The major challenge in this puzzle was sussing a theme, which appears to be four items found at the end of fill, which do not appear by themselves when eaten (i.e, they're always in plural form). I may be all wrong as after some 200 puzzles write ups, I just am not sure. I blogged Jacob's first publication last year (a quote theme) and see he has had a NYT as well as another here in March since then. The long fill was the theme and reveal, but there also were: AMENITY, ASIATIC, LABELED, ORATION, GO TO SEED, HABITATS which are nice. Remarkably few proper name references so this should be doable by most. Left handed reliever Jesse Orosco was probably the most obscure along with the YMCA reference to Geneva but I know baseball and the perps were easy because it had to be a place, so it was all good. I also do not want to rock the boat, so let us head out into the sea of clues/fill.
24A Source of much government history : NATIONAL ARCHIVE. (15) It have been featured in many action movies, and you always get chives with your baked potato or cream cheese, not a chive.
32A Tax-exempt outlet : DUTY-FREE SHOP. (12) Having the Bahamas close by helps getting some great buys on imports without paying the excise tax. Well a beer related clue; I learned so much about hops in the past few years.
40A. Theme of many a ballad : ROMANTIC LOVE. (12) This is the odd one out as like the others it is the end of the fill, but it alone spans two words.
50A. Warning to a would-be rebel : DON'T ROCK THE BOAT.(15) One oat...nah. One girl....no clue.
18A. With 56-Across, memorable snack food slogan ... or a hint to what's hidden at the end of 24-, 32-, 40- and 50-Across : BETCHA CAN'T.(10) and 56A. See 18-Across : EAT JUST ONE.(10) I grew up eating Wise potato chips, so when this campaign started I gladly ate just one.
Across:
1. "Good one!" : HA HA.
5. See 55-Across : PAUL. More cross-referencing.55A. With 5-Across, musician for whom a classic Gibson guitar model is named : LES. The inventor of the electric guitar, and pioneer with his wife Mary Ford.
9. Lexicographer's concern : USAGE.They write dictionaries, not much plot but lots of big words.
14. Dutch export : EDAM. Cheesy answer.
15. Big Apple sch. : CCNY. The City College New York. Actually part of the CUNY system, so the full name is the The City College of the City University New York LINK.
16. Procreates : SIRES. The word procreate sounds biblical to me.
17. Monk's wear : ROBE. More biblical stuff.
20. Company name tag? : INC. Cute , as most states require INC., Co. etc at the end of the name.
22. Glass on a radio : IRA. From This American Life. We have had this a number of times, I had in in March in a John Guzzetta puzzle. I think Gershwin is being retired.
23. Symbol of industry : BEE. Busy as a...
30. Campaign staple : ORATION. Has anyone read much Cicero?
31. Surveillance device : SPYCAM. You are on camera half of your life now; get used to it.
35. Crash site initials : EMS. Emergency Medical Service
36. Eggs that may be served with grits : ROE. This clue was fishy.
37. Roadside purchase : GAS. Which you get from the burrito you foolishly bought at the 7 11.
46. 1980s Mets relief star Jesse : OROSCO. World Series HERO. Started I believe with the Twins.
49. Like some elephants : ASIATIC. They come in African and Asiatic? Why not ASIAN?
53. Souse's woe : DTS. Delerium Tremens. Not just a beer, but the shakes and eventually the pink elephants which are neither African or Asian.
54. A little light : RAY. A DO(E), a female deer?
61. Bound : LEAP. Tall buildings...
64. Desolate : STARK. Where they lived, Winterfell, was all of that. 19D. Desolate : HARSH. A mini-theme as well as clecho.
65. Series curtailer : ET AL.
66. They lack pelvic fins : EELS. Well, I have a pelvis but no pelvic fin
67. Short and sweet : TERSE. Sweet in a not very sweet way.
68. Deprives (of) : ROBS. Tempted to write ROBB just to be consistent.
69. June observance : D-DAY. We always should thank the soldiers and their families,
Down:
1. Start of some royal titles : HER. Does PIA count as the rest of the expression?
2. Flap : ADO. Is quiet 'adont'?
3. Rainforests, for many : HABITATS. Wonderful people building and helping others.
5. Banned chem. pollutant : PCB. All you wanted to know and more about these Polychlorinated Biphenyls
6. More than just pass : ACE.
7. No later than : UNTIL.
8. Wet suit material : LYCRA. Gratuitous
9. "Covert Affairs" airer : USA. The network not the country.
10. [Not my typo] : SIC. Latin for thus.
11. Like some numerals : ARABIC. Like 1, 2, 3 etc.
12. YMCA world headquarters city : GENEVA. Never knew this but it makes sense..
13. Value : ESTEEM. How do Italians remove wrinkles?
21. Do : COIF.
24. Bump on a branch : NODE. Much better than being a bump on a log.
25. Calla lily family : ARUM.
26. Logical connector : NOR.
27. End of __ : AN ERA.
28. Nav. noncom : CPO. Chief Petty Officer.
29. Right triangle part: Abbr. : HYPotenuse.
33. Quite a stretch : EON.
34. Ripped into : SET AT.
37. Deteriorate : GO TO SEED. Always wondered about this expression since seeds begin life, but then as vegetables go bad..
38. Adidas competitor : AVIA.
39. Religious faction : SECT.
40. Queue after Q : RST. A cute way for an alphabet string.
41. Text-scanning technology, briefly : OCR. Optical character recognition,
42. Secures, in a way : MOORS. How many own boats?
43. Native suffix : ISH. Moorish, Turkish, Spanish
44. Sky, to Sarkozy : CIEL. Simple French.
45. Called : LABELED.
46. Most unusual : ODDEST.
47. Perform a pirouette, say : ROTATE.
48. GM navigation system : ONSTAR. They advertise often. LINK. (0:54) I guess we are to forget about the recalls and non-recalls.
51. Supply with a spread : CATER.
52. City near Lake Biwa : KYOTO. A new way to clue an old answer.
57. PSAT takers : JRS. In high school.
58. Luau entertainment feature : UKE. CSO to our lost battalion of Hawaii posters.
59. Pinch : NAB.
60. Some Bronx lines : ELS. We couldn't have Ernie again so soon.
62. Like : A LA. as Splynter would say, frawnch.
63. Would-be social worker's major: PSY. My undergraduate and graduate field.
Well, tomorrow starts summer and the days start getting shorter. We do get closer to the NFL season. Today is 5 year wedding anniversary for son one, so I get to babysit my grandpuppy. LPGA playing their open at Pinehurst number 2 this week, should be fun. Thanks for the puzzle Jacob and thanks for the rest Corner. L714 out.
Note from C.C.:
Happy 60th Anniversary to dear Chickie and her husband Bill! Chickie has a backyard full of fruit trees. I saw a bag of dried persimmon at Trader Joe's the other day and thought of you.
Thanks Jacob Stulberg for the interesting puzzle and Lemonade for the entertaining writeup. Jesse OROSCO had a long and distinguished career, as you can read more from the link. While he started in the Minnesota Twins organization, he made his major league debut with the New York Mets, and was on the mound for the final outs of both the NLCS and the World Series in 1986. Click here for an iconic photo and the backstory. Interestingly enough, Orosco threw his last major league pitch with the Twins.
ReplyDeleteAnother answer word in today's puzzle reminded me of Covert Operations, which I first shared with readers of this blog two weeks ago.
Today, I would like to let you know about 62 Word Stackup, a remarkable construction by the great Martin Ashwood-Smith. Hope you have a chance to try it.
Hi Y'all! I couldn't make sense of the theme at midnight when I finished the puzzle, but "got" it this morning as I started reading Lemony's fine blog. I enjoyed the puzzle, especially since I typed in HAHA first thing and it was right. Also knew LES PAUL. Thanks, Jacob! I love an easy start. BETCHA CANT EAT JUST ONE was a gimmee too. I'm in smelling distance of a Lays factory.
ReplyDeleteAs a news reporter, was sitting in on three small town city council meetings when the PCB transformer change-out was mandated. It caused unwanted expense and red-tape for small municipalities as well as putting a cancer scare into the electrical workers.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary, Chickie & spouse.
Morning, all (and Happy Anniversary Chickie and Bill)!
ReplyDeleteTechnical DNF today due to a typo I just couldn't track down. Had EMT/HABITATT instead of EMS and HABITATS. The EMS/EMT confusion is understandable, but I have no idea why I just didn't notice HABITATT even after rechecking the grid...
A few tough spots throughout today. Didn't know wet suits were made of LYCRA and could only think of NEOPRENE, which didn't fit. Tried NYLON, which fit, but was wrong.
ROE on grits was a new one to me. Seems like opposite ends of the food spectrum.
Desperately wanted ITE instead of ISH, but ASIATIC forced my hand.
CPO meant exactly nothing to me.
Oh -- and I really wanted CUNY before CCNY became evident...
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was quite the Friday speed run. OROSCO, GENEVA and KYOTO were unknown, as clued, but the perps were solid. Never did get the theme, as per usual.
I saw Sarkozy but read Sikorsky and wondered, "Why in heck should I know what they call the sky in Russia!"
LES PAUL was a gimme. I think he was the first to realize that doubling the tape speed raised the pitch exactly one octave. Many of his 50's recordings used that gimmick. Alvin and the Chipmunks also used it.
Happy anniversary, Chickie!
A fiendish puzzle that I got done but a theme that escaped me until Lemon bared all. Wait a minute…
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Rotten tomatoes panned this movie featuring the National Archive but I loved it
-I prefer Stubby Kaye’s admonition about ROCKING THE BOAT but your visual is much better, Lemon
-Without Lay’s chips, I would be svelte. All right, svelter!
-Off the wall BUSY BEE scene (1:05)
-Drive away from the interstate to get your GAS and fuel too!
-I’ll take TERSE over verbose every time
-Watching the D-DAY scene in Saving Private Ryan comes closest to showing the horror/bravery of that day
-Why isn’t SIC ever clued as the beginning of Booth’s rant?
-Our YMCA here in Fremont will be the world’s largest in about 6 months with the addition of the new aquatic center
-Your broccoli will GO TO SEED if you do not harvest in time.
-Farmers pirouette their crops here
-I can’t see paying ONSTAR for what my cell phone will do
-Happy Anniversary, Chickie!
Happy Anniversary and many more Chickie and Bill. I hope my son and his wife share as many
ReplyDeleteLemon,
ReplyDeleteOrosco signed with the Twins, but quickly ended up in the Mets org...somehow. Ironically, I recall the Twins were the last team he played for prior to retirement.
OROSCO my first fill today and gave me a good start into the South. Moving Northward, it slowed down, but met with success.
Going to be scarce for a while until I get the eyes corrected. Too hard to read the small print on the screen lately.
Capcha a real challenge to read.
A little sticky down south where I had NIP before NAB and SAPS before ROBS. Once that was fixed it was done.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to Barry G.'s failure to find a typo. It's amazing how elusive they can be (and more often than not, at least in my experience, they're lurking in a "Down" fill).
[10:59]
Chickie & Bill ... Happy 60th Anniversary! Very impressive!
ReplyDeleteHondo: Good luck on the eye surgery.
For some reason GENEVA, OROSCO & KYOTO were gimmies off their first letters. Go figure ...
59-d, Pinch ... probably (NO DOUBT!!!) my favorite "clue" of the year.
NAB wasn't my "first-thought" as the answer ... Scotch was ... but it wouldn't fit. lol
I'm sure I'll NAB some Pinch later.
Cheers!!!
Very easy for a Friday. At first I mistrusted my immediate responses as too pat, but soon saw they were okay. My biggest problem was trying to fit the correct answers in the wrong spots. Are the numbers in the cells getting smaller? HA
ReplyDeleteAsiatic is proper for scientific descriptions of flora and fauna. It was used long ago to describe Asian people, but is now considered offensive and old fashioned in that regard.
Has anyone ever eaten roe and grits or even seen it on a menu? Not I.
D DAY in Saving Private Ryan was so very realistic. I think when we advocate war, whether right or wrong, we should see things like this to understand the full impact of our choices. I also watched Hurt Locker.
When you don't deadhead the flowers in your garden the plants spend all their energy producing seed and so deteriorate, go to seed. When a person stops caring for his appearance, he is said to go to seed or deteriorate.
I WAGged the C in OCR. Somehow OrosCo rang a bell. IRA was all perps.
Happy anniversary Chickie and Bill.
Good morning. I found this puzzle fairly easy for a Friday. I did run into an early problem after getting BET and CANT and automatically placed YOU instead of CHA into the squares. My wife puts potato chips on sandwiches; don't ask me why. I find potato chips too greasy and stick with Tostitos, Fritos,...etc. I like puzzles without too many proper names, as I am not a TV or movie buff. I don't think many people think of TERSE as sweet; short, curt but not sweet. The unknowns OROSCO KYOTO came from perps. The unifier consisting of CHIVE HOP CLOVE and OAT could have been HIVE SHOP LOVE AND BOAT. Made no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteLES PAUL. I remember an employee years ago saving money so he could buy one. He could play. About 3 years ago my neighbor's kid who COULDN'T play got his parents to buy him one because he started taking guitar lessons. He lasted about 6 months before he gave up. A waste of money.
63D- Any psychologists out there? I always tell anyone who majors in psychology that they will need a PHD or they will be unemployed in their field. A neighbor's grandson got his masters in that field 5 years ago and he works the cash register at a Walgreens with a title of 'assistant manager'.
Short and sweet is an idiom, short meaning not long. The idiom means pleasantly short and has nothing to do with curt. I think HG has complained about sermons in the past. I'll bet he prefers short and sweet.
ReplyDeleteTerse can be pejorative or not. The pejorative meaning is abrupt, brief or unfriendly. The more pleasant meaning, neatly and effectively concise, is the one that matches short and sweet.
I was surprised to learn of Lake Biwa, the largest fresh water lake in Japan. I never came across of it in either my reading or my two trips to Japan. I WAGged KYOTO from a few perps.
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteNear miss. SKYCAM and OROSTO did me in.
Really liked yesterday's puzzle but didn't get a chance to comment.
Driving Miss Samantha today. Hope she gets something to chauffeur it. IMBO.
Cool regards!
JzB
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteA speed run by Friday standards, partly because the old Lay's slogan emerged quickly.
WBS about Lycra. The main component of wet suits is neoprene foam, but maybe the liner is made of Lycra. Without the liner it would be tough to pull a moist suit onto your person.
What Al Cyone said about Down answers - typos hide more easily in them.
Hondo - wishing you well with the (presumed) upcoming eye tune-up!
Hondo, if you have a mouse with a central roller. you can hold down the CTRL key and by moving the roller back and forth you can zoom in on the screen so the print will be as big you need.
ReplyDeleteVery easy for a Friday, though I didn't get the theme until I came here.
ReplyDeleteI saw Sarkozy but read Sikorsky and wondered, "Why in heck should I know what they call the sky in Russia!" -- Why in heck should I know what they call sky in France? Or any other country? I applaud the constructors for their talents, but I hate the use of foreign words, and despite when they intersect.
Good Morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy 50th Anniversary, Chickie. (We're up to bat next year in June)
Had same amorphous feeling toward the theme as Lemon seems to have had.
Finally got rooted in the NE and then the SW. Slowly the solve gave itself up. KYOTO and CATER were last. Loved the CATER clue.
No searches were needed.
CPO - Lemon explained CPO. Pay grade of E-7. It's the same level as Army Sergeant First Class and Marine Gunnery Sergeant.
As an alternative to using the mouse, hold "CTRL" and "+" to zoom in (and "-" to zoom out). You can also adjust the default font size in your browser's settings. You can also change the default font size in Windows' Display settings.
ReplyDelete[Note: I'm using Google's Chrome browser and Windows XP]
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteFound this easier than most Fridays but didn't really understand the theme until reading Lemony's expo. Never, ever heard of grits with roe.
Thanks, Jacob, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemony, for a witty, informative write-up.
Happy 60th Anniversary to Chickie and Bill. What a wonderful milestone.
I'm off to pick up my new glasses and new ring.
Have a great day.
Never did get the theme, but I knew Les Paul and the Lays slogan. I was able to finish the puzzle with the help of the perps, but it took awhile before the aha moment.
ReplyDeleteBTW L714: What is the Breakfast Rule?
Beautiful day in central PA today, but rain for the weekend. I hope everybody has a good one.
Good morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteHappy 60th, Chickie and Bill! I hope you have many, many more!
¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫
Thanks for the fun and informative write up as always, Lemon. I thought this was really easy for a Friday, but the theme was complicated enough to warrant that weekday.
I got "betcha can't eat just one" immediately with only the BET in place. But then when I was done, I did have to study it a while before the theme smacked me in the head.
I have to confess that I have been guilty of using a singular OAT when constructing a crossword puzzle. But I hate to see when my clue gets changed from "___ bran" to "Feedbag bit." I have never seen a horse eat just one oat!
Hand up for never having heard of caviar and grits. Shrimp and grits is a whole different story - yumm! But I asked DH, who is from the south, and he said that it is occasionally served. So, no nit.
Time to go do my chores, so I can take the weekend off. TGIF!!
Anon at 9:28, the English language itself is a product of modifying words from other older tongues. As such to me, the use of foreign phrases is just a recognition of our linguistic heritage.
ReplyDeleteGB thank you for all you do to keep the crossword world hopping.
Owen, hope you are sleeping in.
marti, i have seen so many things combined with eggs, nothing would surprise me now.
Oops, sorry. Guess my eyes are a little bleary this morning.
ReplyDeleteHappy 60th Anniversary to Chickie and Bill.
Irish Miss, new ring? Tell us more....
ReplyDeleteoc4beach, the breakfast rule for editors is to not use a clue or fill that is too salacious or unpleasant for someone doing the puzzle with their coffee and breakfast. The bloggers version is avoiding comments which could either by themselves or inspire such unacceptable dialogue. My first few puzzle title thoughts with used the unsaid unifier word "Lays" fit into the self editing area. Especially as expressing the theme was not easy.
I believe Lemonade correctly sussed the theme. It's a bit of a stretch, but I noticed the pieces of a 2ndary anagrammatic theme mixed in the phrase ends as well.
ReplyDelete24a: Chi
32a: o[P] [P overlaps]
40a: Love [no Lays here, alas]
50a: at
56a: to
So: Chi+o[P]+Love+at+ot
yields:
Love Potato Chip
Thanks for the expo Argyle - it's pretty rare I can't see the theme, but this one had me stumped.
ReplyDeleteLaughed out loud at your ESTEEM comment.
Boats? There's a saying which goes "The two happiest days in the life of a boat owner are the day he buys the boat ... and the day he sells it". I have a friend who lives on his boat in Santa Barbara Harbor - he gets an oceanfront property in one of the most expensive parts of California for a $400 monthly slip fee. Quite the bargain.
I finished the puzzle and found some of the clues to be fresh and new, at least to me. I got the theme answers but couldn't make sense of them until reading the writeup. It was just a bit too clever for me. Thanks Jacob and Lemon.
ReplyDeleteI too grew up a Wise potato chip fan.
Happy anniversary Chickie and Bill! We still owe ourselves an anniversary lunch. Next week maybe?
Shame on Dr. Oz.
Lemon, witty blogging, interesting,as always.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your 11:01 comment. People in many other countries know several languages. These few words make us just a tad more cosmopolitan.
I see plenty of recipes for roe and grits. I do not care for either one, so that dish is off my radar, but easily perped and WAGged.
Yellowrocks
I don't get it, you can't eat just one chive, one oat, one hop,,,
ReplyDeleteOh, now I get it...
But there are recipes that ask for one clove, yes/no?
Accident at the Lays factory.
Happy 60th Chickie & Bill!
Greetings, Weekend Worders!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lemonade and Jacob for a fine but doable challenge today.
I usually sigh when there is a cross referenced puzzle and start solving around it. Luckily this one had much fill I knew or could parse, WAG.
HAHA,then EDAM (not tulips or gouda)led me to HABITAT and AMENITY. Great words.
DUTY FREE SHOP held me up for a while because I wanted ZONE but ripped into wouldn't work with Z. Finally, SHOP emerged and I couldn't let go of BET YOU CAN'T then finally had to with LYCRA and HARSH.
CIEL seemed right because the Spanish is cielo and so it went. OROSCO took every perp.
CATER was clever as was IRA Glass.
Pinch should make Tinbeni happy today.
Chickie, congratulations to you and Bill! Sixty years is a major accomplishment and I hope you celebrate accordingly. I see that Bill is even taller than you, my friend and that's saying something.
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!
WBS about ROE and grits. Grits is something you either like or dislike. Count me in the latter group.
ReplyDeleteSteve, the $400.00 a month slip fee does not eliminate the costs of maintaining and running a boat.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 11:12, I went through a few odd combinations myself and would not have ever had a theme without the clue reference which we do not always get on Fridays. I hope JS stops by and comments
L. until you have had grits in Alabama or Georgia, do not judge them too harshly.
ReplyDeleteThis was a Friday challenge, for sure, but a lot of fun even though I goofed on the same items as JazzB--SKYCAM and OROSTO. And, like Big Easy, I also thought the theme words were LOVE BOAT and SHOP along with HIVE. Would never have figured it out if it hadn't been for Lemonade's expo. But still, totally enjoyable, and so, many thanks, Jacob.
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine putting caviar on grits, but hey, whatever.
60 years of marriage, Chickie--totally awesome! Three times as long as Rowland and me! Congratulations!
Have a great day, everybody!
Lucina ... ECSTATIC !!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, when out-for-breakfast, here in Tampa Bay, I am often asked:
"Hominy grits?"
And I reply ... "About 40 or 50."
Yeah, I know, it's an old joke punch line ... but it always gets a laugh.
Happy Anniversary Chickie. That's a lotta years! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteNot a big fan of this puzzle. The fill was fine, but the theme required a decoder ring and a road map. Too clever by half.
But it did evoke a deep memory. There was some quirky character in either a movie or TV show 15-20 years ago. In the scene, his friend asks: "Potato chip?" He responds: "What brand?" "Lay's." "No thanks. I had one when I was a kid. I won the bet."
I hope your tune up goes well, Hondo.
Kudos to L714 for sussing a theme!
ReplyDeleteI could not even imagine how all these answers were related. Nevertheless, it was a clear triumph pour moi! Got it all--100%--with no lookups. My ol' bean is back in top shape. Isn't it gratifying to see how just a few letters will clue one's brain into long fills? With only EATJU in place, I flashed completely onto BETCHA CAN'T EAT JUST ONE, and it took only D--T--CK to lock onto DON'T ROCK THE BOAT. You guys know what I mean--it's a fine sensation, the feeling of mastery.
What did we learn from Mr. Stulberg today? Well, I never realized that grit eaters were also fans of caviar! That's a new morsel of info delight.
Found this in her bag of chips.
ReplyDeleteEat just one, I dare ya!...
Hmm,, maybe having a good slogan does help...
Oops - excuse me while I go and fall on my own sword - Lemonade gets the credit for the expo, not Argyle! I blame my mental breakdown on the anguish of watching England get eliminated from the World Cup before the group stages are even finished (tongue firmly in cheek).
ReplyDeleteGo USA!
Some people are born to play bad guys. Alan Rickman comes to mind; being brilliantly evil in several films. But also Billy Bob Thornton in the TV version of Fargo. He is so despicable that if he came into a room, I would leave by the other door. He's MEAN I tell you!
ReplyDeleteFor you baseball fans and especially CC. Here's a pitch you seldom see.
Eephus pitch
Lemon @ 11:06 - You may recall early on, I commented on one of CED's links which featured rings by saying, "I love rings-I wear 11 on 8 fingers. That piqued Bill G's curiosity so I sent a picture of them to CC which she posted. Unfortunately, two weeks or so ago, I happened to notice my right index finger was bare. No ring, no idea of when, where, or how it left my finger. (Talk about mental breakdowns, Steve.). Well, anyway, Lemon, I couldn't leave one finger bare, so I just visited a jeweler last week and ordered a new one. Actually, I like the new one better. I like my new glasses, also. :-)
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle a lot and even figured out the theme, which I usually don't do. OROSCO and OCR were unknowns but were solved by perps and WAGGING the C. Solved it with no write-overs.
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary, Chickie.
This was a pretty easy puzzle except for the parts that were hard. My wetsuit was latex. The elephant was African. A pinch is a nip. Since the newspaper doesn't give red letters I didn't know where I'd gone wrong and went to the completed grid for some help. Hand up for wondering why we needed to know "sky" in Russian.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining the theme, Lemon.
Hondo--best wishes uncomplicated eye surgery.
Big Easy@8:05--I wanted to major in psychology but I didn't have the drive or finances to get a PHD. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.
Happy Anniversary, Chickie! 60 years is quite an accomplishment.
Have a great weekend!
Pat
L714: Thanks for the Breakfast Rule expo.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of grits, I think the discussion with the witness in the movie "My Cousin Vinny" of how to cook grits is one of the funniest interchanges ever.
My daughter has a degree in psychology and has never had a problem with jobs in her field. At present she works for a well known insurance company and is almost finished with a Master's degree.
ReplyDeleteBillG:
Did you ever see Slingblade? That really showed me Billy Bob Thornton's depth and versatility as an actor. It verifies your assessment, too.
Steve, no biggie though it is pretty embarrassing to see the Europeans exiting so quickly. When you 4 years to get ready....
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the picture IM.
Hey wait!
ReplyDeleteI think I figured out the theme...
It's Grits...
I agree that Lorne Malvo on "Fargo" has to be one of the most despicable and mesmerizing villains of all time. What an amazing performance by Billy Bob Thornton.
ReplyDeleteBilly Bob was pretty amazing in "The Ice Harvest" too. I'm not a fan of that type of movie, but I can still appreciate the quality of the acting that goes into them. John Cusak was every bit as good.
ReplyDeleteBilly Bob also sings. When Warren Zevon was recording his finale, "The Wind", he had a lot of guest help. Billy Bob provides backup vocals on many of the tracks.
I just didn't like this puzzle. Didn't get the theme, and even after Lemon's witty explanation, I'm still not convinced.
ReplyDeleteI did get many of the answers, but when I got to "eggs with grits" and perps forced me to enter "ROE" that was so disgusting that I lost all interest! What a waste of two admirable dishes! I love caviar and champagne or even vodka...or whatever. And I love grits with griades or fried (chicken) eggs, or red eye gravy or even shrimp if you must travel to South Georgia.
But ROE??? Pass the Pinch, Tin, before I pass out!!
SwampCat
ReplyDeleteOn more than one occasion when solving ... the perps have sussed (sp?) out an answer ...
... then I looked at the clue ... and said to myself ... "What-The-F***?"
That was probably the most obscure cluing to get "ROE" today that I've ever seen in a puzzle.
I poured another glass of Pinch (for you) ...
If you don't drop-by, it won't "go-to-waste" ... lol
It's Sunset time ... SOOOOOOO, Cheers!!!
Thanks, Tinbeni. Don't wait for me....
ReplyDeleteCheers!!
A-ha! Look up shad roe.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, I did as you suggested and found shad roe to be quite different than expected. Since I wasn't fond of grits, I don't know how that would be, but the lemon-caper sauce sounded good. Alas, no shad roe in the land-locked markets here.
ReplyDeleteStergeon roe is the royalty of caviar, but I rather like salmon roe...saltier and reddish, which is nice at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree,, PK, the lemon-caper sauce on the shad roe site sounded good.
Hmmmmmmm? We've come a long way from potato chips!
Speaking of potato chips. I realized I haven't eaten even one potato chip in probably ten years, despite living in smell of the factory. I do keep some corn chips on hand to eat with chili soup occasionally. Since this is corn country and not potato country, I'm not sure they make potato chips here. The potatoes would have to be trucked in from far away.
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteInteresting puzzle, Jacob! Nice expo, Lemon, as always! Scratched head over ROE. Good to see LES PAUL.
I got the TADA with no cheats and a pretty good time for a Friday. Was easier to conquer that yesterday's.
Happy Anniversary, Chickie and Bill!!
The end of Fargo was pretty spectacular! (Was rather relieved. Wanted to stand up and cheer. But whatever happened to the wood chipper from the movie?)
(Alan Rickman can also play good people. Have not seen a good Billy Bob character though.)
Wonder what Angelina did with that vial of Billy Bob's blood.
Cheers!
Hola Everyone, I'm still working on the puzzle as time was taken up today with getting ready to go on a picnic with third daughter and granddaughter who is visiting from Chico this week.
ReplyDeleteWe went to one of our very favorite redwood state parks over near the coast. It's only about 40 minutes away, but it feels like you've traveled into the deep woods. So quiet and few people. We had a wonderful picnic dinner.
Another anniversary celebration will come when we go to Yosemite in Oct. My husband booked two nights at the Awahnee Hotel. We spent our honeymoon there 60 years ago, but didn't stay at the hotel. A rustic cabin was all we could afford. We're both looking forward to going to another of our favorite mountain retreats.
Thank you C.C. for the shout out for our 60th. You keep track of everyone's birthdays and anniversaries. You make us all feel so special.
Thank you everyone for all the anniversary wishes. CED, that is one lovely anniversary cake. It probably will taste awesome.
Have a great rest of the evening everyone.
Hi All:
ReplyDeleteLong day and not enough patience to finish this Friday. I got the slogan with just a few letters, but not much in central CA would fall. I gave up to catch up here. I wouldn't post, but...
HA Chickie & Bill! Chickie: you seem like a sweet person and I enjoy your posts. One question: Were you betrothed at birth? Your don't look a day over 60! Glad to see you had fun today.
Since I'm already here...
Today I had lunch with a buddy who moves to Cairo tomorrow. We had fun together in (read ate & drank our way through) Cairo and Scotland. Next stop AU!
Big Easy: I am about to hire a guy w/ a degree in PSY (he's been a contractor for 5 months). His critical thinking and curiosity is perfect for CyberSecurity. It doesn't hurt he came from a TLA*.
Everyone have a great weekend!
Cheers, -T
*Three Letter Agency
And did no one really not link DONT ROCK THE BOAT. I have no idea how I know this song, but it was the 1st thing that popped into my head as I filled.
ReplyDeleteCheers, -T