17A. *Tyke's dinnertime perch : BOOSTER SEAT. Just hearing "booster shot" as a kid was enough to strike fear into my heart. I didn't do well with needles.
25A. *Unfair deception : CHEAP TRICK. Floyd Mayweather notoriouly knocked out Victor Ortiz in 2011 with what was alleged to be a cheap shot. The referee looks as startled as Ortiz! This is a little different from the other theme entries as both words could be paired with "SHOT".
37A. *Insignificant amount : DROP IN THE BUCKET. Roger Federer is the master of the tennis version of the drop shot.
48A. *Numero uno : HEAD HONCHO. I live in the city of the head shot, and those of many an unknown actor adorn the walls of hairdressers and convenience stores.
And the reveal:
59A. Try, or a hint to the first words of the answers to starred clues : GIVE IT A SHOT
Hola, Amigos! Steve here with a nice Gareth Bain outing. Some very fun cluing and a tight theme adds up to a cheerful Wednesday.
Across:
1. Monarchy : REALM
6. Many a class reunion tune : OLDIE
11. "Captain Phillips" actor Hanks : TOM. I saw this movie recently - very intense. I was actually shaking at the end.
14. __ ink : INDIA
15. Fishing spots : PIERS. Hand up for HOLES first.
16. Title heartbreaker in a Three Dog Night song : ELI
19. "I'm not a crook" monogram : RMN. Richard Milhous Nixon, or more appropriately, "Tricky Dicky".
20. Rogue : RASCAL. Nice placement with the previous answer.
21. Plowing measure : ACRES. I wonder why this word escaped the US English spelling reform that transforms meter/metre and liter/litre amongst others.
23. Ad Council ad, briefly : P.S.A. Public Service Announcement. Crosses for me, I didn't know this abbreviation nor the connection with the Ad Council.
28. Energetic : ACTIVE
31. Obvious joy : GLEE
32. "Spider-Man" trilogy director Sam : RAIMI
33. Feel sorry about : RUE
34. Quipster : WIT
42. Weekend TV fare for nearly 40 yrs. : S.N.L.
43. Reading after resetting : OOO. I'm assuming this is referring to a car's mileage trip odometer? If so, what's the protocol for using letters to denote what are really numbers?
44. "Roots" hero __ Kinte : KUNTA
45. Scandinavian port : OSLO
47. Comeback : RETORT
53. Used to be : WAS
54. Lover of Euridice, in a Monteverdi work : ORFEO. I was scratching my head wondering why ORPHEUS wasn't going to fit and began pondering whether Euridice had more than one lover. Then the penny dropped with the reference to the Italian composer.
55. Decide not to ride : HOOF IT
58. Cambridge sch. : MIT
64. Rocks found in bars : ICE. Uh-Oh - don't look, Tinbeni.
65. Software buyers : USERS
66. Kevin of "Cry Freedom" : KLINE
67. Audio receiver : EAR
68. Tag cry : NOT IT
69. Loosened : EASED
Down:
1. Cage component : RIB
2. Ambient music innovator : ENO. Immensely talented gentleman. And for a man with a three-letter last name, he certainly makes up for it with what precedes it - his full name is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.
3. Worship : ADORATION
4. Brainy Simpson : LISA
5. Yoga class supply : MATS
6. Onetime rival of Sally Jessy : OPRAH. Sally Who? Before my (USA) time.
7. Stocking thread : LISLE
8. Mark of concern : DEE
9. Roth __ : IRA.
10. Collection of heir pieces? : ESTATE. Another fun clue.
11. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI
12. Ancient Mexican tribe known for carved stone heads : OLMEC
13. Capital WSW of Moscow : MINSK. The capital of Belarus. It looks quite pleasant from a distance.
18. "__ homo" : ECCE
22. Style reportedly named for Ivy League oarsmen : CREW CUT. The Germans call it a bürstenschnitt; I doubt we'll be seeing that in the crossword any time soon.
23. Western chum : PARD
24. Lasting marks : SCARS
26. Hot-and-cold fits : AGUE
27. Working class Roman : PLEB. I thought this was a slangy term for "plebeian" but as it's not clued that way I guess it's a word in itself.
29. Collapse inward : IMPLODE
30. Sundial hour : VII. One of my personal "Hall of Fame" words is "gnomon" - the shadow-caster on the sundial.
33. Greek consonant : RHO
35. "Don't tell me, don't tell me!" : I KNOW THIS. The puzzle-solver's mantra.
36. Neon swimmer : TETRA
38. Court plea, briefly : NOLO. Nolo Contendere, or a plea of "No Contest".
39. Multi-cel creature? : TOON
40. Commonly four-stringed instrument : UKE
41. Bits of ankle art, say : TATS. I'm tattoo-free - more needle-phobia.
46. Former Japanese military ruler : SHOGUN
47. Horseradish, e.g. : ROOT. A lot of the wasabi served in Japanese restaurants outside Japan is likely to be a mixture of horseradish and mustard, dyed green. I've had the genuine stuff freshly grated using a piece of sharkskin and the flavor is more subtle than the substitute.
48. Pal, slangily : HOMIE
49. Novelist Jong : ERICA
50. "... happily ever __" : AFTER
51. Oteri of 42-Across : CHERI
52. Lift : HOIST
56. Knockoff : FAKE
57. Land surrounded by agua : ISLA
60. Prefix with metric : ISO
61. Doc who administers a pet scan? : VET
62. United : ONE
63. English poet Hughes : TED. This Poet Laureate was fond of writing odes to dead things. Charming chap!
I'm in Texas this week - the first time I've actually set foot in the state (I don't count changing planes as visiting a state or a country). I'm hoping to track down some famous barbecue tonight!
As a Texan might say "It's a wrap, and bigger than any wrap you've seen before".
Steve
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteCannot believe it snowed here overnight. Not much snow, true, but still...
Mostly smooth solve this morning. A bit heavy on proper nouns, however. Have I mentioned my dislike for names in a puzzle (especially obscure ones)? Fortunately, it wasn't hard to guess the crossing of ELI and TERRI, since not much else would fit there.
Also didn't know/remember TED Hughes, but the perps were solid.
I thought OOO was a bit of a stretch for 000, but then I got over it and it didn't bother me.
(I wish I had the energy of a 3-year old, early in the morning!)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gareth and Steve for a great start to the morning.
It's also nice to see a sunny day.
I needed help from perps today for enough clues that I won't list them, but an enjoyable solve.
Have a good day,
Montana
I was upstairs when I solved the crossword and saw the sun coming up.
ReplyDeleteI just came downstairs and there is a coating of snow on everything. Ugh!
Guess there was snow in Montana as well as here in Connecticut so I'm fine with being here enjoying my grandsons.
Montana
With the exception of a few unknowns easily solved by perps, this was a very easy mid-week puzzle. Even after I completely it, I didn't get the theme. TERRI OLMEC TED ORFEO RAIMI were unknowns. Poets and movie people are not my strong suit. As for TATS, disgusting in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhen will this cold weather end? 44 F in New Orleans this morning.
Thank you for the puzzle, Gareth. Thank you for the review, Steve.
ReplyDeleteAnother easy puzzle, about Tuesday level. I thought there was some new clues / answers, so that’s good.
I got the unifier after BOOSTER SEAT, but didn’t need the theme after a couple of perps in the other theme answers.
I had WAG before WIT, and I KNOW THAT before I KNOW THIS, but the perps fixed them.
I also head a little bit of heartburn over the use of OOO to represent 000, but it was mild. I think that is the first time I have seen letters used to represent numbers, excluding Roman numerals, which are valid of course.
"Reading after resetting : OOO"
ReplyDeletePoor.
Good morning, over-the-humpers!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid it was always a high chair, never a BOOSTER SEAT. Back in mid-century radio and TV stations were required to air a certain, unspecified percentage of air time to PSA's to prove that they were using the public's airwaves in the public interest.
Every year I try to convert some of my regular IRA to a Roth to make my RMD's smaller later on. The trick is to convert as much as possible, but not push yourself into a higher marginal tax rate.
Steve, one of my "Hall of Fame" words is "philtrum" -- that little notch under your nose, not to be confused with "plectrum" -- a guitar pick.
I recall several years ago when I opined on this blog that the answer could have been IOI since most intro courses in college are numbered 101. Marti assured me at the time that Rich would never allow such a thing. 000h!
Good morning all.
ReplyDeleteNo real trouble, but perhaps a bit slower resolving some of the answers. No idea on some of the names, but perps saved those.
For at least the third time, I've entered KUblA for Kinte. At least this time I told myself that it probably wasn't correct as I entered it.
ELI's Coming but Jerimiah was a bullfrog.
Thanks Gareth. Professional shout out at 61D ? We have an appointment with ours tomorrow to get my avatar's nails trimmed. It's pure torture to my boy. It takes three of us to hold him.
Thanks Steve. You should have no problem finding good Texas barbecue. I'd recommend the combination plate.
I hear my work computer pinging in the background as the emails keep flowing in. Time to go earn my keep.
Y'all take care.
Good morning everybody! Thanks to Gareth and Steve for today's knowledge and entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked 43A: Reading after resetting: OOO - but it made me think because of OOO vs 000. I thought the clue was clever.
I also liked 39D: Multi-cell creature? TOON. Very clever!
I had difficulti with the crossing of ELI and OLMEC, but the rest filled in nicely.
Have a great day!
Good Morning, Steve and Friends. Interesting Wednesday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThe OOO didn't bother me.
TED Hughes was married to Sylvia Plath, who in turn was the other of The Bell Jar.
Sally Jessy (Jesse?) Raphael was known for her signature red glasses.
My favorite clue was Collection of Heir Pieces = ESTATES.
QOD: You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. ~ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Apr. 16, 1947)
Enjoyable Wed run-- WEES about ELI/OLMEC.
ReplyDelete@desper-otto - we have had booster seats a long time. Highchairs are freestanding, booster seats are the little seats you put in a big chair (or booth at a restaurant) for a toddler/preschooler to sit in.
Steve- re your comment about Acre not being converted-- if American English had switched to Acer-- phonetically the C would be soft and that usually means a great tennis server!
If you want the really good bbq- you need to come up this way in the Barbeque triangle between KC/STL/Memphis.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteA delightful Gareth puzzle with just enough edge (ORFEO, ELI) for midweek rigor. The theme fell easily enough and was not needed to suss the fill. I second what Steve said about 43a. Just a little white-out needed; had return before RETORT, and 'that' before THIS. Favorite clue was for ESTATE.
Good morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle, and a sparkly write-up, Steve. So, I take it you don't like needles?
I did get the theme at CHEAP TRICK. But I agree it is an outlier - CHEAP SHOT and TRICK SHOT are both perfectly valid phrases.
Hand up for putting I KNOW THat instead of THIS. I should have read the clue more carefully.
d-otto, I was really surprised to see OOO as a substitute for 000. Rich made me re-do a section of a puzzle that contained US I instead of US 1...
Fun stuff with some clever cluing. Is it really that rare to use letters to represent numbers(ooo)? Seems like I've run across that a few times in my limited experience. Did anyone else forget Eno's first name?
ReplyDeleteLet's not start a barbecue war here! Steve, if you're in the Houston area, Gatlin's on W19th inside the 610 Loop or Virgie's on Gessner in NW Houston are sure to satisfy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning folks,
ReplyDeleteI thought "collection of heir pieces-ESTATE" and "multi-cel creature - TOON" were really clever. The one L in CEL gave it away as the transparent celluloid sheet on which one frame of a cartoon is drawn.
OOO for 000 was okay with me.
ANON @7:22 which clues did you like? There must have been at least one.
My waterloo today was the ELO/OLMEC crossing. Had to come here for the L. Several guesses were possible so I left it blank.
ReplyDeleteGotta run, another busy day ahead.
The Atlanta Journal had "Multi-cell creature" for 39d instead of "multi-cel", so I knew TOON couldn't be right. Does each newspaper reset the crossword?
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!
ReplyDeleteI didn't spot that the TRICK of CHEAPTRICK can also be "given a shot"... Certainly inelegant, and I'm most embarrassed!
On the other hand, I clued OOO as a tic-tac-toe row. I'm guessing Rich opted against that because he felt he'd use that angle too often in puzzles recently? That's one of the commonest reasons for editors to change clues!
Nice puzzle today. Enough unknowns to be a bit challenging, but the perps aided in the completion.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gareth, for a fun outing.
Steve, nice write-up. Hope you enjoy your Texas BBQ!
ANON @8:56, I copied the LAT from the Mensa site early this AM. It had multi-cel creature for 39D. I just now checked my newspaper and found multi-cell. That must have made it difficult for those who use the newspaper.
ReplyDeleteWe have had other discrepancies like this from time to time. Does anyone know why there are different versions?
Bill G. you complained about the small print in paper and pen solving. Do you print out the puzzle from Mensa on a standard sheet of paper? I always do that so that it is larger than my newspaper puzzle.
The Houston Barnacle also had "Multi-cell creature."
ReplyDeleteGareth, thanks for dropping by. I didn't even notice the Trick Shot. Of course, I didn't notice the Cheap Shot, either.
I must have tried to do this puzzle before my brain woke up because I had lots of problems. Thanks, Gareth and Steve.
ReplyDeleteMy paper also had multi-cell creature. It also has" Dr. who administers a PET scan" so I wanted something like "radiologist". I read "heir pieces" as "hair pieces" half a dozen times, tried putting "KUNTA" in the wrong place.......not my best solve. But, I enjoyed it.
Yesterday's snow is gone and it's getting warmer. I think it's unfair that Old Man Winter can play an April Fools joke in the middle of the month.
Have a great day!
Pat
Good cluing for a WED.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasure to see Gareth's byline and today was no exception. However, it was another DNF for me due to Eli/Olmec crossing. When I worked the puzzle, it was in the wee hours of the morning, so that shall be my defense! :-)
Thanks, Gareth, for the puzzle and for dropping by and thanks to Steve for the witty write-up. (I know someone who's going to be grumpy about the dreaded _ _ _ cubes.)
Looking out at 3" of snow on my deck. Pretty but enough already!
Have a great day.
Steve: Nice write-up.
ReplyDeleteGareth: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. (Bar Rocks notwithstanding!)
Irish Miss: I'm not grumpy about the _ _ _ cubes.
I just admit to another DNF since I will not put _ _ _ in my NEAT grid.
(Is this the 10th or 11th time this year?).
I also liked the OOO clue/answer.
Well ...
"Everybody's got to believe in something ..."
I believe I'll have another drink.
Cheers!!!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Those 60’s OLDIES seem to be in lots of shows and commercials these days
-Farmers around here are very anxious to start planting their ACRES
-I saw a young girl at 65 mph who needs to see a PSA on this topic
-A very funny Jeopardy SNL skit from two weekends ago that probably only they could get away with.
-On a phone number ending in 0567, do you say Oh567 or Zero567? I do the latter.
-Churchill’s RETORT to the lady who said he was drunk, was full of WIT
-A friend of mine in KC did not get a piece she wanted from an ESTATE in Wahoo, NE last year and has not talked to her aunt, who knew my friend wanted it, since. Those SCARS sometimes never heal.
-A fun physics IMPLOSION (:35) I’ve done many times
- My first stringed instrument was a UKE with this cheater device on it
-Not so happily ever AFTER!
-LISA : Simpson’s = ? : Modern Family
Great Wednesday puzzle, Gareth--many thanks. Also always enjoy your write-up, Steve.
ReplyDeleteThe clues for ESTATE and TOON were my favorites too.
Wasn't bothered by 000 which has come up in puzzles before.
Two items I don't understand. How is DEE a mark of concern? And what is a NEON swimmer? I got everything, including RAIMI which was a total unknown to me, but didn't fully understand everything.
Our internet seems to finally be back and steady again--Yay!
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Misty, if you received a DEE on your thesis, it would be a cause for concern. A TETRA is a brightly-colored tropical fish -- popular for the aquarium.
ReplyDeleteMisty, regarding your questions -
ReplyDeleteDee is a bad or poor grade - so it should be a matter of concern for the recipient / student.
A Tetra - actually a genus of the fishes commonly used in common home fish tanks, tend to show or display bright 'neon' colors - generally red, orange, green etc. - which is the main reason for their popularity.
Although native to South America, they are now commonly farm raised for sale in China.
Hope this helps.
Husker Gary - the implosion of the coke can is quite an interesting experiment, but I hope the students are also informed that the implosion is due more to the weak lateral strength of the aluminum side walls of the can itself, rather than the atmospheric pressure alone. If a glass can or a steel can had been used, it would have just sucked up the water to compensate for the vacuum and the resultant loss of pressure,
Good morning Steve and all,
ReplyDeletePerped and wagged my way thru this fun exercise.Orfeo needed 5 perps.Wagged the Psa, which gave me pard. With drop in the bucket I was on a run.
Thanks for the write-up Steve, and explaining the 000... and the theme.I had to G a few names, so I actually knew who they were.
India ink was my favorite media during my creative art years. I assume "scratch boards" are now pre-inked.
What would I do without booster seats? I can now fit all 4 grandsons in my car if I use 2 boosters, and then I bring them in for Sunday dinner.
Hello, Puzzlers! Glad to see you, Steve, and thanks for the good info.
ReplyDeleteWSS. What Spitzboov said. And WEES on THIS/THAT. My newspaper also had 39D Multi-cell creature? and so it was the last fill of four perps. Oh. Cel.
No problem with OLMEC. Along with Aztec and others it's one of the major contributors of Mexican culture.
TERRi was an unknown but again, perps filled it.
I believe PSAs are still offered on TV.
Besides collection of heir pieces I also liked doc who administers PET scan, VET. Nice.
Have a terrific Wednesday, everyone! Hot here.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks for swell puzzle and write-up, Gareth and Steve!
No problem with OOO, TED, OLMEC, etc.
Took me longer than the many of you, it seems. Was very tired. Even went to sleep early--and here I am!
Pool heater conked out. It's always something.
Cheers!
Hello everybody. I had most of the same reactions and feelings about this puzzle that you all did. Every time I see PSA I think of men of a certain age. Best wishes to you all.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle form Gareth. Lots of clever clues as already mentioned.
Our snow came Monday night - enough to break the record here in S.E. MI.
Caused the Tigers game to be cancelled on Tuesday. Sunny today, but only 40 degrees. Not great baseball weather.
Cheers!
JzB
Musings 2
ReplyDelete-Just Helping – in middle school, I just did the implosion demo as a dramatic example of air pressure differential and it wowed 14 year olds! These old denizens of teacher work places made for an even bigger bang but we don’t use this stuff anymore. “Ah, there’s nothing like the smell of duplicating fluid in the morning!”
-Granddaughter has a BETTA fish, not a TETRA. When I asked why she only had one, she replied matter of factly, “If I had two they’d kill each other.” She named her fish Willow and bought her a house.
-Competitive grandson eschewed a BOOSTER CHAIR very early in life.
-I wonder what the TOON cel drawers are doing these days?
-Lisa equivalent on Modern Family (:30)
Thank you so much, Just Helping! DEE makes sense, although I might have understood it better if it had been a GRADE of concern. And NEON makes perfect sense. Many thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gareth and Steve.
ReplyDeleteGary, I used to do that implosion demonstration with a ditto fluid can. I'll have to show Jordan this newer and easier version with a soft drink can. (Ah, I see you had the same thought while I was still composing this. Oh well...)
YR, yes, I've been printing out the puzzle from the Mensa site. The size of the print is OK.
Jayce, I had the same reaction to PSA that you did.
While hanging out some wash today I noticed that the gnomon (thanks, Steve)on my sundial was cracked. Not too much survives the intense desert sun here.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! I can't believe I couldn't figure out the theme from the unifier! DUH! I always like Gareth's puzzles. Thanks, Steve for making sense of it. When I lived in Texas 50 years ago, the shackier the place, the better the barbeque. I think health codes have probably changed that.
ReplyDelete"The OLMEC Head" was a gimmee thanks to a book by David Westheimer that I read several times years ago.
I thought Sally Jessy's rival was Phil Donahue so was surprised to see OPRAH take over the space. But then I remembered an OPRAH show where those two accused her of ruining their gigs.
OOO made me laugh. I've had cars that did that. My mechanic husband always remarked that he'd got a new vehicle that day when they did that. It was a matter of pride for him to keep old cars running.
One of my first paid writing gigs was writing 30- second pun-filled PSAs for TV about a recently opened mental health facility. There was such a stigma about mental health in the boondocks, no one wanted to be seen going into the place. A women's group I belonged to was trying to help promote it. A psychologist was doing the art work and asked me to brainstorm themes. Really helped my mental health to be paid for something that was so fun -- the starting point for my free-lance writing career.
ReplyDeleteWatermelons
ReplyDeleteLet's say watermelons are 99 percent water and one percent melon. So you set 100 pounds of watermelons outside in the hot sun waiting for the softball game and sack races at the office picnic to be concluded. The watermelons are drying out. The water is evaporating. When it's time to slice the watermelons, they are now only 98 percent water. So they would weigh less. How much less? What would they weigh now?
By the way, I'm guessing if you try to guess at the answer intuitively, you won’t do so well.
Steve, the best TX BBQ I had was in the little town of Kilgore--in far eastern Texas on the Ark. border. Along with the sharpest tang and choicest meats, they had the signature style of the best BBQ shacks-- serving everything on slices of fresh-from-the-wrapper Wonder bread!
ReplyDeleteToday's pzl was an easy 100% for me, with just a coupla re-writes: WIT after WAG and HOIST after HEIST.
I vote for cutting Brian ENO in on royalties from now on...
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMari, I am in complete agreement with your reflection.
I had a tough time with ELI/OLMEC.
Thought TOON was cute.
And I enjoyed the OOO - I would take a fill like that any day over a clue that involves Roman Numerals, which I have postponed relearning for ten years now. That said, I can manage sundial numbers well enough, but beyond VII I scratch my chin.
Have a great day everyone!
Fun and doable puzzle with the help of a couple of perps.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the BBQ recommendations everyone - I'm in Plano, but it looks like I'll be joining the rest of the crew for a team dinner. Next time!
ReplyDeleteBill G - 50# less. They weigh 50# now.
ReplyDeleteBill G.
ReplyDeleteSince it started out at 100 lbs. and 99% water, then that means that 1% (or 1 lb) was Not Water.
After letting it rot in the sun you find that it is 98% water.
Well, the 1 lb of Not Water didn’t change, so that means that 1 lb is 2% of the total weight.
That makes the total weight 50 lbs.
Thereby confirming what Spitz said ...
TED Hughes jumped immediately to mind along with Sylvia Plath. Their relationship ended sadly.
ReplyDeleteKevin:
I'm surprised you didn't learn Roman numerals in school and I take it you are not a Super Bowl fan.
OMKeith:
LOL! on Brian ENO remark.
Lucina:
ReplyDeleteHello again. Unfortunately, there was a lot in school that I learned thirty years ago but have since forgotten. In a way, I have rationalized this as acceptable by embracing Albert Einstein's advice to never memorize anything you can look up. Ironically, when solving puzzles, I do not allow myself to look up anything -- hence, the crux of my dilemma while attempting to fill in Roman Numerals.
As for the Super Bowl, I only watch it when the 49ers are playing. So I guess that makes me a fair-weather fan of the Bowl itself.
Kevin. looking up after solving, right or wrong,solidifies in your mind the word or the concept. That is why I prefer Google to red letter. The more info you have tied to the answer, the more easy it is to recall. But don't look at crossword answer sites where you learn nothing. Looking up the answer adds to your store of instantly accessible knowledge. The next time a clue related to this appears you have a ready answer.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed at posters who have not Googled their nits for mistakes or questions which they could have resolved in one minute of research.
Yellowrocks,
ReplyDeleteHi. I completely agree with you about the need to look up after solving... I just do not allow myself to do it while solving. Being a Luddite, I do the crossword with pen and paper, then I come to this site to check my answers; and I love the contributors explanations, observations, and links to the answers that are new to me. If I encounter a new word, I will write the new word 5 times to try and burn it into my memory. As for solving online, I have not yet given it a go.
Hola Everyone, A quick puzzle solve for me today. Thanks Gareth Bain for a fun puzzle and Steve for a great writeup.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Cage component/Rib, and Multi-cell creature/Toon were
the best clues. Both favorites for me today.
The few unknowns all filled in nicely with the perps.
I've been home from my long weekend for two days, and have done the puzzles both days, but not until so late that it wasn't really necessary to add my two cents to the comments. However, I did enjoy the puzzle constructed by the English class. What a great way to get kids interested in words, ideas, history, geography, crosswords, etc., etc. etc. Perhaps this was commented on while I was away, but just had to comment, too.
We packed so much into three days in Seattle/Tacoma area that it feels like I've been away for ages.
Despite horrible traffic jams the tulip festival sights were fantastic. This takes place in the Skagit area in Washington State. The riot of color is hard to believe.
Our friends, however, who live in the area have renamed the festival the "Touraffic Festival". They have to put up with all the extra cars on the roads for a month or more.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI will sometimes watch the S'Bowl w/o the 'Niners, but then I find myself sighing & thinking, "What's the point?"
Booster Seat of yore.
ReplyDeleteCheap Trick
My Bucket List
Hoof It I gave up on Head honcho, Dave....?
Give it a Shot
Late again after another day of work. Did this pleasant puzzle in our newspaper and they used multi-cell creature also. I was sure the clue was misspelled and had confirmation when I came here.
ReplyDeleteWEES about ELI and OLMEC. Hand up for HOLES before PIERS.
ECCE HOMO was appropriate for Easter season. "Behold the Man" spoken by Pilate as he presents Christ to the mob.
Hi Yellowrocks and Kevin. I have had the worst reaction to spring! In over 60 years, I have NEVER reacted to pollen! So, all of a sudden, this year, I have allergies! Bunco! Well I hear that the polar vortex delayed some pollen releases so that there is a major compacted release, therefore compounding the affect. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteManac, the only thing I can add for head honcho is:
ReplyDeleteThe Boss...
Ol' Man Keith,
ReplyDeleteYeah, after the Niner's nail-biting loss to the Ravens the previous year (i.e., Super Bowl XLVII--whatever number that is), I was more than happy to sit out this last Bowl. Incidentally, I learned that the best day of the year to go to an amusement park is Super Bowl Sunday. Six Flags Magic Mountain (here in LA) was empty.
Inanehiker - of course, you're right about acre/acer, I hadn't sounded it out loud. And Gareth - don't feel bad about missing the "trick" - you let me use it as the theme title!
ReplyDeleteHi all!
ReplyDeleteI woke this morning to snow in Boston and getting ready for bed with mosquito-fog in Houston. Good to be home.
DNF - ELI never showed. I guess Mama Told [him] Not to Come... The whole area is a sea of ink (not of the INDIA type). NOLO was a WAG and I never understood OOO, but let it stand. Thanks Steve.
Faves: WIT - TOON & RIB.
RETORT was a brain-hurt - I so wanted RETURN, but... I KNOW THIS!
Thanks Gareth for the pzl and Steve for the write-up.
Welcome to our neck of the woods Steve. Too bad you can't get further south (Austin, College Station, HOU) for good BBQ! I won't start a religious war with inanehiker over BBQ, but I think we both agree the Carolina's can keep theirs! :-)
Cheers, -T
Steve, thanks for an excellent write-up and enjoy your stay in Texas from a native Texan living in exile in Oklahoma ;-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjadnrrOztM
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Gareth Bain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteSteve: It was Sally Jesse Rafael
Just got home a short while ago. Have been gone all day. Took the newspaper with me and did the puzzle on the train.
Tried the IPad before I left this morning and no cigar. Could not get to today's puzzle.
Puzzle was fine. Got started easily up top and worked my way down. Jumped around a little bit, but it is a Wednesday.
My paper, the Chicago Tribune had Multi-cell creature? for 39D.
Got ERICA easily for 49D. I always have a problem with the C or K. This time I got it.
Tried SHERI for 51D. That was my only inkblot, as I rewrote CHERI after HEAD HONCHO appeared.
Interesting comment on CREWCUT. Learning moment.
TERRI, OLMEC, and ELI wound up being a wag.
Anyhow, I am going to cash in my chips and hit the hay.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(3349 59964962)