Theme: No-no's
17. Easy orchard pickings : LOW HANGING FRUIT. Forbidden fruit. It all started with the apple.
27. Bankrupt Best Buy competitor : CIRCUIT CITY. Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace.
49. Best-selling 2006 memoir subtitled "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia" : "EAT PRAY LOVE". Forbidden love which starts a lot of trouble.
65. Groundbreaking 1956 sci-fi film ... or where you might find the ends of 17-, 27- and 49-Across? : FORBIDDEN PLANET. Redux of CED's clip.
Argyle here. And C.C. And two grid spanners.
Across:
1. Jab : POKE
5. Ran, as dye : BLED
9. Cola choice : PEPSI
14. Work with words : EDIT
15. Pervasive glow : AURA
16. Secluded valleys : DELLS
20. Test run : TRIAL
21. Char : SEAR
22. Little tricksters : IMPS
23. "Fat chance!" : "NOT!"
25. "__ the picture" : I GET
33. Approves : OKs
36. Small Chevy model : AVEO
37. Deserve : EARN
38. Copy in fun : MIMIC
40. "__ That Tune": classic game show : NAME
41. Mild oaths : DRATs
43. Full-grown filly : MARE
44. Without a break : ON END
46. Sign that might bode ill : OMEN
47. Heavy amount, as of homework : A TON
48. "Platoon" war zone : NAM
52. Gunshot sound : [BANG!]
54. Toothpaste option : GEL
55. Stand watch for, say : ABET
57. Lira replacement : EURO
61. Is in first place : LEADS
68. Caesar or Brutus : ROMAN
69. Dedicated poems : ODEs
70. Part in a play : ROLE
71. Follows orders : OBEYS
72. Overly inquisitive : NOSY
73. Barbershop sound : SNIP snip snip snip snip snip...
Down:
1. Animal's hide : PELT
2. Scent : ODOR
3. New Zealand bird : KIWI
4. One of two directing brothers : ETHAN COEN. The other is Joel.
5. Prohibit : BAN
6. Hauls with effort : LUGs
7. The "E" in HOMES : ERIE. A mnemonic for remembering Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior Lakes.
8. Comic Carvey : DANA
9. Adobe document suffix : PDF. (Portable Document Format)
10. Bone-chilling : EERIE
11. Spaghetti sauce ingredient : PLUM TOMATO
12. Lose one's footing : SLIP
13. Believers: Suff. : ISTs
18. Felipe of baseball : ALOU. Did you know his name was really Felipe Rojas. The Giants' scout who signed him got it wrong.
19. "True __": Wayne film : GRIT
24. In a dead heat : TIED
26. Athletic center : GYM
27. Popular Pachelbel work : CANON
28. The first Mrs. Trump : IVANA
29. "Isn't my face familiar?" : "REMEMBER ME?"
30. Futurist's deck : TAROT
31. Calf muscle malady : CRAMP
32. Entomb : INTER
34. Big name in Russian ballet : KIROV. The Soviet Ballet in 1934 was named to honor Sergey Kirov, an assassinated revolutionary. Officially, it is now the Mariinsky Ballet.
35. Drama division : SCENE
39. "Please tell me" : "I'M ALL EARS"
42. Stocking tear : SNAG
45. Bear's home : DEN
50. Like much wine and cheese : AGED
51. Holler : YELL
53. Cornered : AT BAY
55. Jackson 5 hair style : AFRO
56. __ tube: TV : BOOB
58. Japanese noodle : UDON. Often in your soup.
59. Make over : REDO
60. Snake eyes pair : ONEs
62. Soon, to a bard : ANON
63. Supermarket section : DELI
64. Dance movement : STEP
66. __ and outs: particulars : INS
67. Aspiring therapist's maj. : PSY. (Psychology)
Argyle
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteVacation's over, I'm back to getting up at my normal early hour, and my brain hurts. Fortunately, today's Monday puzzle was smooth and easy. No nits to pick, just an enjoyable solve.
Thanks, C.C.!
A frat-house cricket bat may be a paddle
ReplyDeleteOr something to make a canoe skedaddle
A number to pick
That's glued to a stick,
In an auction-house, that's a "FOR BIDDIN'" paddle!
Said Eve to Adam, "Now tell me the truth,
Does my ass look too big in this fig-leaf suit?"
Said Adam, "My dear
When I look at your rear,
I'm always in mind of FORBIDDEN FRUIT!"
Far off in China, in the town of Beijing,
Is a palace that once was the home of the Ming.
The FORBIDDEN CITY
Is still very pretty,
But now tourists rule in place of a king!
He was a Hatfield, she a McCoy.
A beautiful girl and a handsome boy.
FORBIDDEN LOVE brewed
In the midst of the feud --
He married her brother, she was just a decoy!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNice easy lope, for a Monday. Thanks, C.C. My only misstep was ACES where ONES should be. Easily fixed.
How could anybody get Rojas and Alou confused? The only things they have in common are the A and O, and even those are in reverse order.
I remember KIROV from The Hunt For Red October. It's one of the ships mentioned when, "They've sortied their whole bloody fleet!"
Totally off topic -- in yesterday's NYT I came across BILDUNGSROMAN for the first time. It was described as the genre of David Copperfield. Today, it's the word of the day on AWAD. Oops! For those of you who get the NYT a week late, don't read this.
ETHAN COEN, REMEMBER ME, PLUM TOMATO, I'M ALL EARS... beautiful fill.
ReplyDeleteWorld where Gerald and Joe rule?
FORD, BIDEN PLANET
The family name in the Dominican Republic is Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronymic was his father's name. Wiki
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with the Latin custom, this man is known in full as Felipe Rojas Alou, with each parent contributing half of the double surname. The paternal half is normally used in everyday life, and in the Dominican people know Felipe, Mateo, and Jesús as the Rojas brothers. During Felipe’s time in the American minor leagues he began to be called (incorrectly) Felipe Alou, rhyming (again incorrectly) with "lew" rather than "low." However, he did not feel empowered enough to correct the error. Two of his brothers, Mateo and Jesús, followed him to American baseball and also, because of the error with Felipe, assumed the surname Alou during their Stateside careers. Similarly, three of Felipe’s sons played professionally, one becoming a star, and all of them used the name Alou even though it was not a part of their name at all (it being their grandmother’s maiden name, not their mother’s). For convenience, this biography will refer to the subject by the name most readers are familiar with: Felipe Alou. ~ SABR
Good day,
ReplyDeleteThis solve left me with an EERIE feeling. Thought I was solving the NY Times puzzle on the computer only to discover, after finishing, it was the LA Times. I was wondering why both papers were carrying the same puzzle. Oh well, so much for paying attention!
Anyhow, the only typeover was avia/AVEO. Never get this one right.
That's it for today.
Thank you C.C. and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteI used to use the expression "Low Hanging Fruit" when training groups of new hires. That is until one session when a spirited young lady challenged me: "Why can't I reach for the high hanging fruit!"
'Well... you can, of course you can' I countered. 'I merely refer to the low hanging fruit as a starting point.' She got in a big huff about me being condescending and stormed out.
I modified my presentation after that. Sakes...
Nice Monday run. After yesterday's discussions, I tried the puzzle online. It works, but I like all the clues in front of me at once.
ReplyDeleteThanks C.C. and Argyle. I had many Latino and Latina students who used their parental surnames, so I found the omission common--especially in this day of computer generated lists that only allow so many letters for a surname.
Winter has officially arrived in the Midwest. It's -2 here. Stay cozy!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteC.C. LEADS us gently into a new week of puzzledom. Straightforward solve; neat theme. No searches or nits.
22 a - Thanks for the SO å moi and our ilk.
Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.
"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDeleteOwen, you're back on your game! Good lim's
Speaking of LOW HANGING FRUIT, this puzzle had quite a bit; I plucked most of it, and sped through the upper half; still, CC, I found this a nice moderate challenge for a Monday - good clueing
Thanks, Argyle for the biog on the Alou family. I certainly recall them when they all played; as one who used to do business in Latin America I totally understand the confusion of names
Only ink blot was in the spelling of COEN; don't know why I always want to spell it COHN
Sad news yesterday at the passing of Stuart Scott; those of you here who are sports fans no doubt know who I'm talking about. ESPN had many clips on their SportsCenter telecasts last night. He was a cool dude. RIP
My lim to him:
When you blow on a dead pussy willow,
The old catkins disperse, and they billow
Up high towards the sky,
Where Stu Scott does now lie:
"Cool, as the other side of the pillow!"
I just read the last of yesterday's posts and want to correct Husker Gary's apparent misunderstanding of what I said. I wasn't criticizing anyone for acknowledging that something in a puzzle was unknown to them. There's something that's unknown to me in every puzzle (that's what perps are for). What I was questioning is why anyone would come online and say "I still don't know what "x" means when Googling "x" would give them the answer.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wasn't suggesting that solving the puzzle online is "better than" solving it on paper. I was simply suggesting that solving it online for awhile might improve your crossword skills.
Anyway, apologies for any misunderstandings.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteMadame DeFarge: Where are you? Are you in the Chicago area? I noticed that yesterday in your DC-10 comment and also today regarding the temperature. I am at -2 degrees.
Puzzle was great. Nice start to the week. Only took me about 20 minutes, which is short for me. Yesterday was about 3 hours.
Theme was swell. Two grid spanners.
Hey, my hometown lake made it again, ERIE.
UDON was not known. Perped it.
KIROV was unknown. Perped it.
Liked the movie True GRIT.
Off to my day. see you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Thanks, CC and Argyle, for a great start to the first full week of 2015. It wasn't too easy--I checked vertical clues in a few places before entering letters, but still a very quick solve.
ReplyDeleteWoke up to lots of snow, but temps above zero. That makes it a good day.
Montana
Hello, puzzlers. Thanks to C.C. for another fine grid and to Argyle for the review.
ReplyDeleteThis was a swift sashay all the way across with very little attention to the downs. Checking them revealed all was well. Done before coffee.
Regarding Hispanic last names, when I taught ESL and heard from students that the wrong last name had been applied, I encouraged them to hyphenate their surnames and avoid that problem. It worked.
Have a happy Monday, everyone! Unseasonably cold here.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
ReplyDelete2015 started with a gulp of Vodka!!!
OK, Scotch was consumed on Saturday night ...
C.C. Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. My first of 2015 ... and so far ... my favorite!
Argyle: Nice write-up. Especially the FORBIDDEN PLANET clip.
(I always thought Forbidden LOVE was kinda nice!)
And (of course) BOOB was my favorite answer, go figure.
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Cheers!!!
Oh, the theme words are at the end of the phrase and the key is at the front of the reveal. Fun!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Bad POKING
-Two guys on NAME That Tune (:49) on the night Sputnik was launched. They both became famous later in life in very disparate fields.
-Joann has a Chocolate Cake candle and she likes the ODOR and me, not so much
-I’ve put A TON of KIWI products on my footwear
-The COEN brothers made one of my favorite movies but also produced the only Tom Hanks movie I ever disliked
-Can you LUGS LUG those LUGS over here?
-This DANA event shocked an entire town 20 miles from here 4 years ago on a lovely June morning
-When John Wayne won an Oscar for True Grit his acceptance speech opened with “If I’d known that, I would have put that patch on 35 years ago”
-Resolutions have GYMS full in January. In July…
-After having 14,000 students, when I hear someone say “Do you REMEMBER ME?” . I simply respond, “I’m embarrassed, you’ll have to tell me your name.”
-NOSY people are usually ALL EARS
Downton Abbey was fabulous last night. I started counting all the FORBIDDEN LOVE events on that show over the years and got to ten very quickly. Gender, race and class made no difference. Hey, they didn’t have cable.
ReplyDeleteHusker, I'm so sorry that Joann likes that candle better than you!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteIt's always a treat to open the puzzle and see CC as the constructor. Today was a fun, easy romp with great fill and a clever theme. CSO to Abejo with Erie and nearby eerie.
Thanks, CC, for getting us off to a good start to the week and thanks, Argyle, for the detailed expo.
The deep freeze has begun! Stay safe and warm everyone.
Have a great day.
Enjoyable Monday solve today. Thanks C.C. and Argyle. I love the Pachebel's Canon link.
ReplyDeleteDALES turned into DELLS, DARNS into DRATS, and UDON filled in with perps, thankfully.
Here between Lakes Ontario and ERIE (yes I noted the CSO to Abejo), it is BONE-CHILLING.
Have a great day!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteC.C gets the week off to a great start.
I really like today's theme. Or is that not allowed? Had no idea what was up without the unifier.
Was surprised to see BOOB in the write up. Got it completely from perps.
Symmetries:
Is SLIP BOOB a wardrobe malfunction?
Aroma sounds better than DELI ODOR.
NOSY BLED - past tense of the aftermath of prying.
After the SNIP: "Would you care for some hair dressing, sir?" "NOT GEL!"
I guess Robbie wouldn't be able to honestly leave a comment.
Cool regards!
JzB
Hi everybody! On a whim, I decided to print out this puzzle and do it on paper. I have a new printer so why not? I was expecting the solve to be faster because the paper version is easier to navigate but I stumbled around and managed a mediocre 18 minutes. Both methods have their own advantages. Since I started solving CW puzzles online years ago and had never gotten used to paper and pencil, the online version seems more comfortable to me. P and P is perfectly fine too.
ReplyDeleteGary, I tend not to like the smell of many candles these days. The fragrance seems artificial rather than natural.
ReplyDeleteI love a C.C. puzzle on a Monday morning--there's no better way to start the week! Many thanks, C.C., and you too, Argyle, for the always cool expo.
My only surprised moment came when PLUM started out that spaghetti sauce answer. PLUM had to be right, but there's no way any spaghetti sauce on the planet (FORBIDDEN or other wise) would have PLUMs in it. Huge relief when it turned out to be PLUM TOMATO.
That was a great season premiere of "Downton Abbey," wasn't it, Husker Gary? I'm so glad the show isn't losing its ELAN (a favorite crossword answer).
Owen and Spitzboov, thanks for giving us Monday chuckles.
Have a great week, everybody!
Interesting coincidences. My husband was working for Circuit City when it finally filed for bankruptcy, 6 years ago this month. And the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts currently has the Forbidden City exhibition. Went to see it last week.
ReplyDeleteHi all!
ReplyDeleteLast day of vacation* started with a BANG w/ a C.C. Monday. I worked it in a circle NW -> NE -> SE and all the way around. Spanning theme (liked it!) answers fell before most other fill. Only ESP was 34d.
Thanks for the writeup Argyle and everyone else keeping the fun.
I almost had Roma before PLUM - San Marzano TOMATO (what I use) didn't fit.
I also liked the mini-theme...
STEP into the GYM, get a CRAMP and see the therapist - oops she has a PSY degree.
OwenKL - Back in fine form!
SNL No Coke, PEPSI.
Cheers, -T
*I thought the kids would be in school, DW at work, and just a dad's chill-day. Oh, well.
Abejo at 8:56:
ReplyDeleteYes, I am in Chicagoland--knitting away.
I also loved Downton Abbey last night! What superb writing and acting. Interesting fate for Barrow.
ReplyDeleteOoh! I could do a lot of links with this puzzle! But which ones have I not linked b/4?
ReplyDeleteAck!
This may take some time to research....
(P.S. ditto avea/o-ca/oen)
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteDriving home from a business appointment, so I'm writing from a service plaza somewhere on the NY Thruway - hi Irish Miss! I think I'm a few miles south of you.
Whipped right through the puzzle, doing only across clues. Never heard of Forbidden City - it's a bit before my time. I'd like to brush up on vintage Sci Fi, and I see Netflix is ready.
Husker and others - I'm with you, scented candles are unsatisfying things. I live near the massive Yankee Candle factory and its enormous gift shop, and find I can't cope with the smell of the place. I am honestly surprised that so many people around the world enjoy scented candles. They turned Yankee into a gazillion dollar enterprise.
Welcome back, Downton Abbey! How does that creep Barrow keep coming up smelling like a rose? Husker, I came up with 8 cases of Forbidden Love right off, but can't remember beyond that...I'm glad the lady's maid beat Barrow to the punch, this time. That schoolteacher seems like a headstrong little brat. Lady Mary, run with it! Life's too short!
Nuff said.
Thank you, C.C., for producing this fun puzzle. Easy but fun. Some nifty fill and neato clues. All the best.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy checking my answers and the discussions of the crossword puzzles. Where can I find the solution to the Los Angeles Times Sunday puzzle in the Arts and Books section. It doesn't appear at crossword corner.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
C.C., a wonderful Monday.
ReplyDeleteOwen and Moe, some really inventive and entertaining Limericks.
Jerome, you always amaze
Damn, I forgot to watch DA!?!?!last night
Thanks, C.C. and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteNice today, Just my usual brain freezes in a couple of spots...
Always got IVANA and Ivanka confused...
Didn't get the whole theme until finished.
C.C. makes it look so easy, though.
Go forth and have a fifth on the fifth... but not all at one time!!!
Today was the first day my European associates were all back at work after a two week holiday. Gadzooks, was I ever busy! Soooo...
ReplyDeleteWEES!!
What a great start to the first full week of the new year! Thanks, C.C. and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteNo problems with the puzzle, but I didn't get the theme. So what else is new? I rarely think to look for it.
Owen, you are in fine form today. Great job!
I'd like to brag about one of my brothers, if I may. Photographer/videographer Ken Scott has had a video (35 sec.) shown on The Weather Channel! It's titled "Great Balls of...ICE"
How cool is that.
Enjoy your day.
Pat
Lucina, hotter weather coming your way! I know some of you are experiencing winter's wrath but it's unseasonably warm here, about 75 degrees. Nice for a bike ride but too warm for January otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI recorded DA last night and have watched part of it. I'm glad to hear the rest is going to be super-enjoyable. When I first got into that show partway through the second season, there were too many characters for me to keep straight. I couldn't even tell the butlers from the earls. But I went back and watched the earlier episodes and now all the characters make sense.
People being kind to animals
Held off posting until now, hoping my Muse would give me that last limerick, but all I've gotten was
ReplyDeleteA sci-fi movie that I loved as a kid
Was the one with monster that came from the id.
Jerome: LOL at FORD BIDEN!
Rainman: Thanks for the nice limerick yesterday!
Owen: three lame lims to lower expectations, and then a howler. That Muse is getting tricky.
I didn't think of the theme as no-nos, the ends of 17, 27, 49A made me think of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI guess you can say fruit is forbidden, as the only time it is seen is when Morbius throws it into the disposall...
City, yes, could be...
Forbidden love,,, Ah yes...
I recently saw a documentary I was not aware of, it has some interesting insights into the making of the film>
Part one
Part Two
But part of what made this movie so scary was the Great Sound Effects
Great Balls of...ICE(0:30)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Monday puzzle from our blogmaster, C.C. I will have to admit that the fill for 17a brought a broad smile to this old curmudgeon's face. A mini CSO? Thank you , Argyle, for an entertaining and informative expo. Always well done.
ReplyDeleteBill G @3:18, Thank you so much for that link. Maybe there is some goodness left in mankind (and maybe I shouldn't be such a curmudgeon).
Spitzboov, that joke is such a groaner that I love it and will pay it forward. I love that kind of humor.
HG, I must have missed it. Who is the child with John Glenn and why is he well known? Also re: "True Grit" John Wayne won a Oscar for the movie ( I, think. Didn't he?), but Glen Campbell was never under consideration. I remember one movie reviewer saying "Glenn Campbell has never acted in a movie before. His record is still clear."
TTFN!
-BH, Eddie Hodges had a career in movies and TV
ReplyDelete-Many said John Wayne’s Oscar was more of a lifetime achievement award for his body of work as he beat our Dustin Hoffman, Peter O’Toole, Jon Voight and Richard Burton in some heavy-duty roles.
-John Wayne had heartthrobs du jour Glen Campbell and Ricky Nelson in certain movies where both had a range of from A to B.
Hi all.
ReplyDeleteDidn't recognize Pachelbel and didn't know KIROV but perps were solid.
Thank you CC and thank you Argyle.
CC, I forgot to add the kielbasa in that recipe. Should be added at the same time as the beer and brown sugar.
-T, thanks for the Munroe book recommendation yesterday. And for the SNL skt / clip of the olympia diner. We'll often spend a weekend in the city when we have family or company in town, and parts of DW's "tour" is to stop in at the original Billy Goat Tavern on lower Michigan Ave
Not an apple...go look.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it. Ran across this joke, but I don't see what's funny about it.
ReplyDeleteGuarding Sheep
Our pastor was talking to the kids about the shepherd
guarding his sheep. He asked the kids what animals
would be a danger to the sheep.
Several said lions, wolves, bears--my 5 yr old grandson
piped up with ALLIGATORS!
The pastor had to stop for a second or two before he
could continued.
The congregation was laughing so hard that no one could
have heard anyway!!
Owen - I don't get it either. Down here alligators would eat your sheep.
ReplyDeleteTTP - DW went to Billy Goat while on holiday with her friend (who lived in E. Elgin). DW asked for fries.
Cheers, -T
OwenKL, ya got me too... Maybe it's an inside joke? Not my idea of a funny joke.
ReplyDelete