Theme: Put an end to the fight.
Well I (Lemonade) am back, not on Friday, but pinch hitting for the ubiquitous Marti Duguay-Carpenter, who has asked me to explain her latest publication. The theme was readily apparent and seemed appropriate for me who used to be a trial lawyer and presented many closing arguments. The end of the three theme answers describe a minor dispute. I found this fun, though it seemed like a Wednesday with just a few clues toughened up. Or perhaps I just understand the divine miss m's mind...The difficulty for me was in some of the proper names, not all of whom came immediately to mind, but without any long deceptive fill, the puzzle was done in normal time. It features a great triple clecho in the middle, a mental tour of the Italian Alps and marti's wit. Let's see if the glove fits and how I acquit myself.
17A. "The Goodbye Girl" Oscar winner : RICHARD DREYFUSS.(15). You want to WATCH? (1:24) You cannot forget the second S.
29A. Short-muzzled dog breed : BULL MASTIFF (11). They are massive, over 50 kg.
46A. Futuristic car unveiled at the 1933 New York Auto Show : SILVER ARROW (11).
62A. Court wrap-up ... and what's hidden in 17-, 29- and 46-Across? : CLOSING ARGUMENT. I love when a unifier works this well.
ACROSS:
1. Kazantzakis title hero : ZORBA. The author of the Zorba the Greek and the Last Temptation of Christ. I did not recall the name, but what else starts ZORB_?
6. Singer James : ETTA. Supply your own favorite link.
10. Apple variety : iMAC.
14. "Water is life" brand : EVIAN. Interesting STUFF.
15. Bishop's rte. : DIAGonal. The chess piece not Tutu.
16. Jet Propulsion Lab org. : NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
20. Classical theaters : ODEA. The plural of Odeum, from the Latin, which comes from Italy.
21. Private __ : EYE.
22. Has no obligation to : NEEDN'T.
23. Org. with an interlocking rings logo : IOC. International Olympic Committee.
25. Journalist Tarbell et al. : IDAS. The WOMAN was a very admirable journalist even if a bit of a muckraker.
26. CD precursors : LPS. Long Plays.
35. Shoe box letters : EEE. When in doubt, trot it out.
36. Devoured : ATE UP. This one was a piece of cake.
37. French 101 word : ETRE. To be.
38. West Coast natl. monument since 2012 : FT. ORD. Monument? FT to start a word? This took a while.
40. Disney doe : ENA.
41. Times for action : D-DAYS. They are not just for war. Cute how this follows disney doe
42. Honorable : TRUE.
43. Rear : RAISE. Not where your minds were going?
45. Disappoint, with "down" : LET.
49. "... good witch, __ bad witch?" : OR A. Do you recall this scene (0:30) from Wizard of Oz
50. Part of Q.E.F. : ERAT. By now this should be in everyone's memory banks. More Latin.
51. Tourney pass : BYE. The French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros is coming close with the best getting 1st round byes.
53. Hallowed : SACRED. Just don't have a cow about this clue/fill.
56. __ alai : JAI. J also clued with a game down.
58. City on the Rhône : LYON. In the Rhone-Alpes region, Very important ever since the Romans conquered Gaul.
65. Puma rival : AVIA. Latin for a way.
66. Pull down : EARN.
67. Two-masted craft : KETCH. My oldest brother is the sailor in my family, my only experience with a ketch was ketchup.
68. Stores in a large building? : MALL. Gee, I never thought about it being a single building.
69. Till opener : ROTO. Windhover, do you use one on your farm?
70. Iroquois foes : ERIES. Best know your native tribes.
Down:
1. Shutout score feature : ZERO.
2. "Ars amatoria" poet : OVID. The Roman take on the Art of Love. LINK.
3. It might be sticky or dirty : RICE. Interestingly the center of Asian and Mexican cuisine.
4. Religion founded in Persia : Bahá'í. One of the newest Judeo-Christian Muslim fusion religions. I think this is the religion of Vic Damone.
5. Actress Gasteyer : ANA. If you are a die hard SNL fan you will know this performer, or maybe you watch the odd show Suburgatory which follows Modern Family.
6. Current event : EDDY. Tricky beginning to the triclecho, as eddys appear in water. 7. Current influence : TIDE. Still in the water. and, 8. Current observer : TAR. Our old sailor reappears.
9. Things to do : AGENDA.
10. Pest-ridden : INFESTED.
11. Irish revolutionary __ Gonne MacBride : MAUD. She was not in my memory banks; beyond Michael Collins, I know not much about Irish revolutionaries, especially since Branson wimped out. READ.
12. NCAA member?: Abbr. : ASSN.
13. Play group : CAST.
18. Saw again : RECUT. That saw!
19. Words said in passing? : YEAS. Legislation for example.
24. O.T. book after Amos : OBADiah is not one of the famous PROPHETS. The history is interesting.
25. Damage : IMPAIR. A tricky definition.
26. Some jabs : LEFTS.
27. Lab dish inventor : PETRI. Named for the German bacteriologist who invented it.
28. Capital city on the Han River : SEOUL. You know your Korean Geography?
30. Ogle : LEER AT. Looking at the Moon? For SPLYNTER
31. Like some eclipses : LUNAR.
32. Author Calvino : ITALO. I am unfamiliar with this Italian author who was born outside of Havana, Cuba. READ.
33. Fritter maker : FRYER. I wonder if the food is related to the wasting of time.
34. Pisa party : FESTA. More Italian, I guess marti is back in Europe, in her mind.
39. About-face : REVERSAL.
41. Like early morning links : DEWY. HG, I bet you like the dewy morning fairways.
44. Pulitzer-winning Ferber novel : SO BIG. This Novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925, and was made into a MOVIE 1:03 in 1932.
47. "... harken __ die": Tennyson : ERE I. From the poem "Œnone" by a poet whose work I have never appreciated. Perhaps our resident rhymer has better things to say.
48. Portrayer of Wawa and Litella : RADNER. Gilda, who died so young. Post your favorite from her SNL days.
52. Film composer Bernstein : ELMER. Not to be confused with Leonard, no relation, Berstein. Elmer did so many wonderful movie scores like The Magnificent Seven, The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ghostbusters, The Black Cauldron, and The Rookies. He finally won an Oscar for Thoroughly Modern Millie.
53. Phishing lure : SCAM. Internet scamming.
54. Menlo Park middle name : ALVA. Mr. Edison.
55. Slinky, e.g. : COIL. I was unpacking some stuff my boys left behind and was quite distressed to see theirs had rusted.
56. Lawn game projectile : JART. Thanks for the J, miss m, you seem to like the pointedly dangerous game.
57. River under the Ponte Vecchio : ARNO. More Italian, literally the 'Old Bridge' crosses the Arno at its narrowest point and goes back many centuries.
59. Mountain legend : YETI.
60. Grimm start : ONCE upon a time. Anyone watch that show?
61. Unspecified degrees : NTHS.
63. Agcy. concerned with the federal fiscal outlook : GAO. Government Accountability Office
64. Island strings : UKE. Not strings of islands, hey to our old Hawaiians.
Well Maud and Italo and some others slowed me down, but hopefully you did not stumble. the good news is that you have marti's puzzle today and her write up tomorrow. All that and amazing it is already time for Memorial Day; be safe and do not speed. L714, out.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteVery challenging puzzle for me today, which took a lot longer than usual to solve. No time for detailed comments as a result, but I did finish unassisted and had fun doing it.
ReplyDeleteImpressive puzzle Marti. All the names almost did me in. Perps were needed to get many of them, such as BAHAI, MAUD, ITALO and ELMER. Has anyone ever crafted a puzzle that was all nouns ?
Almost had a natick at the crossing of EREI and ERAT. Had all but the R with the perps. Guessed it must be an R. I know QED, but not QEF. Latin schmatin.
Liked REVERSAL, IMPAIR and INFESTED. Good solid words that I don't think we've seen very often.
I had a short circuit at 14A entering aVIAN, but the 1D clue quickly fixed that. Not quite as quick to correct my 53D Phishing lure entry of SpAM.
Thanks Lemonade ! Enjoyed your expose. I remember Ana Gasteyer from her memorable "Martha Stewart Topless Christmas Special" skit on SNL. I saw it again on the "Women of SNL" TV special the other night. Of course, some of RADNER's characterizations were featured as well.
There was no DEW on the links yesterday afternoon.
Gotta run. Time to make coffee and then KETCH up on the email that came in yesterday afternoon while I was out shamming.
See y'all later !
Shamming? TTP?
ReplyDeleteA nice, satisfying Thursday puzzle with some fun mis-directing clues. I especially liked the "current" trio (6D, 7D, and 8D).
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall "Bambi's mom" as a recent clue but ENA is, apparently, Bambi's aunt. Or not. So maybe the clue was "Bambi's aunt"? Anyway, I didn't know it then and didn't remember it now. Maybe next time.
[9:30]
For me, compose a limerick is no FUSS.
ReplyDeleteI just write two rhyming lines with no muss.
Then word mosaics dance
Like TIFFany lamps,
I put the best in a ROW, as thus:!
CLOSING zippers, front or side placement?
Separate skirt, or all one piece garment?
Pretty choices, so many!
The cost? Pretty penny!
It all lead to one more clothing ARGUMENT!
Pandora had used some poor judgement;
Now wars from mild TIFFs would foment.
There were famines and FUSS,
There was pestilence to cuss,
"Shut it now," was the CLOSING ARGUMENT!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMarti almost got me this morning. My "Words said in passing" was OBIT -- can't fool me! The theme....there was a theme?
I've never read anything by Calvino, but his name immediately came to mind. Maybe because we were both born outside Havana -- far outside, in my case.
What's this QEF business? I'm familiar with QED, but WTF (why the F)?
Good day to all from rainy CT,
ReplyDeleteThe good news is it wasn't a DNF, the bad news (for me) is it "weren't" right. Two incorrect letters did me in.
The North & Central sections came up pretty empty on my first pass, but the South showed promise, so I began there and it turned out to be a South, Central and North fill.
24D OBAD drove me nuts! I was positive it was wrong, but the across fills were solid, so I left it alone.
The North eventually filled, but the NE did me in. Did not know who Kazan....was, nor were 4D religion... or 5D Gasteyer familiar to me. So I decided my fill for 1A Zorro was good. 4 & 5 D looked strange, but ZORBA never entered my mind.
Despite my failure, I enjoyed the puzzle a lot. The cluing was tricky, but fair, Especially liked 18D saw again/RECUT & 19D Words said in passing/YEAS.
I am sure Fermatprime and Bill G. Will give more information, but here is a summary of QEF
ReplyDeleteWhat's half of eight? Across or down?
ReplyDeleteHadn't yet gotten any of the theme words when I got to the unifier. "Court wrap-up" and 3 theme entries? Blindingly obvious misdirection! GAME, SET, AND MATCH!
Got my come-uppance on that with perps eventually. Still had a big white area in the center when I gave up and hit the check button. I had SAUN and ASSO instead of MAUD and ASSN. ISA(a)C seems like a good name for a tree fruit, and whatever 22a was had to end with NOT, right? Also had BAKER instead of FRYER.
I had also had IOF>IOC, STERN>RAISE, SALE>ROTO, but perps took care of them.
I have an ongoing ARGUMENT with the LW about "water is life". She insists sodas don't hydrate, only water will. My opinion of water is the same as W.C.Fields' ("Fish F... in it!").
Weird first: captcha for my poems had just the photo, no letters or number! Back to the normal photo (which I ignore) and number now.
Started slowly with not knowing the author on 1A - so put Zorro, then had to backtrack with Ana Gasteyer to get the Zorba.
ReplyDeleteI tried to make the 3 currents harder than they were. Thought one would be contemporary, one electric, but all three had to do with water.
After getting tar, it was smooth sailing, (pardon the pun.)
Fun puzzle, Marti. Thanks for filling in Lemonade.
Fast commuter run today with my son People must be on vacation already.
ReplyDeleteThis was a lovely Wednesday level puzzle for me. Knowing it was Marti's I anticipated the fun puns and misdirections. The CURRENT clues were great. Lemon, I enjoyed your blog as always.
I knew ZERO, OVID and ANA or Ann, so ZORBA was a logical wag. The B was all I needed for BAHAI. With a few perps I dredged up ITALO from the depths. MAUD was new, but well perped. I knew of Bernstein, but ELMER was perps and wags.
I wagged ERAT, knew ERE I.
Have a great Thursday.
Tennyson's Oenone, is a long, beautiful poem which has "Hearken ere I die" repeated many times. Here is a sample. If you enjoy it, check out the entire poem.
ReplyDeleteO mother Ida, many-fountain'd Ida,
Dear mother Ida, harken ere I die.
For now the noonday quiet holds the hill:
The grasshopper is silent in the grass:
The lizard, with his shadow on the stone,
Rests like a shadow, and the winds are dead.
The purple flower droops: the golden bee
Is lily-cradled: I alone awake.
My eyes are full of tears, my heart of love,
My heart is breaking, and my eyes are dim,
And I am all aweary of my life.
OEONE
http://library.sc.edu/spcoll/britlit/tenn/oenone.html
Lemonade, I know. Kind of hard to imagine me shamming right ? I guess the word is shamming. I'm sure that's the way it's perceived at work. Recently, my responsibilities and workload increased significantly, with no corresponding increase in salary. And not negotiable. So I've decided to just "shut her down" mid-afternoon midweek and hit the links in the golf league.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update on QEF. That Euclid guy probably could have spent some time out on the links getting some sun, but I'm glad he didn't. Otherwise, that city just east of Cleveland would have to have a different name.
Owen, that cartoon cracked me up. It reminded me of when my older sister learned multiplication and felt it was her responsibility to teach me. She wasn't happy with my progress. MOM !
Back to the millstone. See y'all later.
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a thoroughly enjoyable write-up, Lemony! When I came up with this idea, I did hope you would appreciate the CLOSING ARGUMENT, so it’s appropriate for you to blog it for me!
I noticed several changes to my clues. I had clechos at 6- and 7-Down, but Rich took it a step further by including TAR. (D’uh, why didn’t I think of that??) I am a great admirer of IDA Tarbell but hate plural proper nouns. So I originally had “One of the Argonauts” for IDAS. (BTW Yellowrocks, I count three IDAS in the first two lines of Tennyson’s "Oenone." Thanks for giving me a fresh clue for it!!)
There were others that I can’t think of, but as always, Rich’s clues were an improvement.
TTP, I’m not sure if I could ever craft a puzzle that was all nouns – can I include proper nouns, too?
Marti
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFun erudite puzzle, Marti. Thanks for the entertainment.
Basically, WBS. Liked the long acrosses. Also the tri-clecho involving current.
Questioned FT ORD, too but I'll let the West Coasters deal with it. Many good, zippy clues. Liked the one for MALL
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Marti, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle took me a couple hours. But, it is Thursday.
Got most of them with some deep thinking.
ERAT was a wag, never having heard the term, Q.E.F. However, I read Lemonade's link and now I know it. But, will I know it tomorrow?
My toughest one was NEEDN'T. I was not looking for a contraction. Must keep an open mind.
IDAS was easy. I believe Ida Tarbell was from my hometown, Erie, PA. She wrote a lot on Lincoln, if I recall. I could be wrong on all this, but just stating what I believe at this moment.
BAHAI was easy. I lived there and it was one of the active religions at that time. Not sure what the current government allows.
FT. ORD was easy. Common place for Californians. I was one for four years.
Big time rain yesterday in Elk County, PA. Ridgway got hit the worst of all the small boroughs around here. We got a lot of flooding in Johnsonburg, but Ridgway has more lower, flat land. The Clarion River goes right through here. Johnsonburg is where the Clarion starts, formed from the east and west branches.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(for dsctle)
52D: You failed to mention "The Man With The Golden Arm".
ReplyDeleteA really enjoyable challenge, Marti! And I WAS challenged...right from the start.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I was fooled into thinking I had the theme figured out after the DD and SS in 17A, followed by the LL and FF in 29A. The DD in D DAYS and RR in SILVER ARROW kept me guessing, but in the end, I was SO wrong ~ it was not about double letters. Duh!
Lots of tricky cluing which I loved, especially Saw again / RECUT and the EDDY-TIDE-TAR combo. Thanks for the fun, and thanks, Lemonade for an informative write-up!
Some challenges and WAGS today but a fun puzzle nevertheless. Thanks Marti and Lemon!
ReplyDeleteMany misdirections. I had SPAM before SCAM, IPOD before IMAC, LEI before UKE, NIKE before AVIA (we've had that one recently so I should remember it!). But I did remember ENA, an old CW favourite.
I'm more familiar with QED than QEF but I figured the middle word was the same. Never heard of JARTS and wanted DARTS but JAI alai was solid so I had not choice.
You're right about knowing our tribes, Lemon. Did we want CREES or ERIES? Utes was too short and I think they are farther west.
Enjoyed the travels today also -- IOC headquarters in Geneva, Rhone also starting in Switzerland, then Italy (Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls has an Italian restaurant called Ponte Vecchia) and even moving on to Seoul!
Thanks for a tough puzzle, Marti. Too many unknowns in the NW for a completion. Really liked the triple-clecho for 6,7,8 Down!
ReplyDeleteGood job, Lemonade! Thanks for explaining the theme, cuz it just didn't jump out at me.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteAll sorts of trouble for me, but I made it. Never sussed the theme, though it's obvious in retrospect.
Stumbled over the too-many names, though ITALO is in my wheel house.
IMAC, IPOD, IPAD? MAUD was no help in that corner.
ZORBA and LYON were wags.
You have no obligation to click this link.
Yard work beckons.
Cool regards!
JzB
MGR, I knew ELMER had done many movies but I did not realize he did 139. He also did the AIRPLANE movies.
ReplyDeleteYou can remember him apart from Leonard because ELMER (like Gene Wilder) is a BernSTEEN, while Leonard, a BernSTINE.
His list is amazing including Trading Places and The World of Henry Orient which had my young friend Tippi Walker as one of the girls.
JzB, thank you for the perfect link from the great Thelonious Monk. It is awesome what the combined knowledge of the Corner produces.
ReplyDeleteVery tricky, too many misdirections to note. But I managed to navigate them & find the Theme. Unfortunately a DNF due to too much white in the NW corner to get past the Zorro blunder...
ReplyDelete(& French 101 crossing Italian crossing Who?)
(& Ferber crossing Tennis Terms? Ouch!)
Learning moment: I had never heard of "Bye." Googling the definition helped, Googling the image did not...
#1
#2
#3
Hmm, must add Ponte Vecchio to the bucket list...
Funny closing argument?
Ah, Gilda Radner, so much talent, perhaps we should start with the audition...
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteA Thursday Puzzle by Marti = Misdirection, Clever Theme, Fun Clues, and Lots of Satisfying Solving!
Got the theme easily enough and had no write-overs, as I waited for the perps to set me on the right path. Fav clues were Play Group=Cast and Saw Again=Recut. Also enjoyed the triple clechos.
Thanks, Marti, for a great puzzle and thanks, Lemony, for a witty expo.
Sort of gloomy right now with some rain expected later. Hope the weather is nice for the holiday weekend.
Have a great day.
Greetings, fellow puzzlers! Nice to see you, Lemonade, on a different day but with your usual store of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteA great opus, Marti! Thank you for the challenge.
My first several passes proved to be unproductive with only a fill here and there but then I began to see the ingenuity at work.
BAHAI is familiar to me as originating in Iran but had to struggle with the spelling. Finally, RICHARD solved it.
I, too, loved the three clecho combination.
Count me in for SPAM before SCAM an NIKE then AVIA.
Ponte Vecchio crossing the ARNO recalls some very nice memories from a long ago trip.
In CLOSING I'll wish you all a splendid Thursday!
total WAGS today. Marti, how could you include so many elusive names in one puzzle? at first go through I thought I was done in, but after much head scratching, I got it all, but as noted above, only with WAGS. Even the names I knew needed time to get over brain farts.
ReplyDeleteBring on Friday!
A Thursday puzzle by Marti! Hurray! I knew this was going to be a bit tough, and it was, but no way was I giving up on a Marti puzzle. And it worked. Very satisfying. Many thanks for the helpful write-up too, Steve.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of JART but it had to work because of JAI. My biggest problem was first having FT. ORR instead of ORD. That made the biblical down hard to suss. And it took me almost forever before I SAW that the SAW in SAW AGAIN didn't have to do with vision. But I finally got the whole thing!
Yellowrocks, many thanks for the Tennyson poem. "[T]he golden bee is lily-cradled"--I swear, poetry doesn't get any lovelier than that!
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
This was very hard for me; after doing all those Wayne Robert Williams puzzles that corresponded to either Monday or Tuesday difficulty levels. But I’ve done many LA Times puzzles and this one has a lot of obscure personal noun references. ZORBA, Zorba isn’t obscure but this is a FRIDAY reference: first I’ve heard of Kazantzakis; BAHAI (never heard of it); MAUD (sorry, same with Zorba: the reference is obscure); FT ORD (uh, OK, it’s a crosswordese thing but still obscure); KETCH (doesn’t come up in any conversations); OBAD (never come across it in any crossword that I can remember); ERAT (QEF?); ELMER (like Zorba – could have had Gantry for the clue); LYON (obscure); SO BIG (couldn’t remember it from prior crossword puzzles)
ReplyDeleteThere were so many obscure references that I wasn’t able to do the puzzle without looking things up. It would have been more enjoyable if some key clues were made easier by the editors (or did Mr. Norris toughen it up?) to compensate for the above “mess.”
Even when I got RICE I hade to look up that Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish. Guessed at EVIAN,
ODEA, ANA, EREI (another Friday clue), ITALO, FESTA
But I did like thinking out of the box on the three “Current” clues; Baba Wawa and Litella clue was neat for RADNER; phishing line; apple variety; Bishop’s rte.; passing words? (didn’t dawn on me).
Can’t wait til Friday!
Rick
Wow. Tricky one today, Marti!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the expo Lemony - lots of stuff in there I didn't know.
WBS about the time I took on this one, and WEES about the unknowns.
I made a dumb entry of "HAI" for "JAI", couldn't figure out what a "HART" was in the context of a game, and left it at that. BAARP! WRONG! Ooops.
marti seems to love this weird lawn dart game, JARTS .
ReplyDeleteOf course they were not always round tipped HIstory of Jarts.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the puzzle and writeup. Thanks Marti and Lemon.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle started off with one of my favorite movies, Zorba the Greek. Unlike many of my other favorites, I'm not sure I want to watch it all again because it feels too emotional.
We had an area-wide power failure this morning. No DVR, no TV, no computer, no toaster, no microwave, etc. So I gave up and took a nap. Then got back up and went to work resetting the clocks. One DVR still isn't working. I'm guess the router or the DVR needs resetting by unplugging it for a half-minute or so.
Lemon wrote: "27. Lab dish inventor PETRI. Named for the German bacteriologist who invented it." I learned from my years studying science in college that it was named for the less-famous bacteriologist, Dr. Igor Dish.
Tough, especially when it came to interpreting clues, but finally 100% do-able.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of a JART myself, but it is the kind of made-up word that proprietary retailers love.
What in the world made me think Zorro was Greek? Anyway, a quick note to thank Marti for a fun puzzle! I giggled at infested, because it's such a fun word to add to a puzzle. Out into the thunder-boomers to grab a late lunch, then back to work.
ReplyDeleteLemony, of course I used to love JARTS, before they took all the fun out of them. I was surprised to read how many people never heard of them.
ReplyDeleteBill G. "Dr. Igor Dish" - good one!!
ReplyDeleteI finished quicker than usual, I just couldn't get the "D" in 21 D.
I thought I had the the theme until I came across the word ROW embedded SLIVER ARROW. I never considered that a row was an argument of sorts. No harm done though because I at least knew knew the car.
tiptoethru - simple ZORBA/ZORRO confusion. I've done the same thing
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! A Marti brain-strainer that turned out fun! It certainly showed Marti's well-traveled personality.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble getting started. In the top half I had only ETTA and __HAI (thought it started with "O" not "B" Duh!). Then I quickly got the NE corner, saw ___FUSS & knew it had to be RICHARD DREYFUSS not Marsha Mason. Then I remembered BAHAI, wagd OVID & RICE & ZORBA. Such triumph! Wow, there was ZERO that I couldn't get. The rest then fell into place bit by bit as I went despite lots of unknowns.
Apple variety: typed in "fiji" on my IMAC. Oh! That apple turned red. Oh! Electronic apple!
How come I've only ever heard of Lenny? Elmer? C'mon!
Marti, I'm enjoying "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" more than expected. Thanks. I recently reconnected with a childhood friend whose son & DIL work for the Antarctic Project and lived there 10 summers. This book gave me a better idea of their life there.
Thundering here. Hope it's not just teasing our drought-ridden state! I've got wheat kernels trying to fill.
This was a really fun puzzle. Had SOLAR before LUNAR and PIERCEARROW before SILVERARROW before perps set me straight. Otherwise, the rest was solved without a hitch, although MAUD was all perps.
ReplyDeleteI have to score this as a DNF because I thought ETTA and wrote EDDA and every time I looked at it I was thinking of the Icelandic Literature.
ReplyDeleteJART is a portmanteau JAvelin daRT.
ReplyDeleteI just got back from subbing for the last day of school and the kids were great. Having the weather overcast and drizzly made things easier. Marti’s clever puzzle was also a day brightener.
ReplyDeleteMusings
- Maybe the name Kazantzakis was a slight tip-off
-Did you ever tape a coin to the tone arm on your turntable to keep the needle in the groove of the LP?
-The courage displayed on D-DAY is unfathomable to me
-A town near here had a high school team so bad that we joked they’d be an underdog against BYE.
-The NCAA used to have rule that schools could provide a snack but not a meal after supper and had countless descriptions of the difference (A bagel is a snack but with cream cheese it’s a meal). They finally eliminated that and the athletes can now have whatever they want now at any time of day. The pending unionization of athletes at Northwestern University got their attention.
-Lemon, the DEWEY fairways and greens are lovely! You can see the exact path the ball took as it traces its way past the hole!
-Off on a cemetery run
BTW, does anyone know how I could blog here with my iPhone when I can’t get to this site on a computer at some venue.
I think Rick @12:37 hit the "nail-on-the-head" with his comments about "obscure personal noun references."
ReplyDeleteThe cluing for ZORBA, MAUD, BAHAI, FT ORD, SEOUL, LYON and some others were pretty obscure.
But ALL were doable from the perps.
I thought the theme CLOSING ARGUMENT was kind lame.
Two people can be in a FUSS or TIFF or a ROW ... without ever getting to a CLOSING ARGUMENT. JMHO
"Water is life" brand ... at first I was hoping for Pinch ... before EVIAN appeared.
But PINCH is "Aqua Vitae" ... the "Water OF life" here at Villa Incognito.
Time for some "Pinch Hitting" of my own ...
Cheers!!!
Misty, I posted the site for the full poem with you in mind. I knew you would appreciate the lovely imagery, as I do. This poem is viewed much more favorably today than it was when it was first published.
ReplyDeleteRick, think of all you and I are learning here. I have learned on this blog that some answers which I find obscure are common place to others and answers which are common place to me others find obscure. We need to remember that we all have different life experiences. Also many of the answers are found in the written word rather than in everyday speech.
As you solve more puzzles you realize that intuition plays a part. We all know the movie, ZORBA, the Greek. Many movies originated as books. The word "Greek" brings this movie to mind when we are in "crossword mindset," if we already have the Z in ZERO. The more late week puzzles you try, the more you will develop this mindset.
ONWARD! Persevere
CLOSING argument means that the last word in each theme answer is a type of argument, not that FUSS, TIFF, and ROW, which are fairly minor, are closing arguments.
ReplyDeleteBTW, ROW, as used here, rhymes with wow/and means a boisterous disturbance or quarrel.
First, Shame on you Marti for putting
ReplyDeleteall those names and places in a
single puzzle.
Like others I had Zorro for 1A. Hell, its all Greek to me, and didn't get the theme til coming here.
We've had the Jart discussion before.
It was in a puzzle not all that long ago. I remember playing it as a ute. When we got bored, everything was a potential target. Sharpen them points and they would stick in anything.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you didn't link
this one.
Gilda Radner (Rated G this Aint)
Warning: tomorrow's puzzle has circles. Choose your media appropriately.
ReplyDeleteHi:
ReplyDeleteLate day at the office, so late to the party.
Ouch Marti... A DNF in north and SE (ELMER)! I had to Google just to get RICHARD DREYFUSS and that helped, but not enough for the time I had. Oh well. Thanks for the puzzle. LEM, thanks for the enjoyable writeup!
No ARGUMENT here, this was a solid Thursday (or Friday).
My fave c/a was 48d. RADNER's Wawa.
Cheers, -T
Addenda: If you don't have circles, they're in strings in 17a(6), 11d(5), 35a(5), and 27d(4).
ReplyDeleteSo Owen, where do you go to get a copy of the next puzzles (with circles) so early?
ReplyDelete