Theme: Two for Tuesday - Each half of the two word answer is theme related.
16. *Tailor's fabric marker : CHALK PENCIL. Chalk mark, Pencil mark.
23. *Like a job that doesn't cause ulcers : LOW STRESS. Low mark, Stress mark.
34. *Anna Sewell novel narrated by a horse : "BLACK BEAUTY". Black mark, Beauty mark,
49. *Icon in bill-paying software : CHECK BOOK. Check mark, Book mark.
59. "Remember what I said!" ... and a hint to what can follow each part of the answers to starred clues : "MARK MY WORDS!"
Argyle here. The Gail/Bruce twosome gave us an ambitious Tuesday that seems a tad flat to me. Is it just me?
Across:
1. Plant owner: Abbr. : MFR. (ManuFactureR)
4. Quieted (down) : CALMED
10. Novelist Clancy : TOM
13. Go it alone : SOLO
14. Starting squads : A-TEAMS
15. Commotion : ADO
18. Fortysomething, e.g. : Xer. Gen X followed the Baby Boomers.
19. Parts of stairs : RISERS. The piece that is between the treads, often missing on cellar stairs.
20. Paving supply : TAR
21. "Suits" actress Torres : GINA
22. Oft-blessed outburst : [ACHOO!]
25. Nonstick kitchen brand : PAM
26. Pro offering IRA advice : CPA
28. Netherworld : HADES
29. Uppity one : SNOB
31. Chapter in a geology text, maybe : ERA
33. Finished first : WON
38. Early hrs. : AMs
39. Misspell or misspeak : ERR
40. Woodshop tools : SAWS
43. "NCIS" actor Joe : SPANO. Agent Fornell
46. Personal connections : INs
48. Extinct emu-like bird : MOA
53. Top-selling Toyota : CAMRY. Mid-Size Sedan.
55. __ Hashanah : ROSH. Last month.
56. "Bambi" doe : ENA. The aunt.
57. Runway figures : MODELS
58. "What was __ do?" : I TO
61. Jazz genre : BOP
62. Layered rock : GNEISS
63. Pull up stakes, to Realtors : RELO. Relocate.
64. USCG rank : ENS. Ensign.
65. Hardly boastful : MODEST
66. Dreyer's partner in ice cream : EDY
Down:
1. Tribesman in a Cooper title : MOHICAN. "The Last of the Mohicans" set in my locale.
2. Apparently spontaneous public gathering : FLASH MOB. Dudley(from last night), it sounds like you had the makings of a good flash mob.
3. Logger's contest : ROLEO. Pay attention to the commentary.
4. Spending limits : CAPS
5. Completed the course? : ATE. Cute.
6. Slowly, to Mozart : LENTO
7. Colorful parrot : MACAW
8. Mideast leaders : EMIRS
9. High-speed www connection : DSL. Not that fast in this FiOS age.
10. Rolled up to the jetway : TAXIED. Jetway? Don't hear that often.
11. Danish birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen : ODENSE
12. Marshy tract : MORASS
13. Torn-off paper pieces : SCRAPS
17. McDonald's founder Ray : KROC
21. Research funding sources : GRANTS
23. Carefree diversion : LARK
24. "__ shalt not ..." : THOU. Thou shall not pass, dog!
27. Push-up targets, briefly : PECS. Chest muscles.
30. Boil briefly, as asparagus : BLANCH
32. Honest __ : ABE
33. Tip off : WARN
35. Out of control : AMOK
36. Composer Satie : ERIK. Extensive write-up with this LINK.
37. Whined : YAMMERED
41. Urbane : WORLDLY
42. States as fact : SAYS SO
43. Book copier of yore : SCRIBE. Like in this yore, 45D. __ Fables : AESOP'S
44. Particle of light : PHOTON
47. Garbage vessel : SCOW
50. Bingo relative : BEANO
51. No right __: road sign : ON RED
52. Jack of "The Texas Rangers" : OAKIE. (1936 movie)but he was so much more. He's the one in the middle in this clip.
54. Really love : ADORE
57. Computer game title island : MYST. More for the Gen Y crowd.
59. Studio with a lion mascot : MGM
60. Submissions to an ed. : MSS. (Manuscripts)
Argyle
53 comments:
Morning, all!
I wouldn't call this one "flat", exactly, but I did find it a bit annoying in spots. The theme was fine, although I didn't get it until I got to the reveal at the very end after I had already filled in all the theme answers.
MFR was not a great word to start of the puzzle, IMO. Joe SPANO's character of Agent Fornell is not exactly a regular on the show, but fortunately I've seen him often enough to remember him. The clue for DSL seemed soooo last century to me.
Apparently, "whine" is actually the number one definition for YAMMER, but I've only ever understood it to mean definitions #2 ("to make an outcry or clamor" or #3 ("to talk loudly and persistently"). Go figure.
Hello Puzzlers -
I did this one quickly, and failed to notice that both words could precede "mark". That definitely makes for a more impressive construction.
Morning, Argyle, you're right there - that tribal beat from We Will Rock You is certainly catchy. I bet it's impressive when stomped out by a large crowd in bleachers.
Puzzle went fairly easily, but finished with no ta-da. Figured problem was in south, since I wasn't sure of spelling for ENA, GNEISS, never heard of BEANO, OAKIE. Nope, it was the very first word I had put in! MFG instead of MFR. GOLEO & ROLEO were equally strange to me, so that didn't tip me off. Another play on rodeo, like the trucker's roadeo?
Another term that puzzled me was STRESS MARK. I was thinking brow furrows and crows-feet, but looked it up to find a term a poet should have recognized more quickly!
CCW is blank today, the only near miss was a clue.
ST 54d. TV drama set in the D.C. area : NCIS
LAT 43a. "NCIS" actor Joe : SPANO
Bill went for a ride on his bike for a lark,
His helmet muffled any warning bark.
A dog snapped at his heels
Who didn't like wheels
Not much pain, but ooo, that's gonna leave a MARK!
His mistress, chagrined her dog made like a shark
Explained he was trained to guard after dark
From door to door sellers,
Those loathsome fellers,
His training to bite "peddlers" had made its MARK!
Apologizing for the dog in the park,
She tried to flirt, maybe kindle a spark.
It caused some strife
Twixt Bill and his wife,
Cause the dog-walker's lipstick had left its MARK!
Good morning!
I liked this one. Didn't get the theme until the reveal, but I often don't get it at all.
DSL is apparently too high tech for my neighborhood. AT&T can't install it here. No UVerse, either.
I might have gotten Jack OAKIE if I hadn't thought "The Texas Rangers" was a sports clue. [Sigh]
4/4
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I rather enjoyed this Tuesday puzzle (although ODENSE doesn't seem like a Tuesday word.) BLACK BEAUTY was my first theme answer and I immediately thought of MARK.
Book Copier of Yore = SCRIBE was my favorite clue of the puzzle.
I remember Joe SPANO from Hill Street Blues. I have never seen NCIS. I tried watching the New Orleans version, but found it terribly annoying.
QOD: When we argue for our limitations, we get to keep them. ~ Evelyn Waugh (Oct. 28, 1903 ~ Apr. 10, 1966)
Ok, skillful but not zippy. ODENSE was slippery but the rest filled easily. I marvel at seeing phrases that work in themes like this.
Joe Spano shared a wife with Gibbs and was entertaining on Hill Street Blues
Howdy all,
Not sure if I'd call this flat, but it sure wasn't a fun solve, more of a grind. Nothing seemed to come together throughout, but the South was a son of a gun. Trouble began with 59a where I entered Mind MY WORDS instead of MARK ....... GNEISS, OAKIE, MYST, BEANO & ONRED were slow to arrive.
In the end, got it done. But, I never felt the thrill of victory, just "Cripes, am I glad this is done."
Probably not day appropriate, but a fun solve. Had a number of erasures, but got it all figured out in the end. The one theme answer that seems a little off is LOW. Low water mark, maybe, but low alone seems wanting.
So, I wouldn't call it gneiss and easy, but still liked it.
Soup day here. High of 58 predicted, possible first freeze tonight. Ham and bean on the menu.
Some really wierd cluing on this one, but I really did not like the middle south. Never heard of BEANO, other than the otc medicine for gas. I had a minor in geology and still couldn't pull GNEISS from my brain. I remember Jack Hays of the Texas Rangers, but OAKIE? Made for a very frustrating solve.
Good morning all ! Rise and shine !
First Tuesday with a fail in beau coup weeks. Had a NATICK with GNEISS at both OAKIE and MSS. Almost had one earlier at ODENSE and XER, but got the E when MORASS became evident.
Had a type over pretty quickly. Entered ABATED instead of CALMED for quieted (down). Perps fixed that.
I liked this puzzle and got the theme pretty quickly. I too liked SCRIBE, and learned something about that word. I personally had an incorrect alternate definition for that word. I knew a SCRIBE could be a person, but I also thought it could be the instrument, such as the pen or pencil. I will have to remember to no longer use the phrase "scribe and parchment" in the context of pen and paper.
Big game again tonight. Husker, in re your comment yesterday, an article about the relative values of the Giants and Royals. I liked the graphic. Presents a lot of info in a quick manner.
Anon - T, I also like Hunter. 9 reasons Hunter Pence is the most interesting man in the World (Series)
and (from yesterday) 5 Freaky Hunter Pence Faces to Save Your Monday
Argyle, I loved that cat and dog video. Cracked me up.
I almost forgot.
Happy (belated) Birthday Boomer !
Certainly not Tuesday level, but I got it all. GNEISS helped reassure me in the south--high school geology helped there. The north was a bit sticky until I changed WHITE to CHALK. I thought ATE was cute, but much of the rest was WAGs and perps. I'd never heard of the "Texas Rangers" as a show. It must have predated my time in the USA.
I agree about DSL, I couldn't think of anything better for there, but wondered how it could be called "high speed". It's what I have, and it's adequate for my needs most of the time, but certainly not really fast.
Good morning everyone!
Phew! I had to check my calendar to make sure this is Tuesday. Like Barry G., I had a different meaning in my head for YAMMERED, so that one took nearly every perp to complete. In the SW, with _HOTON in place I took a WAG at the "P" to fill in SPANO. I thought I had dodged a Tuesday bullet, but was nearly mowed down again at the crossing of OAKIE and GNEISS. Another WAG at the "I" gave me the finish.
All that dodging and weaving made it fairly interesting for an early-week puzzle. But your write-up and links really jazzed it up a notch, Argyle! I love Satie's compositions, so it was interesting to read the info in the link. And the cat v. dog video was hilarious!! Bill G., here's a thought: get yourself a guard cat, and the dogs will never come near you again! ;-)
Have a great day, all!
A little crunchy today. WEES about SPANO, ROLEO. BEANO, OAKIE.
But I had BLACK BEAUTY (loved that book as a child!) and soon saw the theme.
I had LULLED before CALMED and that slowed things down. Smiled at ACHOO.
We had a FLASHMOB in 2010 with Chorus Niagara in a local mall. Video went viral.
FlashMob
Good Morning:
I guess I was half asleep when I did this puzzle as I missed the connection that both words could precede "Mark." I liked the puzzle itself, but there were definitely some non-Tuesday words.
In any case, thanks to Gail and Bruce and to Argyle for telling me what I missed seeing on my own.
Ferm, what did you think about The Blacklist? I found it contrived and boring so I changed the channel.
We are supposed to reach 70 today but then a big change to 40's by the weekend. Friday should be dry and not too cold for the ghouls and goblins.
Have a nice day.
Thank you Argyle and constructors.
Agreed HeartRX, the crossing of OAKIE and GNEISS was a challenge. Seems I ever-so-vaguely remember the movie. But not so much the name for layered rock. But that's okay. If a puzzle offers a learning moment, I find that to be a good thing.
Ditto Avg Joe's weather forecast and menu.
With the media doing its best to inspire panic concerning the African Ebola epidemic, today is an appropriate day to herald Dr. Jonas Salk.
When I was little, this was the scary one, and I was lucky (?)enough to be one of the test patients for the vaccine. I did get a new bic pen and a chocolate each time.
I foolishly did not mention, for those who do not click links, today is the 100th anniversary on Dr. Salk's birth.
This was a normal easy, breezy Tuesday puzzle IMO. We had ROLEO in several puzzles before and I have watched one on TV. MFR was a gimme, as was ODENSE and GNEISS (I learned it as an elementary science teacher.)
I have always called the connector from the airport gate to the plane a JETWAY. What do you call it?
Marti, I, too love Staie’s music.
As kids, when we whined, mom would say, “Stop your yammering.”
I visited the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagan. See the second and fourth pictuere.
Link picture
Here is Anderson’s fairy tale of the Little Mermaid.
Link fairy tale
In Copenhagan I also saw this statue of Anderson. The plans for the statue are interesting.
Link buried statue
Good morning everyone.
A little crunchy for a Tuesday. Agree with all the YAMMERing. Did not get the theme until the reveal, but liked the fill. Had ROLEO a while back; remembered it. GNEISS was a WAG per the clue. OAKIE and SPANO were unknowns but the perps delivered.
ON RED. Rights on red are verboten in NYC. Usually permitted Upstate unless signed otherwise, usually at a complex intersection. Left on red allowed from left lane of a one-way to a one-way crossing toward the left. Many drivers seem not to know that.
My cat happened to be on my lap while I watched the cat v dog video. She wasn't paying any attention at first, but once she did, she couldn't take here eyes off it. Not sure if she was rooting for the dogs or the cats, but she sure wanted to know what was happening. Then, as soon as it ended, she hopped down to the floor and left. "Thanks" was all she said.
I too thought this was a little tougher than a Tuesday puzzle, but didn't find it at all flat--many thanks, Gail and Bruce! Had trouble with TAXIED of all things (wanted LANDED, stupidly), but found clues like "Oft-blessed outburst" for ACHOO delightful. Also didn't know BEANO and a few other items, but perps did their job. So a good start to a busy Tuesday.
Have a good one, everybody!
Last minute sub call cost me a golf game today! I’m showing this lame video but the kids are quiet so…
Musings
-The LOW MARK for some kids is when the A-TEAM list is posted
-Can’t say BLESS YOU anymore, I guess
-INS – It’s not what you know...
-My daughter got a broken wrist with these BOPPERS
-Nebraska had an All American tackle that used to “tip off” opposing defensive lineman where the play was going and still block them 10 yards down the field
-This garbage SCOW is in for trouble ;-)
-My dad often said BLACK BEAUTY was the only book he ever read cover to cover
-Great info TTP!
-My LOW mark yesterday was spending 3 hours trying to get Joann’s iPad to connect to our Wi-Fi (including 1 hours with a nice young man in Atlanta). After all that, I simply unplugged and plugged the router back in and VOILA!
-Time to show the video to more kids!
IN my experience managers are not usually the owner but when there are they are usually called OWNER.
Greetings, Friends.
OwenKL:
I enjoy reading your limericks once again.
Fun grid from Gail and Bruce with THOU (shalt not) crossing HADES. I hope not.
Like Kazie and YR I recalled GNEISS from science classes. I know Fornell from NCIS but didn't know is name.
Thanks to Argyle, as well.
Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!
Not a manager, but a manufacturer MFR.
Hello everybody. Well, I sure didn't know Jack OAKIE and had forgotten BEANO and ENA, so I had to go to Google to finish that section. Come to think of it, I didn't know GINA Torres either, but at least the perps provided support and revealed her name. Didn't get the theme until the reveal. Nice new way to clue ITO. Lots of blackagement in the tropical zone of the grid today.
Speaking of rebooting a router, an engineer colleague of mine has concluded that almost all routers have bugs in their firmware that cause them to lock up sooner or later. He reboots his once a month whether it needs it or not.
We own a CAMRY and love it. The first time we ever saw that word we thought it was a really weird name. Was it created by a computer?
OwenKL, cool verses today.
Best wishes to you all.
Hi Y'all! Fine puzzle, Gail & Bruce! Great expo & links, Argyle!
I didn't like starting the puzzle with an iffy abbreviation or any abbrev. for that matter. MFG seemed to be the correct one, but NO.
BEANO is a game? Hand up for thinking flatulence reliever. What kind of game? Is it like drunk teenaged boys lighting "emissions" in the dark?
GNEISS shows up often in another word game I play. Didn't know what it meant. After seeing it here, I finally googled it and now am smarter about rocks. I thought it would be some kind of viney plant for some reason.
A friend's husband had polio as a child then had the late recurring problems walking the last few years. Salk is one of his heros although he was too late to help my friend. He managed to live a very productive life through sheer determination.
AvgJoe, your cat probably hopped down and went looking for those strange animals she thought were invading her home.
BillG: How are the bites today?
Argyle: Outstanding write-up & informative links.
Gail & Bruce: Thank you for a FUNTuesday puzzle ... that felt like a Wednesday. JMHO
Isn't MORASS what that "Kim girl" thinks is attractive?
Am I the only one who thought "Push-up targets, briefly" was going to be TITS?
Looking forward to tonight's World Series game.
I'll be rooting for the Royals ... but that is only because I want another game tomorrow night ...
Then it is Baseball Cold Turkey until Spring Training.
Cheers!
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Gail and Bruce, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Got through this pretty easily, except for the South Center. What saved me there was finally getting ON RED and BEANO and MODEST and ENA and MARK MY WORDS and MGM. That left me with an I and an S missing. I wagged them and it worked.
Theme was very good. Matching up the eight words with MARK was a good job.
PHOTON took a while. Thought SCRIBE was a good word.
MORASS and ODENSE right next to each other was interesting. Thank goodness for the horizontal perps.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(12274)
Thought the two clips about the cats and dogs and the movie The Texas Rangers were excellent. Enjoyed watching them.
Abejo
Thanks to the puzzle constructors for a very nice puzzle. Mucho thanks to Argyle for a sparkling commentary and the video of the Dogs and cats was fun, fun, fun.
I wonder if it is the steady stare of the cats that unnerves the dogs, irrespective of their relative, sizes. The gaze must have some sort of hypnotic effect on the canine brain. Or else the cats may be projecting some sort of aura of alpha dominant behavior that commands respect and fear.
Avg. Joe - your cat must have been absorbing and noting the information about the esoteric power that cats have over dogs - and storing the information for future use - in case the need ever arose.
There is a beautiful Google doodle, today, in the honor of Jonas Salk. Thanks to Lemonade for the informative link. I once had the honor and privilege of meeting him in 1984, entirely by chance, in La Jolla, CA. Despite the ease of administering the Sabin (live virus, oral - ) Polio vaccine, the Salk vaccine (killed virus, injection ) is by far, the most popular, overwhelming choice, for the last 25 years.
……I will fear no evil.
Spitz, they forgot to include the next line...
"Cause I'm the meanest sumbitch in the valley!?
Hi All!
It's only Tuesday? The x-word gods were smiling on me today; 5 WAGs all correct. Once in a row.
Gail and Bruce, thanks for the fun escape during the early AM(s) meetings. Argyle - the OAKIE link has the same production value as early Trek; I enjoyed it. The ROLEO clip was funny too (small band-aid :-))
Owen - now I double-hope Bill G. has thick skin. Funny prose today. How's the bite Bill?
IM - DW likes Blacklist, I'd rather, if I had to, watch Person of Interest. My $0.02.
Ave. Joe - recipe? I have my ham-bone-bean-soup concoction, but suggestions are welcome.
Youngest's ankle isn't broken so I lose "worst dad of the year" one year running...
Oh, the puzzle... Off the bat, at 1d I had a Freudian - FLASH MOM. I finally fixed it with BLACK BEAUTY.*
Cheers, -T
*sorry that's the best I got; tip the waitstaff. No time to repair - I've gotta get back to work. C, -T
PK, everything is fine so far as I can tell. No pain or sign of further problems. Fingers crossed.
Owen, thanks? for the poem. I'm glad my wife doesn't read the blog. :>)
AnonT, it's a very basic recipe. Soaked navy beans, diced onions, carrots and ham to your preference and a can of tomato sauce cooked in a crock pot for 8-10 hours. Possible additions are brown sugar and/or molasses. I like the navy beans due to texture and a little sweeter taste, and the tomato sauce adds some flavor and a decent amount of color. Today I didn't have any bone in ham, but I did have 3 cups~ of frozen "ham liquor" saved from a previously baked whole ham that I added to compensate. Nothing says "Winter's coming!" better than Ham N' Bean soup....especially the smell all day as it cooks.
Ave Joe - You're further north, but yeah, cold == soup. I have the same base (++celery), but never thought of adding tomato to it even though I'm Italian. Go figure.
Bill G. Your DW should take nothing from Owen's whimsical prose to worry. Though. it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye :-)
Serious question -- Does one pronounce GNEISS as ness (think loch) or
G-Nice?
Back to the MORASS, um, work. C, -T
As I recall, Texas Rangers was a typical western, but the theme song still sticks in my mind, a tune like "I've been workin' on the railroad": "ThESE are tales of Texas RANGers..."
Speaking of songs, I knew GNEISS from an old filk song "It's Not Gneiss" sung by Juanita Coulson. I found only this one verse of it after much searching:
"Coal is Medieval, it's black and primeval,
Diamonds are colder than ice.
Granite's a bedrock, a stone for the dead rock,
It's... not... gneiss!"
C.Moe: I forgot to thank you for that great limerick you wrote for me a couple days ago. I'll be sharing it with the doc tomorrow afternoon.
AYYY! I WAGged it! (Kinda like getting the jukebox to work by hitting it...)
Except, in reading the posts, someone mentioned Beano. I am looking at my inky mess of a puzzle & I chickenscratched 56A so lightly I can't tell if I started it with an I or An E?
(Man, this puzzle is giving me gas...)
Argyle, I can't comment on the cat/dog video... (I am biased...) But the Texas Ranger clip was riveting! & was that Fred Macmurray as Jim Hawkins? (1936? Wow, way before my time...)
I saw a license today that read GNEISS.
The Texas Rangers was also a TV series so that probably had a theme song. I'll look.
Greetings!
Swell puzzle, Gail and Bruce! Swell expo, Argyle!
No problems. SPANO and PHOTON were gimmes.
Blacklist yucky last night.
Anyone like Scorpion?
Cheers!
GNEISS sounds like nice, according to my talking dictionary.
I found this in the meantime. How many do you remember?
Link
Knotty or gneiss, there's fertile ground for punnishment in a future puzzle. Constructors take note. Gneiss to meet you. Quite ironic that you'd see that tag today, Argyle.
AnonT, I've never seen tomato sauce in a recipe for hamNbean, but I like it. Just don't overdo it. It's more for color than taste. I use 8 oz in a 6 qt crockpot. 16 oz would prolly be Ok, but no more. Celery is good too, but I didn't have any today.
A-yup, that was Fred as Jim Hawkins.
AnonT, re. gneiss, I think it's halfway in between your two thoughts. It's pronounced like NICE.
I was down at the pier getting ready to start a short ride along the scenic shoreline when the father of a small family in a close-by car asked if there were a change machine nearby for him to get money for the parking meter. I said no but that the new meters would take credit cards. He said he didn't have his wallet. So I used my credit card to give him a couple of hours of beach time. It was a very cheap way to get a good feeling.
I LOVE bean soup. The US Senate cafeteria has it every day. My father took me there once.
Bill G. - The Vermont Country Store offers a bean soup which is supposed to be quite close in taste to that which is served in the Senate. I've had it and it was very good. Although, nothing beats homemade, does it? I'm making French Onion Soup tomorrow and will freeze individual portions for those cold winter nights that are just around the corner!
Argyle, you forgot one...
Also, what happens if you don't mark your words...
#1
#2
& #3, Look what you Anons are not getting credit for...
I remember MYST. It was a really challenging puzzle-type computer game for a Mac. Do they still make games like that? Another arcade-type game for the Mac I really enjoyed was Crystal Quest. Is it still available?
CED - Thanks for the F-Troop link. Brings back the days I was home sick watching it at noon-thirty on the St. Louis station. It was on right after Get Smart.
Ave Joe - Got it. Tomato sauce for colour and a slight zing. MIL is bringing a ham for Thanksgiving so I know what Sunday's dinner is :-)
Wow - I went down for a MODEST 90 minute power nap and slept for 7 hours! Too bad I have a meeting in 4 hours.
For you TBBT fans, Jim Parson's Houston roots and love for basketball (about 13 short paragraphs in). Cheers, -T
The bit.ly link spelled out for Mr. Parsons... link. C, -T
In case you didn't get enough - Parsons on CBC(?). C, -T
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