18-Across. "Good lad!" : THERE'S MY BOY. The phrase sounds strange to my ear. I would more likely say "That's my boy!" And only in reference to a dog.
23-Across. "I'm positive" : NO MISTAKE.
30-Across. Atlas index listing : PLACE NAME.
47-Across. "Whatever floats your boat" : LIKE I CARE. I had "As if I CARE" at first. (As if you care, right?)
54-Across. Base among boxes : HOME PLATE.
61-Across. Character who, in an 8/15/1939 Hollywood premiere, speaks the first words of this puzzle's five other longest answers : DOROTHY GALE. "The Wizard of Oz" gal.
58 theme letters is pretty dense, and you might expect some compromise in the fill. But this seemed pretty straight-forward, almost Monday-like.
Across
1. Clothing line : HEM. I have seen the same clue for "seam."
4. "Egad!" : YIPE. or YIPEs. Both are correct.
8. Sprint Cup org. : NASCAR. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The title seems a bit redundant, with both Car and Auto. But it would be too difficult to pronounce NASCR, I guess. And 46-Down. Earnhardt of 8-Across : DALE.
14. Toothpaste letters : ADA. American Dental Association.
15. Arabian ruler : EMIR.
16. Pump figure : OCTANE. It's about $3.49 / gallon around here.
17. Netflix rental, for short : VID. In 1956, a video recorder was about $50,000, and a single 1 hour videotape cost $300. I don't think Netflix would get much business at those prices!
20. Latin catchall : ET ALII. And others.
22. Looks like a wolf : LEERS.
26. LAX postings : ETAS. I took a chance and entered the A before checking perps.
29. One "who intimately lives with rain," in a poem : TREE. And then we have 41-Down. Slam offering : POEM. The first poetry slam was held in Chicago in 1984. It is a competition where poets read their compositions and are judged by selected audience members. Do you think Kilmer would have won with this?
| I think that I shall never see | |
| A poem lovely as a tree. | |
| A tree whose hungry mouth is prest | |
| Against the sweet earth's flowing breast; | |
| A tree that looks at God all day, | 5 |
| And lifts her leafy arms to pray; | |
| A tree that may in summer wear | |
| A nest of robins in her hair; | |
| Upon whose bosom snow has lain; | |
| Who intimately lives with rain. | 10 |
| Poems are made by fools like me, | |
| But only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer |
33. Muscular problem : SPASM. "Cramp" would also fit...just sayin'.
36. Start of a series : OPENER.
37. Salon item : GEL. It was a toss-up between GEL and "dye."
40. Ab __: from the beginning : OVO.
41. Historic beginning? : PRE. Prehistoric.
42. Strands in a cell? : DNA.
43. Good to grow : ARABLE.
45. Like cutlets : BONED. I had B*kED at first because of a goof at 31-Down. Huh? Baked cutlets? (I always sauté them.) (And PaEM made absolutely no sense for 41-Down.)
49. Memo demand : ASAP.
53. More than passed : ACED.
57. Sonneteer's Muse : ERATO.
60. Nativity tableau : CRÈCHE.
65. Gun in the driveway, maybe : REV. Haha. Were you picturing a chalk outline and key evidence?
66. Keys with Grammys : ALICIA.
67. First word of "Greensleeves" : ALAS. Here's a lovely version by Celtic Women. 3:19
68. Billings-to-Bismarck dir. : ENE.
69. Less bold : MEEKER.
70. Risks : BETS.
71. Pop : DAD.
Down
1. "__ the foggiest!" : HAVEN'T. I started filling in "I haven"...and ran out of room.
2. Text __ : EDITOR.
3. European title : MADAME. I was looking for something more noble.
4. Hard-to-photograph Himalayans? : YETIS.
5. Paintball cry : I'M HIT.
6. Trivial Pursuit symbol : PIE.
7. Make a left instead of a right, say : ERR.
8. It smells : NOSE. Haha.
9. It can't be topped : ACME.
10. Compound used in plastic manufacturing : STYRENE.
11. Where business is picking up? : CAB STAND.
12. Enero to enero : ANO.
13. "Summertime Sadness" singer Lana Del __ : REY. All perps.
19. Zeno's home : ELEA.
21. Is situated : LIES.
24. Lhasa __ : APSO.
25. Air France-__: European flier : KLM. The two airlines merged in 2004.
27. Revival cry : AMEN.
28. They're measured in shots : SERA. Because "booze" wouldn't fit!
31. It may be popped : CORN. Naturally, I had "cork" at first...which led to no end of problems with the perps.
32. Foil kin : EPEE.
34. __ sci : POLI.
35. Preposition for Poirot : AVEC. French "with."
37. Blowout, so to speak : GALA.
38. "South Park" boy Cartman : ERIC.
39. Site of a critical 1813 battle : LAKE ERIE. The Battle of Put-in-Bay. I bet Abejo knows all about it.
44. Firm foundation : BEDROCK. It's where the Slate Rock & Gravel Company was founded...
;-)48. Hailing cry : AHOY.
50. Like some cows : SACRED.
51. Greek goddess of wisdom : ATHENA.
52. In a snit : PEEVED.
55. Showy display : ÉCLAT.
56. Button word : PRESS. So simple.
58. End in __ : A TIE.
59. Yonder, on the Pequod : THAR.
61. Block up : DAM.
62. Bit of World Cup encouragement : OLÉ.
63. Go on and on : GAB.
64. Draft order : ALE. I'll leave this for others to toast at sunset.
Cheers!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
The beautiful Andrea Carla Michaels (who co-authored our Monday LAT puzzle) visited Minnesota again this week. Below is a picture of the local constructor gathering last night. I did not feel well enough to make the trip. I snacked the whole jar of homemade pickles on Tuesday and my lower right abdominal pain just won't go away.
Also missed the PBA50 finals yesterday. Boomer went alone and watched Walter Ray Williams won the tournament. I did chat with Walter Ray again last Sunday, TTP. Also met Norm Duke for the first time.
 |
| L to R: Victor Barocas, George Barany, Andrea Carla Michaels, David Hanson & Tom Pepper |
87 comments:
This was a fun puzzle by Gareth Bain, and an enlightening writeup by my cyberfriend Marti. 1939 was a banner year for movies, not just "The Wizard of Oz" from which this theme was taken, but also "Gone With the Wind" (same director, even), "Ninotchka," and a host of other classics.
Figuring out the theme about halfway through certainly accelerated my solving experience. For a while, I was fixated on popping a CORK until I realized that CORN works just as well. I don't know much about NASCAR, but have heard of both DALE Earnhardts, Sr. who was killed in a tragic accident, and Jr. who carries on the family legacy. Of course, the chemist in me loved seeing the crossing of STYRENE and OCTANE. Small nit, the answer word POEM appears in the clue for TREE. Overall, no mean feat to fit five theme answers and a long reveal into a 15x15 grid, so well done, Gareth.
If you'll indulge a change of pace, my friend Martin Ashwood-Smith remembered a published puzzle of his from 2007 which was based on a short and rather funny quip by the late Robin Williams. Even though it's already August, we do hope that you'll give March Madness a try.
Finally, to C.C., we sure missed you last night, and hope you feel 100% again soon. Thanks for posting the picture of our Minnesota group.
Morning, all!
Well, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one with a CORK fixation today. I knew that BOKED couldn't possibly be right for 45A, but I was so sure about all the perps. If not BOKED, then what? AHA! It must be BAKED, right? Except, that would give me PAEM instead of POEM...
I finally decided that of all the perps crossing BOKED, the only one that could possibly be something other than what I had was CORK. And so I just started with CORA and rand the alphabet until I finally got to CORN and got the *TADA*. I'd like to think I would have eventually gotten it simply by running the letters in my mind, but I guess we'll never know...
Oh, yeah -- the rest of the puzzle was just fine...
WBS. Except for the "TaDa!". I was sure CORK was right. Sure about BRO and POEM and EPEE and DALE too. Turned on the red letters (well, letter) and administered the requisite dope-slap.
[DNF]
Good morning!
WMS (what Marti said) about 31D and 45A. CORK just fit so well, I hated to see it go, but BRO, POEM and EPEE were solid. When I got to the reveal I asked myself, "Now just when did Dorothy Gale say, 'Like I Care?'" D'oh!
Get better, C.C. Let's hope it's not appendicitis. If it's tender to the touch, I'd see a doctor.
This Puzzle started out like a Monday puzzle but then I got bogged down in the southern 3rd hit the theme reveal clue which gave me the starts of the last 2 long answers which got them to fall into place then back filled the rest of the puzzle. Overall Thursday difficulty.
Good morning all.
Yea ! I got a theme ! There's no place like home !
I had countries on my first across pass, instead of PLACE NAME, but the first pass of the down perps down proved countries wrong and made PLACE NAME an easy fill.
After that first pass in each direction, I had enough letters to work on the other theme answers. I tried THatiSMYBOY, which fit but sounds clunky. That meant PIE and ERR would be wrong, and I didn't think they were. THERES MY BOY just needed that second e, and _LEA needed a preceding letter so somebody named Zeno could have a home.
Had to change from Y to I for POLI (I know, stupid error in the first place), but that I gave me all I needed for the indifferent attitude response.
And it was HOME free from there. Except that I didn't know DOROTHY's last name, but GALE just needed the L by then.
Under the "tried bud did not fit" category... fertile ere ARABLE.
Oh yea. Also proved wrong on the first down pass was Ararat. Got there by Nativity has Biblical connotation, and then Biblical plateau = ARARAT. DOH ! Should had a cup of coffee this morning !
And hand up for popping the cork instead of CORN.
Make NO MISTAKE about it, I enjoyed this puzzle. The only disappointing thing was that it was over too quick.
Thank you Gareth, and thank you Marti ! Loved your writeup !
Loved this puzzle. One of Gareth's best! I enjoy themes that look you right in the eyes and you're blind to it anyway... until the reveal. Simple, fun, well made, clever. The kind of stuff that solvers should smile about.
The kind of stuff one should despise-
"Where's the CRECHE?"
"HERE, C.C."
" Do you know why I'm so fat, senorita DOROTHY GALE?"
"Si, THY ALE, GORDO!"
Joyce Kilmer said, "NO MISTAKE. I'M NO KEATS!"
STYRENE is a common building material for pig pens.
THERE'S MY BOY,Gareth. He's a vet. So I asked him, "What are those white whales?"
"THEY'RE MOBYS" he replied.
ARABLE: Fit to be a Saudi.
Good morning everybody.
WBS on CORK/CORN/BOKED.
This was a nice puzzle. Easy enough for a Thursday. However, I did have some PERPS, including: Ab OVO, ARABLE, ELEA, and AVEC.
I thought for sure anything that had the word "Cup" in it was related to golf or tennis. I was surprised 8A was related to car racing.
Have a great day.
Fun puzzle. I went down the left half first. When I got DOROTHY I saw that I had already written THERES NO PLACE LIKE. Aha! HOME!
YIKE before YIPE, PIE was all perps.
GALE was all perps.
For gun in the driveway, I first thought of a TOY left behind. REV is clever. Also, CAB STAND.
Every night I get muscle SPASMs in my feet and legs.
I had CORN right away. That reminds me that popped corn has become pop corn, and iced water has become ice water. Ice tea is next. We bemoan the changes as they occur and call them corruptions, but soon they become so acceptable we don't bat an eye when hearing them.
Jerome, you are too funny. The human anagram server. And quite the wit as well.
Anon-T from last night... I still can't grow a beard !
CC, you are so lucky. I would like to meet and talk to both Norm Duke and Walter Ray Williams. I would actually like to bowl 3 games against each, just "because." I might get smoked, but I think I could hold my own against either one in at least one of the three games. If I had to choose, I would rather go against Walter Ray. We are both right-handed "down and in" bowlers, so I would just have to watch what board he's laying it down on and throw at the same speed. At least that would be my game plan.
I hope you are feeling better soon.
JzB, can you please do something to keep the pigeons off of the field ?
Jerome and George what a great treat to hear from both of you to along with a really nice Gareth Bain puzzle and the ineffable Marti and her take.
Luckily I never popped the CORK so I was able work my way around.
Greensleves was my Grandmother's favorite but I needed help.
I hear "like I care" more and "as if" by itself.
I feel out of touch never having heard of LANA she sounds interesting.
Did not know STYRENE and think it is uber cool that the final fill
was ALE after last night's comments
I recall Dorothy' s last for the obvious reason that a tornado is a big GALE. My college English professor, R.W. Stallman loved to point out how suggestive the characters names were that were chosen by the authors.
Gareth had plenty of grist for this mill. The NW took time, I learned Dorothy’s last name and laughed out loud as I read her heel clicking line. I tried in vain to use the last words in the long answers in search of a theme. What fun!
Musings
-Peruse these movies to see why 1939 is called the ACME for movie hits
-In the late innings those boxes around HOME PLATE are pretty much gone
-Back SPASMS take down a champion (:33)
-ASAP is implicit in Joann’s “requests” around here
-I think faster than I type and so a text EDITOR is vital for me
-ACME – Wiley Coyote’s their best customer
-Being much more prosaic than my friend Marti, CORN came easily ;-)
-During a fight in M*A*S*H where Hotlips tells Frank Burns to get out, he replies, “AVEC plaisir, Miss Snake-in-the-grass”
-I play golf with a BRO who GABS incessantly when he is doing well but gets PEEVED and clams up when he isn’t. Don’t know which I dislike more.
-Sad images of record low levels in Lake Mead behind Hoover DAM this year
-Both of us uttered this theme when we returned home August 2nd after 10 days of touring the left coast
Addendum
-The placement of a CRECHE can cause much debate in any city. However, if you do see one, you are very likely to hear the alternate lyrics to Greensleeves being played or sung around it.
Marti: Wonderful write-up.
I had the same corK/bAKed thing going on to my DNF.
I noticed that Al Cyone and Barry G. did also.
At least Al Cyone admitted a DNF.
ALAS, as always, Barry G. did not ... lol !!!
[Ed.Note: And remember guys & gals ... we have ALL had DNF's ... and then admitted to them. Except Barry G.]
Only needed "Every-Single-Perp" (ESP) to get the singer REY, the "South Park" boy ERIC, and Zeno's home ELEA.
Then there was that V-8 can smack when "Draft order" turned out to be ALE ... duh!
Cheers!!!
YR@7:54 "iced water has become ice water"
I'm not so sure. Ice and water are the same thing. Put a bowl of ice on the counter. In short order you'll have ice water (not iced water). Just as one is said to have ice water (not iced water) in his veins.
Guilty of the cork error, and all the difficulty that followed. Finally figured it out, but twarn't easy. Several other erasures needed. Et Alia to Et Alii, Poly to Poli, Sterole to Styrene, State name to Place name. Also heavy reliance on perps as many have noted. So, I found it pretty tough for a Thursday, but did manage it.
And yes, it was rather amusing that the final clue was for Ale!
Lime Rickey, that is not how ice water is normally prepared to be served at table. It is prepared by pouring water over ice cubes in the same way that tea is prepared. Alternativey, ice cubes are added to a glass of water or tea. You don't just fill a glass with ice and wait until it melts.
No DNF today, but AGFA crossing FOSBURY got me yesterday.
I am in BILLINGS today but am driving north this afternoon, not ENE.
I am attending a volunteer training and in too much of a hurry to ponder over clues. Thus a big DNF.
I did get the theme and lots of clues but not all.
Have a good day,
Montana
I struggled all the way through this and it definitely did not feel Monday-like. Between my weakness with names and after 40 years here still not being hip to many "in the language" idioms, I had to WAG most of what I got. At the end I was only missing in the far west, because I had VIABLE for ARABLE, and couldn't figure out what came before ---EICARE. South Park is animated, hence I have never, and will never watch it.
Hello Puzzlers -
Hand up for Cork. Apart from that, today's enjoyable puzzle went along quite smoothly. Certainly loved the theme! I'm a fan of the Wizard of Oz movie, which I recently watched in a color-restored version (it looked brilliant). So glad that Gareth remembered, and was able to build upon that.
Morning, Marti! Hope you are enjoying today's fresher & drier air.
Kevin from yesterday - loved the chainsaw story! Let's face it, a dangerous piece of equipment like that is just what a man needs, whether he needs it or not. :-)
Dudley, as one of the local DJ's says when he signs off, "Remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch, spare change, or too much horsepower!" I think he's a Tim Allen wannabe.
Greetings, Puzzle Pals!
Am I the only one who didn't think of cork? Or is food always on my mind?
Anyway, this was fun though usually I don't like quips but it worked out well. As Marti smoothly said, it had a Wednesday feel.
I just followed the yellow brick road and all was well. I almost had a Natick at ERIC but it perped easily.
Thank you Gareth and Marti, for your ECLAT today. This morning we are holding the Memorial for my SIL so ta-ta.
Have an absolutely wonderful Thursday, everyone!
Good Morning:
Found this to be a tad more difficult than usual, coming from Gareth, particularly the Southeast section. Hand up for cork/corn and also went astray with Serena/Athena and most cocky entry before I had any of the theme answers, Rhett Butler before Dorothy Gale. Also had dye/gel, poly/poli and DVD/Vid. But, patience, perserverance and perps brought the TADA.
Thank you, Gareth, for an enjoyable Thursday challenge and thanks, Marti, for a spot on expo.
Feel better soon, CC.
Have a great day.
Oops. "a Monday feel" said Marti.
Jerome:
You are priceless!
With the C in place at 31d, my first thought was CHERRY...but, it didn't fit.
WIMS!
"Patience, perseverance, and perps."
Those three P's definitely speak to the crossword experience.
Howdy all!
Another hand up for cork. Speaking of popping the cork, I was so glad to see ALE this morning after last night's amazing staccato of ale posts.
Irish Miss @ 10:27 - I am glad that you had DVD at first also. My NW corner was held up by DVD for quite a while.
Dudly @ 9:58 - I am sad to say nobody ever purchased the chainsaw; I guess on the upside, we got so many plates we didn't have to do the dishes for a while.
As easy as a Monday? Give me a break! I thought I'd never finish this one with particular problems on the top. But thanks to Dudley's 3 Ps I finally got almost everything except for a little problem with that darn CORK (too much wine, not enough veggies, I guess).
And then when I got to the Corner I found tomorrow's puzzle and write-up rather than today's, and no comments. What! But on my second try, here it was and here you all are--so all I can say is "THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!"
C.C. So sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Take good care of yourself and let us know how you're doing. I'll keep checking to see if you have updates.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Misty: Think of the positive side (I read your 2 comments) ... I know you and I will definitely not be DNF's
on tomorrows Jeffery Wechsler puzzle.
Geez, and I thought that I had taken a "Cat-Nap" and slept for 24 hours. LOL !!!
... I think it is time for something that does have a CORK ...
Cheers!!!
At what point should one consider putting a blind ol' horse out to pasture?
Hi Y'all! Very fine fun puzzle, Gareth! Great expo, Marti, loved the Celtic Women.
Didn't know Dorothy had a last name, but really liked the theme.
In high school I sang in a trio. One of our songs was "Trees", the Kilmer poem set to music. Loved the phrase, "who intimately lives with rain."
YETI = "hard to photograph Himalayan"?Downright impossible! Foul, I'd say! Tried "peaks", & "sherpas". Nope! Finally tried YETIS. Hard to believe it was right.
I'M HIT! Still can't believe the $50 I gave my grandson Xmas before last went toward a $100 paint-ball gun! They've used it twice.
Kevin, I didn't see a thing wrong with asking for a chain saw. I asked for a chain saw for my birthday one year on the farm. I had a scraggly old orchard. I got my chain saw, but was so terrified of it when I was up in a tree using it, I found myself whimpering.
C.C.: Sorry to hear you got yourself in a pickle. Belly pain is no fun! Feel better soon, please.
thanks for the puzzle and write-up and for the March Madness Robin Williams quote puzzle and the Lake Mead photos. C.C. I hope you feel better soon. Please keep us updated.
Greetings!
Thanks Gareth and Marti! Enjoyable puzzle and write-up!
Put in CORN immediately. But hand up for POLY at first. (For me, a really dumb error.) REY also all perps.
Yellowrocks: You are deficient in potassium and/or magnesium. Eat cantaloupes daily or get a prescription for the former. (OTC potassium contains only 1/33 of the daily dose.) You should have instant relief. (Bananas work too but have too much fructose for me.)
CC: Feel better soon!
Cheers!
Darn, Tinbeni, I should have looked at that Friday puzzle more closely before making my comments. It would have guaranteed a total success tomorrow, wouldn't it? Instead, I'll have to struggle as usual.
Please allow me the chance to unveil,
The real truth behind DOROTHY GALE.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME,
For a young girl who roams,
And hangs out with three characters, male!
"Puzzling thoughts":
I kinda figured out the theme after getting THERE'S/LIKE/HOME. NO and PLACE and DOROTHY came soon after; didn't realize or recall her character's name being GALE, but it makes perfect sense.
I had BONED for 45A so I didn't fall into the CORK trap. I, too started with THAT'S for 18A when I realized I needed another letter. Perps helped me get THERE'S, EDITOR (in 2D), as well as SACRED in 50D. The only other write-over was 34D when I used POLY instead of POLI, but that changed when LIKEICARE came into view.
Clues/answers I liked included 60A and 11D. Nice puzzle but not overly challenging. Gotta think tomorrow and Saturday's will be a bear . . .
Hi gang -
I'm a big Gareth fan, and really like this theme.
The PIE clue is lost on me.
OVO - AVEC got me. OK, from the egg - see it now. But I don't like crossing foreign words, nor any French, ever.
For some reason, CORK was not on my radar screen, so CORN popped.
The chemist in me always wants POLY [and a cracker.]
Just noticed CAB STAND. Must have got it from perps. Brilliant clue.
Styrene is nasty stuff.
Jerome - great to see you back and in such fine form.
TTP - You don't mess with Detroit pigeons. Even the gulls give them lots of wing room.
Cool regards!
JzB
Kevin, please try to avoid overposting as you did yesterday (8 posts). It shows a lack of respect for C.C.'s rules.
Remember when one would get lambasted for merely mentioning the constructor of the next day's puzzle? Now we get lemony posting the entire puzzle and answers two weeks in a row and not a peep from C.C..
Ack! I can't remember not being able to finish a puzzle when I had so many perps! I gave up with a zig zag swath of white running from center to the NW. If I had just figured out 1A clothing line=hem I might have had a better go at it, but I was looking for YSL or something.
I did have 1D haven't, but only ADA & NO across. I do have a nit with netflix rental = VID, no I don't like it, don't like it at all...
I got "boned" by corn, & I like my cutlets "fried" which fit when you have nothing else...
Learning moments:
I always thought the Trivial Pursuit Symbol was a wheel of cheese...
Avec Plaisair (Thanks HG) (but you beat me to the 1939 movie list, here's the whole list in case you missed any...)
56D button word=press, I was thinking journalism, a reporter in the field, press, of course, so simple...
Bottom line: this was a puzzle that makes the Blog so necessary! But can some one please explain Sera to me as something to do with shots???
Joyce Kilmer Trees, lovely...
Greensleeves was interesting, I did not know that green had sexual connotations. see lyrical interpretations
Nor was I aware of alternative lyrics.
Here are some funny homes for your entertainment.
CED -- you get serum in a shot. SERA is the plural of serum. Que sera, sera.
JzB - with regard to PIE and Trivial Pursuit, the board game uses a disc, and the individual wedges resemble a piece of PIE.
Whenever I played the game the reference to "getting a piece of pie" was when you correctly answered the category question.
PK @ 12:04 - I would be very nervous going up a tree with a chainsaw, which is why I would need to have a few drinks first, which is why I probably should not own a chainsaw.
Though, I kind of still want one to keep under the bed; I cannot think of a better home-protection device. Imagine breaking into somebody's house, unplugging their flat screen TV, then hearing a chainsaw REV up somewhere nearby. Personally, I would be out of there pretty darn fast.
[Ed.Note: And remember guys & gals ... we have ALL had DNF's ... and then admitted to them. Except Barry G.]
OK, I know we're not supposed to respond to trolls, but why on earth do you keep posting this? It's true that I don't tend to have DNFs all that often, but I'm certainly not shy about admitting when I do. Are you upset that I don't always call it a DNF when I manage to solve it without using red-letter help or Google, despite the fact that I had to make a guess or correct a mistake to get the *TADA*? If so, why don't you just get over yourself and let it go?
Sheeeeesh...
BOOM....Roasted!!
And since I was mentioned in connection with Barry G., I have to say I fully support his claim to having finished the puzzle.
I enjoyed the puzzle. No red-letters were harmed in the solving of this puzzle (but I did avail myself of Mr. Google a couple of times.) Thanks Gareth and Marti. Hmm..., I wonder why anyone would care about how much help I used on a puzzle? For the record, I always have help on Saturdays. And I never have a DNF because I use whatever help is needed in order to finish. :>)
Gary and CED, I had no idea that 1939 was such a fertile year for movies. I am a big fan of "Gunga Din" among others.
AnonT, you mentioned being hungry for a math puzzle, so here you go. (BTW, I did post one about Pecos Bill about a week ago.)
Suppose you have a large number of small 1-inch cubes that you stack to make larger cubes. You could make larger cubes which measured 2 inches on a side (made with eight small cubes) or 3 inches on a side, etc. Suppose you painted the exterior surfaces of these various larger cubes. Some of the small cubes would have paint on one face, some on two faces, some on three faces or, possibly, no paint on them at all. For a larger cube that measures 3 inches by 3 inches by 3 inches, answer the following questions.
a) How many small cubes are needed to make this larger cube?
b) How many cubes have no paint at all?
c) How many cubes have paint on one face?
d) How many cubes have paint on two faces?
e) How many cubes have paint on three faces?
Suppose you made a 4 x 4 x 4 cube, then what are the answers to the above questions? How about the general case of an n x n x n cube?
True Story .
A hollywood producer is hiring a secretary,( obviously a blonde). He asks her to quote her minimum salary.
The blonde says,'$35 per hour'.
The producer, who's studied Frawnch, says,'Avec Plaisair' - with pleasure.
Unfortunately, the blonde has also taken Frawnch, in high school.
She says,' No, no - with pleasure, its going to be $50'.
Seriously. As we write and talk and dither, some terrible things are happening in this world. The ISIS wants to remove all blondes from existence !!.
Kevin Eleven - I mean 11:00 of course - it'd be fun to be a fly on the wall when the newlywed couple, opening gifts, discovers that the large heavy box has a shiny new chainsaw in it! The groom would be delighted for sure, but a lot would hinge upon the bride's sense of priorities...
PK 12:04 - I don't blame you! It takes quite a while to learn to use saws well, and cutting from a ladder or up in a tree is by no means the easiest task to start with, nor the least risky.
Barry G., well done!!
Good afternoon everyone.
Great little puzzle. Was able to finish without lookups.
Got GALE, ALICIA, and some others with perps.
Favorite clue was for SACRED cow.
Another good puzzle from Gareth.
ENE - Might point out here that the Billings - Bismarck direction is right on the cusp between ENE and E. When travelling the shortest (great circle) distance, one starts out at 076º 14' (ENE) and approaches Bismarck at 081º 49' which is in the East sector.
Dudley, what say you?
Again, thanks to all who wish BH a Happy Birthday yesterday. She was very appreciative.
Barry G - I think the point that Tin is making is that those of us who do the puzzle on paper don't get a *TADA*, whether we finished it right or wrong. We would not know if we had a typo or incorrect answer until we read the blog.
However, you not getting your electronic "high-five" allows you to go back and correct your mistakes, thus avoiding the dreaded DNF or FIW.
Dont fret, though. Every time you admit to not getting your *TADA*, we here all know what really happened.
inanehiker @3:09
THAT IS EXACTLY THE POINT !!!
OTOH: At least I got him to respond to something in the comments (after his).
When I went back and checked the "later comments" yesterday ... I wished I had gone back on-line and joined in on the
"ALE & Chainsaw" discussion ... instead of watching a boring 10 to 1 baseball game.
Oh well, time for the daily deluge ...
Cheers!!!
So, Barry G. seems to have a fantastic crossword solving ability. So what. I am simply tired of people ganging on him, and his claims. I feel in my bones that it's really just one sad troll who goes on and on.
I happen to like Barry G. He posts regularly, has reasonable opinions, which many people seem to agree with, and even looks like a regular guy. Have our own little lives become so pathetic and miserable that we have to turn on each other to keep these posts interesting ? I am seriously concerned that we may just drive away one of our mainstays from ever posting on this blog again. Is this what we want ?
As for you Barry, please, please, please keep those posts coming. If you had a problem, we probably all had the same or a similar problem. As for your tada, please continue to report it. I, for one, will be very happy for your sake. Success is as personal as one's toothbrush. (Charlie Brown - ). Personally, someone else's success is as relevant for me, as if someone else won an election, had an e-ection or did an e-ection. But I am always happy for their sake.
Dudley @ 2:54 - I like "Kevin Eleven @ 11:00" a lot. Maybe I should change my username to Kevin Eleven and make posting at exactly 11am and 11pm my thing; it would certainly help rein me in on my number of posts.
Re: DNF - Is there a crosswordese abbreviation for finishing but with mistakes? I think I have seen one but cannot remember it (perhaps FBWM?). I do that a lot and am not sure how to confess it. Or could someone link a page that has a comprehensive list of terms? I am aware of the "Comments Section Abbreviations" tab on the main page of this site, but the entries are limited to the basics; maybe people could post comments on that page with updates--I don't want that to sound like a demand for someone to do more work; instead, I know how people here like to help each other out.
Lastly, as for cheating: I don't resort to Google, but sometimes I'll look at my bookshelves to remember the spelling of an author's name or at a DVD (sorry, I mean VID) to remember a director. Is that an official cheat or a little white cheat--just wondering?
Hi all. Had yike for yipe and didn't look at the down until I saw pie in the blog, wanted to put Serena for Athena but looked at 49 a first and that quickly got Athena in there, excuse the pun. Only one look up on google ab ovo had me at a loss, but otherwise a fine puzzle. Adieu from Cajun Country !!
Kevin, I'd guess your thinking of FIW (finished it wrong). We have a lot of board specific argot here, and that one usually means the grid was full, but something wasn't right.
Your discussion on the chain saw reminds me of an FAC I was at a few years back. One guy made mention that he was turning 60 in a few weeks. Another asked: "Is there anything special you'd like for a gift?" (Facetiously). He responded: "We'll, I'm registered at N Street!" N Street Liqour is probably the best known liquor store in the state.
Kevin @ 4:02, if you fill in all the grid blocks, but have a mistake in one of them, most people call that a "FIW" (filled in wrong.) And you set your own rules - there is no one here looking over your shoulder as you solve!
Personally, I tend to do crosswords according to the ACPT rules. I don't use any look-ups, don't use red-letter help, and set my own personal time limits for the solve, depending on the day of the week. Even though I solve online, it only saves me eraser marks/write-overs, since I can cleanly change an entry that looks wrong in the grand scheme of things.
BTW, at the ACPT, they only use pencils - no pens! And one time I was sitting at a table with Amy Reynaldo. The next day, she moved to the next table over, because she said my erasures were jiggling the table, and distracting her too much!!
inanehiker@ 3:09, I agree that not getting the TA DA is FIW, even if you can correct it. To me the lack of a TA DA counts as help.
Personally I do the puzzles on paper writing lightly in pen because pencil is hard to see. Instead of erasures I have write overs. If I Google anything I rate it FIW. If, after I finish, I have doubts, I turn to red letters online and type in only those iffy parts. If I get no red letters I declare finished w/o help. Red letters mean FIW. Then I turn to the blog to be sure its TA DA and not FIW. Each of us has her own standards. As we become more experienced we raise our standards.
Interior: (n-2)^3
Exterior: (n)^3 - (n-2)^3
1-sided: (n-2)^2 * 6
2-sided: (n-2) * 12
3-sided: (n-n) + 8
LOL!!
just a comment: I am the usually the person who comments as inanehiker, but the person who commented at 3:09 pm today obviously wanted to make a comment not listed as anonymous or had exceeded their own identified comments for today. IT WAS NOT ME!
Now I understand how people feel after identity theft- so knock it off whoever decided to do that!
Signed: the Real inanehiker
1824128770Hola Everyone, WEES--Viable for Arable, Cork/Corn, etalii.
I didn't get to the puzzle until after lunch, so I don't have much to add to the blog.
Trees was a poem I had to memorize in 8th grade. It has never left me since! We see it often in our crosswords.
C.C. Feel better soon.
Have a great rest of the day, everyone.
Spitz 2:59 - You bring up an interesting point! First, aviators don't generally bother with nautical-style names for points of the compass; we generally speak, think, and react in numerical values instead.
As far as today's clue is concerned, I tend to think of the magnetic bearing as being measured from the starting place. If that's the norm, then Billings to Bismarck works for ENE, as you pointed out.
Pilots using US aviation charts are probably not very cognizant of precise great circle routes. Our charts are organized using the Lambert Standard Conformal Conical projection, which means there is a slight built-in chart distortion. The Lambert standard holds the distortion to a reasonable minimum, though, and airplanes move so fast that plotting errors are insignificant.
Man, seriously?
When I talk about (eventually) getting the *TADA* it has nothing to do with bragging about how wonderful I am or claiming that I somehow avoided a DNF. It's just an indication that I finally managed to get everything correct (and knew it because the computer told me so). Sometimes I get the *TADA* on my first attempt, sometimes after correcting some mistakes, sometimes after turning on the red-letter help or Googling, and sometimes (albeit rarely) never. I mean, I guess I could say something like "after running through all the letters in the alphabet I finally managed to get the right answer", but saying "I got the *TADA*" is simply a shorter way of doing it.
Some people desperately need to get a life and stop obsessing about how and what other people do.
BarryG:
I think you had one post too many today. I always just skip over your posts because you rarely offer any insights other than your personal solving experience. Then you come out with the comment, "Some people desperately need to get a life and stop obsessing about how and what other people do."
Whaaaaat?!?
That's all your posts ever describe!!!
Many people here have offered the advice, "if you don't like a comment, then just skip over it." I agree wholeheartedly. I don't care if you put in cork for corn or tit for tat. I don't care for limericks, math problems, cryptics or recipes. I look forward to the write-up to see all the correct answers and look to the discussion of nits, jokes, musical links and further elucidation of various topics brought on by clue/answers. I have learned soooo much here over the years from the reviews and comments but never once cared how fast you solved or if you had to guess the last letter of the grid.
Barry, the only thing I have ever learned from you is that there are a lot of thing that you "have never heard of" that I think of as pretty common knowledge to me.
YMMV
My two-cents worth: I don't care how long the puzzle took each of you or whether you finished with a DNF or FIW. Whenever I've thought about timing myself, I get more tense and the solving process is less enjoyable. I can't imagine leaving a puzzle unfinished or obviously finished incorrectly. After some point I really the constructor and editor have outsmarted me and I want to know the rest of the answers, sort of like turning to the back of the book to see the solution to a math puzzle that has stumped me. Back in the old days, the only way to finish a CW puzzle that had you stumped would be to ask your spouse or a friend. Now, you can turn on red letters and use Google. For me, that's much more satisfying than just giving up and coming here to read the blog. But that's just me. Your mileage may differ.
So that's my approach. If you don't like it, don't use it and feel free to skip over my posts, except for the math puzzles and lunch descriptions of course. :>)
I think it's a little bit of a shame that this topic has brought up some unpleasantness.
A bike ride along the blue Pacific and an espresso beckon.
IMBO
I'm writing this on my new Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I have lots to learn about its features but, so far, so good. My iPad was driving me crazy by constantly crashing. It is almost 4 years old and has had very heavy usage so maybe it just wore out. My answering machine also bite the dust, so I had to buy a new phone, as well.
The Comments Section is now at the top be the bottom on iPad! Also, a nice feature is one keyboard for numbers and letters.
Sorry, that should read top versus the bottom on the iPad.
JzB,
If you can't keep the pigeons off the field, can you do something about keeping Matt Scherzer off the mound when the Tigers are playing the Pirates ?
I thought the Buccos had a chance as Liriano was dealing. Not dealing in the same fashion as Scherzer with his 14Ks, but Liriano was putting them down with his no-hit bid until he gave uo that home run to Martinez, who also had a great defensive run-stopping, rally killing catch in the 4th. How many times do you see a guy make a great defensive play and then come up to bat and hit a home run ?
Bill G,
Inre your poser. I read it, and after another hard day in the Bedrock quarry, I came to the quick conclusion that the answer must be 42. It is, after all, the answer to everything.
Speaking of Flintstones... I don't know how many years the the Flintstones cartoon has been off the air, but they are still playing that "We are Flintstones kids, ten million strong, and growing" commercial on the air for those vitamins.
Does anyone know why it took so long for Betty Rubble to be included ?
Time for some Thursday Night Football.
Have a good night all.
Got bottled up by the CORK! Otherwise, this would have been 100% for OMK. Dang--I went through all the stages everyone else visited (do won't bother repeating them), but I couldn't see my way clear to give up CORK in favor of CORN.
Now, of course, it's clear as daylight-- so I nominate this for the all-time misdrection of 2014!
This was also the best (in my book) for putting the theme to work. I usually don't pay attention to the theme 'til afterward. This was the first time in memory that the theme answer provided active help. Once I recalled the famous Dorothy line, I filled in LIKE I CARE and HOME PLATE.
Whaat ??
There are 2 inanehikers upstairs there who wrote all sorts of skewed and illogical and contrary opinions and it isn't even ME ? Now, I bet you've even taken my birthdate 4-14-'77 and the last 4 digits of my SSN 0276 as well. Go ahead, take my Visa credit card from Wells Fargo ending in 9471 and my Discover card ending 3290 as much and go ahead and try your luck. I am getting nowhere fast anyway. I am technically bankrupt so even if I end up with 3 mortgages I am not bothered. What me, worry. My password for everything is Guitar5432. Just so you know. This is beyond dreadful, it is incredible. And all sorts of rubbish, irrelevant and irreverent and irrevocable and petulant opinions. And I am a card carrying Republican, who refuses to accept social security, and I happen to worship Dubya like the second coming of Christ. I tell you there ought to be a law. You two can take your d-----, two bit opinions and stick it up where the sun don't shine. I am going straight to Sarah Saldanha, my fellow darling Latina, who's the US Distr.Atty for the Northern District Court of Texas in Dallas, with the Hon. US Justice Barefoot Sanders, and then onto the 5th circuit Court of Appeals, and I tell you all, including the rest of you doofuses on this blog, that I going to fry your
Nope, I don't know who this 'doofus' is, but it's definitely not me. What's so cute about my name that everybody and his brother seems compelled to use it ? I could sure use the latina's cell phone number.
That one Anonymous post from earlier wasn't me.
Yes it was, you dirty rat ! I saw you typing away like mad, so don't deny it.
Anonymous, while it is refreshingly pleasant to see you being playful and having fun for once—as opposed to being "insert adjective here"—please try to avoid overposting [remember, 5 is the limit] in order to prevent showing a lack of respect for C.C.'s rules.
Well look who's being an ass.
Anonymous - Me, it's me, I'm being an ass—and I am not afraid to admit it. What are you afraid of?
BTW, this took me over my post limit, so now I have to go and delete a previous post... not that anyone will be missing out.
As Charley Willey once said, "You are never fully dressed until you wear a smile."
:)
late to the party, but, yep, CORK!...hope everybody is well
John A., welcome
Geez, Lemon ... you're up late. lol
(And remember, Misty & I have already seen your Friday Write-up).
Which, BTW, is another stellar example of your talent doing these write-ups, attaching a wealth of knowledge and interesting links!
Hi All!
Late to post because I refused to give up - until I finally did. If you were to place my puzzle over a map of PLACENAMES in the US of A it would look like a political map - and I got just the blue states. I'll rate is as a TDNF (Total I Don't Know F*** - that's what I thought DNF meant :-) )
I got Gareth's theme after THERES MY BOY and perps filled in NO. Didn't help a lick. Eldest knew DOROTHY's last name (still didn't help). Thanks Marti for the answers!
Bill - Sorry too busy and now tired to play. I'll give it a crack tomorrow (but n x n x ) is n^3. Am I to assume inner 1" cubes are unpainted.
YIPE - I didn't fall for CORk - Had CORN all along but 45a still didn't fall :-(
Bed time before the YETIS come out on the radio (crazy people channel AKA Coast2CoastAM).
Cheers, -T
Anon -T.... is Coast to Coast still on.... ?? :) :) unfortunately my radio is in the garage... :) yes they are a bit far out there... :) have you heard any more about Art Bell... ?
thelma :)
I am up late and the write up is now finished and scheduled
I really enjoy JW's puzzles and the lively Corner. But then I like Gareth's as well. I guess I just like puzzles
Up late listening to Coast To Coast. Bob Zimmerman has some valid points. Solved Friday's puzzle early after seeing the solution here today. Get it together lemony.
Awesome!! LOL
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