puzzles, I expected to take a beating
today, and I was not all that surprised when it happened to be a Silkie -
and a pinwheel of triple-10's at that~! Yet despite my first pass
looking like the front yard ( here on LI, we're still knee-deep in snow
), my second pass pretty much wrapped it up. Have to admit, there were
some s=t=r=e=t=c=h=e=s in the clues, but what else do you get on a
Saturday? Some of the longer fill today;
17a. What "c" might mean : LIGHT SPEED - E=mc²
12d. Response to a knock : WHO CAN IT BE - gotta have this musical link
28. Caspian Sea republic : AZERBAIJAN - Scrabbly fill~!
69a. Pronunciation aid : STRESS MARK - see 29d.
ON - the - WAshington - RoaD~!
ACROSS:
1. Honolulu memorial : USS ARIZONA - I get this a lot in crosswords
11. Stroked : SWUM - oh, uh, that kind of stroked....
15. Approached : CLOSED IN ON
16. Quite : OH SO - ah, not "VERY"
18. Cold War capital : BONN
19. Befogged : AT SEA
20. Beginning for metric : BARO - BAROmetric
22. Hipster : CAT - I went with "KAT" first
23. Rat : SING - a slight meh, since I think it should be "rat OUT"
26. Do maintenance on, as a roof : RE-SLATE - I'd love a slate roof on my house - but the weight and cost is prohibitive
28. Inlet : ARM - meh #2; I get it, but, well....meh
31. Adopted great-nephew of Claudius : NERO
33. Self-titled 1991 debut album : ALANIS - Morisette; this was her 'dance-pop' album she recorded at the age of 17; 4 years later came the album everyone else knows, the 33million-copies-sold "Jagged Little Pill"
34. Fashionable '40s garb : ZOOT SUITS
37. Jumbles : OLIOs
38. Nervous : EDGY
39. Honored, in a way : FETED
41. 8 for O, e.g. : AT. No. - Atomic # 8, for Oxygen
42. Lively dances : REELS
44. Apple Store tech support station : GENIUS BAR - I'm PC - the genius is in ME
46. Cram : BONE UP
48. Cheer : ROOT
49. One wearing a "Y" shirt, perhaps : ELI - we had this yesterday; NOTE: if you punch in "Y shirt" on Google, and leave the ELI or YALE part out, you get much raunchier pictures~!
50. Formal talk : ADDRESS - Harrison's Inaugural Address was 8,445 words - see 35d.
52. Messenger molecules : RNAs
54. SS supplement : IRA - Social Security and Individual Retirement Account
55. "Deputy __": old toon : DAWG
61. Nonsense : JIVE - "excuse me miss, I speak JIVE"
63. Don't bother : LEAVE ALONE
66. 2013 Zipcar acquirer : AVIS
67. Pinocchio, for one : MARIONETTE
68. Composer Rorem and others : NEDs
DOWN:
1. Pauley Pavilion team : UCLA
2. Fine cut : SLIT
3. Soaks, in British dialect : SOGS - My parents were born and raised in England, though I can't say I ever heard them say this
4. Fire proof : ASHES - Fire PROOF, not FIREproof
5. Hires to handle the case : RETAINS
6. Names : IDs
7. Letter number : ZIP - code; great clue for one of the numbers on a written letter
8. Spoiler of a perfect semester : ONE B - funny, because I got straight A's in my first semester at Island Drafting except for "one B"
9. Musical deficiency : NO EAR - because TIN EAR would not fit
10. Tenor Bocelli : ANDREA - that's a man, baby - and my ex-wife's name. Awkward.
11. Sound of distress : SOB
13. Amer. citizen, e.g. : U.S. NATIONAL
14. Education innovator : MONTESSORI
21. __ Accords: 1993 agreement : OSLO
24. Huit follower : NEUF - 8 and 9, in Frawnche
25. Composer who incorporated Norwegian folk music into his work : GRIEG
27. Singing syllables : LALAs - Shout-out to Linda~!
29. Haute couture shopping area : RODEO DRIVE - because it's "haute couture", the pronunciation is rho-'DAY-o; everywhere else it's 'RO-dee-o; sort of like Marty Brodeur, goalie for the NJ Devils; when he makes a spectacular save, he becomes 'MAR-'TAN 'BRO-'DOOOR~!
30. Hexagram on the Israeli flag : MOGEN DAVID - Because Star O' David seemed too Irish to me; I did not know about this 'speculative' astronomical idea
32. River player : OTTER - ah, not a Texas Hold 'em reference
35. Harrison's successor : TYLER - US Presidents; the former for 30days, 12hours, 30minutes
36. Toledo title : SEÑOR
40. "I Wonder Why" lead singer : DION - someone else's turn
43. Took to court : SUED
45. St. George residents : UTAHANS
47. Job follow-up? : PSALMS - ah, Bible reference
51. Part of Churchill's offer : SWEAT - Winston Churchill - more here
53. Capital on the Willamette : SALEM
56. "Mr. Mom" actress : GARR
58. Personnel list : ROTA
59. Start of an intermission? : ENTR'acte, Frawnche for "between the acts"
60. Yielding : MEEK - ah, not "WEAK"
62. Winding path : ESS
64. Contend : VIE
65. Aurora, to the Greeks : EOS
Splynter
11. Stroked : SWUM - oh, uh, that kind of stroked....
15. Approached : CLOSED IN ON
16. Quite : OH SO - ah, not "VERY"
18. Cold War capital : BONN
19. Befogged : AT SEA
20. Beginning for metric : BARO - BAROmetric
22. Hipster : CAT - I went with "KAT" first
23. Rat : SING - a slight meh, since I think it should be "rat OUT"
26. Do maintenance on, as a roof : RE-SLATE - I'd love a slate roof on my house - but the weight and cost is prohibitive
28. Inlet : ARM - meh #2; I get it, but, well....meh
31. Adopted great-nephew of Claudius : NERO
33. Self-titled 1991 debut album : ALANIS - Morisette; this was her 'dance-pop' album she recorded at the age of 17; 4 years later came the album everyone else knows, the 33million-copies-sold "Jagged Little Pill"
34. Fashionable '40s garb : ZOOT SUITS
38. Nervous : EDGY
39. Honored, in a way : FETED
41. 8 for O, e.g. : AT. No. - Atomic # 8, for Oxygen
42. Lively dances : REELS
44. Apple Store tech support station : GENIUS BAR - I'm PC - the genius is in ME
46. Cram : BONE UP
48. Cheer : ROOT
49. One wearing a "Y" shirt, perhaps : ELI - we had this yesterday; NOTE: if you punch in "Y shirt" on Google, and leave the ELI or YALE part out, you get much raunchier pictures~!
52. Messenger molecules : RNAs
54. SS supplement : IRA - Social Security and Individual Retirement Account
55. "Deputy __": old toon : DAWG
57. "The King and I" group : HAREM - Gotta get me one of these
61. Nonsense : JIVE - "excuse me miss, I speak JIVE"
63. Don't bother : LEAVE ALONE
66. 2013 Zipcar acquirer : AVIS
67. Pinocchio, for one : MARIONETTE
68. Composer Rorem and others : NEDs
DOWN:
1. Pauley Pavilion team : UCLA
2. Fine cut : SLIT
3. Soaks, in British dialect : SOGS - My parents were born and raised in England, though I can't say I ever heard them say this
4. Fire proof : ASHES - Fire PROOF, not FIREproof
5. Hires to handle the case : RETAINS
6. Names : IDs
7. Letter number : ZIP - code; great clue for one of the numbers on a written letter
8. Spoiler of a perfect semester : ONE B - funny, because I got straight A's in my first semester at Island Drafting except for "one B"
9. Musical deficiency : NO EAR - because TIN EAR would not fit
10. Tenor Bocelli : ANDREA - that's a man, baby - and my ex-wife's name. Awkward.
11. Sound of distress : SOB
13. Amer. citizen, e.g. : U.S. NATIONAL
14. Education innovator : MONTESSORI
21. __ Accords: 1993 agreement : OSLO
24. Huit follower : NEUF - 8 and 9, in Frawnche
25. Composer who incorporated Norwegian folk music into his work : GRIEG
27. Singing syllables : LALAs - Shout-out to Linda~!
29. Haute couture shopping area : RODEO DRIVE - because it's "haute couture", the pronunciation is rho-'DAY-o; everywhere else it's 'RO-dee-o; sort of like Marty Brodeur, goalie for the NJ Devils; when he makes a spectacular save, he becomes 'MAR-'TAN 'BRO-'DOOOR~!
30. Hexagram on the Israeli flag : MOGEN DAVID - Because Star O' David seemed too Irish to me; I did not know about this 'speculative' astronomical idea
35. Harrison's successor : TYLER - US Presidents; the former for 30days, 12hours, 30minutes
36. Toledo title : SEÑOR
40. "I Wonder Why" lead singer : DION - someone else's turn
43. Took to court : SUED
45. St. George residents : UTAHANS
47. Job follow-up? : PSALMS - ah, Bible reference
51. Part of Churchill's offer : SWEAT - Winston Churchill - more here
53. Capital on the Willamette : SALEM
58. Personnel list : ROTA
59. Start of an intermission? : ENTR'acte, Frawnche for "between the acts"
60. Yielding : MEEK - ah, not "WEAK"
62. Winding path : ESS
64. Contend : VIE
65. Aurora, to the Greeks : EOS
Splynter
50 comments:
An arrogant lady named Jen
Did Sudoku puzzles in pen.
When asked, "Why in ink?",
She replied, "I do think
The solution is wrong once again!"
And then this explorer named Brian
Works anagram puzzles online.
He says in the jungle
He'll relax with a Jumble,
And forget about things Paraguayan!
I could solve cryptic puzzles all night.
My program of choice: Across Lite.
The grid is a lattice,
But the wordplay is badass,
And I love the ta-da when I'm right!
Crosswords in ink, lead or electrons
Are good for massaging the neurons.
They're fun for a lark
While they keep the mind sharp
And tickle your internal lexicons!
Greetings to C.C. and friends at the Crossword Corner, with my heartfelt thanks for the kind birthday wishes from a few days ago.
After you've savored your Silk, if you're still in a mood for more, I offer you the sports headline-themed Olympic Hockey Shticks, which was vetted overnight by my two favorite Martins (one from each side of the border): Ashwood-Smith and Herbach. We hope you like it!
End-of-the-week difficulty. The NE corner was still blank when everything else was completed, but one by one I whittled them down. 11a for some reason I read as "stoked" the first several times I looked at it. I liked CAT next to Rat at 22+23a. 41a was opaque until I read Splynter's write-up.
The limericks today are inspired by one of yesterday's discussions. Myself, after 50 years of doing them in pencil or sometimes pen, I've learned to love them on the 'puter. The different controls each format uses (starting at the beginning of a word vs. first open letter; skipping or requiring letters already entered; changing direction by doubleclick, arrow, or spacebar; spaces erasing or skipping letters; whether red letters are unavailable, optional, or always on) are a minor pain, but once I'm used to them they're not too hard. Across Lite lets you set some of those in its options.
I do acrosses until I have at least one word across each top quadrant or reach the first theme entry, then go back and do all the downs until I run out of crosses, and alternate like that through the rest of the puzzle.
Wow! A not difficult Saturday Silkie. Down the west coast under bar of three black squares and all across the bottom, then down the space between the ladders went unbelievably fast. The western top white block made me think, until I remembered the Arizona. SOB and MONTESSORI were easy which finally gave me SWUM. Tricky! The toughest part? I had to choose between ANRRES, ANDREW, and ANDREA. I never heard of ALANIS.
Interesting blog, Steve.
Fun lyrics, Owen A Plus.
Morning, all!
Well, this was no walk in the park for me. I'm usually on Mr. Silk's wavelength, but I got halfway down this puzzle before I could fill in a single answer.
MOGEN DAVID saved me in the SW, as did MONTESSORI in the NE and MARIONETTE in the SE. Just could not get a foothold in the NW, however. At the end, everything was filled in except for the NW, which remained completely blank.
And then thing slowly fell into place there, from right to left.
I missed the clue for 10D on my first pass, but was able to stick in ANDREA at 10D. I really wanted TIN EAR for 9D, but when that didn't fit I grudgingly went with the much less appealing NO EAR. I then went through the keyboard alphabet (starting with Q and heading toward M) until I finally got BARO at 20, which gave me ONEB at 8D (also a bit grudgingly).
After that, it was ZIP and then IDS and then ASHES, which finally revealed USS ARIZONA, CLOSED IN ON and LIGHT SPEED. That gave me SOGS, SLIT, UCLA and RETAINS in short order, wheich then gave me the glorious *TADA*.
Great puzzle overall. Could have done without ONEB or NOEAR, but whatever.
Good morning, Saturday Soldiers!
Mr. Silk threw us a softball for a change. I was zipping right along until I hit the eastern seaboard. I had WHO IS THERE. Didn't last, though.
One thing about a slate roof -- you don't have to RESLATE for years and years and years.
A male tenor named ANDREA? Oh, well, I had a male cousin named SHIRLEY, and that was before the movie Airplane!.
Learning moment: MOGEN DAVID is not just a cheap wine. And who'dathunk that you could lay AZERBAIJAN, RODEO DRIVE and MOGEN DAVID side-by-side and wind up with something crossable? Spectacular!
It is the odd Saturday when I find my self on Mr. Silk's wavelength had no problems in the northwest and south east. Then I got bogged down in the middle before putting my attention to the north east and south west then it fell in to place easily in my time range for a good Saturday puzzle.
When I was a virtual assistant for a roofer we had many desperate pleas for repairs from owners of older homes with slate roofs. We didn't repair them and we knew of nobody who did.
The church in which I grew up had an old slate roof. When it failed they had to replace it with a regular roof. Even that project was very expensive.
It seems to me that RAT as a verb is unusually used with OUT or ON and has an object of object of the preposition. Will he rat out (on) his fellow members? With no direct object or object of the prepostition it can stand alone. Who RATTED? Who sang?
Thank you for the puzzle, Barry. Thank you for a splendid review, Splynter.
My first reaction was “Uh oh, a Silkie Saturday!” After my first pass, most of the squares were still white, reinforcing my first impression. But methodically working the puzzle got it done in less than usual Saturday time, let alone Silkie Saturday time, with no red letter help. Woohoo!
First to fall was the SW. Last to fall was the NE.
I didn’t know Pauley Pavilion, SOGS, NEUF, ALANIS, or Zipcar, but the perps got me on track.
I wanted Star of David but it didn’t fit, so I waited for the perps to direct me. I only knew MOGEN DAVID as a wine, so today’s learning moment.
I didn’t understand 7D Letter number = ZIP until I read Splynter’s Splendid Review. Doh! Thanks Splynter!
I was sure 11D Sound of distress was SOS, so that held me up in the NE a long time until the perps set me right with SOB. And I had SWAM before SWUM. First I got GENIUS BAR, then finally ELI, and then I slowly got the rest of the NE. Ta-da!
All in all, a fun Saturday Silkie!
As per usual, Barry’s puzzle are incredible and hard enough to challenge but easily gotten with persistence.
Musings
-LIGHT SPEED was cake for us science peeps
-When Jerry demanded info from George, he told him to “SING it sister!”
-Several schools have had to RESLATE games that were snowed out
-Sheldon’s hilarious take on Apple GENIUS (:45)
-Our Chicago friends like Mari, ROOT, ROOT, ROOT for the Cubbies
-Elvis’s take on HARE(U)M. Ah the classics.
-Disco JIVE Talkin’ (4:06) ear worm
-A principal of mine once told an angry parent, “Go ahead and SUE. We’ve got a lawyer on RETAINER and I always wondered if he was worth a damn”
-I once had a semester where ONE B was a highlight
-HORACE MANN fit for MONTESSORI
-Is this everyone’s favorite GRIEG piece (29:40) or the only one I know?
-You mean MOGEN DAVID isn’t just horrible wine?
-Who was the SENOR whose act was using his hand for a face?
“c” limerick told by my prof when I was an undergrad
There once was a girl named Bright
Whose speed was much faster than light.
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
Hi All ~~
I did have some definite trouble spots but as others have said, this was a much smoother Silkie than usual. Even with my unknowns, and "not-sure-ofs", most of this fell into place quite easily.
Last to fill was the crossing of ARM and AZERBAIJAN, with the crossing of BONE UP and MOGEN DAVID a close second.
Splynter ~ as is usually the case, we continue to be in sync. You've already covered a number of things I was going to mention, i.e. Weak before MEEK and if I'm correct, the JIVE quote from "Airplane" - my first thought. :-) Always love your write-ups!
New to me: GENIUS BAR, write-over : Swam /SWUM, favorite: 7D Letter number / ZIP.
For some reason, whenever I see OH SO in a puzzle I think of Marti. I think it was in a puzzle of hers that I'd seen it for the first time.
A very enjoyable Saturday puzzle ~ what's not to like with LALAS and CAT. =^..^=
Morning folks,
A rare Saturday at home and the opportunity to tackle a Silkie. Well it was fun, but there were trouble spots.
Let me start by saying, I finished it off, but needed red letter aid. Therefore a DNF.
NW & SE corners came easily, NE & SW were a bears .MONTESSORI & GENIUS BAR were unknowns. I knew of AZERBAIJAN, but had no idea what it's correct spelling was. The J was a wag because I didn't think JIVE jelled with Nonsense.
Even though it was correct, never thought of Pinocchio as a Marionette, just a fibber with a nose problem.
Failed to make any notes of issues, revelations, or
WTF's today, so I'll close by wishing all a good weather weekend to all, where ever you are.
@Husker Gary, where is Tin?
Greetings, Weekenders! Wonderful expo, Splynter; you shed light on a couple of dim places.
Smooth as Silk! I was immediately on Barry's wave length with US ARIZONA (shame on me if I missed that!).
Opposite of yesterday, the Western seaboard filled quickly and I learned the spelling of AZERBAIJAN (not AZERBAJIAN) though it really startled me when it proved to be the right fill!
UTAHANS still baffles me but it is what it is and we can't have HAREM without it.
The NE gave me fits for quite a while as SWUM was not my first thought for "stroked" but finally SOB came to my rescue followed by BONN and the rest followed. Hi, again, LALA Linda and Mom as well as Aurora (my middle name).
This was fun, thank you, Mr. Silk. Today is our annual HOA meeting so I'm off to prepare for it.
Have a stupendous Saturday, everyone!
Like Splynter, my first prognosis was pretty gloomy (and I can certainly identify with his comparison of a blank puzzle with a snow-covered yard). But I must be getting the hang of this puzzle thing.
Try as I might, I couldn't squeeze "STAR OF" into the available space but perps gave me MOGEN (which I only knew from the wine).
(And I have to wonder why Splynter chose an image of DEPUTY DAWG which shows the spelling as "DEPUTY DOG".)
[13:48]
St. George, Utah Link.
Hello Puzzlers -
I usually find Saturday Silkies to be difficult, but this one went along more easily. Had to wait for perps to confirm the Mogen part, because, like everyone else, I only knew about the too-sweet wine. Was a little wobbly about the spelling of Azerbaijan, but got there soon enough. C is a familiar number, and it's huge. Husker beat me to that relativistic limerick - it's a favorite!
Morning, Splynter, you Solid Saturday Solver you!
Al Cyone - I was tripped up by that too, that Dawg spelling. I haven't seen that cartoon in ages, but my memory has Dawg instead of Dog. Research time...
Crosswords should be done curled up in a chair or sofa, newspaper folded in quarters. Occasionally stopping to read the comics or add to the same page Sudoku. Plus putting the letters in the boxes with your own script and flourish using your special pen is part of the satisfaction. Computer crosswording is artificial and detracts from the whole experience and intended enjoyment.
Good morning everyone.
Always a special treat to do a Silkie; some hard others, like today, not so hard but still with that special touch. No searches or strikethroughs were needed. Many clever clues and fill included those for ATNO, ASHES, and especially Job follow-up - - PSALMS.
Have a great day
Call off the search, I have contacted the Tinman and he is fine. Suffice it to say he is back from a trip that required a passport and where he racked up many, many frequent flier miles and had to put on long pants instead of shorts for the first time in a long while. He hasn’t done a puzzle for a while but thinks he will try to get back on the blog on Monday.
Husker@8:25 -- that would be Senor Wences (sp?) who often appeared on the Ed "Solomon" show. I only learned much later that Solomon wasn't his name.
Favorite limerick: There was a young lady from Norway... But I digress.
Lucina, I can deal with UTAHANS a whole lot better than I can Massachusettsans, which was linked (by Argyle?) a couple of weeks ago.
Good Morning:
Unlike most of you, I found this more difficult than a usual Silkie. Going astray early with SOS before sob, ria before arm, and (embarrassingly) Aretha before Alanis (what was I thinking?!) and holding on to them too long made for a long, frustrating solve.
Finally, after making changes and persisting to the bitter end, I finished w/o help. But, no TADA! I went back and checked for typos but all looked fine, so I then hit the erase all errors and my mistake was quite clear. I had roar instead of root which made the singer Dian and the St. George folks Urahans. I thought Urahans might be Star Trek people or some-such Sci-Fi sect.
In any case, I love Barry's puzzles, even if they give me fits and today's did just that. Thanks, Barry, for another Saturday stumper and thanks, Splynter, for a super expo.
Have a great day.
It's good to hear Tin is fine! Thanks, HG!
Hi again~!
I guess it must be time to retire - yellowrocks is the second person to refer to me as Steve here on Satuday....
I fixed the image of the "DAWG", Al Cyone - I never even noticed the wrong spelling.
Splynter
This puzzle went from the easiest Silkie I had ever tackled through 3/4 of the puzzle and then really bogged down in the Northeast corner.
@HG - Grieg's most well known piece for me is "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpzxKsSEZg
But I enjoyed the piece you posted.
Well, okay, it wasn't as impossible as the usual Saturday Silkie, but this was still a toughie for me and I only got 3/4 done before I had to start cheating. I still fondly remember the day a few months ago when I actually got an entire Silkie, but I'm not sure that will ever happen again.
I liked seeing RODEO DRIVE, though, and liked Splynter's riff on the pronunciation.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
We are not Jewish but the first wine I remember drinking was MOGEN DAVID. It was along time before I tasted better.
Oh you are so smart and tricky mr silk. Good for you, good for you.
You must just feel so superior.
What a stupendous waste of space in my newspaper.
Who has ever heard a knock and said, "Who can it be?"
Re: PSALMS 23 - Here endeth the Lesson
Hi Y'all! The first Silkie I actually liked. I started great by immediately typing in USS ARIZONA. Looked at the U and followed it up with CLA. No red appeared. What? I'm actually doing a Silkie? Well, bless my soul! How'd that happen?
My euphoria didn't last because the NE long slab turned red with everything I tried. I managed RESLATE & ALANIS but nothing else. At the bitter end I had to do a red-letter alphabet run to come up with SWUM -- not swim or swam -- and SOB --not SOs.
"Y" shirt was a Tee with arms raised. Huit, NEUF? Whazat? Learning moment.
I poured a lot of MOGEN DAVID over fruit cakes through the years. I'd like to "wine" about the clue. MOGEN doesn't sound very starry.
Job wasn't "work" but that poor unfortunate Biblical wretch. PSALMS took six perps.
I thought Tin might have got iced-in somewhere. Horrors! Glad someone didn't "ice" him.
Splynter, NO! NO! Don't retire! We need your perspective to spice things up on the weekend. Thanks for all your work.
This Saturday Silkie required some red letter and Google help on my part but it was fun.
Thanks OwenKL for the poem and Splynter for the write-up. Thanks George for the link to the Olympic Hockey Crossword. Loved 17A but I must not gloat; we still have to beat Sweden tomorrow. It will be "early to rise" to see the game at 7am.
Hand up for RIA and for noticing CAT and RAT consecutive clues. Also CSO to LaLa Linda.
Alanis MORISSETTE is an Ottawa native and her debut album was released in Canada only.
I had to google for 30D Star of David and results consistently gave MAGEN DAVID not MOGEN DAVID which is the wine. But apparently the Yiddish version is MOGEN.
Beautiful sunshine here today but cool.
My apologies, Splynter. I had in mind the picture of you in your UPS uniform when I posted. I am losing my mind. This week I called my own sister by a different name. When I walk down the street with an old friend I can draw a blank and say, “Have you met uh, uh, uh, whatchamalcallit?”
john28man @ 12:24, me, too. MIL served Mogen David at Christmas. My family didn’t serve wine. Later when I learned more about wine I became a Merlot and Cab fan.
When someone knocks on the door very early in the morning or late at night and we are not expecting anyone, we ask, “Who could that be?”
Anon @ 1:09 When these puzzles make us s-t-r-e-t-c-h, then our knowledge expands and we can eventually become good at many of them. Even when we lose, it is a pleasant learning experience, especially here on the Corner.
“A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet,” said Will Rogers. For me a strange word is a word I haven’t met yet, although it may be known by others. That’s one of the things I love about crosswords, meeting new words and learning new definitions and forms of known words. Some words obscure to me are other people’s commonplaces and vice versa. What an interesting way to learn
How can a Saturday pzl be so easy?
I admit that my first glance gave me a touch of fear. But as I began writing my fills *lightly*, I found that nearly ALL of my first guesses were correct! What a strange and wonderful feeling that was - esp. on a Saturday. And no cheating on this one, not a single Google. Could it be I'm getting on Silkie's wavelength?
And wouldn't you know that one I hesitated on was ELI. Three little letters. And as a Yale grad (Drama School) myself, you'd think I would jump all over the many ELI answers that show up, but I seem to blank on those. This time I thought of the Village People first, then of some kind of gender/chromosome joke...
Thank you Mr. Silk and thank you, Splynter! The only rewrites I had were to change STAR OF to MOGEN and HORAS to REELS.
Damn, I'm good!
-Inanehiker – I did not know the name of the familiar piece In The Hall Of The Mountain King. As Meredith Willson said in 76 Trombones, “Each bassoon was having its big fat say”.
-All of you with a few minutes should listen to this Hooked On Classics (48:00) recording and see how many of the dozens of the best classical pieces ever written you can name as played by the London Philharmonic with a rock and roll beat. The Grieg Concerto in A minor is at about 3:50.
Anonymous @1:37:
It probably doesn't happen much in real life, but in old melodramas, when a character is alone on stage, perhaps engaged in a soliloquy, and a knock is heard, the usual next words are "Who can [that] it be?"
Treated as an aside, it keeps the character in touch with the audience while directing everyone's focus toward the door.
PS. Happy WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY, Everyone! This is for George!
SPLYNTER! DON'T RETIRE!
I admire your bravery for tackling these Saturday Stumpers, & I would miss your wit.
(besides, if you quit, I would have to change my name to CrossEyedSteve to acknowledge the loss...)
Re: Puzzle, (I got lightspeed,,, & maybe one or two others, but for the rest, I found the clueing incomprehensible.
I did do some research on knock knock jokes, but I will not insult your intelligence here...
So, when the puzzle gets tough, CED resorts, to,, Cats! (Warning,,, cuteness overload...)
Oh, & I did some internet medical research, & discovered I am suffering from Thoracic outlet syndrome. (I wonder if I should tell my Doctor...)
@HG at 2:38--
I love the Hooked on Classics (have all the CDs). Because it is impossible to fall asleep to that music, they were my choice of music when driving across Nebraska/Colorado. Brings back fond memories of many Looney Tunes Cartoons! Thanks for posting the link.
I usually don't attempt Saturday puzzles, but since I started Reading the blog I have decided to just give it a go, and then follow up here to see where I went wrong, or just basically didn't get it. Was ok with US Arizona, Dion,Zootsuits and marionette, and a few other shorties, but thoroughly enjoyed your comments here and that carried me through. Can't wait 'till Monday when I feel like I have a brain again!
Ok, late again. But not because I was working - I took the day off and DH and I went down to one of our favorite little towns in CT to do some shopping and have lunch at a restaurant overlooking the tidal flats in Branford. Amazing - I was even able to catch a little nap on the way down!!
I solved early this morning and flew through it in about my typical Thursday time. I immediately entered USS ARIZONA and UCLA at 1A and 1D. Yay! That boded well for the rest, and I was pretty much on the BS wavelength all the way. I did hold off entering some of my immediate thoughts, but they all ended up being the right ones.
LaLaLinda, you have a great memory!! I used OH SO in my "Loosey Goosey" puzzle back in December 4, 2012!! (Clued as "Really, really".)
Beautiful weather, a relaxing day, and now a glass of (not MOGEN DAVID) wine in front of the fireplace: what more could a person ask for?
Spring. They could ask for spring. Right now.
:-)
A WARM, SUNNY Spring! Not one of those cold, gray, wet Springs! Send the precipitation to California where they need it! :)
Marti ~ Thanks for letting me know that my brain cells (memory, at least) are still functioning. Good to hear that you had a wonderful, relaxing day ~ well deserved!
Dudley and buckeye bob ~ YES - bring on Spring and make it a good one! :-)
I almost never post here, though I read this delightful Corner every day, but Owen KL I simply MUST tell you that's today's offering was your best effort yet IMHO ! Thanks for the day brightener.
Spring Flowers
(Full screen pls)
Oh come'on,I'm posting flowers. ^%&^%captcha, gimme some numbers...)
I've been a reader and enjoyer but not yet a commentator on OwenKL's inspirational works.
But today I have to register my respect for a very fine piece. Anyone who can rhyme "lattice" and "badass" deserves all the admiration I can muster!
All you who are snowbound:
I'm doing my best to push some warm air in your direction!
CEDave:
That was beautiful! Thank you.
Ooh, the 10-day forecast says 100 percent chance of rain this Friday. I'll believe it when I hear it on the skylights.
We were talking about Ellen Page a couple of days ago. I came across her talk about courage, bullying and helping other young people to think of themselves as worthy of love. I respect this very appealing young actress even more after reading this. (She gotten a couple of milliHelens ever prettier in my mind.) The sound quality of the video isn't great but the transcript is given below. Ellen Page
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