Theme: Above the Shoulders - At the start of the longest entries are parts of the human found at the top of the body (except maybe, the second one).
20A. Local area : NECK OF THE WOODS
26A. Hangover cure, so they say : HAIR OF THE DOG
43A. Way things are legally viewed : EYES OF THE LAW
52A. Valedictorian : HEAD OF THE CLASS
Argyle here. No reveal Monday but the theme is right in your face. Fourteen 3-letter words but seemed like less and 2 letters shy of a pangram. I wonder what Tuesday will bring.
Across:
1. Omega's opposite : ALPHA
6. Hundred Acre Wood bear : POOH
10. "And another thing ..." : "ALSO"
14. Fable conclusion : MORAL
15. With 16-Across, money to buy a car : AUTO
16. See 15-Across : LOAN
17. Oust : EVICT
18. Glasgow native : SCOT
19. Checkers or chess, e.g. : GAME
23. Rapper Dr. __ : DRE
24. B'way full-house sign : SRO. (Standing Room Only)
25. One of the back forty : ACRE
31. Mail dely. compartment : P.O. BOX
34. Vegetable oil-based spread : OLEO
35. Fed. property overseer : GSA. (General Services Administration)
36. Vogue shelfmate : ELLE. Fashion magazines.
37. Madagascar tree dweller : LEMUR. With the big eyes.
39. Fourth of __ : JULY. No sequester cuts to spoil the fireworks this year.
40. Greek "T" : TAU
41. Junky car : HEAP
42. Tippy boat : CANOE
47. Shoulder muscle, for short : DELT. The deltoid muscle. Today's theme is above them.
48. Small songbird : TIT
49. Sheep sound : BAA
56. Poli sci subj. : GOVT.
57. Eight, on a sundial : VIII
58. Hard thing to break : HABIT
59. Tony Award relative : OBIE. The Tony Award is for Broadway theatre and the OBIE is for off-Broadway theatre.
60. Util. supply : ELECtric
61. Throw off one's trail : EVADE
62. Type option for emphasis : BOLD
63. Cincinnati team : REDS
64. Less likely to be a bargain on eBay : RARER
Down:
1. Change, as a constitution : AMEND
2. Romantic partner : LOVER
3. Five dollars a pound, e.g. : PRICE
4. Access illegally, as a database : HACK
5. Jazz combo instrument : ALTO SAX
6. Church leader : PASTOR
7. "That hurt!" : "OUCH!"
8. Native Nebraskan : OTOE
9. Serious trouble : HOT WATER
10. '90s veep : AL GORE
11. Weapon with ammo : LOADED GUN
12. __ Club: Costco rival : SAM'S
13. Number of gods in a monotheistic faith : ONE
21. "Thank God" day: Abbr. : FRI.
22. Cuatro times dos : OCHO. Spanish 4x2=8
26. Clod chopper : HOE
27. Get-up-and-go : OOMPH!
28. Ailment with a "season" : FLU
29. Norwegian capital : OSLO
30. "What's Going On" singer Marvin : GAYE
31. Sampras of tennis : PETE
32. Moisturizer brand : OLAY
33. Duke University athlete : BLUE DEVIL
37. Like doggy bag contents : LEFTOVER. Should it be plural? Discuss.
38. Have a bite : EAT
39. Knockout punch target : JAW
41. Place for cargo : HOLD
42. Buster Posey's position : CATCHER. For the San Francisco Giants.
44. On a chair : SEATED
45. Moral standards : ETHICS
46. Stretch the truth : LIE
49. Kiddie lit elephant : BABAR
50. Comment meant only for the audience : ASIDE
51. Daisylike flower : ASTER
52. Vagrant : HOBO
53. Use an emery board on : FILE
54. Even, as a score : TIED
55. Etna output : LAVA
56. Lump : GOB
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear Grumpy, who has not posted on the blog for a long while. What's up, Grumpy? Click here to see more of Grumpy, Sallie & Spitzboov.
 |
| Grumpy & his lovely wife Wilda |
52 comments:
There once was a HEAD without any reason
He'd leave home his hat, whatever the season.
The HAIR objected
To be so neglected,
The thoughtless HEAD he accused of treason!
Now the attorneys on the case
Were the NECK and the nape;
The EYES OF THE LAW
As judge oversaw;
They argued the case face to face!
Said the NECK, "when it's torrid,
Or it's snowy and horrid,
Then at least a cap
Should adorn this chap;
It needn't be anything florid!"
The nape countered back,
"There's no cause for a hat,
For a pate hirsute
Makes a covering moot,
And the HAIR provides plenty of that!"
Well, the EYES stared in space
And the brows raised a trace.
-- Then the lips with a pout
Threw everyone out,
Said, "it's a frivolous case on its face!"
Sorry to be so long-winded today. I really only intended it to run one or two verses, but it got away from me. I guess that's what happens when lawyers start splitting HAIRs!
Morning, all (and happy birthday, Grumpy wherever you are)!
Things were going very smoothly this morning until I tripped in a couple of places. The first was the clue for P.O. BOX. I get that they had to indicate that the answer contained an abbreviation, but "Dely"? Seriously?
The other spot was the clue for CATCHER. Absolutely no idea who Buster Posey is/was, so I literally didn't have a clue on this one and needed all the perps to get it.
So, not a difficult puzzle by any means, but some unexpected resistance for a Monday.
Anybody else find it odd to have ACRE show up both in a clue and as an answer today? I thought that was a no-no.
Taking the day off to see "Godzilla" at the local IMAX 3D theater, btw. I wanted to bring my son, but I tried that with "Pacific Rim" and he found the experience too intense. He'll have to wait until it comes out on Blu Ray...
Good morning, everyone!
Easy peasy Monday puzzle. That’s how last week started out, but then it ended on 3 puzzles that flummoxed me.
My only typeover was DUMBO before BABAR, but the perps quickly corrected that.
Several baseball clues. I had to recall who Buster Posey is before I could fill in CATCHER, because he plays in SF and we don’t see him much, but several perps pointed me in the right direction. And yay REDS!
I am certainly no puzzle authority, but I would think the no-no is to have a word in the clue and its answer. I’m OK if the word is in a clue and answer that are separated. But I defer to one of our constructors for an official take on it.
Regarding 37D, I think LEFT OVER is correct without the plural. The clue “Like doggy bag contents” tells me we are looking for an adjective. But if the clue had been “doggy bag contents”, then it would call for a noun, and LEFTOVERS would be correct.
Good morning everyone!
I saw NECK OF THE WOODS and assumed it would be a "body parts" theme. So I wasn't disappointed.
Like Barry, I was wondering about the abbr. for PO Box, especially since I really wanted "in" BOX for the answer. But I refrained from filling the first two letters. The perps weren't much help either - did not know PETE Sampras, and couldn't come up with a 4-letter moisturizer brand. So that was the last to fill.
Other than that slow down, it was smooth sailing to the end.
Happy birthday, Grumpy - we miss you!
Oh, and WBS (what Buckeye said) about LEFTOVER.
Good morning everyone,
Nice Monday puzzle with a bit of a bite to it. Thank you Kevin. I needed to rely heavily on the Down clues to make progress today.
I never noticed, nor do I have a problem with ACRE in a clue and in a fill.
Two goofs, both easily corrected. 31A In Box/PO BOX & 41D Hole/Hold.
42D CATCHER right in my wheel house. Buster a key player on the Giants.
Good morning!
Guessed wrong on Buster Posey. With CAT in place, I figured he was in the CATBIRD seat. CLASS disabused me of that idea.
WBMS (Buckeye and Marti) on LEFTOVER(S).
Easy Peasy puzzle. I didn't mind having ACRE in a clue and in the fill. If there is a rule forbidding it, why?
DO, exactly what I planned to say in re LEFTOVER.
PETE and OLAY were gimmes,so that cut short my flirting with INBOX.
I had CAT and was looking for a sports position, so CATCHER was obvious.
Off to the gym, although I am unsure of how much I can do. Saturday our kneeling bus refused to kneel, so there was a huge step to the ground and no box to step on. The descent really jarred my knee, followed by an entire day of exercise. I still feel it.
Happy birthday, Grumpy. I miss you. Very often what you wrote is exactly what I was thinking.
"If I ruled the world...." (of puzzledom) I would decree that common initialisms don't need to be indicated as abbreviations. Initialisms are words where the first letter of each word is said separately. MBA, MRI, PO (BOX),etc.
I also would decree that common acronyms, NASA for example, don't need to be indicated as abbreviations.
Good morning everyone.
Happy Birthday to Grumpy. Hope you are thriving in the fine Florida weather.
Easy Monday puzzle. Theme fill came readily, but I think namewise, Argyle nailed it. No lookups or strikethroughs.
18a - I wonder why Glasgow native wasn't stated as Glaswegian.
48a - TIT; one of your passerines.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
Hi Everyone ~~
Fast and fun today ~ thanks, Kevin Christian. My only pause was at GSA - had to wait for perps. Also, at 43A - I started with EYE... thinking that it would be singular in the answer, but that was soon corrected.
~ OOMPH seems to be a frequent visitor these days.
~ At 58A - Hard thing to break / HABIT, the tune from the group "Chicago" started in my head.
~ I thought of buckeye bob as I filled in REDS
~ Thanks for your write-up, Argyle. My thoughts on LEFTOVER have already been mentioned.
~ Happy Birthday, Grumpy!
~ My husband got in at 2:00 AM after watching his Tigers sweep my Red Sox at Fenway Park. I was asleep, but had a broom waiting for him at the front door.
Fun fast romp today! Perps often filled in before I saw the other clue. Good thing too because I didn't get POBOX until I came here and realized it was PO BOX. D'uh! And we have one too!
Thought of JazzB with 5D.
42A made me think of this quote - "A true Canadian is one who can make love in a canoe without tipping it." Author Pierre Berton
Today is Victoria Day holiday in Canada (celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday). Lovely day and hopefully a good night for fireworks.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Kevin Christian, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Got started easily in the NW. Pretty much zipped through the entire puzzle.
Only sticky area was the West. I had IN BOX first so that goofed up a couple Downs. I figured out PETE Sampras easily, that gave me P O BOX.
I always misspell ASTER. I had ASTOR, as in John Jacob Astor.
OTOE is kind of a regular lately. No problem.
I have no problem with ACRE in one clue and ACRE in another answer. I am sure we have had that stuff before.
On my way to Pennsylvania.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(53546524 38)
WJAES (What just about everyone said). Today was a nice easy puzzle. By the time I got to the last down clue, every word was filled in.
TGIM (Thank God Its Monday) was never said when I was working, but now that I'm retired and doing the LA Times CW, it is. TGIF, however, has gone out of my vocabulary wrt crosswords.
However, DW is not so thrilled this morning because I'm driving her to the dentist shortly. She's really down in the mouth about it. (Bad pun)
Have a great week, everyone.
Hi Y'all! Speed run Monday. Saw no red letters at all. Fun, Kevin!
Thanks, Argyle. Couldn't understand much of Tippecanoe words, but appreciated the history lesson. Marvin Gaye is always a treat.
Hahtoolah: got a chuckle about the QOD. I might add that after a certain age, summer bachelors are hot only under the collar (if you get my drift).
I love LEFTOVERS. From my Mother's Day dinner, I brought home LO prime rib & baked potato. Next day the meat was good cold & some squirts of tartar sauce gave me a passable potato salad.
Glad I'm not the only one who didn't know Buster Posey.
There was another body part in that puzzle that is below the shoulders, but apparently no one else noticed? LOL! How'd that happen?
Lucina & Marti: I finished "The Red Tent" at 2 a.m. Wow! I came on the bloody part of the story much earlier in the day and was so traumatized, I almost quit reading, but couldn't put it down for long. Then I went to bed and dreamed the saga.
Well, not quite a Monday speed run, but I got the theme right away and found the puzzle a lot of fun--many thanks, Kevin. And you, too, Argyle, as always.
Owen, this was one of your funniest and cutest poems ever! It even told a little story!
I am so thankful to have finally gotten 6 1/2 hours of sleep without an Ambien. My sleepless nights have been driving me crazy. I hope I can manage another one tonight.
Happy birthday, Grumpy.
Have a great week, everybody!
Good morning all, and HB Grumpy...
Another very speedy Monday.I let the perps fill SRO and GSA, but was stymied for a minute over Blue Devil while trying to fill "eyes of the lab".I thought Sunday was thank God day, and it just NOW hit me. a ha! Agreed with Barry on Dely.
Owen, that poem was hilarious today!
Have yummy leftover(s) from our family Sun. night dinner. The local Thai restaurant is closing, so I splurged (besides cooking chicken wings and fried rice for the boys)..the best is Pad Thai.
PK, I loved The Red Tent. Another novel that has stayed with me is The Poisonwood Bible.
Argyle: Nice Monday write-up & links.
Buster Posey's position, CATCHER, was a gimmie.
At Villa Incognito, "Hangover cure, so they say," is to KEEP DRINKING (and it fit!) ...
But I guess HAIR-OF-THE-DOG is what others expouse for that condition. lol
Fave today, of course, was TIT ... I always like TIT ... even in pairs.
Cheers!!!
Greetings, friends! Many thanks to Argyle (SCOTt)and to Kevin Christian.
Also to Owen for the chuckles.
This was fun run and finished before I poured my coffee. WEES on everything including the use of LEFTOVER.
Happy birthday, Grumpy! I hope you lurk now and then.
PK:
I'm reading The Red Tent slowly, one chapter per night. That gives me time to think about it and do some research. Mostly I think about how life was, especially for women, in those long ago times.
Have meaningful Monday, everyone!
Good Morning:
This was a very nice start to the week, easy, breezy with a cute theme. Thanks, Kevin, and thanks, Argyle, for a job well done.
Hair of The Dog is the name of a local band that specializes in Irish music. They are very talented and have many devoted fans. They played at one of my niece's wedding reception and kept the dance floor jumping all night!
JD @ 10:22 - The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorites, also.
Have a merry Monday, all.
- Hahtoolah: QOD, I sometimes wish your quotes had the date of the quote instead of the birthdate of the quotee, though I know that's rarely available. When it's birth-death, that's more obvious. However a quotee who died 2 years before she was born today is rather odd. ;-) Nora Ephron was born on this date in in 1941, not 2014.
- CanadianEh: liked the quote!
- interesting having DELT and TIT together in the puzzle as they are on the body. ):0>
Nice to see the pix of the Naples get-together. Happy Birthday, Grumpy.
Love this xword. Got it all even though it took perps to get sports' figures.
Cheers
JD:
The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorites, too. I may re-read that one next.
Hi, this is Kevin Christian, constructor of today's puzzle. Thanks for your comments!
It's OK to have ACRE and MORAL in both clues and answers as long as they're different clues and answers.
My original version of this puzzle had FOOT OF THE BED instead of EYES OF THE LAW, but the editor asked me to change it so that all the theme answers would be parts of the body at the neck and above. I originally included FOOT OF THE BED because I was just going for parts of the body in general, not head and neck parts specifically. But I like EYES OF THE LAW a lot as a theme answer so it was definitely an improvement.
I have fond memories of listening to the Nazareth song "Hair of the Dog" on vinyl when I was a kid. In fact, I still have that album, and all of my other vinyl LPs from my childhood. :-)
See ya! - KevinC
Happy Birthday Grumpy, hope all is well.
A fine Monday from KC, as a major Babar fan, I appreciated his return. Buster Posey was the MVP, more proof that baseball is fading in the US since so many did not know of him.
I agree that food that is LEFT OVER becomes LEFTOVERS.
I know I am late with this comment but the Austrian DRAG QUEEN who won the Eurovision singing competition despited his beard, is he an executive transvstite like Izzy Izzard?
Hola Everyone, A speed run for me today. I didn't run into any problems at all. Dely. was an odd abbreviation so I wasn't sure about the answer, but only that it was an abbreviation. With the X already in at the end of the word, I thought Fed Ex at first, but that was quickly eliminated.
Of course, I knew Buster Posey. He's a Giant's star and we watch all the games. For once, I knew a sport's clue without having to think. He was severely injured a few years back in a collision at home plate. His leg was broken and he was out for the rest of the year. He's had an amazing comeback.
CanadianEh, Happy Victoria Day. Enjoy the fireworks.
Happy birthday, Grumpy.
Have a great day, everyone.
Lemonade: Huh?
Happy Monday to all! It's sunny and almost 70*. Add to that the easy, fun puzzle and expo and the week is off to a great start!
I have no issue with a word in a clue and also an answer. No nit with singular LEFTOVER either.
Our book club read "The Red Tent" a few years ago. I remember that I enjoyed it, but I don't remember much about the book. I also enjoyed "The Poisonwood Bible". This month's book is "No Dogs in Heaven?", written by a (relatively) local vet. We'll drive an hour east to a country club where he will have lunch with us and speak to us about his experiences. That should be fun.
Off to the chiropractors. Yeah!
Pat
Good cess to ya, Grumpy!
An easy sneezy not-so-cheesy Monday pzl to get our juices going. Not a challenge, but fun to do.
Enjoyed seeing a pic of my ol' childhood pal, Babar. I can remember all the way back to when I thought he was real, just of another time and place...
Happy Monday everybody!
I guess I'm a little surprised to hear that more folk knew not of Gerald "Buster" Posey's claim to fame. Even if you only tune into the World Serious every year, the Giants won in 2010 and 2012, so....
In addition to being MVP (2012), as mentioned by Lemon, Posey won NL Rookie of the Year (2010), the NL Batting Title (2012), Comeback Player of the Year (2012), and has been in two All Star Games....
Is this more information than you'd ever care to know about Buster Posey...? How about the fact that his season-ending injury in 2011 was the major contributing factor in changing the rules about blocking the plate at home, instituted this year...?
Okay, I'll step off the soapBOX now so we can continue with our regularly scheduled programming....
A review of those who didn't know Buster Posey's position (here at the blog) is hardly definitive "proof that baseball is fading in the US."
Barry G. knows extremely little about sports (other than Mel Ott).
d-otto apparently only follows the teams based in Houston.
PK mainly follows Basketball.
But, Chickie knew who he was ...
And, as YR said:
"I had CAT and was looking for a sports position, so CATCHER was obvious."
River Doc said:
Is this more information than you'd ever care to know about Buster Posey…?
…Yes.
(^0^)
Ah, yes, The Poisonwood Bible - excellent! That got me started on Barbara Kingsolver. Now that she has come up, I may have to catch up with her; she's a prolific author!
I follow the Dodgers (though Time Warner got their TV rights and so I can't watch them this year) but I still know of Buster Posey. He's a good defensive catcher, a good hitter and seems to be a nice human being. I wish him well except when the Giants are playing the Dodgers.
Well todays puzzle was easy, (except for that hoe of a P.O. Box...) I had it done right after coffee.
Finding funny stuff for the theme was a real pain, I ended up giving up, & came back to it later. (Like a lot of puzzles I know...)
Happy Birthday Grumpy!
Welcome to my neck of the woods.
Hangover cure, so they say...
Hmm, this is a tricky subject...
Head of the Class
& the link that gave me the most trouble: Above the Shoulders?
Marti - LOL !!!!
I love coming here and getting book reviews. Keith, I read The Bean Trees years ago, but did not read the follow up,Pigs in Heaven. Was it good? Have not read any other of B. Kingsolver's books. I have been reading lots of Kristen Hannah's books recently: Firefly Lane, Night Road... She is from the Portland area, so most of her novels are in the NW.
DH thinks I need to read more non fiction, so he put Upstairs at the Whitehhouse:My Life with the First Ladies on my ipad. It's a fun read, but easy to put down.
Hey! I even knew Buster Posey.
Hi all,
I hope I can get this comment finished today. Last week I had one all ready to post and suddenly it just disappeared and the whole computer went off. I then vowed to never tough a computer again. Well, you see how long that lasted.
This was a fun puzzle. I even got the theme with the long answers. I seldom do.
I never heard of Posey the catcher but it came with the perps.
This week is supposed to have temps 70 plus all week,finally!
Have a great evening, all!
Marge
Marge, that's your come-uppanace. Never tough your computer again!
KC
Thank you for stopping by, we always like insights from constructors.
Eddy Izzard would do his show in high heels and explain he was not a gay man, just one who liked to dress as a woman. He called himself 'an executive transvestite.'
WATCH .
OMKeith:
Barbara Kingsolver more recently wrote Flight Behavior. Although it's up to her usual good style, she has more of an agenda with it. Still, it's very good.
The heat wave has broken. The high temperatures for the rest of the week: 70, 65, 64, 64, 66, 66. Aah!
I see where the Google Doodle celebrates the Rubik's Cube. Years ago, I found that one of my students and his father (a very bright family) had figured out how to solve it. So I talked the boy into coming in after school on two different days to teach me. I took careful notes and learned how to solve it. I was very proud of myself.
A couple of months later I went over to a friend's house for dinner. I saw a Rubik's Cube sitting on an end table. My friend told me that he couldn't do anything with it but his daughter (about 10) could solve it. I had a hard time believing him. He called her into the room and asked her to solve it. She looked a bit sheepish but took the cube and headed toward her bedroom. I asked her to show me how she did it but she said she needed to go to her room by herself. Sure enough, she came back in a couple of minutes with it solved. Something didn't seem right. Upon closer examination, I figured out she had peeled off the colored stickers and stuck them back on so that every side was the same color. I guess you'd call that thinking outside the box.
Sometimes,
You gotta think outside the theme
Re: Tin's comment
Leftover(s) anyone? Marti?
Getting into Hot Water
Loaded Gun
Uh, Manac,, & Meanwhile,, the cat...
Lucina, I admire your self-discipline in reading only a chapter a day. When I get into an engrossing story, the world goes away until I am either too blind to continue or almost asleep. Then I dream it. Works better for me than sleeping pills.
I read the "Poisonwood Bible" and vowed never to read another Kingsolver. Such futility of effort on the part of a missionary! My niece read it and was inspired to do missionary work in India. Such different reactions to the same story. I hope she has a more positive effect. Probably has something to do about the real-life experiences of each of us.
Hi all!
KC - thanks for the puzzle & stopping by. Argyle, thanks for the write up Owen, as always :-)
HBD Grumpy! You must have been gone for a while. I think I'm coming up on a year and I don't recall a post from you.
Nice easy run for me just a little slowdown in SE. RARER is not a word that I make a HABIT of using. Also, I EVADE ASTER.*
Barry, I wouldn't have noticed the 6a/25a c/a if you didn't say it. I thought it was cool that POOH, WOOD (also in 6a) and ACRE was so close.
C-Eh! Your 42a quote - water & CANOE made me think of this Python moment (MA Only).
CED - LOL w/ links! Esp the lactating latex...
JD - if you want suggestions for NF, let me know. I'll pro-offer Newton and the Counterfeiter.
On 37d I had LEFTOVERS, but I tend to think outside the grid ;-)
Cheers, -T
*sorry, too much
Sorry for back to back posts, but didn't want to lose my earlier one (a 3rd time) looking for Nazareth's HAIR OF THE DOG that our constructor Kevin C. mentioned.
BTW, Bill G. I've done the cube exactly 1x. Now I just play with it to make patterns. Like my rare-earth magnets, the kid's are not allowed to touch it :-)
C, -T
OMKeith:
I don't know if you watch Jeopardy! but believe you would have loved the last category today. It was all about Kabuki (sp?).
PK:
When reading books like The Poisonwood Bible I tend to focus on the writing style and beauty of expression more than the message which is often secondary in fiction although the book is based on her own family's experience in Africa. Her parents were missionaries.
Lucina, The story is the thing for me, the adversities and how people react to them. Of course, if the writing style is tedious, then it detracts from the story and sometimes the story is so weak nothing will help it. I read obituaries of people I never knew for the life stories and movement of people. I was always so interested in the stories people had to tell, that I heard some humdingers in my newspaper days. A lot
of it never got into the paper, but I sure enjoyed the interviews.
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