Theme: THE I's HAVE IT, or I-YI-YI, or OH MY, MY I. If you noticed the somewhat unusual grid, you probably also spotted the big letter I in the middle. With my keen powers of observation, that was the LAST thing I noticed. But It's just the beginning. Every vowel in every fill word is the letter I. There are also a few vowel-less entries. I might nit-pick - instead I'll
identify them as illustrious enhancements. Also, there's a unifier,
though it's not identified as such in the cluing. I'll get to it in due
time.
Jim and Jeff continue their assault on the alphabet. Just five weeks ago, I blogged their puzzle in which every entry contained the letter H. And just 11 days ago we had the no E puzzle by Bruce Haight. Is this a pattern?
Hi, Gang. There's no I
in JazzBumpa, nor in team, but that doesn't mean that you and I can't
team up to work our way through this I-mazing puzzle together. Let's
have at it.
Across:
1. Conflict in FDR's presidency : WWII.
Here, the I's become the Roman numeral 2. WW I was supposed to have
been the war to end all wars. You can see how well that worked out.
5. Readies, as presses : INKS. Perfect job for a squid.
9. Pod prefix : TRI. Of course, I wanted cephalo-, not the three-legged camera holder.
12. Rise : HILL. Topography.
13. Carding at a door : I.D.-ING.
Identifying those over/under age. I'll take the over. I got carded at
a Lion's game a few years ago, thinning grey hair not withstanding.
14. Indian honorifics : SRIS. The don't spell SIRS properly.
15. Stops for Carnival custs. : ISLS. Carnival Cruise line customers and islands. Brief stops, come to think of it.
16. Finger, e.g. : DIGIT. Toe, too.
17. Elton's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" duet partner : KIKI. I remember the song, but Kiki Dee is but a long faded memory.
18. T'ai __ : CHI
An exercise regimen consisting of graceful and slow movements that
relax and strengthen both body and mind. It dates from the 11th
century.
19. Billy clubs : NIGHT STICKS. Head breakers.
21. Indian language : HINDI. My massage therapist is married to an Indian guy from Goa, where they speak Portuguese.
23. User-edited site : WIKI. Even I could be an editor.
24. Model in a bottle : SHIP. Not necessarily.
27. Outer coating : SKIN. Should be bottle. See above.
29. Capital of Georgia : TBILISI. Not Atlanta, though it fits and has all wrong vowels. Say it three times real fast.
32. Works without a script : WINGS IT. Or a result of being unprepared.
36. "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds" fictional spy org. : I .M. F. Not the International Monetary Fund.
37. Architect Maya __ : LIN. She did the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
38. Bug : IRK. Irritate.
39. 24-hr. info source : CNN. There is no I in news.
40. Longing to see : MISSING. I am keenly aware of your absence.
42. Yellowish embellishment : GILDING. Thou shalt not embellish lilies yellowishly.
42. Yellowish embellishment : GILDING. Thou shalt not embellish lilies yellowishly.
44. "Sent" folder contents: Abbr. : MSGS. Short, i-less messages.
45. Small cut : SNIP.
46. Tizzy : SNIT. Hissy fit.
48. Singer Minaj : NICKI. Seek a link if you are so inclined
52. Maintaining shoe gloss, in a way : SPIT SHINING. Instructions.
58. Popular show : HIT.
59. Friends and neighbors : KITH. Middle English, from Old English cȳthth; akin to cūth, meaning "known," recognizable today as it's antonym, uncouth.
60. "Lemon Tree" singer Lopez : TRINI.
61. S&P 500 bank : CITI.
62. NFL stats : INTS. Football Interceptions.
63. Easy two-pointer : TIP IN. Basketball. Just in time for March Madness.
64. Diner orders, briefly : BLTS. Bacon-lettuce-tomato [no I so far] sandwiches - [Darn!]
65. Letter before omega : PSI. It's all Greek to me.
66. Start of a library conversation : PSST. Could I have your attention, without batting an I?
67. Señor's assent : SI SI. I agree. Does C. C.?
Down:
1. Question of choice : WHICH. 'Round the cauldron - which witch?
2. Words often heard before may and might : WISH I. There is an I in WISH.
3. "You Be __": 1986 Run-D.M.C. hit : ILLIN'.
Per 23A, The slang term illing means to "be uncool and unrelaxed", "be
acting crazy", "be 'tripping' or 'bugging' ", or "be acting 'wack' "
4. They, in Tours : ILS. French. Is ILS Illin'?
5. "Got it, man" : I DIG. Retro 60's slang.
6. At hand : NIGH.
7. Make socks, e.g. : KNIT.
8. Pepper and Bilko: Abbr. : SGTS. There is no I in Sergeant.
9. Prank : TRICK.
10. __-Tikki-Tavi: Kipling mongoose : RIKKI. Cobra fighter from the Jungle Book.
11. Egyptian fertility goddess : ISIS.
13. Despot Amin : IDI. Very illin' dude.
14. Street sport : SKIING. Now, this is tricky. Olympic medalist Picabo Street.
19. Ones who reject established institutions : NIHILISTS. A bit understated. It's a belief that current conditions are so bad that existing society should be destroyed.
20. Instant : TWINKLING. I assume this is condensed from the phrase, "In a twinkling of an I."
22. One way to get online, briefly : DSL. Digital Subscriber Line. I's everywhere.
25. "Of Thee __" : I SING. Sweet land of liberty.
26. Sonar pulses : PINGS.
27. Way more than sips : SWIGS. Two ways to go at your Guinness. Before I caught on, I wanted GULPS.
28. Beer from Japan : KIRIN. It's also good for a sip or a SWIG.
29. "A Christmas Carol" boy : TIM.
30. Ratio involving ht. and wt. : B.M.I. Body mass index, briefly.
31. Suppositions : IFS. They occasionally travel with ANDS or BUTS.
33. __-fi : SCI. Science Fiction.
34. Accommodating place : INN. A place with accommodations. Nice, fresh clue
35. Series with Capt. Picard, to fans : TNG. There's no I in Star Treck: The Next Generat -- oops!
41. Horseshoe makers : SMITHS.
43. Printer spec. : DPI. Dots Per Inch.
46. Quick rides : SPINS.
47. Ness foe : NITTI.
Gritty guy. Per 23A: Francesco Raffaele Nitti (January 27, 1886 –
March 19, 1943), also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an
Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in
charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations. Eliot Paul Ness
joined the U.S. Treasury Department in 1927, working with the Bureau of
Prohibition, in Chicago. Fun times.
49. Spicy pepper : CHILI.
50. Saint __ and Nevis: Caribbean country : KITTS. More formally, St. Christopher. These neighboring West Indies Islands form a single country.
51. Formal "Who's there?" reply : IT IS I. Finally, it is the unifier
52. Miss on purpose : SKIP.
53. Web address letters : HTTP. HyperText Transfer Protocol.
54. "Elegy for __": memoir about writer Murdoch : IRIS.
Per the font of all knowledge, she was an Irish-born British author and
philosopher, best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual
relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious.
55. Pinches : NIPS.
A word with many meanings, here I take it to be arrests, as by a police
officer. You may ponder other meanings at your leisure.
56. Part of FDR: Abbr. : INIT. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Initials.
57. Diarist Anaïs : NIN.
Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 21,
1903 – January 14, 1977) was an author born to Spanish-Cuban parents in
France.
61. "Mike & Molly" network : CBS. Columbia Broadcasting System, which unfortunately contains an I.
That
wraps it up. A pleasant journey, and quite an I full, with some
musical interludes and interesting authors. Hope you injoyed it. I'll
be off-line today, and will try to check in this evening.
Cool Regards!
JzB
63 comments:
Well Jeff Chen and Jim Horne are back with another gimmick grid. JzB again led us through this interesting Wednesday with some exciting fill like TBILISI, SPIT SHINING, NIHILISTS,TWINKLING,GILDING...
Did not know the other Georgia but the rest went well.
Last day of winter...enjoy
I cannot see an A or E;
O, U and Y have been passed by.
The only vowel, it's I's chance to howl!
(Most abbreviations escaped the I operations.)
When a senator's working, he may vote aye.
When a hurricane's passing, there's calm in the eye.
An ego that's to dread
Is the I in your head.
Marijuana in London helps the Cockneys "get 'igh!"
Morning, all!
For once, I noticed the giant I in the middle of the grid right away and knew something was up. It didn't take too long to figure out that the only vowel in the grid was I. I was just incredibly grateful that this constraint did not apply to the clues as well, since that usually ratchets the difficulty level up a few notches due to tortured cluing.
I struggled a bit with TBILISI/TIM crossing, but TBILISI seemed more likely than JBILISI and I couldn't think of any other possibility for the boy's name...
The I's of March?
I wasn't fooled by Georgia, but the Street Sport made no sense.
The War to End All Wars was actually ascribed to WWI, not WWII.
Exactly. Just what JzB said.
I misspelled TBILISI and NIHILISTS and I didn't think of SKIPping class because I was such a good student. I had TRINA and NAN instead of TRINI and NIN but I changed that when I realized that the A, E, O, U and Y were all MISSING from the puzzle. Indeed, I wish MISSING had been clued as "What A, E, O, U and Y are in this puzzle" because otherwise there is no unifier.
NICKI was a gimme (as in "Gimme gimme gimme!"). I won't explain why. Nit pick: she's a rapper, not a singer. I watch her videos on youtube with the volume turned down.
I did all the puzzles from Monday to Friday last week and Monday to Wednesday so far this week. CHIANG and ANG were gimmes and CHI was a gimme today. The benefits of living in Taiwan, I guess.
I felt sad when MISSING crossed with PINGS. It's all we hear about on CNN.
Enoyed doing this puzzle. Once I realized that the vowel used is I, the words came more easily!
Thanks for the wonderful write up.
June 19, 2012 New York Times Crossword puzzle (Steve Riley/Will Shortz) had just the vowel O.
I Carumba!
Did I see the big I? Did I notice that I was the only vowel in the puzzle? Did I get the reveal? I did not!
Who'd a thunk that I'd get to be this old and just now learned what the KITH of "KITH and kin" meant (thanx, JzB). I thought it was just a Mardi Gras expression -- "KITH me, you fool!"
NIPS reminds me of today's local news story from my neck of the woods.
The WWi/WWII discussion reminds me of these Tom Lehrer lyrics:
Once all the Germans were warlike and mean,
But that couldn't happen again.
We taught them a lesson in 1918
And they've hardly bothered us since then.
Time to be spit shining my night stick...
Nifty puzzle with the use of only one vowel. I did notice notice many Is with RIKKI KIKI WIKI NICKI but was not able to catch that it was the only vowel used. I did finish the puzzle but didn't know if i did it correctly until I glicked onto this blog. Not being into rap music, ILLIN just didn't look right and I had to Google it. SKIING fell into place but it was baffling me until I saw the picture of Picabo. If I had noticed the use of only one vowel, I wouldn't have been torn between TAPIN or TIPIN, NEAR or NIGH, GULPS or SWIGS, SKIN or PEEL. IMF is still a total blank to me because my Mission Impossible days go back to Peter Graves days, aka known as the real Matt Dillon's brother.
Good morning everybody. I'm with Desper-Otto on this one. I never saw the big black I or caught the theme - thank you JzB.
I got most of the fill, but this is technically a DNF for me. There were a lot of words I was unfamiliar with, including: SRIS, KIRIN, TBILISI, KITH, and TRINI.
No complaints though. I like Jeff Chen's puzzles and JzB's write ups. (Loved the one about "the perfect job for a squid".)
I hope you all have a great day!
Big Easy had a good reveal: "I did It"
THANK YOU, YOUR "CORNER" MADE MY MORNING ONE BIG SMILE, WHAT GREAT OLDIES. IT WAS A JOY TO SEE ELTON IN HIS YOUTH, WHAT A REMARKABLE ARTIST. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I HAD THE THRILL OF SEEING HIM LIVE WITH BILLY JOEL. IT WAS A NONSTOP 3 HR. CONCERT THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET. THANK YOU FOR THE FOND MEMORIES.
JILL
I have heard the phrase "kith and kin" all my life. I never knew what kith meant until today.
Good morning everyone.
And all done without needing Mississippi. Thanks JzB for explaining the theme. I got all the way through, noticed the odd grid, got all the fill with only 'i' vowels, and still, the theme went over my head. Sigh! The good part is I got all the way to the end without white-out. I'd say Jim and Jeff achieved quite an accomplishment.
PING
Good morning everybody.
I'm with Desper-Otto and Mari on this one. I never saw the big black I or caught the theme.
Thank you JzB for the expo.
Off to the dentist today. 180 mile drive in good weather.
Montana
Montana, I sure hope you keep a log of your medical miles. You might qualify for itemizing on mileage alone.
There's a Chinese couple who live just down the road from us. We often see the woman in her driveway doing Tai CHI during our morning march around the 'hood.
When I was stationed on Guam, I often drank KIRIN beer. It has an unusual taste; requires getting used to.
KITTS could have been clued as a "Peak southwest of Tucson." There's an observatory there.
I’ve heard it said that the best place to hide something is right out in the open. That is what Jim and Jeff did in this now amazing to me puzzle. By golly there is a big honkin’ I out there in front of God and everybody! I commiserate with you Otto, Spitz and Mari.
Musings
-Fill like ILS, KITH, KHILI, KIRIN, and many abbr.’s should have told me something was afoot
-I had forgotten the INK device for KOKO the clown until yesterday
-C’mon, we’ve all done this TRIPOD
-Clerk’s possible offensive IDING dilemma – Ask if you’re a senior citizen or fail to give you the senior discount
-I’m getting close to getting a pedicure on my lower DIGITS
-WINGING IT is not a good substitute for preparing a good presentation
-Of course the non-TWINKILING “WISH I may, WISH I might” body is usually the planet Venus
-Rerun: Picabo Street’s donated hospital room is the Picabo ICU
-I agree, Jazz, NIHILISTS is a little darker to me also
-Is GILDING putting lipstick on a pig?
-The INNS around the Pinnacle Arena in Lincoln last week were all full and getting over $200/ night. One man’s opportunity is another man’s gouging.
-My fav NIP IT (:07)
-Of what trio was Dion singing that he saw “coming over the HILL”
Very clever puzzle. I saw the big I before I started. Guessing that the only vowel was I helped a lot, but I thought that every entry had to have an I, so I puzzled over why CNN, CBS, PSST, and BLT fit all the perps, but had no I. I tried and tried to replace them, then left them in. That was my only hangup. A nit? Thanks for cluing me in. The way you explain it, there is no nit.
I like both Kirin and Asahi beer with sushi.
I laughed when I sussed Street sport. Good one.
Georgia didn't fool me. It's been in the news because of the Crimea problem.
Great blogging, JzB.
Jzb actually did say that WWI was supposed to be the war to end all wars. He wrote it correctly.
For NIP I was thinking that kittens give you a playful nip or pinch, not really a bite.
Hi All ~~
Once again I missed the big picture. I finished with perps filling a few unknowns - KITTS, ILLIN, and KITH and then sat and looked for the theme. I did notice that there seemed to be many Is but completely missed the giant I in the middle of the grid. I finally realized it was the only vowel used. Duh. Glad to see I wasn't the only one!
~ I guess it's March Madness that made me think of basketball (a foul shot) at 52D - 'Miss on purpose.'
~ Favorites were 66A - Start of a library conversation / PSST and 14D - Street sport / SKIING.
~ Thanks for the informative and entertaining write-up, JazzB ~ I always look forward to your observations and comments!
~ The last day of winter ~ finally!
Good Morning:
I finished this w/o help due only to perps and several wags. I, too, missed the giant I and the lack of other vowels. Some of the cluing and fill seem above a Wednesday level, IMO. I now defer to Thumper's advice.
Excellent expo, JzB.
Have a great day.
Thank you for the challenging puzzle, Jim and Jeff. Thank you for the excellent review, Jazzbumpa.
I thought this was a little more difficult than the usual Wednesday puzzle, but that’s OK. I enjoyed solving it. Like so many others, I did not see the big I in the center, and didn’t realize so many answers had only I vowels. But that did not prevent me from solving it.
I filled it all in except the NW corner. I finally got WHICH, and that gave me HILL and ISLS. Then I got WWII. No ta-da. I didn’t know ILLIN or ILS, so I thought ”I must have something wrong in that corner”. I kept looking at the answers and everything looked OK except ILLIN and ILS, but I couldn’t come up with anything else. Finally, I looked over the rest of the puzzle and found that I had NIKKI / KHILI. I changed that to NICKI / CHILI and finally ta-da!
Hand up for wanting ATLANTA before TBILISI, but the perps steered me.
I got 14D. Street sport: SKIING from the perps, but I didn’t “get” it until I came here. Thanks, JazzB!
Nice puzzle, but not the type of theme I prefer. Guessed something was going on with all the i's in Kiki, Nicki, Trini, etc., but didn't get it until I finished.
Favorite clue was "Street Sport". Like Yellowrocks, laughed as soon as I got it!
Great write-up JzB!
Musings 2
-PSST, anon Jill @ 8:04, you don’t have to yell! ;-)
-At least the letter captcha codes aren’t case sensitive
-Waddaya think of this sandwich with with our cwd AIOLI sauce?
-Street SKIING
-Where do those western Asian cities like TBILISI keep those other vowels they need ;-)
-CNN was the only English speaking station we got in Italy in 2007. We did get American sitcoms with Italian dubbed in. What a hoot!
-Follow up on my posting about gulping down Irish Whiskey at a supermarket sample table last week thinking it was a new soda: What is the most unusual thing you have drank/eaten that you thought was one thing but were shocked to find out it was something very different. I’d throw in deep fat fried livers that I thought were deep fat fried mushrooms. Yuck!
Hi everybody. It took me a while last night to suss out the theme. I didn't understand 51D to be a unifier. I saw the I in the center but didn't understand its significance. I did notice that 'I' showed up quite often. Then, AHA! I never did figure out Street sport until JzB explained it. Good puzzle!
Walking the dog
thouI believe that the explanation for Kith is incorrect.
I'm pretty sure it means what the clue says.
When you have the Summer BBQ you invites friends(kith) and relatives (kin)
Anon at 11:33 AM --
You are correct. But I think you misunderstand JazzBumpa’s comment.
Kith means “One’s friends, acquaintances”.
Because the clue gives the straightforward meaning, JazzB is commenting on the origin of the word. “Origin: Old English cȳth, of Germanic origin; related to couth. The original senses were 'knowledge,' 'one's native land,' and 'friends and neighbors'.
Here is the Oxford Dictionary on KITH.
KITH
I didn't think it.
Jazz: Wonderful write-up & links!
Jim & Jeff: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle.
Irish Miss: I thought this felt more like a Thursday level, also.
Faves today (of course) was SWIGS next to KIRIN.
Plus I enjoy NIPS of Pinch often ... lol.
Cheers!!!
Add me to the "unobservant" list. Didn't notice the big "I" in the middle of the grid. Didn't notice all the I's in the answers. I did notice a lot of "K"s in the answers. Thanks, Jim and Jeff, for the interesting challenge. Thanks, JzB, for the explanations, such as Street sport-Picabo (V-8 can, please). Also, ILLIN. I don't listen to that type of "music" so I had no idea.
HG@9:34 Abraham, Martin and John.
BillG Love the dog walking video!
Our precipitation today is liquid instead of the dreaded frozen stuff.
Happy last-day-of-winter to you.
Pat
A fine hump day pzl from Mssrs Horne & Chen, well explicated by Jazzbumpa. I saw the big I, but didn't even think how it related to all the Is in the answers. Funny how sometimes one half of the brain isn't on speaking terms with t'other...
Well, I learned what ILLIN' means today. I guess it is based on "being ill" or more likely "acting in an ill manner."
I'm familiar with KITH, as my name is a variation of it. It's not just a reference to friends, but to one's home or homeland. I remember part of an Old English poem I used to teach that uses the phrase (phonetically only; I forget the spelling): "quells hee in keeth lenjeduh," meaning "whilst he lived in his homeland."
Maya LIN is well known for her minimalist works. She installed a large piece on our arts campus a few years back, one that I pass every day I'm on campus.
The most common comment heard by visitors is "Where is it?"
My goodness, what a challenge. I agree with others who thought this was Thursday level. Very tough, but fun nonetheless. I did notice all the I s and even wondered if the theme was going to have to do with I and K. Never did see the huge I in the middle just as I missed the huge H a few weeks ago. Have got to start looking at the grid a bit more closely.
But in the end, after slogging slowly, I got everything but TBILISI and IMF. Not great for a Wednesday puzzle, but not bad for a toughie like this one.
JazzB, thanks for explaining the STREET SPORT. I got SKIING all right but it made absolutely no sense to me.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
"I hated this puzzle, says I."
Not only was it much harder than a Wednesday level, it was a dirty trick to play on a guy who gets his eyes crossed...
(I mean they all looked like Xs to me...)
36A: IMF = Impossible Missions Force
Hola Everyone, I also have the same powers of observation as JazzB. I didn't notice that great big I in the middle of the grid until I read the writeup. Duh! I need to look at things a bit more carefully, I think.
Skiing was not a street sport that I have heard of before. Kick ball, Kick the can, or stick ball, maybe. This clue fooled me completely. When I put in skiing, I was baffled.
A technical DNF for me today as I had to look up Kirin, and Sris. Some of the other unknowns filled in nicely with the perps.
Another super puzzle by Jeff Chen and his collaborator, Jim Horne.
Have a great day everyone.
Hi Y'all! What an exciting concept with the only words not having "I's" being abbreviations and initials that had no vowels at all! After I filled the puzzle I started looking for a theme and did see the BIG "I". It also dawned on me about all "I's". I scanned that thing a couple times to be sure. Yup! Can't believe I got it.
Didn't get Picabo's involvement until JzB's witty reveals. Thanks. I'd forgotten Picabo's last name. The Carnival connection also escaped me until coming here.
TBilisi: When that filled, I was sure it was wrong. How the heck do they pronounce that? I googled to learn. I was delighted to find out there is a place you can go to get a nice male voice to pronounce it for you. What'll they think of next? Surprise: both the T & B are pronounced.
In my early home decorating phases, I went around GILDING lots of things: ugly door knobs, old lamps, a little table, my claw foot bathtub. My husband escaped only by GILDING loudly protesting. But he probably thought I meant "gelding".
HG: I once drank cider from a punch bowl that I didn't know was spiked until I had gone back for more dips than I should. Best cider I ever drank. Powerful, since I don't drink. Could hardly walk!
Correction: "My husband escaped GILDING by loudly protesting."
I was challenged by this puzzle and finally turned on the red letters to complete. SW corner and East-central areas were the last to fall. Didn't get the I theme until I came here although I did notice a lot of ings and ikkis. Thanks JzB for the enlightening and enjoyable explanations.
Hand up for GULPS before SWIGS. Also had SLIT before SNIP. Had never heard of ILLIN and did not understand how STREET SPORT could be SKIING. I was looking for road hockey!
I had heard KITH and Kin expression. TBILISI was filled in from perps and I still thought it was wrong.
¡ I, caramba ! What a puzzle from J&J. Like many of you, I wondered what the theme was on this one.Then all of a sudden I got a big V8 moment as I stared at the huge "I" in the center of the grid. It does seem like we've had a few of these lately, and I get fooled every time.
Great write up, Jazzb - I always enjoy your witty comments and enjoyable musical links. And thanks for providing us with the unifier, "It is I…"
DH and I just spent a couple days together down in Newport, R.I. so I am a bit late to the party. Lots of good food and leisurely sightseeing. But in March, the sea air can be mighty raw! We really need to go back in July. But the down side of that time of year is that the traffic is horrific. It seems like we had the entire place to ourselves this time. Ah well, it's all a trade-off, I guess.
Husker Gary @ 11:14 while camping a few years back I reached in the ice chest for a beer. Upon tasting it I thought that tastes horrible. I looked at it and realized I grabbed a soda (or for Canadian eh I grabbed a pop).
Its funny how the mind works because I occasionaly enjoy a soda.
Yes, a special thanks to Jazzbumpa for 'splainin' the "Street" part of the SKIING clue! Thanks, man! It wasn't hard to fill in that answer from the perps, but I had no idea what it all meant, until...
d-o@9:21: It's Kitt Peak (not KITTS Peak).
retired linesman: soda/pop LOL
Here are some more "Canadianisms":
sofa/chesterfield
French fries/chips
sneakers/runners
Tea means HOT tea made with boiling water preferably in a teapot not by dragging a teabag through warm water in a mug! Ice tea is the cold stuff (Tinbeni must hate this!)
If you know what a double/double and a Timbit are, then you are Canadian!!
Never heard of double/double or timbit. Every year my buddies and I go to British Columbia for salmon fishing. The first year we went we were teasing some of the Canadians at the fishing lodge on their use of "eh". One guy said "what's the big deal you guys say "huh" all the time. We looked at each other and said "we do?".
Ever since I have been trying to limit my use of "huh"
CanadianEh!:
I never touch "the cold stuff." Yeah, I abhor "_ _ _" tea.
My "double/double" doesn't have two creams & two sugars.
But is enjoyable just the same ...
Hmmm, maybe it is time for a Villa Incognito "double/double" ...
Cheers!!!
Hello Puzzlers -
A tad late today, had to do an airplane trip. Hand for for: noticing the big I, noticing that I was the only vowel, and having no idea whatsoever about Street Skiing. D'oh! Thanks JzB. At least I got the Georgia and Carnival clues right.
Montana, lets face it, your commutes are seriously long. It would take getting used to. Our little states are more fun-sized!
My sense of WWI history is that it wasn't a decisive victory. Do I have it all wrong?
Good job by Jim, Jeff and the Jazzman. I found it a little harder than the typical Wednesday but I plowed on. I did not catch the i theme until the Jazzman explained it.
As some poet or philosopher once said about tomorrow - "Spring is here, Spring is here, Life is pizza and Life is beer.
Canadian Eh! @ 3:29 PM –
I’d say if you know what a Timbit is, you have a Tim Hortons near you. My grandsons love them!
Tim Hortons About Us
Timbits
Did anyone else think Kiki Dee looked like Toni Tenelle? I also was not familiar or remember Kiki.
I like the Kingston Trio's version of Lemon Tree better than the Trini Lopez one - when I played the Jazzman's tie in it was the first I heard it but I knew the name Trini Lopez from somewhere.
Some day I may read other visitors comments before I post so I can make intelligent comments on them like you.
Montana I don't envy your 180 mile trip to see the dentist. Fortunately for my wife and I it was about 3 miles round trip when we went last week.
I am glad that so many others did not see the Big I in the middle. It makes me feel I am less foolish than when I first read the Jazzman's comments.
Enjoy the last day of Winter. BUT Upstate New York is infamous for our Spring Snow.
Dudley; where did you go on your plane trip?
Hello everybody. Just a quick note late in the day to say how much I enjoyed Jazzb's writeup and how I so utterly failed to pick up on the "nothing but I" theme. All makes sense now. Best wishes to you all.
Yes buckeye bob, Tim Horton's is a Canadian icon. Where do your grandchildren live??
Pop vs Soda
or more generally,
Harvard Dialect Survey
CanadianEh! --
Right here in Springboro, Ohio. Tim Hortons is on the main drag through town.
Retired Lineman -
I flew into Singapore, on official business, to present our latest programs, to correct some computer viruses.
Although nearby, I would refuse to fly into Malaysia or their airlines, unless they change their name to Pro-Asia, or Bonny-asia, or Buena-asia or Bene-asia - or something like that.
Malaysia, as a name , IMHO, is very inauspicious and portends an omen, something evil and ominous - like Malware, malevolent, malfeasance and malpractice. Just saying.
buckeye bob:
Lovely. I knew Tim Hortons had some outlets in US but thought they were mostly in NY state. Enjoy. (Do they have Roll up the Rim in March below the border also??)
Anon @ 7:45: I love the Harvard Dialect Survey. The ones I took the time to read really do show that I am from Chicago! (and I didn't even know that I had an accent)
As for the puzzle, hand up for not seeing the big I, and for thinking it was Thursday difficulty. I was much more impressed after reading JzB's writeup.
CanadianEh! --
I think you are correct in that Tim Hortons started in the US in NY, but now they are in 10 states.
From their About Us section:
"In 1995, Tim Hortons merged with Wendy's International, Inc., giving new focus and impetus to the expansion of the Tim Hortons concept in the United States. Tim Hortons locations can presently be found in Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York, with responsible expansion continuing in these core markets."
Hi gang -
Glad y'all enjoyed today's outing - or should I say Inning?
Stopped at Tim's today for a coffee and a pretzel bagel - no timbits, though. [yes - I was tempted]
As an acquaintance of mine from the English speaking region of Quebec put it: "For a Canadian, what could be better than getting donuts from a hockey player?"
I think I originally learned the meaning of KITH one dat from somebody else's puzzle write up.
Didn't know about the homeland sense of Kith - thanks, Buckeye Bob.
Cool regards!
JzB
Lineman -
Correct answer: Boston. Singapore is a bit beyond my range. A trip like today's is just a dinky little thing, but it's the first one after this back breaker of a winter, and that ups the value of the thing.
Canadian Eh - we were introduced to Tim Horton's on a trip to Nova Scotia in 1998. We quite liked the place. I was pleased to find, on a subsequent trip to eastern Ohio, that the franchise is well represented in that state. One of the nice things is that they use Steelite coffee mugs from England - simply better than the average bear.
Greetings!
Swell puzzle, worked hurriedly. WBS. Life rather a disaster lately. Keep getting woken up after very little sleep. Only read first two blog entries. Can't keep eyes open. Bye 'til later!
Dudley; cool sounds like fun.
Saw the big "I" but still stumbled through today. Yesterday spoiled me. Thanks for the explanation of STREET which had me puzzled. KITH made me smile because I'd never seen it in a puzzle before. Have heard the phrase kith and kin from my grandparents, who were from Scotland. WWII threw me because I'm a bit slow when we mix letters and numerals. (LOVE the Roman numeral ones, though!). The TBILISI was a complete washout. And not a big fan of beer, so KIRIN was lost on me. Just to fit in, I am having a late lunch with my friend from Canada tomorrow. Probably will do the Thursday puzzle together.
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