Hi gang! Steve here with Mike P's latest. Pretty smooth sailing; I didn't see the theme until the reveal which gave me that nice "Oh! I see!" moment.
17A. *Computer logic game named for a warship : MINESWEEPER. Diamond Mine. Pre-internet, this was one of the biggest PC-based time-vampires (Solitaire was the other).
24A. *Loose-leaf organizer : RING BINDER. Diamond Ring
37A. *Upscale golfwear brand : CUTTER AND BUCK. Diamond Cutter. The immensely-talented Annika Sorenstam was one of their most famous pitch-people.
46A. *Recruiting specialist : HEADHUNTER. Diamond Head. This seems to be the odd man out of the theme entries as it's the only one not directly related to the gemstone itself - it's a volcanic cone overlooking Waikiki beach in Honolulu.
58A. Phoenix-based ballplayer, and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : DIAMONDBACK. Arizona's team. Quick, C.C. - excluding the ambiguous Yankees and Mets, how many other Major League Baseball teams are named for their state, not their city?
(From C.C.: 8? How do you classify the Twins then? It's named after the Twin Cities.)
Tidy enough theme and no trip-ups or gaffes for me, as smooth sailing as a Wednesday could be. What else caught my eye?
Across:
1. Elevators, in Leeds : LIFTS. Gimme, for me. I lived in Leeds when I was a little kid. The city's major department store, Schofield's, had a lift operated by an attendant; thrilling for a 5-year old.
6. Milo of "Ulysses" : O'SHEA.
11. Squelch : GAG
14. Classic soap : IVORY. I was thinking along the "Days of Our Lives" lines first.
15. Complete, for short : THORO
16. Gold, in them thar cerros : ORO. Loved this clue.
19. Novelist Umberto : ECO
20. Place to pick up litter? : PET STORE
21. "__ better to have loved ...": Tennyson : 'TIS
23. Radical '60s gp. : SDS. "Students for a Democratic Society" group. The original was dissolved in 1969; it formed anew in 2006.
29. Electrical measure : OHM. Physics geek joke: Resistance is Futile (if <1 Ω)
31. Formal talk : LECTURE
32. Blue shade : AQUA
34. Fed : G-MAN
36. Elevator innovator : OTIS. I can't recall if he made the Leeds lift; it was a long time ago!
40. Indochina country : LAOS
41. Elevated for driving : TEED
42. "Draft Dodger Rag" singer Phil : OCHS. I knew the singer, didn't know the song.
43. Entertainer : ARTISTE
45. Durable wood : ASH
49. eHarmony.com abbr. : SWM. Single White Male. Seems it should be "caucasian" these days.
52. Leaves at Starbucks? : TEA
53. Like herb gardens : AROMATIC. Herb. Erb. No, I still can't say "erb".
56. Serious hwy. violation : D.U.I. What's the difference between "Driving Under the Influence" and "Driving While Intoxicated"? Some states seem to have one, some the other.
61. NASDAQ debut : I.P.O. Initial Public Offering of stock in a company, aka Get Rich Quick for a few.
62. Like some seals : EARED
63. Minolta competitor : LEICA
64. Mark, as a survey box : X-IN
65. PowerPoint unit : SLIDE
66. WWII surrender celebration : V.E. DAY. Cue street parties and public displays of affection. This coming Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings on D-Day, 1944.
Down:
1. Favors one side : LIMPS. Because "crooked match-fixing referee" doesn't fit.
2. Like some college walls : IVIED
3. Assortment in a formatting menu : FONTS
4. Cuatro menos uno : TRES. Math class en español today.
5. Fed. Reserve, for one : SYST. The banking system in the U.S. There are 12 Federal Reserve banks identified by the letter/number combination on the banknote. A1 is Boston, L12 is San Francisco. I learned them all when I moved here for no good reason.
6. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI
7. Polished look : SHEEN
8. Old school dance : HOP
9. Before, to Blake : ERE
10. __ valve: heart part : AORTIC. The other three are the mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary. Quick research shows that "mitral" has appeared once in the LAT crossword back in 2007. The others are still eagerly awaiting their debut. Aortic leads the pack with a mighty ..... two, including today.
11. Splits the tab : GOES DUTCH. Do the Dutch "Go English" and do they have a couple of pre-battle drinks to get "English Courage?".
12. Welding flash : ARC
13. Slime : GOO
18. Fishhook attachment : WORM
22. Communicating regularly : IN TOUCH
25. Endocrinologist's concern : GLAND
26. Give a little : BEND
27. Estrada and Satie : ERIKS. Cue some relaxing piano music from M. Satie.
28. Legal thing : RES
29. Slim, as chances go : OUTSIDE
30. Bowler, e.g. : HAT. When I first started work in an office in London's financial district, the "City gent" uniform was pinstripe suit, furled umbrella, old school tie and a bowler hat. Within about five years, no-one was wearing one anymore.
32. Without __ in the world : A CARE
33. Entry at Bartleby.com : QUOTATION. “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.” - Stephen Sondheim.
34. There's always a hole in one : GREEN. Pithy play on words with "hole in one".
35. West of Hollywood : MAE
38. Caesarean rebuke : ET TU
39. Fenway team, on scoreboards : BOS. The Red Sox.
40. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH
44. Oakleys or Ray-Bans : SHADES. Seems a little odd that there's no "slangily" clue modifier here, but no hesitation with the answer.
45. Elvis' middle name : ARON
47. Under control : TAMED
48. Cut into : ERODE
49. Unemotional : STAID
50. Book of Shadows religion : WICCA. Thank you, crosses.
51. Emmy-winning sportscaster Jim : MCKAY. Funny, I'm a sports nut and I don't think I've heard of this gentleman.
54. 16th-century yr. : MDLV. or 1555 if you prefer. I amused myself mightily a couple of weeks ago by coming up with a 15x15 crossword composed entirely of roman numerals, then C.C. did some digging and found out that it had been done before by Peter Gordon under the heading "The World's Worst Crossword". Dang!
55. Have __ in one's bonnet : A BEE
56. New Jersey fort : DIX. The Romans would call it Fort 509.
57. Press initials : U.P.I. Washington-based news bureau United Press International.
59. Suffix with adverb : IAL. Magisterial, e.g.
60. The 58-Acrosses, on scoreboards : ARI. Cute finish tying into the theme with the final down. Arizona.
Note from C.C.:
Mike's puzzle today was accepted way before my DIAMOND HEAD was
published last Dec. I had been eagerly waiting to see how Mike tackled
his grid. We both had 5 entries, but Mike had a tough 13-letter in the
middle. I had an easy grid spanner. Noticed how our first three theme
entries had the same clue numbers?
To Mike P. and C.C., it's good that both of your themes got published -- not everyone is so lucky, as with our friend Marti in Think Twice (be sure to read about the back-story, which also applies here.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you still looking for a crossword challenge, try Not the Retiring Sort. Although constructed for a special occasion, specific knowledge about its honoree is not needed to solve it [click here for a presentation in which this hint is not as obvious]. A big shout-out to my collaborator on this puzzle, Marcia Brott, who conceived of this amazing tribute.
There once was a girl, Clementine
ReplyDeleteWho grew citrus in an old DIAMOND MINE.
When asked, "Isn't that strange?"
She said, "no, they're orange;
I'd grow purple, but that wouldn't rhyme!"
Livid was Livonia,
Her boyfriend was a phony-a!
She'd accepted a RING,
Then accepted his "thing",
But the RING was just zirconia! *
There once was an old DIAMOND CUTTER
Whose creations set ladies aflutter.
When asked how he did it
He thought for a minute
Then said, "I pretend they're just butter!"
Warbucks slept in a gold canopy bed.
The one-up-man-ship caused Scrooge to dread.
So he vowed that the seat
On his yacht would compete,
And had installed the first DIAMOND HEAD!
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteWell, I managed to get through this one, despite not knowing CUTTER AND BUCK and never having heard of a RING BINDER without a number in front of it (I thought maybe the theme had to do with missing numbers at first). MCKAY was also unknown. Thank heavens the perps were all solid, though!
I almost turfed it completely on GMAN due to the clue, but the light bulb finally went off, the penny dropped and the V8 can hit my forehead (in that order)... ^_^
* His thing may have been collecting comic books. Or do you have a dirty mind?
ReplyDeleteWoo, boy! Complete wags on this one! OtERI ✜ tHORO (OTERI was unknown, and if I were ever to shorten "thorough" by spelling it phonetically, it would be THURO), bUCK ✜ bOS (CUTTER AND BUCK was unknown, and will someone explain why 39d is a city, while the same clue at 60d is a state?), MDlV ✜ lEICa ✜ MCKAY (LEICA & MCKAY were unknowns, and 1555 could as readily been 1515 or 1504).
I couldn't guess the theme on this one, and since the reveal was one of the last solves, and none of my wags crossed theme words anyway, it was no help. Actually, I should have known DIAMONDBACK; Phoenix is probably the closest city with a professional, uh, whatever sport it is they play.
Steve: The physics joke really hit OHM with me!
DUI includes drugs, DWI sometimes just means alcohol.
10d Hmm, 2 with 9 letters, two with 6. Possibilities...
Nice quotation from cryptic compiler Stephen (I think he does some other stuff, too).
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteSteve, I really got a chuckle out of your write-up today. Especially your Ft. DIX comment! Too funny.
I think this puzzle is different enough from C.C.'s December puzzle - hers had "diamond" as the second word of common phrases, while this one had "diamond" as the first word. And since they were published 6 months apart, I didn't have a sense of deja vu while solving.
Steve, DWI implies drunk on alcohol. Many states expanded it to DUI, which covers not only alcohol but drugs as well.
Happy hump day, everyone!
Good morning all. Thank you Mike Peluso.
ReplyDeleteUnlike you Steve, it wasn't what I would call smooth sailing this morning. Took longer.
Issues mostly in the NW and the SE. Started out with "Favors one side" = LIstS. As in a canoe or raft that lists to one side. Then I struggled to accept THORO.
In the SE, "Book of Shadows religion" left me clueless. WICCA ? I vacillated between SWM and SBM for "eHarmony.com abbr" and chose the W.
Learned a new word in Spanish today. Ceros. Will the editor slip that word into another clue in the near future ?
I also learned the phrase "Dutch courage" today. I had never heard that before. I'd heard "liquor fueled..." and other similar sayings, but not that one. The Wiki was interesting.
Steve, perhaps you haven't heard of Jim McKay, but you may have heard him,Wide World of Sports Intro
OK, time to go make the coffee. See y'all later.
Hello everybody. I was cruising along with very zero blanks until I reached the SE and got stuck because I put XEROX instead of LEICA. I had no idea what religion the Book Of Shadows was about. The 16th century would start with MD and Xerox seemed correct and A Bee was a gimme. Then I remembered ABC's "Wild World of Sports" amd JIM McCAY's name popped into my head with WICCA STAID and SWM coming from perps.
ReplyDelete15A THORO is a spelling that I have never come across but I found it amusing to be directly next to ORO.
CUTTER AND BUCK is a brand that every golf pro shop carried. I never bought any because I absolutely hate to wear clothing that has a golf course's name stitched into it. (unless it is FREE) Oakleys or Ray-Bans might be 'cool' but they have to be the most overpriced pieces of plastic on the face of the earth.
As far as baseball teams named after states:
Colorado Rockies
Florida, or is it Miami, Marlins, Texas Rangers,
Los Angeles, I mean California, I mean whatever they are called now, Angels
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, 1d was a problem: LEANS/LISTS/LIMPS. Plus 18d BARB/WORM made MINESWEEPER slow to appear. But once past those stumbles, it turned into a speed run.
Wonder why the Fed Reserve needs a letter and a number? You'd think one or the other would suffice.
Put me in the camp of those who remember Jim McKay very well. I can still hear his words from that morning in Munich, "They're all gone." Can you believe it? I remembered a sports guy.
Steve asked: “…excluding the ambiguous Yankees and Mets, how many other Major League Baseball teams are named for their state, not their city?”
ReplyDeleteI think the answer is 4.
AL: Minnesota Twins (Minneapolis and St. Paul are the twin cities of the state of Minnesota), NY Yankees, Texas Rangers.
NL: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, NY Mets.
Take out the ambiguous Yankees and Mets (are they named for the state or the city?), and you have 4.
Technically, the Washington Nationals don’t fit because they are named after the District of Columbia, not the state of Washington.
Good Morning Everybody.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the baseball clues I had to check and see if this was a C.C. creation.
Good puzzle. No complaints. I'll take diamonds any way I can get them! :)
I didn't know SDS, OCHS, ETTU or McKAY.
My favorite clue was 41A: Elevated for driving: TEED.
Have a great day!
I think the mirror image puzzles with Diamond first and then last are a great example of how creative minds can mine the same field and each produce a gem.
ReplyDeleteSteve as always brings wit and charm to the discussion, and I did not realize SDS had reformed after their failed 1968 election protest, vote with your feet . I love bow you kept your Roman numeral train of thought going. Why is EARED the answer to " like some seals?
Jim McKay also was the on camera narrator for the live telecast of the Munich massacre at the Olympics.
BG are you saying only three (or 2 or 4) ring binders make sense, or that ring binder did not ring a bell.
Musings
ReplyDelete-All is well here but the town of Blair 23 miles away got 3” hail driven by 90+mph winds. The mayor said every house in town got some damage and look at the pix of the huge car dealership there
-A ten-year-old boy taught me MINESWEEPER at EPCOT twenty years ago before it was common
-CUTTER AND BUCK por moi? Not at these prices!. Nor $170 Oakley SHADES.
- Much Hawaiian government moved inside the newly fortified DIAMOND HEAD crater after Pearl Harbor
-Willy Wonka’s door security combination was 99 – 44 – 100 as in IVORY soap (% pure)
-LECTURE – If you get gmail from me, at the bottom you’ll see my teaching motto – “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”
-When will OTIS be clued – “Recurring Mayberry prisoner”?
-A guy I play with has his ball TEED way too high and therefore hits the ball high and short. The unwritten code is to say nothing
-Great use for ASH
-My looping PPT for the multi-year class reunions runs to 400 SLIDES
-Have we ever had SHEEN clued as 50’s TV bishop?
-Once the bill got north of $200, dining out with the family became “GOES DUTCH”
-Facebook = Staying IN TOUCH. Friends were posting weather items last night
Fun little romp this morning. Laughed out loud at the Dix comment, Steve!!
ReplyDeleteNothing serious to report about the weather in our area. 1.70" of rain and a little dime sized hail, but no damage that I'm aware of at this point. Never lost power and had no nearby reports of tornados.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was easy for a Wednesday puzzle. I was speeding along until I hit the SW area. I didn’t know SWM from all the options, LEICA, V E DAY, STAID, WICCA. MDLV was obtuse enough that I only knew it had to be MD__. I had enough perps I finally got McKay, WAGd LEICA, then finished it. Ta-da!
I was thinking V E DAY was a poor attempt at VEE DAY, but when I read Steve’s review, Victory in Europe DAY dawned. D’oh!
I’m not a golfer, so I didn’t know CUTTER AND BUCK, but the perps got me there.
Steve, I loved the comment about Fort DIX! LOL!
Musings II
ReplyDelete-I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on how much I loved Steve’s commentary as well (See Roman numeral heading)
-It’s very interesting that the bloggers here all seem to have a recognizable style. Especially the only guy who has ridden in a LIFT and has, uh, LIFTed his car’s bonnet.
-World’s worse cwd was a hoot!
-Joe, my daughters also said Lincoln didn’t get much last night but Missy, who works at State Farm at 84th and O, was dreading going into work this morning
-Owen, I hated seeing you take the bait last night that was generated by a snarky, anonymous poster. Your presence here is a big plus and, since you don’t acknowledge birthdays, you’ll be here forever ;-)
-Off to the dentist hoping he can save my #7 incisor
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Mike Peluso, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for an excellent review.
ReplyDeleteAs others, I tried LEANS for 1D. Fixed that with IVORY.
Got through this pretty quickly, thanks to the perps.
Did not know SWM for 49A. Got it , but the review explained it. Never been to that web site. Probably will not go, either.
Spelled LEIKA with a "K" until I remembered WICCA from the depths of my brain. LEICA was it.
I always enjoy Roman Numerals MDLV. Much more than french words.
Liked the comment of Ft. DIX, 509. Great!
Working in my garden today and cooking for 20 for tonight's meeting.
Off to Iowa tomorrow for a day. Probably will do the Crossword on the way with the IPad.
See you tomorrow from Iowa.
Abejo
(13 3235942)
Husker G:
ReplyDeleteThose hail shots were really something. Will they scrap those cars or fix them?
Abejo
Fun puzzle today with just a few challenges in the NW and SW. I had OAK before ASH, CANON before LEICA and TIC before XON. I'm not familiar with CUTTER AND BUCK.
ReplyDeleteBetween the baseball and the golf clues, sports fans were busy today. Favourite was 34D THERE'S ALWAYS A HOLE IN ONE =GREEN! Least favourite was COMPLETE FOR SHORT =THORO
Have a great day! Weather is beautiful here.
Erratum from my earlier post:
ReplyDeleteI was speeding along until I hit the SE area.
Maybe I should dredge up that mnemonic for the compass points from last week!
Mike, Enjoyed today's puzzle, but Jim McKay has been reporting sports news for years and years. He's one of the best..... like him a lot.
ReplyDeletebuckeye bob: NEVER EAT SOGGY WAFFLES!
ReplyDelete(^0^)
Minesweeper has an Easter Egg? Who Knew?
ReplyDelete( I wonder if my old Windows XP computer will boot up again...)
Well, this puzzle was fun until I hit the SE, like Buckeye Bob. There all the piled-up sports references just frustrated the heck out of me. In the end I actually got more than I thought I would, even MCKAY, whom I didn't know. But I still goofed on LEIKA (since I've never heard of WICCA) and stupidly put DESMOND BACK (thought the clue was asking for a name)even though I knew it should be ADVERBIAL and not ADVERBEAL. Frustrating, but there were some clever clues, and PLACE TO PICK UP LITTER=PET STORE was easily my favorite.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, everybody. We're hosting a party to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow--woohoo! Six of those years are years after Rowland's 2008 stroke--years of having him at home for which I'm especially grateful!
Hola Everyone, I needed some help with this one, as the golf attire was an unknown. I had a lot of letters in with the perps, but not enough to even guess at an answer. Thanks to Mr. G. I finally finished today.
ReplyDeleteI put in likes for limp and had VJ Day for VE Day. Those were finally cleared up when the crosses finally filled in.
I'm waiting for my ride to the CA Coven reunion at Dodo's lovely retirement village. We leave shortly.
Oh, well. A learning experience for me today.
Have a great day, everyone.
Hi Y'all! Challenging but fun puzzle, Mike! I didn't get the theme until Steve 'splained it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of CUTTER AND BUCK either. The prices explained why. Does anyone else think it strange that those exclusive golf clubs won't let the members TEE off in TEE shirts? My kid played golf one spring in HS and had to buy a high priced shirt with a collar. One washing and it faded to mottled. I got my money back on that one, you'd better believe.
eHarmony? You mean SWM doesn't mean Sleep With ME?
I forgot Jim MCKAY until he perped up, then I remembered his face and distinctive voice. I most associate him with the Olympics, probably because they were the only sports I ever watched then.
Legal thing = RES? Whazzat? Residence?
Silly uncool me, I tried "specks" before SHADES.
Owen: his "thing" is comic books? How disappointing.
I remember VE Day as a four-year-old sitting on the curb watching a little parade of kids march down the street waving flags to a beating drum. I wanted to march too. I didn't even know what a war was, but I knew it was a good thing to be over. I had to clean up my plate because kids were starving in Europe.
-Happy anniversary, Misty.
ReplyDelete-From Wiki: "Sea lions are sea mammals characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short, thick hair. Together with the fur seals they comprise the family Otariidae, EARED SEALS."
Other seals have ear holes without external flaps.
-I remember McKay from all those Olympic game reports over the years.
-Although, THORO is in the dictionary as a nonstandard variant of thorough, there are few examples in print. THRU and THO are frequently found.
-THRU TRAFFIC sign
-Even tho' you took the sunshine out of my heaven
Even tho' you took the twinkle out of my eyes
I will always be in love with you my darling
Even tho' I sit and wonder if I'm wise
by Webb Pierce.
-I always thought the Mets and Yankees were named for NYC. I am probably wrong about that.
I found an interesting tidbit while doing some reading on Jim MCKAY and the Munich Massacre.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that during World War II, McKay served in the United States Navy as the captain of a MINESWEEPER!
C.C., where were you on June 4, 1989?
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone:
ReplyDeleteLate to the dance due to doctor's appointment, gas station stop ($3.759 gal.- how much is it in other areas?)' trip to grocery store, and a late lunch.
I like the puzzle a lot and found it a tad crunchy for a Wednesday but no help needed to finish. Thanks, Mike P., and thanks, Steve, for a witty write-up.
Have a great day.
I liked this puzzle a lot. MINESWEEPER and CUTTER AND BUCK were all perps. Had LEIKA first until WICCA fixed that. Overall, I thought this was an easier than usual Wednesday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that HG and Avg Joe had no damage yesterday.
Yellowrocks at 12:12 PM --
ReplyDelete"-I always thought the Mets and Yankees were named for NYC. I am probably wrong about that."
I don't think you are wrong. I think they are probably named after NYC, but I cannot find a definitive answer in several sources. Therefore, ambiguous.
Both franchises go back to a time when teams were named after cities. Naming teams after a state is a more recent phenomenon (with the possible exception of the Twins, as C.C. pointed out).
So I still think the answer to Steve's question is 4 (MN?, TX, AZ, CO), or possibly 3 if you exclude the Twins too.
Baseball fans?
FYI: Jim McKay was a well known sportscaster for ABC most often associated with Wide-World of Sports and the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have no idea what the word EARED has to do with seals. Suffix with adverb seemed a stretch as well as SDS. Shouldn't that be SLA instead.
Regarding ash bats; they have been used for years in the major leagues. About 10 years ago, a bunch of players began trying maple bats. It didn't result in more hits or home runs but it did result in many more shattered bats. When ash bats broke, they would crack. When maple bats broke, they would shatter into pieces, sometimes with the broken pieces sailing around the field. I didn't understand why the players kept using them and I certainly didn't understand why the powers in charge didn't ban them because of the danger. Are maple bats still being used this year? If so, I don't understand why...
ReplyDeleteAs somebody who has gotten more than my share of snarky anon attacks, they are hurtful and hard to ignore. I felt bad for Owen last night.
I always liked Jim McKay.
Today's catch for me was RING BINDER. Until I got away from BAIT instead of WORM, I couldn't get the "R" I needed for the correct word to precede BINDER -- and that turned out to be the key I need to unlock the whole NW corner.
ReplyDeleteThat, and giving up SHINE for SHEEN.
Happy Wednesday everybody!
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, my take is that the two New York teams represent NYC (especially the METropolitanS), and that the Twins represent the state. BTW, it wasn't that long ago that the other L.A. baseball team was called the California Angels....
Also, the Florida Marlins changed their name to the Miami Marlins when they opened up their new stadium in 2012....
ReplyDeleteThe captcha is one "p" short of being "nappage" - very appropriate now that lunchtime is over....
Musings III
ReplyDelete-We just returned from Blair, NE and it looks like a war zone. Houses are riddled with hail damage and dead foliage from the wind and hail litter every part of town. We saw trucks carrying new and used cars to salvage yards from the lots that were damaged beyond the cost of repair. The huge dealer Woodhouse Ford estimated their damage at more than 100 million dollars.
-Abejo, cars will only be fixed if the cost of repair is covered by insurance. Most are not dimpled darlings but have craters in them!
-Lumber yards have customers standing in line for plywood and every damaged house had people working to try to get back on the road to recovery.
-In college sports, it is rare when a big time team is named for a city and not a state – Pittsburgh U, Boston U, Miami U, etc. Note the names of the top 25 football teams from last year.
Steve: Nice, witty write-up. Esp. Ft.509, too funny.
ReplyDeleteMike: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle.
Amazed (Surprised?) at how many didn't know Jim McKAY.
Fave today was 18-d, Fishhook attachment, WORM ... but my favorite WORM is the one in a bottle of Mezcal.
Hmmm, that gives me an idea ...
Cheers!!!
ANON @1:52. did you see my 12:12 post about eared seals? I taught this to my 5th grade science students.
ReplyDeleteI know many of you have mentioned serious dental issues. I sympathize. I had my final root planing session this AM. Of course, I understand the need for it, but it feels like paying nearly $1000 to have someone torture you. LOL, or is that COL "for crying out loud."
I'm with Tinbeni as to how many don't know Jim McKay. Wide World of Sports & Jim McKay, the two are almost iconic. The Ski Jumper falling as he gets to the jump point? Wow!
ReplyDeleteSpanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is ABC's Wide World of Sports!
Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AZH4FeGsc
Good afternoon all.
ReplyDeleteRouter issues and slow internet delayed short post 'til now.
Except for a near Natick at SWM/WAGging of WICCA, solve went well. Good job, Mike.
Today, June 4, is 72nd anniversary of Battle of Midway. BZ to our Navy.
magisterial is an adj.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, the best price for gas around here is $3.56. How did the doctor's appt. go? I hope your ribs are feeling better - it is a long, slow recovery, so be patient!!
ReplyDeleteTinbeni and JJMCK79, I also was surprised about the MCKAY hang up. I remember watching that skier as he crashed - Victor Bogataj (who never regained his success after that fall). McKay was an iconic sportscaster for 37 years on "ABC's Wide World of Sports."
I was worried when I realized golf and baseball were involved in this puzzle, but made it through. I do remember JIM MCKAY; 4 sons, husband and Wide World of Sports ! CUTTER AND BUCK were done strictly through perps, didn't ( and don't) get RES for the clue Legal Thing.
ReplyDeleteWhy do some of the bloggers names show in blue, and others in black?
PK, Mary Keller,
ReplyDeleteres is a legal term from Latin.
From the Law Dictionary:
res
(rayz)n. Latin, "thing." In law lingo, res is used in conjunction with other Latin words as "thing that."
It re-appears in crossword puzzles so it is worth noting.
(This I cannot resist - without futility - ohm, ohm )
ReplyDeleteMary Keller: Why do some of the bloggers names show in blue and others in black ?
a) Because some people, like yours truly, prefer to remain under assumed names, that they concocted on the spot. They are basically remaining anonymous, hence should not be trusted ...
The blue names are 'registered' with Google, or whatever, and hence a little more trustworthy. Altho even thats not true nowadays. Trolls, whatever that means, never appear in blue.
OR
b) The blogger software is somewhat racist .... bad, bad, Google. ;-)
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteLoved the puzzle. WEES re: hangups and CUTTER AND BUCK being perp'd.
I also had SToIc @ 49d, but 58a cleaned that up in a hurry. I also had to do M,D,C,L,X,V,I run at 53a to get LEICA (had "o" in MCKAY for a bit, but seeing Minolta changed it.
HG - glad you weathered the storm OK. IM - get better soon.
Steve - LOL Ft. 509 and futile resistance!
I've been taking LIFTS since I arrived in Aberdeen on Sunday. The one in the hotel is not an OTIS.
Cheers, -T
ReplyDeleteAs for the recognising Jim McKay's name, may I say that quite a lot of intellectuals - for instance some who solve crossword puzzles - do not watch sports TV or watch any TV at all. And that is not a bad thing. To each, their own preferences. Unfortunately, Crosswords are like Jeopardy - you have to be an all rounder and an expert and knowledgeable at everything. Those are the breaks.
To Bill G. and Owen KL - I know it is difficult, but ignoring a snarky anon attack is easier than you think. JUST DON'T REPLY and keep saying."This too, shall pass." I've found it very useful at keeping your OWN peace of mind. Come to think of it - thats all you have to worry about.
To Misty's post - that nobody seems to have mentioned. Maybe because they feel so bad.
CONGRATULATIONS !!! on your 20th wedding anniversary - and BEST WISHES for many more.
To bear adversity with courage and dedication always brings forth an ennobled man ( or woman).
It really elated me to see your cheerful, loyal, optimistic and dedicated attitude, in what must be a very difficult situation. You are the salt of the earth and are among the people in my thoughts, oftentimes. For instance, today, when I saw Milo O'Shea of Ulysses - I thought of you - because I saw you did research on James Joyce - although, personally, I wouldn't know Ulysses from Julius Caesar. Take care.
Milo Minderbinder!
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, My last fill-up here in San Jose, CA was $4.19 a gallon. We've had over $4.00 for several weeks, now. For some reason we are always higher here on the west coast than other places in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteHusker and Ave. Joe., So glad that you didn't have damage from the storm. The pictures you posted, Husker, were sad to see.
Has anyone else had the problem I had this morning in getting a red note saying my numbers didn't go in correctly? The numbers were very clear, so no problem in seeing them. However, when my post finally went through I had four posts exactly the same. I had to send three of them to the garbage can.
I am amazed that the giant killers on Jeopardy, like those who bested Ken Jennings and Julia, are just a flash in the pan and are soon gone. These giant killers are not nearly as proficient as the champs.Both champs had a bad day and arrived at Double Jeopardy in a vulnerable position and missed the Final Jeopardy question. Ken's was an especially easy final question, white collar workers who work only 4 months a year, H&R Block.
ReplyDeleteChampions have to be on their game every time. Humans are bound to have weak moments occasionally, which bring them down.
Today one of the clues contained the word HERB, which Alex pronounced without the H. Alex has been Americanizing his pronunciation over the last few years.
This is my second AC day of the season, too early and too humid. When I hear about severely damaging hail, tornadoes, very serious droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, and temps in the high 90's and above, I'll take NJ, even with our last unusually cold and snowy winter. Most winters here are delightful.
My goodness, Man in Black, what a sweet, sweet note for you to post about my anniversary tomorrow! Thank you so much! And thank you for remembering my work on James Joyce and reminding me that I totally forgot to mention how exciting it was to see MILO O'Shea mentioned in the puzzle this morning! I even wrote a little book for Cork University Press in 2004 about the 1967 Joseph Strick film in which Milo O'Shea played the part of Leopold Bloom. I've never been able to visualize Bloom as anything other than Milo--he was that great in the role!
ReplyDeleteMan in Black, whoever you are, thank you for the advice just to ignore the snarky anons. Even I, lowly lurker, infrequent poster that I am, have been anon-attacked. It happened in the wee hours after a benign (even inane) comment I had made earlier. I'm not sure why I checked the late night posts. I usually don't.
ReplyDeleteWho ARE these empty people who get pleasure out of the meaningless spewing of hate?
Irish Miss, gas here in New Orleans was $3.29 the last time I filled up.
Thanks to all of you who bring joy to the Corner!!
Swamp Cat, Man in Black, etc., you are making the very understandable assumption that others react the same way to criticism by a snarky anon that you do. My experience is that some people seem to have the self-assurance to believe that if others say unpleasant things about them, that is the other person's problem and that they (themselves) are still perfectly OK. Some less self-confident folks get hurt by the unpleasant words and feelings. For those people, telling them to ignore the unpleasantness is always easier said than done (in my experience). I am of the opinion that our Cornerites run the gamut from very self-assured to more insecure and therefore, react differently to the criticism, whether warranted or invalid. Dunno why I decided to continue this discussion... There, I feel better. Mouth closing now...
ReplyDeleteWell, it's finally happened. I have been running off at the mouth (fingers?) so much that my cursor overheated. Cursor on fire!
ReplyDeleteBill G, I agree completely with your analysis of reactions to attacks. I, too, was shocked, hurt...and mostly surprised because I thought I was flying under anyone's radar. But the problem is not us, whatever our vulnerabilities. The problem is these sickos who get pleasure from being mean.
ReplyDelete'Nuf said!
@MIB and others - thanks for the Jim McKay links, I was still a callow youth in 1972 in England when the Munich Olympics aired. I still remember the middle weekend when my Dad caved and we got our first colour (color!) TV. I couldn't believe the running track was red!
ReplyDeleteI still grieve that those games cost the lives of those Israeli athletes. I think it was the first news broadcast on our new TV.
@MIB and to Misty - thanks MIB for pointing that out and congratulations to the anniversary couple!
Trolls? Forget 'em. No need for energy vampires.
YR: I was sad to see Julia go, partly because I knew the answer while she had a mental glitch. She was so remarkable and calm under pressure.
ReplyDeleteKen Jennings failure to answer "the white collar workers who work only 4 mos a yr." question was one I got too. However, it was misleading. Some H&R Block workers do accounting work year around. When I did the accounting for a car dealership, H&R did our payrolls as well as for other businesses every other week all year. Also some businesses were on fiscal year tax cycles, like from July to July. Etc. I felt especially sorry for Ken because of this. It wasn't exactly a fair question.
Good night.
ReplyDelete