google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 Don Gagliardo

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Dec 24, 2014

Wednesday, December 24, 2014 Don Gagliardo

Theme:  All is calm, all is bright.  The circled letters, in order, spell the word NIGHT; and each letter is silent in both of the down and across words in which it appears.   If you didn't get the circles, I don't know how you'd deal with it.

Silent N:
20 A. Spreadsheet figure : COLUMN TOTAL.  Typical spreadsheet math.
6 D. "Ave Maria," e.g. : HYMNA religious song.

Silent I:
25 A. Take by force : SEIZE.  Suddenly and Forcibly take hold of something.
11 D. Stereo components : RECEIVERS.  They convert broadcast signals into visible or audible form.

Silent G:
33 A. Prosecutors, at times : ARRAIGNERS.  They bring someone [a perp, perhaps] before the court to answer a criminal charge.
10 D. Station identification letters : CALL SIGN.  Unique alphanumeric designations of  transmitting stations.  They are used in commercial radio, amateur radio, transportation and the military.

Silent H:
37 A. Cheering word : RAH.  Perhaps shortened from hooray/hoorah, 'cuz we're just that lazy.
32 D. Present day? : CHRISTMAS.  The day when Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus.  The Magi brought him gifts, and so we give each other gifts.  The "present" day can be either today, Christmas Eve, as we celebrate with the Bumpa clan, or Christmas day, as we celebrate with my mom and sister.

Silent T:
54. Clever remark : MOT.  Actually BON MOT,  the French designation for a witticism.
32 D. Present day? : CHRISTMAS.  Making a second appearance, 'cuz - why not?  It's that kind of day.

And the unifier:
55 A. Classic 6-Down suggested by this puzzle's circles : SILENT NIGHT.




One might quibble, perhaps, with the degree of silence some of these letters actually present.  But let's just go with it.  Who but Hard G Don Gagliardo could so exploit the vagaries of the English language, to bring us such a brilliant and timely construction?  This is his present day present to all of us.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, happy to present you with Don's holiday greeting, and a whole bunch of music.

Across

1. Flexible lunch hour : ONE-ISH.  More or less 1 O'clock, kinda, sorta. 

7. PC speed unit : M-SEC.  Millisecond.  1/1000 second.

11. D.C. United's __ Stadium : RFK.  Home of the soccer team, named for former attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

14. Marvel Entertainment parent company : DISNEY.  Entertainment empire.

15. Cinders of old comics : ELLA.   Here is her introductory panel from 1925.  You might need to blow it up to make it readable.  Read more here.  Turn her name around to suss the inspiration.

16. Reef dweller : EEL.  Any of 800 species of elongated, mostly predatory fish.

17. Needing to be bailed out, maybe : IN A JAM.  Some sort of tough spot, possibly jail.

18. "Double, double, __ and trouble": "Macbeth" : TOIL.  "Fire burn and cauldron bubble." Witches' incantation.

19. DCIV ÷ IV : CLI.  Roman numerals.  604/4 = 151.   How did the Romans ever master division?

22. Individual : SSN :: corp. : __ : E I NEmployer Identification Number.

23. Hospital fluids : SERA.  Fluids separated from clotted blood, unlike plasma, which comes from unclotted blood.  Did anyone besides Marti know that?

24. "Impressive!" : OOH!  Like this puzzle.

27. Happen afterward : ENSUE.  Does this imply cause and effect?

29. Capital on the Dnieper River : KIEV.    Capital and largest city of Ukraine.  I've heard they have a Great Gate there.



30. Tot's recitation : ABC'S.   1-2-3's, too.

38. Nod from the maestro : CUE.  Indication you can start playing now.  And much appreciated after 179 bars of rest.

39. Short or gross measure : TON.   A short TON is the 2000 lb. measure we are used to in the U.S.   A gross TON is the same as a long TON, 2249 lbs. 

40. See 59-Across : RAP.
59. With 40-Across, trumped-up charge : BUM.  A BUM RAP is a false charge resulting in a miscarriage of justice.

41. Ones making the rounds? : BAR TENDERS.  Mixologists preparing rounds of drinks.  Clever!

44. "The Thin Man" pooch : ASTA.  Movie dog.


45. Dot on un mapa : ISLA.  A Spanish island.

46. Capital of Senegal : DAKARUn Mapa.

48. Debate subject : ISSUE.  Topic under discussion.

50. Bon __: Comet rival : AMI.  Scouring powders.

51. Sports fan's factoid : STATistic.

60. Holiday purchase : TREE.  Yo, Tannenbaum!

61. Remove all doubt : BE SURE.

62. A, in Oaxaca : UNA.  Spanish indefinite article.

63. Gremlins and Matadors : AMC'SAmerican Motors Corp. automobileS from the past.

64. Lustrous fabric : SATEEN.   A fabric made with satin weave structure using spun yarn instead of filament.

65. Mag staff : EDS.  Abbreviated editors.

66. "... be good for goodness' __!" : SAKE.    Pam provides the details, with  a little help from her friends.


67. Determined ahead of time : PRESET.

Down

1. Like many Keats poems : ODIC.   He wrote the most ODIC of odes.  Fortunately, most of them are neither odious nor oddities.

2. Bogotá boys : NINOS.  Boys in Bogotá speak Spanish.

3. Online transaction : E-SALE.   A unit of E-Tail.

4. Harms : INJURES.

5. Crew member : SEAMAN.  In the Navy

7. Copycat : ME-TOOER.  Conveniently constructed, but a welcome reprieve from the ubiquitous APER.

8. A deadly sin : SLOTH.  For those too lazy to indulge in gluttony and lust.

9. Oscar-winning director Kazan : ELIA.   Gentleman's Agreement, On the Waterfront.

12. "__ Navidad": Feliciano song : FELIZ.   Merry Christmas in Spanish.


13. Kevin of "Dave" : KLINE.



21. Took the show on the road : TOURED.

26. Poetic time of day : E'EN.  Even I know this is evening, thus eventually evening me with all of you.

28. Post-workout destination : SAUNA.  Steam bath.

29. Mall stand : KIOSK.

30. Wall St. hedger : ARB.  Slothful way of indicating an arbitrageur,  one who attempts to profit from price inefficiencies in the market by making simultaneous trades that offset each other and capturing risk-free profits.

31. Cote cry : BAA.

34. Transport in an Ellington classic : A-TRAIN.   The quickest way to Sugar Hill in Harlem.


35. Informant : RAT.

36. Hotel amenity : SPA.

38. Instruments that sound similar to glockenspiels : CELESTAS.  But with a softer and more subtle timbre.  It was invented by Auguste Mustel in Paris in 1886.  Tchaikovsky was the first major composer to use it in an orchestral setting, first in The Voyadova, then - most famously  - in the Sugar Plum Fairie's dance in The Nutcracker.  You can hear one starting at about 6:40 of this video.




42. The Tigers of the Ohio Valley Conf. : TSU.  Tennessee State University.

43. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan : ED MEESE.   Not related to Mickey, as far as I know,

44. Entertainer : ARTISTE.

47. Equally hot or cold? : AS NEAR.   I don't quite get this one.

48. Inspire deeply (with) : IMBUE.  As with a particular feeling or quality.

49. In good shape : SOUND.  Hale and hardy.

50. Smart guy? : ALECK.   My comrade at arms.

52. Fits of fever : AGUES.   Fever and shivering.

53. French hens count : THREE.   You know the song.

56. "__ la Douce" : IRMA.  The story of a Parisienne prostitute.

57. Recipe meas. : TBSPTaBle SPoon.  Alternatively, to make out in the kitchen?.

58. Hiker's shelter : TENT.  Portable lodging.

Beautiful start to the holiday with this brilliant puzzle from Don G.  Hope you all enjoyed it, and are happy, healthy and ready to dive into the new year.

Cool Regards and Feliz Navidad, Happy Kwanzaa, Fabulous Festivus, a not very Saturnine Saturnalia, or joy at whichever near-solstice celebration you prefer.




Note from Constructor "Hard G":
 
During this past July, I thought of the book title, “Silent Spring”, and decided to make a puzzle with circles where the circled letters are literally silent S-P-R-I-N-G.  After starting the puzzle, I realized that there was also the possibility of “Silent Night”, and that there was enough time to submit a Christmas-themed puzzle before the end of the year.  So I started looking for silent N-I-G-H-T letters in words, and came across CHRISTMAS as having a silent T.  Then it struck me that what a coincidence, the H is also silent, and these are the last two letters of the silent NIGHT.  It was then a matter of arranging CHRISTMAS so that I could place the other three silent letters higher up in the grid, and SILENT NIGHT would go in the bottom right corner.  It was a lucky day that I put all this together.


56 comments:

Bill V. said...

Good morning all. Since I had NSEC could not parse METOOER (that was a stretch)and DNF. Otherwise a fun puzzle.

Anonymous said...

"Copycat : ME-TOOER."

Foul.

Big Easy said...

I learned a new word today-METOOER. That caused a DNF. OOH had to be correct for 24A but TOIL was unknown for 18A and computer sped could be millisecond, rpm, herz, nanosecond, or anything and that killed it for an otherwise nice Wednesday puzzle.

Until I read the write up I guessed that TSU was Tulsa State Univ. My only other slowdowns were the crossing of EIN and KLINE, guessing Employer Identification Number, but it could have been German- EIN- or Mozart- eine kleine nachtmuzik, for all I knew. And, the CELESTAS, which I guessed.

But as Jose Feliciano (and 12D & 32D ) sang " FELIZ NAVIDAD"

BobB said...

The grid in my paper omitted the circles. I also had troubler with metooer. Had it but did not understand it.

JCJ said...

Great puzzle with some tricky spots. Initially I put ODES for ODIC and SAILOR for SEAMAN but all eventually fell into place. Happy holidays.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

All right, I checked the calendar this morning so today is definitely Wednesday morning. Gotta get ready for tonight's festivities (I'm preparing our now traditional seafood linguini feast with shrimp and scallops, liberally infused with butter, garlic and some fine VSOP cognac, as well as chopped green onions, portabella mushrooms and tomatoes).

Oh, yes, there was a puzzle today, wasn't there? No circles for me, so I was completely clueless about the theme. Didn't need the circles to get the theme answers, but it would have been nice to know what was going on. And I guess I will be a ME-TOOER in expressing my dislike for ME-TOOER (I really wanted DITTOER, but that didn't fit). Of course, ESALE wasn't that wonderful, either. Everything else was smack dab in my wheelhouse, however, so no problem finishing unassisted.

Bluehen said...

What a delightfully constructed puzzle. Thank you Mr. Gagliardo.
I'll have to admit that I didn't fully understand the intricacies of the construction until explained by JazzBumpa. Thanks JB. I have to agree with JB about 47 down, and METOOER was kind of meh, but overall a thoroughly enjoyable outing.
Happy Holidays, everyone!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I had real trouble in Washington trying to get this one started. Didn't help that I thought Ave Maria was an ARIA. HYMN finally showed up (shouldn't it be a HER?)

Interesting to see both SAUNA and SPA in today's Don Hard-G offering.

Anybody else catch the PBS show, A SLOTH Named Velcro? I thought it was cute.

Dakar looks teensy on that map, but it's got over a million residents.

JzB, haven't you ever played find the hidden object? You get clues like, "You're getting warmer. No, now you're getting colder." And is there an Immodest Mussorgsky?

Barry, what time is dinner? I'm comin' over.

Jerome said...

A NOD to DON for taking a literal view of the Crossword Corner. Pretty sneaky that upper left.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning. Thank you: Mr. Gagliardo for a robust puzzle, and JazzB for an informative explication. Not to mention the fine musical selections. Love Great Gate at Kiev! My first pass was a veritable Winter Wonderland. Interestingly, we watched Arbitrage (Richard Gere) yesterday so "ARB" was an timely guess. Merry. Merry. Merry.

inanehiker said...

What a interesting and festive puzzle - I got the silent letters one direction but didn't realize that they were silent both directions until JB's fun write-up. I'm off today, so I even had time to play several of the song links.

Have a wonderful Christmas - and try to stay well -- and if you aren't well stay home so everyone else can stay well! (my mantra all week after seeing so many flu sufferers in the office this past week)

Tinbeni said...

DNF ... Hey, my Holiday purchase is Scotch!!! (not a TREE) and it wouldn't fit.

Jazz: Outstanding write-up and musical links.

Don G. Thank you for a FUN CHRISTMAS Eve puzzle.

Well, other than a trip to church tonight, I am home safe and SOUND until Friday.

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas.

A TOAST to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers!!!

desper-otto said...

Tinman, I thought you'd probably buy a Scotch pine. You could decorate it with those little airplane bottles.

Tinbeni said...

d-otto
I still have my FESTIVUS DAY POLE up in the Living Room.
Decorated with Gasparilla Day beads from the past.

HeartRx said...

Merry Christmas Eve!

What a wonderful puzzle from Don G. The fact that the letters were silent in both the across and down answers gave it a much higher level of elegance!! How you constructed this one is beyond me. Top that off with a great write-up and musical links from Jazzbumpa, and this is a perfect way to start the holiday!

Barry G., I'll be there. Around ONE-ISH?
(^0^)

My stumble came at 17-A where I wanted IN jail instead of IN A JAM. But that just wasn't working out very well for me, so I erased it and worked the down clues. The light finally dawned, and it was smooth sailing from then on. Thanks for all the fun, Don!

HeartRx said...

CED from yesterday @ 1:26, thanks for that article and link. When I first saw the short clip I linked, it struck me that the kitten had some odd movements that would not be seen in a normal cat. But after watching the heartwarming video, and realizing that the condition does not affect their life span, the little thing is even more endearing!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Otto - yes, I played that game a s a kid, lo these many decades past. Still couldn't quite reel that one in.

Mussorgsky was in fact quite immodest. His name is one of the great musical ironies. I think he was quoted as saying: "Nobody writes like Mussorgsky!" Which was, of course, true.

Not everybody knows that Schubert wrote the Ave Maria to go over Bach's C Major prelude from the WTC.

Here Chris demonstrates in a duet that might be rather difficult to watch. But you can still listen. It's awesome.

Here's he original go pro trombone trickt.

Happy holidays, and Cool regards!
JzB

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice meaty puzzle from Don Hard G today but easy enough for a Wednesday. Circle tactic helped to get N in HYMN. Don't normally like cs's with a circle motif. Got ME=TOOER after awhile. Capitals DAKAR and KIEV came easily. Finally sussed SEAMAN another SO. Always liked the little dot clue for ISLA.
Always wondered if the Romans actually divided Roman numbers into their Roman numbers. Also wondered how they handled Roman decimal points. What is the Roman expression for Pi? III.I IV I V IX? Sigh.
Great write-up as always. JzB

Merry Christmas and Holiday greayings to all our fellow bloggers, C.C., and all the puzzle constructors who give us something to talk about, and to Rich for providing the standards to which we're accustomed.

Fröliche Weihnachten!


thehondohurricane said...

Morning everyone,

First, A happy & safe holiday to each of you. For those of you who reside in the NE, sounds like we are in for a lot of liquid snow.

Today was a DNF thanks to the cluing of ME TOOER. This is a never heard of before word for me and one i will never use. Otherwise a fun puzzle from Don G.

No circles in my grid, but I doubt the theme would have entered my pea brain even if they were present.

Shopping for Lucy was easy this year. Her October trip to Paris was gift #1 and Friday past, took her to Mohegan Sun to see the UConn ladies play UCLA. She's happy, so life if good.

Now if I can get over METOOER! Ugh.


Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

What a construction feat this puzzle is! I didn't understand it fully until reading JzB's detailed expo. (All links appear as big blank spaces on my iPad.)

Fav clues were for bartenders and Aleck. Not too fond of metooer but it's not outrageous, either. Kudos, Don Hard G and thank you for a much appreciated Christmas present. Thanks, also, to JzB, for a witty and most informative expo.

Barry, your seafood linguine sounds delicious. Would you consider sharing the recipe? I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas Eve.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Duh! The letters are silent in the words too not just spread around the grid. OOOOOH (silent H)!

Musings
-“I before E except after C”? recEIver/sEIze – Huh?
-Radio CALL SIGNS in the west are supposed to start with a K and in the east with a W. Like most gov’t edicts, it ain’t perfect
-At our house, noon means noon. To our SLTOHFUL, former SIL it meant noonish and so dinner had to wait on him. We don’t miss him
-I bailed out my IN DEBT sister twice. Now she doesn’t talk to me
-Lucy misunderstands Desi; hilarity ENSUES for her and Ethel
-How did Tchaikovsky CUE the cannons?
-Thanks for the map, Jazz, my Africa geography is horrible
-Peyton Manning’s STATS are great except for playoff games where he’s 11 – 12
-Maybe you shouldn’t Remove all doubt
-You mean to tell me that these outcomes are PRESET
-Unfortunate use of a SEAMAN homonym (1:21)
-TOURING is the big revenue generator since the iPod’s digital music started the decline of music sales
-3 French Hens were $165

Lucina said...

Happy, CHRISTMAS eve, puzzlers!

What a masterpiece from Don G! It was pretty much a sashay but like the rest of you the M in METOOER slid in last and was hard to swallow. Constructors gotta do what they gotta do.

BARTENDERS was cute and we almost had a mini Spanish theme with FELIZ, UNA, and NINO.

No confusion about TOIL with moil today. The witches' brew made it clear.

It does cause wonder about how the Romans handled math when they accomplished such complicated engineering projects as aqueducts, roads, and architecture.

Have a wonderful, joyful, merry CHRISTMAS, everyone! Our "midnight" Mass is at 10:00!

CanadianEh! said...

Fun seasonal puzzle today. I got the theme even without the circles. Thanks to JzzB for explaining the "silent".

Hand up for ODES before ODIC and for not understanding AS NEAR. Thanks desper-otto.

Local man won a lawsuit in 2000 for $240 million against DISNEY. Apparently they used his design for Wide World of Sports complex!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Manac said...

Merry Christmas all.

Hand up for disliking "Metooer" but it is just a puzzle.

8D is another reason to dislike Christmas. You do all the work and
some Sloth in a red suit gets all the credit :(

One note on 17A: A Pal will bail you
out of jail. A Friend will be sitting with
you saying "That was fun!"

Be safe everyone.

Bill G. said...

Hi everybody! I hope you have a pleasant Christmas eve.

I enjoyed this puzzle very much. Seeing the name of the constructor at the top, I was sure it would be a winner. Very enjoyable, very clever and harder than usual for a Wednesday I thought. I saw the silent letters in the acrosses but didn't notice they were also silent up and down. Very excellent!

I'm OK with METOOER. I realize that the constructor needs the occasional odd word to make an otherwise excellent puzzle come together. Hence, I've even stopped bitching about ELHI.

A sauna is different from a steam bath. The sauna is a VERY dry heat while the steam bath is very damp. But you probably already knew that...

I don't think the Romans had a decimal point since their number system isn't based on place value of the powers of 10.

Misty said...


Well, this was a Wednesday toughie, all right. I finally got everything except that "copycat"--trying just about everything and nothing worked. It would have killed me to get a DNF or have to cheat on a Christmas puzzle, of all things, so I took a shower, got some coffee, and tried again. Voila! ME-TOO-ER, which I'd had before, finally made sense to me, thank goodness. I almost hooted with relief! I also got the circled NIGHT but couldn't figure out what it had to do with SILENT NIGHT until Jazz B explained it. So, thank you, thank you, Don G. and Jazz B., for a challenging but ultimately satisfying Christmas Eve morning!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!

HeartRx said...

Bill G., my father was born in Finland, so I have to disagree with your comment about saunas. They can be either dry or wet. In our sauna, my father always had a bucket of water and ladle handy. This was for two reasons: 1.) Because we used a wood fire to heat the rocks, there was always a danger of it getting out of control. A bucket of water was a necessary safety issue. 2.) In the cold winter months, the fire didn't always heat the sauna enough for him, so he would ladle water over the stones to create steam, and a feeling of higher heat.

But I do agree with you, that a steam bath is definitely not a sauna. They are two different animals.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

What a masterful example from Don Hard G! I admit I missed most of the theme, by not noticing that the silent letters were silent, and by not noticing that it applied to both across and down. Thanks so much for elucidating, JzB!

I agree with Inanehiker 8:03. This is a time of year that is ideal for transmitting pesky pathogens, what with all the parties and concerts and church and close contact. I'm staying home trying to recover from this year's respiratory ailment, probably caught during a chorus concert in a church full of wheezing, coughing people. Blechh.

Jayce said...

Lovely puzzle, interesting and entertaining writeup. Thank you, and best wishes to you all.

LaLaLinda said...

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays!
May you all be blessed with good health and happiness!

Spitzboov said...

Why do the elk cross the road?

See Elk Herd in Montana
What a beautiful sight.
Massive heard of elk in Montana.
Be sure to watch the straggler at the end.
Not to worry; all's well that ends well.
Notice how they wait for the straggler.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate it. A wonderful Wednesday to those who don't.

I join those who didn't care for METOOER. I had doTOOER. DSEC made as much sense to me as any other letter there. Also had ODes before ODIC.

Thanks for the puzzle, Don G, and thanks for the explanation of the theme, JzB.

Only one painter here for a few hours today. I am enjoying my solitude. This evening DH, avatar and I will visit our daughter, her SO and their dogs. Dinner will be appetizers accompanied by a bit of wine.

Happy Holidays!

Pat

Chairman Moe said...

"puzzling thoughts":

First off, Happy Christmas Eve

Second, wishing those of you who celebrate, a Merry, Merry Christmas

Third, to all of you at the Crossword Corner, thanks for welcoming me into your "family"; I have gotten to know a few of you "off-line", and one of you "in person". Hoping that in the coming year I can expand that exponentially!

Fourth, I'll try to keep my future limericks "clean" - at least the ones I post here. If you want to see a few of my more risque ones, send me an email (it's in my profile) and I'll send them off line

Fifth, weird puzzle today, but skillfully done. Don G must've taken quite a bit of time and talent to get this to come together. Oddly, I had just one "write-over" and other than checking the spelling of a few words, I had 'em all correct, including "Me Too'er"

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

23A: I thought of it as the plural of serum which most certainly would be found in a hospital. And to be sure I checked the dictionary and I was right.

Rainman said...

Seasons Greetings, everyone. Nice Wednesday puzzle. Great write-up, thanks for the Great Gate of Kiev, I love it.
BarryG, your Xmas menu looks mouthwatering. Be right there, no need to wait until one-ish?
Dirty limericks are welcome... besides, if they're that bad, we've already heard them. :O)
Oh, I'm studying Spanish again and congrats on the Un mapa, map is masc. Same for poet. El Poeta. They don't make it easy for us estudiantes.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

Don Hard-G beat me today but I love the puzzle; x-ing SILENTs? brilliant!

The SE corner - what a BUM RAP. To BE SURE, I changed the spelling of SATin and AGUR /ru? at least 6 times. OOH, I stunk.

Fav - 41a. My mind kept orbiting until -- V8!

JzB - fun writeup. I did know 23a - Med Lab Tech in the Army reporting for duty.

Barry G. D-O and I will be car-pooling. Is Marty right, ONEISH?

TIN - did you notice the BACARDI CLI for the Festivus NOG?

Non-fiction CALL SIGN Fav - KOMA out of Norman, OK. Guess what genre they played -:) IIRC, there was a WLS there too (same as CHI station).

Manac - LOL!

Welcome back LLLinda!

Fav-fictional CALL SIGN - WKRP. The linked episode contains my favorite Dr. Fever line: "In the spirit of CHRISTMAS, we killed a TREE." Link WKRP S2 E11.

FELIZ Navidad!

-T

Manac said...

Waiting for my dinner sooooo....

Anbody still waiting for their package?

OOPS!

Don't ever fly with Dudley

Damn Cat!

desper-otto said...

Anon-T -- I can really relate to that WKRP episode. I've had to pull a 12-hour shift at the radio station on Christmas day. And I had to put up with the irate caller who yelled at me, "Do you know that record has been skipping for 35 minutes now?" Good times!

Anonymous said...

'Metooer'? Seriously?

Socrates

Anonymous T said...

D-O: 35 minutes and they didn't change Hz? I can just imagine that caller trying to walk up a hill later :-)

Well, the push is on. We're doing it all tonight (food, Santa, DW's family, et.al.) since we fly in the AM to get to pop's dinner by 5p. IL here we come!

DW has the bedroom cordoned-off, Eldest is singing HYMNs for the 1st of 2 services (we'll hit the midnight mass), Youngest is (um, where that kid?), and I'm about to take a short winter's nap.

Cheers, -T

CrossEyedDave said...

Thanks Don G for a challenging Xmas Eve puzzle! DNF for me, but not for lack of trying. It kept me busy for a long time awaiting the festivities to begin...

I fell into the Odic trap, & might have had a chance if I knew Disney, & didn't think every crossword answer is "Aria."

The SW corner got me also. Confuse me with French, shame on you. Confuse me with Spanish, shame on me...

OwenKL, Loved the poem!

Manac! Good to see you!

Here are Daughters #3,2 & 1 less than an hour ago singing O Holy Night.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Manac said...

Dave,
Absolutely wonderful!
Thanks for sharing with us Proud Papa.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Don G. and Jazz!

Fun puzzle. Scratched head at METOOER. SERA was easy.

Have you seen Downton Abbey commercial for telethon?
Hilarious!

Cheers!

Ergo said...

Thank you Don G. and Jazz.

It took a lot of cigar breaks outside, but each time I returned I would gain a few more squares.

WEES re) METOOER. IMBUE was new to me, and that raised havoc in the SW.

BARTENDERS made me smile.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Great puzzler, Don G., swell expo, Jazz!

Now I finally understand ASNEAR. No problems. Hesitated just for a moment before entering METOOER. Interesting coinage.

Did you see the Downton Abbey riff

fermatprime said...

For some reason, this disappeared from my post!

Hilarious!

Cheers!

Bill G. said...

I am enjoying the WKRP rerun as always. Thanks.

Do you remember I mentioned a local Christmas fireworks display? Here's a video taken by a local guy with a drone. I'm not sure how I feel about drones in general but this is a pretty cool video. Christmas fireworks

Dudley said...

Manac 3:54 -

Why, I'm flattered! Merry Christmas. :-)

Bill G. said...

CED, your girls have beautiful voices.

FPrime, that Downton video was a lot of fun!

CrossEyedDave said...

Note:

You have got to give Don G credit.

It is incredibly rare to see metooers in a puzzle...

Anonymous said...

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike
English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'
'Pencil,' however, is masculine: el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups,
male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer'
should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its
recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine
gender ('la computadora'), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2 The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible
later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine
('el computador'), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE
the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little
longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

Tinbeni said...

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

Having defeated the Big C this year, ... I can say it is a MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

I hope everyone has a joyous and safe holiday.

Cheers !!!

JD said...

Merry Christmas all,

Impressive puzzle, Don , and impressive write up, Bumpa. I will be doing more research on that Ella Cinders comic, as I've been collecting Cinderella stories and books for years... Had not seen that comic strip.

had no time to finish puzzle, but made a quick run thru this morning and, of course, it looks like Swiss cheese. I HAD to see the theme and some of the answers that were locked in my old brain. Thanks!

Abejo said...

Good Christmas morning, folks. Thank you Don G., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

I did this puzzle yesterday, and got it all done. Took me forever. Last night I was so tied up at church with the candlelight service, and then family gifts afterword, I went to bed at 1:00 AM. So, Here I am.

This puzzle seemed to be a Friday level to me. Not easy at all, but rewarding after I finished. I spent about 4 hours on it.

Tried ODES first for 1D, then ODIC became obvious. 1st inkblot.

Tried WREST for 25A. After I finally got that corner straightened out, SEIZE became the word. 2nd inkblot.

Tried CANASTAS for 38D. CELESTAS appeared after 3 perps. 3rd inkblot.

Tried TBLP for 57D. SATEEN fixed that to TBSP. 4th inkblot.

Not sure I have heard of MOT before, but the perps did not lie.

I slogged through everything else and got it all.

Now for today's puzzle. See you later, I hope.

Abejo

( )

Rainman said...

BillG, et al,
Your explanations are elucidating, thanx.
I thought ANGELFISH might have been tried. Would have been UNSELFISH to try.
As far as pronouncing TWELFTHS, I'm not sure but I think I tend to enunciate the F but elide over the TH. Doesn't matter a lot cause the perps prevailed and I didn't need the clue, and I know, many said that already.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Bob Niles,
Can you let me know the name of your newspaper? You can email me crosswordc@gmail.com

Thanks.