Theme: "Universal Truth" - Theme answers are all related to 42. See here for rationale.
23A. His number 95-Across is now permanently retired : JACKIE ROBINSON. Mariano Rivera is the last one to wear #42.
36A. It's roughly 95-Across kilometers : MARATHON
55A. President number 95-Across : BILL CLINTON
80A. It contains 95-Across crude gallons : BARREL OF OIL
112A. Its first printing had 95-Across lines on most pages : GUTENBERG BIBLE. Unknown trivia to me.
9D. It has 95-Across spots : PAIR OF DICE
16D. King who died at 95-Across : ELVIS PRESLEY
59D. 95-Across appears on street signs near this Big Apple landmark : GRAND CENTRAL
74D. Its atomic number is 95-Across : MOLYBDENUM. New word to me. I had a terrifying chemistry teacher in high school.
Reveal entry:
95A. Douglas Adams' facetious answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything : FORTY- TWO.
This
puzzle is for Barry G, who has mentioned Douglas Adams & "The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" several times on the blog.
Only 138 words in this grid (our norm is 144). Dr. Fludzinski's grids always have low-word count. But quite a few partials (7). Rich normally allows for 4 on Sundays.
 |
| Pawel Fludzinski |
Across:
1. Gene splicer's field : BIOTECH. Nice start.
8. They have strings attached : APRONS
14. In __: sort of : A SENSE. A rare 6-letter partial.
20. Astronaut Fisher, the first mother in space : ANNA LEE. Unfamiliar figure to me. Was her name mentioned in Chris Hadfield's book, CanadianEh?
21. He played House : LAURIE (Hugh)
22. Spreads out : SPLAYS
25. Scholar : SAVANT
26. Fit to __ : A TEE
27. Habituate : ENURE. Or INURE.
28. Move up and down : BOB. Hi there Buckeye "Move up and down"!
30. Piece of cake : CINCH
31. Peruvian coin : CÉNTIMO. I thought it's unit of Peseta, Wrong.
34. Makes bubbly : AERATES
39. Busy co. on Valentine's Day : FTD. A few days away.
41. Short-lived 1765 statute : STAMP ACT
45. Hardly virtuous : AMORAL. And 92A. Vulgar : INDECENT
46. Classical theater : ODEON
48. Effervesce : SPARKLE
49. Avoids detection : HIDES
50. Pacific archipelago : MARIANAS
53. In __ and out ... : ONE EAR. And 90A. Biblical words before and after "for" : AN EYE
54. Singer DiFranco : ANI
57. Gracile : SLIM. Gracile is a new word to me.
58. Dog's age : LONGTIME
61. Op-ed pieces : ESSAYS. I tried every news source you all mentioned last Thursday and liked Washington Post the most. Loved Sally Jenkins' article last week.
62. Bridge coups : SLAMS
63. Tiller opening? : ROTO. Just roto-tiller.
64. "Understood" : I SEE
66. Bochco series : L.A. LAW. Steven Bochco created NYPD Blue as well.
69. Gambler's strategy : SYSTEM
75. Pedicab, e.g. : TRICYCLE
79. Persian Gulf land : IRAN
82. Wine: Pref. : OEN. Or OENO. As in Oenophile, wine lover.
83. Sean Combs stage name : P. DIDDY
85. Like some wine glasses : STEMLESS
86. Hosiery hue : TAUPE
88. Degree of interest? : PERCENT. Nice clue.
91. Bearing : MANNER
94. Tarzan creator's monogram : ERB. Here he is again. Edgar Rice Burroughs.
97. Arctic blast : NORTHER. Never used this word before.
99. Phil Collins gear : DRUM SET
101. Like some landings: Abbr. : INSTR. Instrument landing. Dudley knows. Not me.
104. But, to Brutus : SED. Learned from doing Xwords.
105. Verdun's river : MEUSE. I don't even know where Verdun is.
106. Den __, Nederland : HAAG. In Dutch.
110. Aquarium favorites : TETRAS
116. Hatch, as a plot : CREATE
117. Increase gradually : ACCRUE
118. Kind of watch or warning : TORNADO
119. Funny blunder : HOWLER
120. Quakes : SEISMS
121. Cheaters, to teachers : ANAGRAM. Nailed it.
Down:
1. Tijuana locale : BAJA
2. Take __ the waist: alter : IN AT
3. Back in the day : ONCE
4. Parting wish : TAKE CARE. EddyB always closed his comment with "Take care".
5. Yale student : ELI
6. Checkered start? : CEE. The first letter.
7. Legalese adverb : HERETO
8. Philatelist's item : ALBUM
10. Mysterious character : RUNE
11. Hosp. areas : ORs
12. Mournful mother of myth : NIOBE. She appeared often in the old Tribute Daily puzzle. So glad we shifted to LA Times.
13. Spanish titles : SENORS
14. Stubborn one : ASS
15. Distant traveler : SPACEMAN
17. Bread brushed with ghee : NAAN
18. Harmonize : SYNC
19. O.T. book : ESTH. Needed crossing help.
24. Getting __ years : ON IN
29. Night fliers : BATS
32. LAX postings : ETAs
33. Columbus Blue Jackets' org. : NHL
34. Aphrodite's love : ADONIS
35. Hit lightly : TAP ON
36. Taj __ : MAHAL
37. Protein-building acid : AMINO
38. "The Gates of Hell" sculptor : RODIN
40. Pond ducks : TEALS
42. "The Jungle Book" pack leader : AKELA
43. Lien, say : CLAIM
44. Contract stipulations : TERMS
46. Magic, on scoreboards : ORL (Orlando)
47. Grandma : NANA
50. Brunch cocktail : MIMOSA
51. Draft choice : ALE
52. Farm abode : STY
55. Bridle part : BIT
56. Egyptian god of the dead : OSIRIS. Brother & Husband of Isis.
60. Pull : TOW
62. NYSE overseer : SEC. Guess who was SEC's first chairman?
65. Part of RSVP : SIL
66. Painter Fra Filippo __ : LIPPI
67. Makeup mogul Elizabeth : ARDEN
68. Scottish landowner : LAIRD
70. Revolutions, perhaps: Abbr. : YRS. I liked this clue also.
71. Arg. miss : SRTA
72. High schooler : TEENER. What's wrong with TEEN?
73. Iconic bull : ELMER
75. Lean-__: sheds : TOS
76. Jazz title : COUNT
77. Cartoon stinker : LE PEW
78. Part of un año : ENERO
80. Impressionist John : BYNER. Another unknown to me. Please link in the Comments section his most famous work.
81. Honorarium : FEE
84. Adorn : DECORATE
86. London gallery : TATE
87. Sometime it goes : ANYTHING. Oh, anything goes.
89. Explosive compounds : TNTs
91. __ Butterworth : MRS
93. Brake neighbor, informally : THE GAS
95. Melt together : FUSE
96. Mobster's code of silence : OMERTA. Also Mario Puzo's book. I also read "The Last Don".
98. Elicit : EDUCE
100. Hayseeds : RUBES
101. Longing : ITCH
102. First-century emperor : NERO
103. Cassoulet, e.g. : STEW. Never had Cassoulet. But D-Otto, Lucina and TTP might. They're serious foodies.
105. Cousteau's milieux : MERs
107. "This guy walks into __ ..." : A BAR
108. "M*A*S*H" star : ALDA
109. Subj. for Euclid : GEOM
111. Sun. delivery : SER
113. Cable co. that merged with AT&T : TCI
114. Poly- ending : GON. Polygon.
115. Uplifting wear : BRA
Happy
43rd Birthday to dear Splynter, our talented and hard-working Saturday
Stud, who always gives me solid feedback on my theme entry selection
& other life issues. Thanks for being here, Splynter!
C.C.
61 comments:
Oh, what, I ask you, is a poor poet to do
To write a poem, a limerick, to FORTY and TWO?
There are numerous strange qualities
To this most hyped up of quantities
And in today's puzzle we saw quite a few!
[Note that the poem above consists of 42 words.]
I finished, but with so much red-letter help and totally WAGs that it doesn't feel like a win. Naticks included LIpPO+pDIDDY, INsTR+sTEW, SEd+EdUCE, TCi+SEiSMS, MEUSe+OMeRTA; plus a few mentioned by CC solved by perps.
14a I wanted A MANNER, which turned up at 91a. 34a I wanted some form of effervesce, which turned up as the clue 2 words below.
Morning, all!
Yep, I don't think I could possibly be a bigger fan of Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and everything else he wrote, so I got the theme almost immediately.
Sadly, I'm not nearly as knowledgeable of 42-related trivia a I am of Douglas Adams trivia, so I struggled with a lot of the actual theme answer today. Nothing too horrible, though, and the perps came to the rescue as always.
I was not overly fond of NORTHER and TEENER on general principals, never heard of BYNER, and had no idea wine glasses could be STEMLESS. TCI would have been hard, except I recall seeing it in another puzzle recently. Everything else was smooth sailing. Far smoother than the capcha today, in fact, which is back to being a clump of illegible letters for me...
[orterpphe]
[farmanua]
Oh, and a very, very (almost belated) Happy Birthday to Splynter!!!
For me this was about as satisfying as a puzzle gets. Too many favorite clues to mention.
C.C. John BYNER is an impressionist (i.e. comedian), not an Impressionist (i.e. painter). He was a frequent guest on the old Ed Sullivan Show.
[27:12]
An excellent puzzle this morning, and an equally fine write up to boot.
Hi CC. John Byner is a comic who was very good at imitating celebrities. There are many videos on line of his impressions.
I have not had cassoulet, but will now. It looks very tasty.
Yahoo has a new Food section.
https://www.yahoo.com/food/tagged/we-have-lots-of-opinions
I never heard of Douglas Adams and his famous answer, the only unknown in the puzzle. I read only part of the link and was too disinterested to continue. I guess I am not a fan. Knowing Adams and FORTY-TWO was not needed to suss the theme answers. There was enough of a hint in each of the clues to get them with only a few perps, eg. a president, B-------TON, BILL CLINTON or a book, G---------B-BLE, GUTTENBERG BIBLE.
TEENER was a gimme.
I figured if we have so many Nor'easters here, maybe there is a NORTHER. From a TX forecast."The weather system responsible for recent warmth has given it up thanks to a NORTHER dropping across the Plains."
I love the memorable sound of MOLYBDENUM.
I have seen STEMLESS wine glasses in the stores. I love the elegance of stemware.
Good morning!
Cruciverb didn't have the puzzle. I hunted around and finally found the Chicago Trib site. Absolutely hated it! I don't type by letter; I type words. That consarned software expects you to skip over any letter that's already there. Almost everything I typed was therefore wrong. Took me twice as long as normal to finish. Grrrrr. Shortyz, where are you?
GRACILE was new to me, too. Sounds like a combination of Gracie Allen and Lucille Ball. My MIMOSA was first a MOJITO and I was EVOKing before I was EDUCing.
Favorite Douglas Adams character: Slartibartfast. "It is most gratifying that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated. And so, we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully-armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a courtesy detail. We look forward to your custom in future lives."
C.C., I did enjoy that article about the Olympics -- well actually, more about Russia. Velly intellesting!
HBD, Splynter. I really enjoy your Saturday soliloquys.
Favorite Douglas Adams quote: "...learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
"The Guide says that there is an art to flying," said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." He smiled weakly. He pointed at the knees of his trousers and held his arms up to show the elbows. They were all torn and worn through.
And Happy Birthday Splynter !
This puzzle was a grinder. Never heard of Douglas Adams or what 42 meant. The long answers just fell into place but I had no idea why they were related to 42. But to clues, I have heard of a coon's age but never a dog's age. Bochco? DEN HAAG unfamiliar to me. TEENER is a new word to me. MOLYBDENUM fell in place as did BARREL OF OIL and ELVIS and GRAND CENTRAL and MARATHON but I was still clueless about 42. John BYNER was on Ed Sullivan many times. As an interesting note, back in 1989 I rented a sailboat for a week in the Virgin Islands and John Byner's daughter was the cook (and girlfriend of the captain), she told us about growning up in LA and moving around a lot. She spelled her name Biener. My wife hated her, for obvious reasons being that close for a week with a scantily, loosely clad woman on a 52 foot boat.
A very enjoyable puzzle made easier for me because the movie Forty-two was the HBO offering last evening. Many u.loans but they all filled eventually.
HBDTY and many more Splynter.
Back to Sunday's with no football, enjoy all
Thank you for the challenging puzzle, Pawel. Thank you for the excellent review, C.C.
Happy birthday, Splynter!
This seemed about right for a Sunday puzzle. After the first pass, I had a whole lotta white space remaining. The Down words seemed to come easier than the Across words. Kept at it and got down to 2 words left at the 1 hour mark. Turned on red letter help, fixed a couple of errors, and got the last 2 in less than 2 minutes.
I am not familiar with the 42 concept, but didn’t need to know it. I got BILL CLINTON first with some perp help, which gave me FORTY TWO, and then I got JACKIE ROBINSON. The other theme answers were unknowns, but came with perp help.
I had many unknown words and trivia, but that gave me many learning moments. Now if I can just remember them…
Hi, C.C. Thanks for the shout-out!
Good morning.
Fun limerick, OwenK. And nice commentary and link, C.C. As a youngster in Texas, we watched out for "Blue Northers". These storm fronts came in from the northwest with great walls of deep gray-blue clouds. I can't remember if they spawned TORNADO's, but wouldn't be surprised.
I enjoyed this puzzle as, for me, it had a number of long answers that quickly fell into place and, while I didn't know the exact number for the reveal, the familiar crosses of OMERTA, MRS, and LEPEW resolved that pretty quickly. The Northeast was the last to fall as I wanted a "slice" of cake and "Martin Luther" has the same number of letters as ELVIS PRESLEY.
Don't know why MOLYBDENUM was right where it needed to be in my brain. I agree with Barry G that TEENER shouldn't be a word. SEISMS and BYNER are both totally new to me. I liked the clue for TILLER (63A), as I automatically thought of a sailboat. Not!
OwenKL, what is a Natick, please? I checked the blog abbreviations, but didn't see it there.
Cheers,
Re 62A: A "slam" is not a "coup" in bridge. A "coup" is a special play. A "slam" is a special bid (made) – all of the tricks ("grand slam") or all but one ("small slam" or "baby slam").
See here.
Good Morning:
I'm sorry to be a spoilsport, but, for me, this was a definite Thumper.
Fine expo, CC, as always.
Very Happy Birthday wishes to Splynter.
Another cold but bright sunshiny day. Enjoy it.
Hi All ~~
I'm with Irish Miss on this one ~ I just didn't enjoy it. Not being familiar with Douglas Adams or the 42 concept made this a struggle. Once the FORTY TWO filled in, I was able to get the other theme answers and was almost able to complete the puzzle. I should have had ERB and AN EYE but I didn't. That kept me from getting MOLYBDENUM.
~ I enjoyed your write-up, C.C. I had similar thoughts in a number of places - TEENER? NORTHER?
~ GRACILE was new to me - I like the word but can't imagine I'd ever use it
~ Favorites: 87D - Sometimes it goes / ANYTHING and 121A - Cheaters to teachers / ANAGRAM, but I didn't nail it like C.C. - it got me!
A very Happy Birthday to you, Splynter! I hope this year brings you much happiness.
Hi there~!
I rather think I am "FORTY-TWO" with one year of experince, actually.
I, too, am a huge fan of Douglas Adams, and I have seen some of the interesting facts relating to the number 42. I sincerely believed that last year was going to be rather unusual one, being that I was 42; I suppose there were some things....
This whole puzzle was enjoyable; it contained Splynter bits; Blue Jacket's org /NHL, Hosiery hue/TAUPE, Phil Collins gear/DRUM SET, along with things like GRAND CENTRAL, "House", 'Taj Mahal', etc.
Disappointed to see "TEENER" in the grid, but I have accepted "NORTHER" from others here on the blog (we just get Nor'easters in my neighborhood).
My favorite book of the HHGG series from D.A. is "Life, the Universe, and Everything"; contains the story of the Starship Titanic, which underwent a Spontaneous Massive Existence failure on its maiden voyage....
Thanks for the B-day wishes~!
Splynter
I forgot to ask --
I don't get 70D Revolutions, perhaps: Abbr. : YRS.
Why is YRS the answer?
Hello Puzzlers -
Having begun the puzzle late at night (after a long day), I couldn't quite finish. Resuming the action in the bright morning, with coffee, made all the difference.
Hand up for squirming a bit at Teener, Norther, and Gracile, but all in all a splendid grid. I read Douglas Adams long ago, and while I remembered there was a numeric answer to "The Question", I couldn't remember it was forty-two. So that was perped.
Happy Birthday to Splynter!
CED from yesterday - I'm with Irish Miss in that I got lots of chuckles from Caturday, particularly "no, I haven't seen the cat."
Cheers All
Buckeye - Earth takes one year to revolve around the Sun.
Dudley--
Doh! Obvious, now! Thank you!
Happy birthday, Splynter. I hope you have a great day.
TEENER was a gimme for me. It is in the language and in the dictionary as informal. It is even in a respectable print source. From Time Magazine headline,"Music: Teeners' Hero" Monday, May 14, 1956
Bumppo, do you play duplicate?
This was a faster solve than most Sundays,a CINCH.
hi everyone,
No time for puzzle, it's a 'honey-do" day. I did, now it's UCONN/LOUISVILLE ladies game. Could be a close one.
Just wanted to jump in for a sec a wish Splynter a happy birthday. Always look forward to your Saturday appearance.
Good morning everyone. C.C., good intro and comments, as always.
Happy Birthday, Splynter. If you go to Seattle, I'm guessing there's a good chance you'll want to stay in the West.
Nice puzzle by the RPI man. Some tough spots but WAGs and sufficient perps helped with the solve. Some interesting facts ie. GUTENBERG BIBLE, and new word for me, too: GRACILE. A fun Sunday plod.
DEN HAAG - The Dutch definite article, de, is no longer inflected. But the object form seems to remain in place names like Den Haag and Den Helder.
Didn't puzzle the last couple days due to a death in the family; resulting in an overnight trip to Buffalo. With the wind chill, it was colder than a well digger's rear end!
I too have always enjoyed HHGG. Am I misremembering (if that's a word) that Douglas Adams also said that the most useful thing in the universe was a dish towel? One could put it over one's head if disaster was about to strike.
Also, agree with BUMPPO, a 'slam' is not a 'coup' in bridge and I get so tired of seeing it used this way.
Happy Sunday to all
Mostly got stuck in the southwest corner, otherwise slow and sure won the race.
I knew the 42 from my son, if you have an I phone with Siri-- you can keep asking her what is the meaning of the universe and eventually she will just say "42" after other diplomatically evasive answers, as a nod to "THGTTG".
Happy Sunday everybody!
Never read Doug Adams but I knew enough to know that a number was his famous answer, just took a few perps to grok....
TUG for TOW, DRUM KIT for DRUM SET, SEAS for MERS, and SPACES for SPLAYS were early write-overs....
Got about 95 PERCENT before having to go red....
Dealers in Vegas just love it when they see someone using a SYSTEM to try to win. Those casinos were built on system users....
MIMOSA next to ALE, it's after noon somewhere...!
Wasn't ELMER married to Elsie...?
Finally, HBD to Splynter...!
There must be some of you out there who have never seen The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, so this clip should sum up the meaning of "42".
(note that even I did not know until today, that the deleted info at the end of the clip revealed that the new computer, that will run the 10 million year program to reveal the ultimate question,, was named,,,, Earth!)
Another Douglas Adams Quote:
Human beings who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
More facts about the number 42...
Splynter Splynter Splynter,,, do you know how hard it is to find a cake with the word splYnter on it??? In fact, the more I looked, the more pics of young girls behinds came up!
(& 1 front!)
Anyway, The only thing better than 42, is making it to 43. So Happy Birthday Splynter...
I have to recuperate from looking at all these cakes...
Re: 62a - One of the definitions of coup is: " a brilliant, sudden, and usually highly successful stroke or act". Many times, a bridge slam can be difficult to make or is spectacularly made. In this sense, I feel that 'slam', when made, could be thought of as a 'coup.' When bidding, neither word is used; only '6' or '7' of whatever suit or 'no trump'. Scoring rules call it a 'slam'.
Agree w/ Barry G on NORTHER and TEENER.
Did not know for sure about Verdun either, other than battles in WWI. Had Marne before MEUSE. Meuse is Maas in The Netherlands. Verdun is in Lorraine in eastern France. Wiki says Meuse is oldest river in the world, ~380 million years (based on cutting through the Ardennes during their mountain forming period.)
Spitz, your argument about COUP brings up a discussion we have here all the time on varying subjects, the technical vs the everyday definition of words. I usually come down on the side of the everyday, as you did with COUP.
Jackie’s retired 42 gave me the gimmick but not the reveal and then it was all hands on deck to get Pawel’s fine puzzle. Bottom middle with MERS for SEAS, EDUCE and MEUSE took some doing.
Musings
-Started in Licoln with lovely 8-year-old assistant and finished at home
-I think of animals on slick surfaces for SPLAY
-Michael Richards tells of an LA homeless man who was a chess SAVANT he couldn’t beat
-Are AMORAL or INDECENT anachronisms in our brave new world?
-AN EYE FOR AN EYE is Old Testament and turn the other cheek is the New Testament
-Gambler’s SYSTEMS keep Las Vegas in big bucks. Don’t bet the grocery money!
-Grandson did not know P DIDDY and daughter said Sean’s now irrelevant
-The horrible Battle of VERDUN was the longest of WWI
-Before every storm, Joann asks me, “Which is worse, a watch or a warning?”
-Take IN AT the waist. Yeah, right!
-Red Sox SPACEMAN Bill Lee
-Silly TERMS in Van Halen contracts
-HBD Splynter and, except of your route, many happy returns!
Take a ride over the Welsh countryside in an RAF Typhoon. (5:58)
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Pawel Fludzinski, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
Happy Birthday, Splynter, and many more to come.
My Cruciverb worked for the puzzle. Tried this morning before the paper showed up.
Got started and bounced around. After a while it became obvious that I needed 95A. I have never heard of Doug Adams, except a scanty mention in xwords. I am not into science fiction or outer space stories that are a part of sci-fi. I am more earthy.
Nevertheless, I got the number with BARREL OF OIL, which I seemed to remember.
Did not know ANNA LEE, but a few perps and a wag worked.
No idea who Sean Combs is or was. After 5 perps and a guess at the Y, I had it.
THE GAS was pretty simple, but I did not realize how simple until almost the very end of the puzzle. That corner was my last.
Remembered OMERTA from some books.
Had SEAS for 105D, but after a while I realized that was wrong, then realized the clue was french, tried MERS and it worked. That gave me ACCRUE.
My last entry was ANAGRAM. I was missing the M. Finally figured out that Teachers and Cheaters were are anagrams. OK.
Liked AN EYE. That was a tough on for me to get until I got it. Then it was simple.
Liked ROTO for 63A. I own two rototillers. I learned in Gardening Class that not tilling or plowing will give you a better harvest. The ground becomes better. When you 'till the ground becomes more compacted. That was an eye-opener. The instructor proved it to us as well.
Still have not finished yesterday's puzzle. Maybe later today. I was totally busy yesterday.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(entbto war)
Greetings, weekenders! As always, C.C., you amaze me with your insights.
Happy birthday, Splynter! I hope it's been a fabulous day for you.
Late to the dance because I am doing NANA duty. My daughter has a class on Friday so she and her DH went on a mini vacation for early Valentine's Day.
Consequently, I just finished the puzzle which at first I found difficult with all the referential clues and a serious disadvantage in being ignorant of the book in question.
However, with some pecking and poking around I finished most of it but then had to research the significance of 42 and was amazed.
I really liked the clues for SPARKLE and APRONS for starters.
C.C., a cassoulet is simply a casserole. I love them because it simplifies the cooking although it depends on the number of ingredients.
Today I am making the spaghetti and meatballs, which I made yesterday as they take a long while. They are divine!
Must go now as the granddaughters require much attention.
Have a superb Sunday, everyone!
!
On our recent trip to CA we went to the Getty Museum but didn't see anything by John BYNER. In fact, I was surprised the collection is so small compared to the vastness of the place. What they have, though, is quite nice.
I was remiss in not wishing Splynter a "Happy Birthday". My dad was a lifelong UPS-er (at HQ when it was still in NYC) and I not only got to meet Jim Casey (Splynter will know who that is), I was fortunate enough to receive a James E. Casey Scholarship. I was also an employee during one Christmas season, toiling in the bowels of a Manhattan department store as an endless stream of packages came down the chute.
John Byner doing an Elvis Impression. Video(2:12)
Hi Y'all! Got 'er done but didn't enjoy it as much as I might have if I'd known what it was about earlier. I think "The Hitchhiker's Guide" came out when I was too busy writing to read anything not work related. The name Douglas Adams didn't even sound familiar although the book title did.
Duh moment: got ANAGRAM and wondered what that had to do with Cheaters & teachers. Don't think the synapses were firing on all cylinders. Thanks for the expo, C.C.
Argyle, thanks for the Link of BYNER doing ELVIS.
That's the one I remembered BYNER from.
Living in West Texas when a Blue NORTHER came in was a memorable experience. No doubt in one's mind why they call it that.
Happy birthday, Splynter! No doubt you liked CED's hosiery pictures better than cake. LOL!
I very much enjoyed this puzzle-- It has my name LAURIE, my hubby's, BOB. My younger son's name is Mark and when he was little, we called him Markle SPARKLE. We are big fans of THGTTG. Mark always picked 42 when he had a choice with sports jerseys. Our older son answers "42" if he doesn't know the real answer to a question. I recommend the audiobook version of THHGTTG-- it's so much more fun listening to with English accents.
Happy Birthday Splynter, and many more.
I was able to figure out the key to this puzzle with the Bill Clinton clue, but don't know HHGG well enough to tie it in. Enjoyed the gimmick, but still FIW. Ran into a triple Natick in Oregon and guessed incorrectly with Alden in lieu of Arden which led to Ulan instead of Iran. Found it enjoyable despite the failure on two cells.
Also found the day-old NYT puzzle to be very enjoyable this week. That's not always the case
KentuckyKate@9:23: Click here and here for "Natick".
All I needed for 95A was 23A and a couple of perps for JACKIE ROBINSON. I have always resented the Hitchhiker's Guide because it replaced classic movies on Channel 8 on Saturday nights and gave the TV to my stepson.
And, Yellowrocks, thanks for asking: I have not played bridge for years, let alone duplicate, since my 2nd lovely ex-wife and I divorced (she was my best partner). I'm down to spades and euchre.
I have been listening to "Someday Soon" and some of the time I hear, "blow you old Blue Northern" and other times, it's "blow you old Blue Norther". In this clip, it seems clear Judy Collins is singing "Norther". Clip(4:16)
Laughing out loud at myself!! After reading your comments (which I had not done prior to posting)I recalled John Byner and how funny he was! When I read C.C.'s comment I assumed she meant impressionist painter.
Too funny!
There is a lot of other great information from you all today. Maybe I can read it at leisure later or tomorrow. Dinner will be in about 40 mins. when they shall all descend upon me.
Spitz, thank for the RAF typhoon F2 clip. With those canards, it must out turn anything in the sky. But I still think that external fuel tank is a bit clunky.
Argyle@4:12, Tx 4 the John Byner clip. Now that I see him, I remember him from Ed Sullivan. Watching some of the side clips on your link however were enlightening.
Tracking back to the write up, CC said to link his most famous work.
I don't know if this fits the bill, as it might be some of his more infamous work:
Bizarre #1
Bizarre #2
Quite a workout today and required some Google help. Even when completed, I wasn't sure about SEISMS and ANAGRAMS has finally dawned on me now.
I was not a fan of TEENERS either and we never call them NORTHERs here.
I remember Elsie but not ELMER. I was looking for some animal from a Greek myth or something.
I have seen a lot of plastic stemless wine glasses recently as the wine festivals seem to be using them now.
HBD Splynter!!
I don't remember Anna Lee Fisher from Chris Hadfield's book but I see that she was involved with planning, training for the ISS. I'll have a quick scan of the book and see if I find anything.
Take care, all.
V.F.W. Teener Baseball is a program of youth baseball for 13-16 year-old youngsters. Teener Baseball is administered solely by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
There are numerous websites from several states discussing this program.
I won't say what I truly think of the word teener, but that is when I quit working on the puzzle... when that E and the R showed up I had to walk away.....
Happy Birthday Splynter.... and many more... is Seattle a positive ? and do you have friends or relatives in the area.. ?? my very best to you...
thelma
Hi again~!
Thanks again for the B-day wishes, especially to CED for his astute selection of "cakes"~!
HuskerG, the rider on Van Halen's contract may have been 'silly', but it was a necessary addition in order to make sure that the promoters did in fact understand the need to have a venue that could support their 80,000lbs of amps, lights, monitors, etc.
Al Cyone, I got my start as a driver helper at Christmas, and this past season, had one of my own for the first time - and yes, I know of Jim Casey, and Aug 28, 1907~!
UPS will pay me to go to school, and if that school happens to be in Seattle, then I get to transfer, will all my seniority and benefits in tact - a no-brainer, as far as I can see.
Splynter
Well C.C., Chris Hadfield's book had an index so it only took me a minute to discover that Anna Lee Fisher was NOT in his book.
Thanks for the shout-out!
Avg Joe, where do you find the day-old NYT CW puzzles? Do you have to subscribe? Can you do them online?
Hi again~!
Wanted to share my B-day cake - I got a little ambitious again this year~!
Dragon Cake
Splynter
Greetings!
Very late working the puzzle, as have been feeling lousy. It took awhile to finish it, but finally got the TADA with no cheats. (Did not think that was ever going to happen.) Thank you, Pawel and CC!
Never heard of MEUSE and BYNER. All perps.
I am a big Douglas Adams fan! (Did you know that he had 14 Macs shortly before his death?) I still have the original British tapes. They are hilarious (much better than movie). It is interesting to note that the video tapes, audio tapes and books were deliberately inconsistent with each other!
CC: Joseph Kennedy (father of JFK) was the first SEC chairman (if you believe Wiki).
A very late HBTY to Splynter! Hope it was a good one. Did you have chocolate cake?
Cheers!
Bill, I was not being literal, but rather was referring to the one time day-old bread outlets. The puzzle was from last Sunday.
I miss Lara Logan on 60 Minutes. I know she got in trouble over a poorly-fact-checked Benghazi report. (If I never hear that city's name again, it will still be too soon for me.) Why is she still missing? I think her bosses overreacted. Is she pissed off? Is she missing because they are still punishing her, because she is angry at them or something else? I miss Andy Rooney too.
Just got back to the party after a long day. Spitz, that RAF video was attention-getting. There's not a lot of margin for error down low at those speeds! I'd love to ride along with an expert.
Well there's certainly a lot going on at Downton Abbey! Since there's just one episode left for this season, I suspect we're in for a huge cliffhanger.
Has auto-correct become your worst enema?
What are the most common grammatical mistakes you hear? I think the most common is I/me confusion. Then lie/lay. Everybody seems to lay down to take a nap rather than lie down. Here's a little quiz if you are interested. I thought it was pretty tough even though I seem to have done OK. Lie/Lay quiz. Another pair of words that get confused and misused often seems to be uninterested/disinterested.
Boy, I enjoy Foyle's War. I even watch the episodes more than once. Even though I don't enjoy watching movies on my computer as much as on my TV, I guess I will have to pay Hulu or NetFlix or Amazon so I can watch the earliest episodes. I would love to see how it all started.
Re. Downton Abbey, my wife couldn't stand waiting and bought the DVD of the entire season a few weeks ago when it became available. She seemed pleased with the way things were resolved though I have waited to watch it on TV instead. Dunno why...
Hi Bill,
I noticed I wrote "disinterested" yesterday right after I posted and thought about changing it to un-. I was too lazy and wondered whether anyone would catch it.
Although I believe that lie and lay should be used properly, I predict that by the time my grandson is my age they will be interchangeable.
I have read that, "That dress looks well on you,"is close to being accepted, even though it grates on my ears.
A massage feels GOOD.
Baking bread smells GOOD.
It also tastes GOOD.
Children's giggles sound GOOD,
Some dresses look GOOD, Why only that one is changing is beyond me.
Al Cyclone at 5:19
Many thanks for the links for Natick!
Spitzboov Feb 10 @2:00 pm: You have quoted a good generic definition of "coup," and Yellowrocks @2:20 pm acknowledged that usually she comes down on the side of "everyday definitions" as opposed to "technical."
But you cannot do that in this case: "Coup" has a specific definition in bridge; "slam" has a specific, technical and different definition, and thus one cannot mean the other. To conflate the two terms in the context of bridge (or anything else with specific or technical definitions for both) amounts to confusing the terms.
So what the hell is a "coup" in bridge?
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