Theme: Feet - Various types of kicks (that you make with your feet).
16A. *Mark of a hothead : QUICK TEMPER. Quick kick - Surprise punt.
38A. *"This space available," in a Pennysaver box : PLACE YOUR AD HERE. Place kick - Placing the ball on the ground at a particular spot and usually kicked for points.
10D. *Relaxed : FREE AND EASY. Free kick - Restart play without any defensive pressure.
24D. *A football referee may throw one : PENALTY FLAG. Penalty kick - One on one, kicker versus goalie.
57A. Foot-operated mechanism on a motorcycle, and what the first word in each answer to a starred clue can be : KICK STARTER. I haven't seen anyone kick start a Harley in sometime. (From C.C.: My original clue is "Giant in crowdfunding, and what the first word in each starred answer is")
Rabbit Rabbit Argyle here. C.C. getting her kicks. (I hope she's feeling better) Grid span surrounded by long theme answers. Some unexpected difficulties.
Across:
1. Greenhouse growth : PLANT
6. Condescending one : SNOB
10. Take wing : FLY
13. Andrea __: sunken ocean liner : DORIA
14. "So I was wrong!" : "SUE ME!"
15. Actor Stephen : REA. Have we learned him yet?
18. "A mouse!" : "EEK!"
19. Remain fresh : KEEP
20. North African port city : ALGIERS
22. Regret one's 32-Acrosses : REPENT of 32A. Admission in a confessional : SIN
25. Cavs, on scoreboards : CLE. (Cleveland)
26. Blurt out : SAY
27. Figure skating jump : AXEL
28. NYC airport named for a mayor : LGA. Fiorello La Guardia was New York City's mayor from 1934 to 1945.
30. One of two matching beds : TWIN
33. Hotelier Helmsley : LEONA. 'Queen of Mean'
35. Lady's title : MADAM
41. Peddles : SELLS
42. Fight mementos : SCARS
43. Crunched muscles : ABs
44. Dog who reveals the Wizard : TOTO. Still not in Kansas.
46. Netherlands airline : KLM
47. Those, to Pedro : ESOS
48. Procedure: Abbr. : SYS. (system)
49. Stamp sellers, briefly : POS
51. Ancient scrolls : PAPYRI Written on paper made from papyrus.
53. Takes over, like termites : INFESTS
55. Menu item : DISH
56. Baseball's "Iron Man" Ripken : CAL. Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played, a record that had stood for 56 years and many deemed unbreakable. Cal had 2632 consecutive games. 2D. Baseball's "Iron Horse" Gehrig : LOU. 2130 consecutive games.
62. Pitcher's stat : ERA. (Earned Run Average)
63. Online letter : E-MAIL
64. Accord automaker : HONDA
65. Brain scan, for short : EEG
66. Put on notice : WARN
67. Being hauled to the garage : [IN TOW]. Often a sign in the back window.
Down:
1. ASAP cousin : PDQ. (As Soon As Possible/Pretty Damn Quick)
3. Tycoon Onassis : ARI. The Greek who married Jackie.
4. Five-cent coin : NICKEL
5. Unavailable : TAKEN
6. Total : SUM
7. Himalayan country : NEPAL
8. Brunch order : OMELET
9. Arctic hazard : BERG
11. Suspicious : LEERY
12. Chews the fat : YAKS
14. Back-to-school mo. : SEP. (September)
17. Lipton shelfmate : TETLEY. Teas.
21. Basketball Hall of Famer Thomas : ISIAH. Update: On top is ISIAH, on the bottom, ISAIAH. He was named after the Hall of Famer but his father is James Thomas. Thanks go out to Jim P. and Lime Rickey and Middletown Bomber for straightening things out.
22. Filing tools : RASPS
23. Formally banish : EXILE
25. Vancouver NHL team : CANUCKS
29. Baby talk syllables : GOOs
31. Alleged Iraqi arsenal, for short : WMDs. (weapon of mass destruction)
33. "__ we forget" : LEST
34. Sea divided by shrinkage : ARAL
36. Leafy recess : ARBOR
37. FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel : MESSI. Knows how to kick.
39. Nearby : CLOSE
40. Deodorant spot : ARMPIT
45. Kia sedan : OPTIMA
47. "Sleepless in Seattle" director Nora : EPHRON
48. Game trap : SNARE
50. "The Odd Couple" slob : OSCAR. (Oscar Madison)
52. Japanese beer brand : ASAHI
53. Slurpee alternative : ICEE
54. Distort : SKEW
55. Broadband letters : DSL. Better than dial-up.
58. Family : KIN
59. Blasting material : TNT
60. Tokyo, long ago : EDO
61. Like unprocessed data : RAW
Argyle
56 comments:
Happy December, all!
Today's puzzle was very sports heavy, which is not exactly my forte. I got most of it easily enough, but MESSI does not belong in a Monday puzzle. I wasn't sure if the plural of Papyrus was PAPYRA or PAPYRI, but fortunately I guessed correctly.
Hope you're feeling better, C.C.!
And I guessed wrong.
Good morning all. Rabbit Rabbit. Thanks CC. Thanks Argyle.
Very clean puzzle this AM.
Only vaguely familiar with MESSI, otherwise I wouldn't have known that I that intersected with PAPYRI.
Typeover thinking it was TETLEe. Also entered FRY instead of FLY for some reason.
TAKEN was an action movie with Liam Neeson.
A couple hundred cars were IN TOW in Chicago with the winter parking ban going in effect at 3 AM this morning. Snow or not, you can't park on the signed streets. It's going to cost you over $200 in fees and charges.
For you country music lovers, here's Dierks Bentley Free And Easy (Down The Road I Go).
The cyber Monday EMAILs are unread in my inbox. Once the folks at America's Test Kitchen get your ID, they'll send you come-ons forever.
Time to go make the coffee. Later.
Some tricky elements for a Monday puzzle, particularly the sports clues and the brand names. But with a KICKSTART things got moving.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This felt like a Tuesday puzzle, not a Monday puzzle! The unifier didn't really help me much.
I misread Broadband letters as BroadWAY letters, which didn't help.
As Barry noted, lots of sports references that included sports outside of baseball, too!
A First Folio was recently found in France. Had the word not appeared in a recent puzzle, I probably would have ignored the news story.
QOD: After thirty, a body has a mind of its own. ~ Bette Midler (b. Dec. 1, 1945)
I thought including MESSI, the current superstar in soccer, was one of the best parts of this C.C. puzzle. It tied the theme to the rest of the fill. If only she had worked Lou the Toe Gross, or Pete Gogolak in the grid.
White rabbit, white rabbit all.
Latin words ending in US tend to be I for the plural, UM and it is A.
Always good to see AXEL a reminder of our dear Clear AYES.
December is the month, enjoy it.
Good morning!
C.C. had me going for a time today. I went wrong with the Lipton shelfmate. I was thinking the shelf in the pantry not the supermarket, so I started with TEAPOT. Didn't last long. I've had ASAHI beer in Japan, and years ago I owned an ASAHI Pentax camera Those sold in the US didn't carry the ASAHI name.
Today it's pick up, spruce up, clean up. DW gets back from Munich tonight, so I need to undo the OSCARness of the past couple of weeks.
Nice puzzle CC and a great write up as per usual from Argyle. Not to be a nitpicker but the player Photographed as hall of famer Isiah Thomas is not the Isiah Thomas who is in the NBA Hall of Fame, looks like you chose is one of the name sakes who is currently playing in the NBA.
Isiah Thomas is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Isaiah Thomas plays for the Phoenix Suns.
Great puzzle. Fast and highly doable, but not the kind where you slam down the first word that comes to mind without using your head at all. Interesting. MESSI was easily perpable although i have heard of him.
I like ASAHI with sushi.
ALGIERS calls up this ear worm.
Link Old Algiers
Now I'm off to get an MRI of my knee, then a mammo on Wed. and an ECHO on Fri. There are 3 medical appointments a week for Alan and me from now until my knee replacement on Jan. 12.
Hello, friends!
C.C. strikes again! Yet, in spite of the sports references, clues, I managed quite well with this puzzle. And since the clue was plural, scrolls, PAPYRI was, too and it's a good thing because MESSI was an unknown.
I guess a SNOB would say SUE ME.
C.C., I hope you are feeling better. Yesterday was very busy for me and I did the puzzle off and on but read your Blog. I don't know if I was too tired but late last night a Natick prevented my finishing at PELVIS/PARFIVE.
Have a super Monday, everyone!
Rabbit, rabbit!
I hope you're feeling better, C.C. Your puzzle nearly did me in today, and on a Monday yet! I couldn't remember MESSI or ISIAH - all perps. "Lie" before SIN, "Tibet" before NEPAL, and STAT wouldn't fit in 1-Down.
I finally fixed all the goof-ups and got it done. Whew!
Re: Yest,
Laptop still dead as a doornail, but it wasn't what Argyle had, my malware was called Trovi. (very nasty)
Which reminds me, feel better soon CC!
Re: Today,
I found the puzzle a little Messi, but all in all, I approve...
Good morning Argylee, C.C and all,
Loved seeing a CC puzzle on a Monday, a nice treat. Papyri was my favorite, and it was so you, with your knowledge of the Latin endings.
Couldn't see the arbor for the esas at first. Where is the V8 when I need it?
I Perped and wagged Isaiah, messi , asahi to finish. Fun time. Hope you are feeling better today.
Good Morning Puzzle Pals...
Like Hungry Mother said, I guessed the wrong vowel too at 37d/51a. tDNF. In my defense, I know nothing of soccer - SUE ME.
After the weekend hoopla, today is FREE AND EASY - I'm taking my 1st vacation day this season.
I enjoyed the theme and thought "crowd-funding" at the reveal. It took a QUICK look back to see the STARTERS.
50d made me laugh as I confused Filex and OSCAR last week (and still got J. Lemon's character wrong).
ALGIERS made think of my buddy. QUICK story:
In grad school an Algerian woman was part of my study group. Fast forward 2 years and I'm in Houston lunching with a co-worker. He too is from Algeria, I tell him about my study-buddy. He was (still is) married to her sister...
I'll look for links later, time to build myself an OMELET.
Cheers, -T
Argyle, sorry about spelling errors. I am doing this in bed and the auto correct is driving me bonkers on my iPad! It's almost impossible to get rid of a capital letter if it "thinks" it's right!!
Good morning everyone.
Enjoyed C.C.'s puzzle today. Sports heavy like Argyle said, but except for MESSI, easy enough. Favorite fill was for 1d, PDQ. Starting to learn REA.
Have a great day,
Good Morning:
Shame, shame! A DNF on a Monday! Messi/esos did me in. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
Thanks CC and Argyle for a "kick start" to December.
Practically all of our snow has melted because of mild temps the last few days, but the cold is coming back tomorrow, bringing some more snow. The joys of winter in the Great Northeast!
Have a great day.
Good day,
The crossing I for PAPYRI % MESSI was a wag, but everything else worked out fine. No complaints about the sports clues so keep "'em comin" CC.
Hard to discuss in detail because our printer is out of ink and I neglected to make notes as I progressed on the computer.
After the Pete Rose comments the other day, I became curious about what positions he actually played. Between infield and outfield. 628 games were at 2nd, 1573 @ first or 3rd & 1334 in the OF.
YR, I've had both knees replaces, so if you have any questions, concerns, etc, feel free to Email me and I'll do my best to put your mind @ ease.
"Puzzling thoughts":
Lemon, the kicker you meant to name was Lou Groza, who not only kicked for, but played tackle for the Cleveland Browns - back in their glory days. I know several people named "Gross"; they're not nearly as disgusting as their name would imply! ;^)
WEES, this was a fun Monday puzzle and maybe more so for me as I am a sports but. Regarding Messi, the soccer star, was he the one who was kicked out of the World Cup event this past summer?
TTP - I hope you were spared having to watch the egg that the Steelers laid yesterday vs the Saints. That was deplorable.
Argyle will have to tell me if I guessed right on the last letter in a soccer player’s name and the plural of an old scroll in C.C.’s lovely puzzle.
Musings
-QuickTemper? Piece ‘o cake – two word answers starting with a Q and a T and “On the QT” for a theme. Right?
-There are a lot more PENALTY FLAGS this year for player safety and to help the offenses
-SNOBS may be just fine if you just talk to them. Okay, maybe not LEONA…
-I wish I could FLY non-stop to Minneapolis for less than $450
-How best to KEEP food
-No comics during a newspaper strike? Fiorello to the rescue! Probably couldn’t do the same for crosswords.
-Hmmm…, what SELLS?
-A blackjack player with a SYStem and his money are soon parted
-Phooey, like some others I put papyrA/messA. I still hope you get well C.C.! ;-)
-Ever walked through an airport with 100 kids IN TOW?
-Do you know someone who YAKS and never asks you anything?
-I don’t mind telephone polls if I’m not busy but “push polls” trying to SKEW the results insult my intelligence and it's “buh bye”
-Do you remember what DSL replaced? (:27)
More "p t's", as I would have exceeded the 20 line limit . . .
Here is a new beauty "trend" that apparently young British women are fostering:coloring their ARMPIT hair. I hear that "matching" hair colors in all body locations is pretty much a millennial fashion "norm" ... I think I remember paying a quarter to see freaks like that at the circus when I was a kid!
Today's limerick:
As our Thanksgiving leftovers "subside",
We will now face this Holiday's "downside";
What with all we have ate,
We have put on some weight;
Our new waistline is difficult to hide!
Quick kick? hmm, it depends on whether it is carpet, or tile...
It is very important where you place your kick...
There is no such thing as a free kick...
Penalty kick? What did I do wrong!
A kickstarter puzzle, Perfect thing for a Monday...
"I wonder what constructor made the puzzle in today's LA TIMES?"
"IT'S ME, AL!"
"Well, that's something to SMILE AT"
We love a C.C. puzzle on Monday. Lots of sports references and not just baseball.
Hamilton Tigercats had a 90 yard punt return called back over a PENALTY FLAG in yesterday's CFL Grey Cup game. It occurred in the final minute and would have given them the win.
I had TORAHS before PAPYRI and MESSI was the last to fill.
I smiled at CANUCKS. TETLEY today, not Red Rose.
Busy putting up Christmas decorations today. Hope you feel better soon C.C. and Abejo.
I love a C.C. Monday puzzle, although this one was a toughie because of the sports theme. As a result I goofed on MESSA/PAPYRA, but, thank goodness, got everything else. C.C., so sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well. Am sending healing thoughts your way.
Yellowrocks, you do have a busy few weeks ahead. I'll keep my fingers crossed that all tests go well and the knee replacement is as unproblematic and effective as possible.
Fun Thanksgiving limerick, Moe.
Have a great week, and a great month, everybody!
Yellowrocks:
Good luck with all your appointments and especially the surgery. I'll keep you in my prayers.
AnonT:
Expect an e-mail soon with the chile pork recipe.
Rabbit Rabbit
Hello Puzzlers -
WEES. Sports clues are never easy for me. A bit tricky by Monday standards, but certainly doable. Smiled right out loud at "Place Your Ad Here" in the very middle.
December already? That was quick.
I never noticed, or had any sense that there were "a lot" of sports clues today. I get (maybe) 10. That makes this puzzle that much better ! Now, if there had been 10 clues with Latin, or with music direction or tempo, then I would have complained vociferously !
Hatoolah @ 6:38 AM,
"A First Folio was recently found in France. Had the word not appeared in a recent puzzle, I probably would have ignored the news story."
That was yesterday, at 104D "104D. First __: Shakespeare collection."
I had the opposite. I saw the news story on TV on Friday or Saturday and then saw the clue in the Sunday puzzle. So FOLIO was a gimme yesterday and helped me get FREE PASS. BTW, I posted a BBC link to the news story yesterday, which was pretty much the same as you posted today.
Chairman Moe @ 9:31,
Yea, I just don't get it. No doubt that Ben was off his game, throwing high most of the day. But it's the overall inconsistency of team play and coaching that drives me nuts. On both sides of the ball.
Hondo and CC, did you get the answer to my Pirates / PNC Ballpark Trivia question # 2 yesterday ?
Back to work for me.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
CanadianEh!: Thank you for the well-wishes. I am feeling a little better, but still cannot sleep at night without some ibuprofen to easy the discomfort. I just have to let this thing pass.
TTP: So, I wonder why you almost wrote in FRY instead of FLY. Hmmmmm.
DORIA was easy for 13A. I once worked with a guy that came over from Italy (emigrated) on the Andrea Doria, before it sank. I guess he was lucky. Salvatore Patane from New York.
21D gave me fits because of the spelling of ISIAH. If you want to copy a biblical character, they should at least spell it right. Big inkblot in that area.
I tried tow Ns in CANUCKS. Quickly fixed that. Last inkblot.
Do not care for ASAHI beer.
I wanted COPSE for 36D. But, ARBOR won out after a perp or two changed my mind.
Enjoyed the theme. I never KICK STARTED a motorcycle, but I prop started a few airplanes at the Erie Airport as a youth.
Have always enjoyed using RASPS to smooth out pieces of wood.
Have not had an omelet in a long time. I do not eat eggs much since my dad died almost 25 years ago.
Anyhow, see you tomorrow.
Abejo
(32)
Chairman Moe, Never saw your question and now I can't find it. Been dealing with same stuff CC has been. I know it's a lame excuse, but it is fact.
I'll give it a shot if you would be so kind as to repeat it.
thehondohurricane: here was my question: Regarding MESSI, the soccer star, was he the one who was kicked out of the World Cup event this past summer?
C. Moe - fun limerick. Can I guess Suarez the tooth?
SAY it's so Moe!
Cheers, -T
-T: yup, it was Suarez I was thinking of; I'm not much of a soccer (futbol) fan. Upon doing a quick check on Wiki, Messi was one of the stars of this past year's World Cup . . .
Moe, I typed Groza but never looked to see if spell check did anything because it usually does not change my Proper Names.
For whatever reason when I first had a TV in 1957, we would get Cleveland Brown football games, and those were great teams to watch. They a rookie running back out of Syracuse, and Quarterback named Plum, also a rookie.
Chuck Noll and Walt Michaels were on that team, Paul Wiggin, Galen Fiss, whose name intrigued me, the Carpenter brothers...
Finished it; thanks to PERPS and WAGS. But must confess that I was growling under my breath about any constructor that dare run us through such a wringer on a Monday.
Then I came here and discovered it was C.C. (blush)
An EEG is more of a TRACING than a scan - which denotes a "picture" or "image," like CAT scan or MRI scan.
Hondo,
Here you go. It won't make much sense unless I copy all of it...
Pittsburgh's PNC Park is beautiful, even from the outside. We got on the Just Ducky tour at Station Square and let in to the Allegheny west of the Water Steps just above the confluence. (I didn't get QUEASY.) Before letting in, we crossed on the bridge to the right of the ballpark which is the Roberto Clemente bridge. So we drove around 3 sides, including on Mazeroski Way to the left of the ballpark. We saw the 4th side from the river.
Trivia questions. 1) There are 4 statues of HOFer Pirates at PNC. I have mentioned the names of two. Who are the other two ?
If you got the first answer, this one should be easy. 2) The statue of which ballplayer was first at Forbes, moved to Three Rivers, and now stands at PNC ? (This would be a gimme for card collectors CC and Hondo.
Wait. Deodorant is for ARMPITs?
I'm doing it wrong...
TTP - the answer to your question I believe, are a couple of infielders, one whose initials are HW and the other WS . . .
Chairman Moe,
You are correct. Those are the initials of the ballplayers for the answer to the first trivia question.
And since you know that, I'm sure you can easily figure out which had his statue at all 3 fields.
I figured that second one would be easy for CC and Hondo, since his is the holy grail of baseball cards.
The little upbeat incidents in life, the spoonful of sugar, so to speak, make it all worthwhile.
This morning before my MRI I was writing out yet another form using the receptionist's desk. I apologized for taking up all her space. She cheerfully replied, "Oh, a little thing like you doesn't take up much space." Thank you! Thank you! I was thrilled because I had lost 19 pounds in the last 8 weeks and still consider myself large.
Last night my oldest son, who leaves home for work at 6:30 AM and returns at 8:00 PM, offered to come on Saturday to help me wrestle my Christmas tree into the stand. How sweet it is! I feel pampered.
What brothers were on opposite sides of the field for Super Bowl III, Jets and Baltimore?
Lemon, WM and LM?
I don't remember them as much as I remember Joe Namath's guarantee.
Argyle:
I forgot to thank you for the beautiful pics of Nepal and Algiers as well as your informative review.
OK, here we go. The only reason I know the answer to the statues @ PNC is because my son was there for a game two years ago and told me about them.
They are:
Honus Wagner
Roberto Clemente
Willie Stargell
Bill Mazeroski
I would imagine Honus was the one moved from Forbes , but Maz with his walk off HR in the '760 series would be another choice.
Where though is Ralph Kiner?
Good question Moe, but give the credit to my offspring.
Good (Late) Monday, everyone! After 5 days of traveling and visiting, it's good to be home and back into routine. What better way to start the week than with a C.C. puzzle and an Argyle expo! Thanks!
WEES. No issues with this one.
There was a conversation a few weeks ago about ham and bean soup. We had ham on Saturday and I asked my BIL what he will do with the bone. Per my request, he's going to make ham and bean soup! Thanks for the suggestion!
Yellowrocks: good luck with your future knee replacement. Rather than being apprehensive about the surgery, I was excited to finally be out of the constant pain. I haven't regretted the surgery, and I'm 3 years post-op.
Have a great week.
Pat
Greetings!
Thanks, CC and Santa! A trifle chewy for a Monday, though!
4th day sick with horrible chest cold. Obviously haven't been swimming. Have been taking Mucinex. Any other suggestions?
Cheers!
pje - that's ham-bone-bean soup. If your BIL needs a hint, shoot me an e-mail.
I didn't get to make the spouts recipe you sent for Thanksgiving. I had the fresh spouts steamed and ready then discovered my imps had used all my liquid gold (Vermont Maple) on Eggos! The sprouts are in the freezer awaiting Christmas.
Lucina - I've not see the pork recipe yet. Let me know if I should check the SPAM folder.
The girls and I are building pizzelles right now. It is officially the Christmas season in this PLACE.
Thanks C.C. for the puzzle and Argyle for the a to I.
Cheers, -T
Posting as Tin said...
fermatprime - 2 shots of whiskey one tbs of honey warmed.
Toast at Sunset!
Hondo, you nailed it. Good call on Ralph Kiner.
This Pirate fan would include Pie Traynor, as well as Paul (Big Poison), and Lloyd (Little Poison) Waner. All HOF'ers.
The 1927 Pirates lost to the Yankees in the World Series. That year, Big Poison hit 380, Little Poison hit 355, and Pie Traynor hit 342.
Big Poison and Little Poison collected more career hits between the two of them than did the three DiMaggio brothers, and more than the three Alou brothers.
But in these crossword circles, ALOU will reign supreme !
Perhaps no better ballplayers than the Waners came out of Oklahoma until one Mickey Mantle.
The Pirates had to wait until 1960 when Maz hit what some would call "The Greatest Home Run of All Time."
Mickey said that losing the 1960 World Series was the biggest disappointment of his career.
Anon-T: thanks for the offer of the soup recipe. I think BIL uses his grandmothers' recipe, but he may be interested in checking out others. It'll be a while before I get the soup--I don't think I'll be back that way until January.
C.C. and fermatprime: I hope you are feeling better soon.
Pat
Bill G you nailed the Super Bowl III trivia.
I would hold my own in the kids' Jeopardy games. If my reflexes pushing the button would be fast enough, I would do OK. I miss Julia Collins though, one of my favorite Jeopardy champions in a long while.
I went for my usual bike ride today, maybe my last for a day or two with rain finally in the forecast. The weather was gloomy and I had the bike path practically to myself. I like the Pacific when it seems like a big natural resource rather than a fair-weather tourist attraction.
Ferm and CC, feel better soon.
Thank you all for your best wishes on my surgery. I am not apprehensive about it, but quite frustrated about how lame and pained I am at present. It sure cuts down on my activity level and endurance. I am eager to get started.
TTP,
Oh my T206 guy! Vowel, Consonant, Vowel, Vowel combos are gold in crossword construction, hence the frequent appearance of ALOU.
Fermatprime & Hondo,
Hang in there! Drink lots lots of water.
Yellowrocks,
I've marked down Jan. 12 on my calendar. Can't wait for the day when you're pain free and can dance to the music again.
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