17A. Bird between the partridge and French hen : TURTLE DOVE. "Between" in the context of the "12 Days of Christmas" carol.
29A. Species of falcon also called an American kestrel : SPARROWHAWK. Not a good thing to look up and see (if you're a sparrow):
47A. Epic novel symbolized by the ends of 17- and 29-Across : WAR AND PEACE. Interestingly, the author hesitated to call the work "a novel". He describes Anna Karenina as his "first true novel".
64A. Author of 47-Across : LEO TOLSTOY The man himself in 1906:
Hi everyone! Steve here with today's Wednesday offering. I have to confess I'm a little confused about this theme - I checked to see if there is some anniversary related to either the publication of the book or Tolstoy's lifeline, but drew a blank on both.
It bothers me that DOVE and HAWK are in the wrong sequence in the grid when considering WAR and PEACE, and it also bothers me that neither bird-endings are symbols for war nor peace, rather for warmongers and peacemakers. It just all seems a little contrived, but I'd love to hear other opinions.
Perhaps I'm being Mr. Grumpy today; there was some fun stuff in the grid, so let's move on.
Across:
1. Snoop's former "surname" : DOGG. Why the quotation marks - am I missing some subtlety in the cluing?
5. Sinatra's "The Lady Is a __" : TRAMP. Sinatra is just one of many artists who recorded this standard. I much prefer the recent duet from Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.
10. Fine : OKAY
14. Polynesian capital : APIA. Formerly capital of German Samoa, there is still a proud German heritage in the region today.
15. __ roll : HONOR
16. Hard-to-explain feeling : VIBE
19. Exile isle : ELBA. Napoleon's first exile following the war with Russia during 1812-1813, which forms a large part of the narrative in the second half of "War and Peace".
20. In dreamland : ASLEEP
21. Smashes to smithereens : DESTROYS
23. Pique condition? : SNIT
25. Univ. aides : T.A.s I thought it stood for "Teacher's Aide" but it must be "Teacher's Assistant"
26. Jamaican music : SKA
35. Boot parts : TOES
37. __-Ball: arcade game : SKEE
38. "I'm not kidding!" : NO LIE
39. Dreads sporter : RASTA, and a proponent of SKA music.
41. What's always in poetry? : E'ER
42. "__ So Vain": Carly Simon hit : YOU'RE. Was the subject of the song Mick Jagger? (No). Warren Beatty? (No, but he was vain enough to claim that it was, so that's rather fun). Apparently it was David Geffen, but Ms. Simon continues to refuse to confirm or deny any speculation.
43. Sci-fi regular : ALIEN
44. Optic layer : UVEA
46. Feds under Ness : T-MEN
50. Future 32-Down: Abbr. : SRS. Seniors become alumni or alumnae, I assume they actually have to graduate first.
51. "Go for the Goal" author Hamm : MIA. US Women's National Soccer Team legend who retired in 2004. She married All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, consequently their three kids have more sporting genes in their DNA than most small towns.
52. Sales rep's tool : DEMO
54. Gym gear : BARBELLS
59. Musical ineptitude : TIN EAR. Ah, so that's why the cat hides when I play my guitars!
63. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit : ADIA. I thought I'd never heard this track before, so I trotted off to YouTube to check that there was no punctuation in the spelling and to listen to it and ... "Oh! It's that song!" I'd always thought it was "Eddie, I do believe I've failed you; Eddie, I know I've let you down ..". Funny how it can be one of your favorite songs and you have no idea what it's called.
66. Witty remark : JEST
67. Pasty : ASHEN
68. Italian volcano : ETNA. This seems to "erupt" in PuzzleWorld at least once a week. It's a darn handy letter combo though.
69. Egyptian symbol of life : ANKH
70. Garden path piece : STONE
71. After-school mall frequenter : TEEN
Down:
1. Crunched stuff : DATA
2. Magnum __ : OPUS. How about a magnum of Opus One from Napa? The 1997 vintage is priced at around $800 if you can find one. Just a tad outside my price range.
3. Lass : GIRL
4. "Pirates of Silicon Valley" figure : GATES. Microsoft's Bill, as portrayed by Anthony Michael Hall.
5. Knight crew? : THE PIPS. It took a moment for this penny to drop, but finally it did.
6. Bit of fishing tackle : ROD
7. Give __ to: okay : A NOD
8. Relocate : MOVE
9. Magic word : PRESTO
10. Miss, as an intended target : OVERSHOOT
11. Roughly 2.2 pounds, briefly : KILO. We were taught that "two and a quarter pounds of jam weighs about a kilogram" when we were transitioning to the metric system in the UK in the early 70's. We also learned that "A litre of water's a pint and three-quarters". That wouldn't work in the USA, where a pint is 16oz, not 20 (and a litre is a liter, just to add to the confusion)
12. First name in advice : ABBY
13. Votes for : YEAS. "Votes" in the noun form. Neat clue.
18. Eyepiece piece : LENS
22. Lion-colored : TAWNY. Uh-oh ... I think I'll get my coat and make a dash for it
24. Start, as a new hobby : TAKE UP
26. Camel's undoing : STRAW
27. Tree-dwelling marsupial : KOALA
28. Pantheon led by Odin : AESIR. Fellow Pantheon-chums were Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Týr, all good crossword-fodder!
30. Superman player : REEVE
31. Enjoy again, as a cherished book : RE-READ
32. Ones who no longer have class? : ALUMS
33. Cable installer, at times : WIRER
34. Wails : KEENS
36. Post-workout relaxation spot : STEAM BATH. Nit alert. I had STEAM ROOM first, and gradually changed it to BATH as the crosses proved me wrong. However - the "spot" bothers me - I'd take a steam bath in a steam room.
40. Musical set in an orphanage : ANNIE
45. Salon solvent : ACETONE
48. Texas city that spans five counties : DALLAS
49. Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL. He won the award for Best Actor in 1929, the first to do so. I can't quite remember what he wore on the red carpet. He was a native of Rorschach in Austria, famous for the ink-blot factory and exclusive supplier of suggestive images to psychoanalysts everywhere. (I might need to fact-check that last bit).
53. Start : ONSET
54. __ California : BAJA. My neighbor to the south. When I first moved to LA and visited San Diego, I couldn't understand why there were so many cars and trucks with Canadian license plates, until I realized that "BC" probably didn't stand for "British Columbia". Oh.
55. Yemen port city : ADEN
56. Put on the line : RISK
57. For fear that : LEST
58. Artsy Manhattan district : SOHO
60. Cigar butt? : -ETTE
61. Primo : A-ONE
62. Meg of "Sleepless in Seattle" : RYAN
65. Down-for-the-count count : TEN. One of the most famous sports photographs of all time, through the lens of someone I really admire, SI's Neil Leifer:
... 8-9-10 ding! And I'm out!
Steve
67 comments:
Morning, all!
Very straightforward solve today. I think my only write over was STEAMROOM for STEAMBATH. Everything else was smoooooth. Well, I did hesitate a bit at WIRER, even though I figured that was what it was going to be from looking at the clue. I just didn't like it, is all. I suppose things like ADIA and AESIR made it a Wednesday-level puzzle, but I've seen those enough times now that they no longer trip me up.
Wow a new puzzle from Jerome and a grump fest from Steve.
The " marks for surname I believe are because Dogg was not a real surname, and Steam Rooms are located at places called Steam baths. LINK.
I enjoyed seeing SKA and SKEE near each other, and wonder how many have read all of War and Peace
Good morning!
This one felt like a Monday. My only break was seeing THEPI_S for "Knight crew" and couldn't guess that second "p." SPARROW HAWK solved that problem. I'd immediately inked in STEAM BATH, so I didn't have that ROOM issue. Well done, Jerome. Cheer up, Steve.
Spent yesterday afternoon assembling raised flower beds over at the elementary school. The materials arrived earlier than expected, and they sent out a call for volunteers to help. Only two of us showed up. Good thing I took tools with me; they had absolutely nothing. I'm trying to decide whether to go back and help finish up today. I was really pooped when we knocked off late yesterday.
4/4...
I think TA most commonly refers to Teaching Assistant (at least at US universities).
Not sure I understand how Butt leads to Ette. Is it referring to Abutting as in Beside?
Vince, if you put a "butt" onto CIGAR you get cigarETTE.
Good morning everyone!
My biggest problem with the puzzle was trying to fit Dostoyevsky where LEO TOLSTOY belonged. Bzzt!
I also wondered if there were any anniversary particular to the theme, but figured I'd be lazy and just have you tell me, Steve. (Big help you were...)
We weigh our shipments to Europe in kgs, so I knew what was wanted. But I had to think for a second to come up with the "short" name of KILO. That's also the term used widely for drug busts. As in, "A 400-KILO Drug Bust at Paris Hilton's FamilyRanch."
Thanks for a fun Hump Day, Jerome!
Interesting connection in the NYT puzzle today. Spoiler alert: if you haven't done the NYT yet, do not read on.
>
>
>
One of the entries is Brian ENO, whose personal reading list of "20 Essential Books for Sustaining Civilization" includes...(you guessed it: "War and Peace"!!)
I got all of this one with few snags. However, I had MOANS at first for KEENS, which appeared through the perps. I didn't ever go back and look at the result until seeing it in the blog. I've never heard that term.
On checking out the Lady is a Tramp link, I was somewhat dismayed (read really pissed) to see it preceded by the Fox ad against Mary Burke, and I couldn't skip it. We've been plagued by it on local TV for the last month, and I'll be sooo glad when Nov. 4th is over with. Nuff said.
A nice smooth Wednesday with only a few slow downs. APIA was easy but ADIA was unknown, and I listened to the song and I know why it was an unknown- I had never heard it before. I know four Magnums but P.I. and FORCE didn't fit, so it had to be OPUS. But isn't the nickname for the .44 Magnum 'The Peacemaker'?
SKA and RASTA in the same puzzle; where is GANJA?
I also had STEAM ROOM; a STEAM BATH is something given to sterilize things, not people. Like my new Maytag STEAM dryer gets the clothes wet after they were dried from being previously wet; my wife wanted it but I think it a gimmick.
I found it strange that the answer to 10A was in the 7D clue- OKAY
I guess the constructor included Ft. Worth as part of DALLAS. The cowboys over there will disagree with anybody on that.
34D-KEENS was all perps. I don't get it. Do WAIL and KEEN have definitions that are the same?
My favorite clue was 5D- 'Knight crew' THE PIPS.
A pretty straightforward solve. Numerous nits, but all have been covered.
As always, enjoyed your write up Steve. Especially the picture of the Kestrel. They are an absolutely beautiful bird. They're quite small, but when you see them perched, in profile, their head has a strong resemblance to a parrot. I see a few a year out here on the prairie, and am always pleased when I do.
d-o@7:24: I think "butt" is (humorously) referring to the end of the word "cigar". So you're not putting a "butt" on "cigar", you're putting "ETTE" on the butt of "cigar".
Fun puzzle today, I did make it through "War and Peace" in high school, but the only way to keep everyone straight was the character tree in the front of the book to remember who was who with all the long Russian names.
Lots of erasing today, with PLEASE instead of PRESTO for magic word, TAKE ON instead of TAKEUP and wees about "steamroom" instead of "steambath". Fortunately, perps straightened everything out.
Favorite clue: Camel's undoing -STRAW
Great puzzle today, even though there were a new nits, as covered by Steve already. Steve, you manage to be funny even while complaining; not a small feat!
My favorite clue was "lion-colored". No other word says it like TAWNY.
Hand up for STEAM ROOM.
I was trying to think of a team name for Knight crew, since Bobby Knight coached something or other. (a tidbit i picked up from catching glimpses while my DH watched sports on TV)
Hope to see some of SOHO while we are in NYC after our son's wedding in a week and a half!
Qli@9:22: I'm not sure what there is to see in SOHO (except rampant pretension) but if you're in that neck o' the woods you should check out The High Line.
PS I saw a SPARROW HAWK hovering over a field this summer. What an amazing sight!
Thanks for the High Line tip, LR. Sounds interesting. Wonder if everything will have frostbite by the time we get there?
Aargh !
The crossword was easy but the cluing was MEH, Meh, meh. IMHO.
I frankly expected more from the supposedly, famed Jerome G. Some puns, but a lot of misinformation and generally poor hints left me feeling glum. I fully agree with you Steve.
Very nice blog Steve. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Your humor is charming.
Thanks Lime Rickey for Teaching Assistant. I was one, a long time ago. It fully paid for my tuition and gave me more than a decent amount of spending money besides. So I could concentrate on my graduate studies. That was the ONLY job I was allowed to take, per US immigration rules. Plus it was ( gasp! ) all tax free. I still venerate the memory of that Professor who got me that plum. I've paid it back, more than a hundred times over, in my pledges to that university. God bless graduate education in the USA.
Witty blogging, Steve. Great picture of the SPARROW HAWK. No problem with STEAM BATH. I already had the -TH.
I never could get into WAR AND PEACE, not even a full chapter. It was not required reading.
However, I am REREADing many of the classics that I read years ago. It is so interesting to see the angles maturity can add. This week I reread The Winter of Our Discontent and really appreciated it.
Loud and continuous KEENing was (is?) part of the funeral ritual in various countries,such as in the old fashioned Irish wake, the funerals of many African tribes, etc. I have come across this practice in many novels.
KEEN is also used, especially poetically, in describing the wailing wind or the keening of the gulls.
Thanks to those who cleared up my missing expos for -ETTE and KEEN. I guess as an ex-smoker I didn't give the former a second thought.
The latter, however, did make me think when I read the comments. It's a word that is in my vocabulary, but on reflection I've only seen it used in the context of a pet trying to get into a place from which it's been excluded, as in "Fido was keening at the door". My visual is the dog trying to shove its nose underneath and making that high-pitched noise that isn't really a whimper and isn't really a whine. @YR - thanks for the insight for the other usages.
@Lemony - I don't think "Snoop" was his real first name either, that's why the quotes seem redundant.
Anyone feel like 50A should have had some indication that it was plural?
Thank you Jerome and Steve.
I too was scratching my head over KEENS. Then the last post in the blog by Yellowrocks above me explained it nicely.
Knight's crew is a superb clue.
50A refers to 32D which is plural, so they should match.
Good Morning:
I thought this was a pretty straight forward offering, no real glitches. Liked camel's undoing=straw. Only write-over was acetate/acetone. Thanks, Jerome, for a mid-week romp and thanks to Steve for the detailed expo.
YR, how is Alan doing? Also, PK, how are your brothers?
Have a great day.
Interesting solve today with some nits. Agree with Steve about the order of DOVE/HAWK not matching WAR/PEACE but I didn't have a problem with the symbolism.
Nice to see Canadian singer Sarah MacLachlan. I believe she lost out on a Grammy for ADIA to Celine Dion. How could you compete against the Titanic theme song!
Favourite clue today: KNIGHT CREW?=PIPS
Irish Miss: Thanks for the cookies yesterday but if I eat them all I will never get into my dress for my daughter's wedding!
Speaking of WAR AND PEACE, we have breaking news about shooting of soldier at War Memorial in Ottawa and shots fired in Parliament Buildings. Terrorist alert was upgraded yesterday after two soldiers were run down by vehicle in Quebec, killing one of them. Distressing news!
Musings
-It is not unusual to see some middle school brainiacs carrying a large tome like War and Peace around with them.
-It’s almost Halloween so 12 Days of Christmas is already in vogue
-Smart is the spouse who picks up a partner’s VIBE
-Big time “publish or perish” profs have many TA’s
-My friend got caught under 300 lb on his BARBELLS doing a bench press and his 9 year old daughter had to drag one plate off so he could flip it off himself
-Our small town mall had to hire a security guard because of TEENS being nuisances on the weekends
-Can’t find a job in your town? MOVE!
-OVERSHOOT Wheel
-Joann first tried ACETONE to get spilled fingernail polish off our carpet, but as I have said before, Windex did the job
-My best friend from high school (50 year ALUM) lives in a villa in BAJA California with a woman ½ his (our) age
-Gotta go teach the Rock Cycle – read y’all later
-In what musical does a salesman carried his own anvils for DEMOS?
Carly Simon revealed the subject of her song in an auction. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/carlys-secret-to-highest-bidder/
LR -- I thought that's what I said. Apparently what you heard is not what I meant.
Husker -- that's The Music Man. And are you ashamed of or jealous of your old classmate in Baja?
Delightful and elegant puzzle, Jerome--many thanks! I loved the theme, and once I got DOVE, HAWK, and PEACE, I figured it all out. When I was assigned a World Literature class early in my teaching career, I decided to start with WAR AND PEACE. Big mistake--a quarter of the class dropped out before we finished discussing it. But I still think it's a magnificent novel.
Many clues to love in this puzzle, but AESIR and ADIA were unknowns to me. Always good to learn something new.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Musings
-Otto that is merely DATA about my best friend Jay who is the only person I know living in BAJA. After two bad marriages, he has found happiness with the lovely and gracious Anna after making a gazillion dollars designing and making his own MRI equipment. After his first two marriages failed, he told me, “Gary, I’m just gonna walk down the street, find a woman who hates me and buy her a house. It’s just quicker”.
-I could not be happier about how my life turned out and that I got to spend over four decades doing what I love in a part of the world where I feel the most at home. I am very happy Jay has found what he was seeking.
-…and right you are about Charlie Cowell in Music Man
CARLY REVEAL which did not reveal anything, but as she says, at this point her only claim to fame is people speculating about the Vain one.
Hang on Carly, you are probably right, nobody really cares any more.
Steve: Nice write-up & funny remarks.
Jerome: Thank you for a FUN (and clever) Wednesday offering.
Misty, I had the same unknowns solved by ESP.
Fave was that STRAW that was the Camel's undoing.
I have "Musical ineptitude" (the only instrument I play is the Radio) so I guess I have a TINEAR ... actually I have two of them.
BTW, when I think of "Primo" ... I always think of my favorite Jamaican product ...
Smoke'em if you got'em ... lol
Cheers!
Good day, friends! My, my, some people are just hard to please. I found this a clever OPUS from Jerome.
I laughed at pique condition, snit; Knight crew, THE PIPS; and cigar butt, ETTE. Well done, Jerome, thank you.
I tried reading WAR AND PEACE but it's the only book I ever gave up on. The names were just too challenging. Even The Fatal Shore I pick up once in a while and read a few pages; it's long but ultimately interesting about the establishment of Australia.
HAWKS are impressive to watch as they soar aloft with their wide wing spread though most here are likely chicken hawks.
Steve and others, if you want to learn Jerome's true humor, go back a few years on the Blog and read his banter. I really miss that.
Have a really enjoyable Wednesday, everyone!
Tin, it is most appropriate that you have a TIN EAR.
Hola Everyone, At first glance, I didn't think much was forthcoming in the way of answers. I skipped around with across and down answers. I had Grads in for Alums, but that was changed as the across answers kept proving that wrong. I did finish the whole puzzle on my own.
Jerome, thanks for the puzzle and Steve for the write up.
War and Peace has been one book that I have not read. However, the English teacher at our school in Colombia read the book on our long bus ride to and from school each day. It took her the better part of the school year to get through it. Our bus ride was well over an hour each way, so she did have time to get into the book each day.
Desper-otto, Thanks to volunteers like you and your other helper we elementary teachers can do those things over and above the regular classroom work. School gardens have been a big part of the K-1 curriculum in our district, but teachers don't always have the expertise to put together the foundations for the beds. A big hand to you.
Have a great day, everyone. Off to meetings today.
Can't believe I managed to puzzle this one out. I had Gnome before stone at 70a, garden path piece, & please b/4 presto at 9d magic word. Last to fall was a total WAG of a "P" in Apia. (Come to think of it, the P in opus was a total WAG also...)
Leo Tolstoy
A sign?
Steve (re; tin ear.) I think it may be the method of attack that makes a cat hate guitar. My cat used to sit & howl by the front door to go out whenever I played my guitar, & yet would sit on the carpet behind me & purr when I played piano. Felt covered hammers striking strings seems to soothe them as opposed to picks or fingernails.
Bill G. I stared at Yesterday's self-referential question: “How many letters has the answer to this question?” & I stared at the all the answers without comprehension. (Much like the "P" in todays puzzle) It was not until I saw an explanation in Yahoo Answers that was 6 levels down from the best answer that it finally began to reveal itself. The correct answer is "four" because the correct answer is a number, & that number is zero, or none. (both of which have 4 letters.)
KEEN = WAIL
has a long history here, first in 2009 when Hahtoolah quoted Irish funeral practice, then in 2011 when C.C. brought me down for not remembering.
I swear one day I will do what JD does and keep a record of new words alphabetically by writing them in a notebook.
Lemonade:
Inspired by JD I started keeping a crossword dictionary and just the act of writing it is helpful in remembering obscure fill; then, of course, it's a handy reference to look for those unknowns.
I didn't notice any of Steve's concerns while I was doing the puzzle but maybe that means he is more perceptive than I am.
CED, re. the self-referential question, I thought the answer was FOUR because it (the answer) has four letters. (The answer has to have the same number of letters as itself.) Another answer could be 'Eleven maybe' because it has eleven letters. Or, 'I think twelve' because it (the answer) has twelve letters. Or maybe I don't understand it as well as I thought I did.
Here is a very enjoyable and creative advertisement. Clever ad
CED and BillG - the answer is 23. At least that's the letter count I get for "THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION"....
River Doc, yes but that's the question, not the answer to the question which comes after the question mark. After the question is the answer FOUR which has four letters.
Bill, that was a feeble attempt at humor, not a serious response....
Here is my potted Lexicon of (common-ish) English words derived from Irish Gaelic. Note origin of keen, which prompted me to investigate further. Please advise if you know more.
Banshee = a female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death (from bainsídhe = female fairy).
Bog = wetland (from bogach = marsh/peatland)
Brogues = a type of shoe (from bróg = shoe, originally worn by Irish peasants)
Brogue = A strong regional accent, especially an Irish or Scots one. Perhaps with reference to the (peasant) footwear – see above)
Colleen = (Irish) girl (from cailín = young woman)
Craic* = for fun/enjoyment. The word is actually English in origin = Irish spelling of crack.
Fenian = a member of a 19th-century Irish nationalist group (from Fianna = warrior); hence the modern political party Fianna Fáil (= (Legendary) Irish Warriors). Sinn Féin seems to have an unrelated origin = “we ourselves”.
Galore = lots and lots, as in Whiskey Galore (from go leor = ‘til plenty)
Gob = mouth , as in Brit. “gobstopper” = U.S. “jawbreaker”, which we had the other day (via French, but of Gaelic origin).
Hooligan = partaker of rowdy behavior/vandalism (from a fictional Irish family (Ó huallacháin) in a 19th century music-hall song.
Keening* = lament, to wail mournfully (from caoinim = “I wail”). Note that KEEN is probably an erroneous back-form of keening, (mis)interpreted as a present participle, So Steve’s quote (using keening) may be closer to the original
Limerick = Chairman Moes’ specialty (=Town and county in Ireland)
Lough = Irish spelling of Scots Loch (=Lake or sea inlet).
Poteen = bootleg alcohol (from póitín = pot)
Shamrock = a clover, used as a symbol for Ireland (from seamróg)
Shillelagh = a wooden club or cudgel (from sailéala = club
Slew = in the sense of “a great amount” (from sluagh)
Slob = lazy/dirty person (from slab = mud)
Slogan = phrase used in advertising, etc. (from sluagh-ghairm = battle-cry; also Scots)
Smithereens = (blown into) small fragments (from smidrín, but precise origin disputed).
Tory = (1) U.S. A colonist who supported the British; (2) U.K. Member of the Conservative party (from toraidhe = outlaw, highwayman)
Whiskey = Irish variety, not Scots whisky (from uisce beatha = water of life)
Here are a few other more specialized/rare words with Irish roots. Also, Newfoundlanders used to speak an older dialect of Irish Gaelic which may have made inroads into North American parlance. Please advise
Corrie = a cirque or mountain lake,of glacial origin (from Irish or Scots Gaelic coire = Cauldron, hollow)
Drumlin = a small rounded hill of glacial formation, often seen in series. (Dimunitive of druim = ridge)
Dulse = red edible seaweed (from Old Irish duilesc).
Esker = an elongated mound of post-glacial gravel, usually along a river valley (from eiscir).
Shebeen = unlicensed house selling alcohol (from síbín = mugful).
Sidhe = the fairy folk of Ireland (from sídhe = people of the fairy mound). Banshee shares same etymology.
Steve, thanks for pointing out the many nits in this offering. As soon as I finished this one I thought to myself, 'well this is backwards'. Doves and Hawks. Rich should have requested the grid to be reworked. Also STEAMBATH was awkward as clued. I know there are steambaths like lemony linked but with the clue 'post-workout relaxation spot', it put me in the mind of the YMCA or fitness club which have steamROOMS. You don't go to the steambaths lemony referred to for a workout or exercise session.
I see that Gareth Bain had even a bigger nit with the SPARROWHAWK cluing, calling it 'just poor on many counts'. He likened it to cluing KOALA with a 'bear' reference. Ouch.
I see Jerome was able to sneak in an appropriate acronym for this puzzle at 32a. NITS
Tidbit and trivia - you know that Tolstoy used to write in the village square. The faces inspired him.
Obvious Link
Nice CSO to my buddy, Windhover. I hope he sees this today.
Bill G, drat! I got called away before I could post again, I wanted to follow up with:
If you asked the question to an Englishman, & he answered "nil' or "zed," would you accept his 2nd answer of "three?"
It went right over my head that it was a two step process, & you had to arrive at an answer (zero or none) before you could answer the question...
Also, your encounter at BYOP & the Anon response yesterday had me similarly flummoxed. Not knowing what BYOP was I did some WAGs & came up with Build your own Pizza. I perused the menu, saw that a 10" pizza with 3+ toppings = $8.99. The only extra charges listed were extra meat = $1.00, lobster/shrimp/extra sauce = $1.00, or dressing 0.75.
Nowhere is there a charge listed for extra cheese?
Also, the way it is written (3plus topping = $8.99) I would have ordered all the cheeses, & all the toppings except meats for $8.99!
So,,, I would hardly expect to be treated like a Dickens character for simply asking, "please sir, may I have some more?"
Couldn't help but think of the crazy beautiful TAWNY when I solved 22d. Sorta looks like a lion in that picture.
Bird of Peace: Dove
Bird of War: Hawk?
Bird of Wisdom: Owl
Bird of Love: Swallow
Greetings!
Jerome and Steve: always enjoy your work. Thanks so much!
No problems!
Cheers!
CED - the answer can't be "zero" - but the answer CAN be "0"
River Doc, sorry I misunderstood. That happens a lot with me...
The Build You Own Pizza store charges you one price for a couple of toppings and another price for 3+ as you found out. So if you pay the higher price, you can pretty much put whatever you want on your pizza (within reason). In the past I've paid for the maximum number of toppings (maybe six or seven) and asked for an extra sprinkle of mozzarella on top at the end. No problem. For some reason, this time it was going to cost extra. I can afford the small extra charge OK but my point was, why annoy a loyal customer spending money at your place of business over an extra five cents worth of cheese? Customer loyalty and reputation seems like they're more important than almost anything else to a small business.
CED, I feel like we're beating this to death but I don't agree with your two-step analysis. How many letters are in the word right after this question mark? FOUR. That makes sense to me; zero doesn't. I think the answer to the original question must contain the same number of letters as the number it represents. That's why it's self-referential. If I still seem confused, let's write it off as a bad puzzle and I'll try to do better next time. Enuf from me.
Hello Puzzlers -
Wasn't able to post yesterday, so belated congrats to C.C. and Steve for an enjoyable puzzle. I smiled right out loud at the theme. C.C. I sympathize with your story about childhood, a time during which I failed often to appreciate the sacrifices made by my mom in particular.
Today's solve went smoothly. By chance I learned from a colleague of Irish heritage about banshees and keening, via a thick book on Irish tradition she kept at her desk.
Cuppa - my recently departed neighbor was proud of his own Irish roots to the extent that he made a years-long study of the language, among other things; when the time came to build on his land a pavilion just for his Boy Scout troop, he named the place Drumlin Hall after the terrain on which it stands.
War and Peace? No thanks, while I respect world class literature I just don't have the energy for that one.
At the spas where I've been the STEAMBATH can precede or follow the cold bath. It's always called the STEAMBATH.
Lucina, what type of workout do you partake in there at your spa...
Bill G, I agree the horse is dead. But I refuse to leave the carcass until my curiosity is satisfied. (I'm like Schrodingers cat that way...)
Just where in the question does it give you the slightest clue that the answer is a number that describes its contained letters?
“How many letters has the answer to this question?"
I still think the answer is "THERE IS NO ANSWER" which makes the letter count 15...
Can somebody please explain to me how the number of letters in the word four has anything to do with the original question?
Schrödinger's cat walked into a bar.
And it didn't.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Jerome Gunderson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, format fine review.
Could not get started in the NW, so I went to the top center. TRAMP was easy, as was THE PIPS and PRESTO.
Liked the theme (once I figured it out). Never read the book, but who knows, I may some day.
KEENS was tough. SPARROW HAWK gave it to me.
I thought about TAWNY, but held off until I had a few letters. Then wrote it in. Trying to avoid big inkblots like I had on yesterday's puzzle (which I reported in on this morning).
Not a big STEAM BATH proponent.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(622)
CEDave, the answer is "less than twenty." No, wait, the answer is "more than four." No wait, the answer is "absolutely eighteen."
Snoop goes by Snoop Lion now.
HI All!
Fun offering from Jerome. I don't have the same nits as Steve, but then he's A-ONE smart and I'm not. I enjoyed the imagery.
WEES: SKA & RASTA & SKEE; WO w/ PlEase, but TAS filled and PRESTO Change-O.
Alas, the BAJA area was my undoing at 55d xing 63a. I guessed "R" - why not ArIA? DNF.
Fav c/a 5d, 26d & 60d.
KEENS? Yeah, I got a pair in Asheville, NC when everyone wanted to hike and I only had flip-flops.
CED - Isle gag == LOL!
Bill G. Is that Garrison Keillor's voice in the CRV ad?
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The bartender says, "We don't serve your kind here."
A muon walks into a bar.
Cheers, -T
Good Good, he's still talking about the extra cheese!
OKAY - so you want him to cut-the-cheese (talk)?
Boo L. Thanks for the update on Snoop. I did not know that.
C, -T
Thanks for stopping by Jerome.
AnonT, I hadn't noticed the voice in the CRV ad because I was too fascinated by the images. I went back and listened again and I'm sure you are right. He's got a very distinctive voice.
Hi all
Dnf today. It was a good run, but the S in 39 a for Rasta got me. I left it blank. Didn't even look back on it until I read it here.
I don't listen to 1a kind of music or that genre, but knew the name. Then after reading other posts on here I looked up his name. Aha I found out that's why Dogg is a former name. 4 names in his career. Bon matin from Cajun Country !!
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