Words: 70 (missing J,Q)
Blocks: 26
Welcome to another edition of Splynter 'splains Saturday's Silkie~!
This one was a bear, at least on the first pass - then, little by
slowly, with a few sensible W.A.G.s, followed by a dredging of the
depths of the dark corners of my mind, I finished - and within my
personal time, too. Quite a satisfying solve. Intimidating triple
10-letter corners tied together with crossing 8's - add to that a
boat-load of proper names and some uncommon items and you get what we
have today. Some of the longer answers;
1a. One is featured in the 1962 Ventures instrumental "The 2,000 Pound Bee" : FUZZ GUITAR - I am a huge fan of the guitar, and I am familiar with Jimmy Page's use of the "fuzz" sound.
13d. Sandusky locale : ERIE COUNTY - knew it was in PA, but didn't get it 'til I had ---UNTY
57a. South side : TEXAS TOAST - clever; I was trying to squeeze "CONFEDERATES" in
26d. Power source : SOLAR PANEL - Two weekends ago I was up in a little, and I mean little, place called South Otselic - it's east of Cortland, NY, and the little cabin we stayed in was totally powered by a wind turbine and solar panels. My friend Garry owns the land, and did the work; in fact, he owned "Go Solar" down here on L.I., and that's how we met. Here's pics of the cabin, the wind turbine, and me standing in one of the blades that are part of the real wind turbines up at the Fenner Wind Farm; 80 feet long~!
57a. South side : TEXAS TOAST - clever; I was trying to squeeze "CONFEDERATES" in
26d. Power source : SOLAR PANEL - Two weekends ago I was up in a little, and I mean little, place called South Otselic - it's east of Cortland, NY, and the little cabin we stayed in was totally powered by a wind turbine and solar panels. My friend Garry owns the land, and did the work; in fact, he owned "Go Solar" down here on L.I., and that's how we met. Here's pics of the cabin, the wind turbine, and me standing in one of the blades that are part of the real wind turbines up at the Fenner Wind Farm; 80 feet long~!
ONWIND~!
ACROSS:
11. Bass output : ALES - Bass - the beer brand; toyed with "LOWS" at first
15. He played the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven" : ELI WALLACH
16. __ Maar, mistress of Picasso : DORA - all perps
17. Qualified for : ENTITLED TO
18. "The Enemy Below" setting, briefly : WW II - Waaaay before my time; IMDb
19. Zap : LASE
20. Kid's cry : Maa~!
21. Overpower with noise : DEAFEN
23. Airline created by an Act of Parliament : BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation
25. Take away : DETRACT - I went with DEPRIVE to start; only 42.8% correct
26. "The Love Machine" author : SUSANN - Since I do not know this person, I was curious about whether this was a first/last name - her Wiki
29. Place to stretch : REST STOP - They're called REST AREAS around here, but I was pretty sure about that second "S" from 11d.
30. In abeyance : ON ICE
31. "Michael" co-screenwriter Ephron : DELIA - I put in NORAH - Bzzzt~! (spelled wrong, to boot); her movie bio page
32. Expected : DUE
33. Tie : LINK - Dah~! My only bad cell; I had LINE, and since it crossed a "foreign" word....
34. "Hot House" Grammy-winning pianist : COREA - Did not think of Chick until I had C-R-A in place
35. Philadelphia tourist attraction : MINT - ah, not BELL; look for the "P" on dimes, etc.
36. DJIA part: Abbr. : AVG - I thought "DOW" was too simple, but it's what I went with until SOLAR PANEL 'enlightened' me
37. Massenet opera : THAÏS - the Wiki
38. Heraklion's island : CRETE - the clue looked Greek, turned out to be Greek -ish
39. Chimney repair job : RELINING - REPOINTING did not fit
41. 14-Down, for one : MARTYR - I did not know this about St. Pete
42. Some property safeguards : PRE-NUPS
43. "Alice in Wonderland" bird : DO-DO
44. They may be frozen or liquid : ASSETS - this was, like, one of my only fills on the first pass (OK, I had MAA & TASE to start, and that was wrong)
45. Ideal figure : TEN - Mr. Silk is probably referring to Olympic scoring; a woman's figure is ideal if she were, say, a "two" - IMHO ;7))
46. School with the mascot Big Al : 'BAMA - mostly perps, but makes sense - my mom loves elephants
50. Quill parts : NIBS
51. Food chain group : HERBIVORES - anyone else think something like "IHOP" first?
54. Greek letters : ETAs
55. Gourmands : OVER-EATERS
56. Erato's instrument : LYRE
DOWN:
1. Sense : FEEL
2. Radius neighbor : ULNA - 'dem bones
3. Unpopular spots : ZITS - I knew ACNE was what we were looking for, but I had TASE and felt pretty confident about the "S"
4. Literally, "twice-baked" : ZWIEBACK - I thought it was a cookie (and the last name of a kid I went to high school with); after reading up on it, I prefer Biscotti
5. Rod : GAT - gangsta talk for a gun
6. "Tracey Takes On" author : ULLMAN - and her TV show spawned "The Simpsons" - its first airing was Dec 17th, 1989, and has since surpassed all other TV shows for longevity
7. Intestinal : ILEAC - DaH~! Spelled it with two "I"s
8. Cry of achievement : "Ta-DA~!"
9. Routine : ACT - ah, that kind of routine; I guess UPS has got me thinking "RUT"
10. Botswana neighbor, formerly : RHODESIA - a WAG with half the letters via perps
11. Some October campaigns : AD WARS - we're getting close to another "AD" high point - the Superbowl
12. Fare reduction option : LOW-FAT DIET
14. Keys holder in a Rubens portrait : SAINT PETER - Total WAG with only the two "E"s in place; I'm proud of myself~!
22. Singer James : ETTA
24. Person : ONE
25. Strikes out : DELES - DAH~! Was in baseball, not editing, mode
27. Brown, e.g. : UNIVERSITY
28. Business where lines are short? : SINGLES BAR
29. Equip anew : RERIG
31. Pain relief pill brand : DOAN'S
34. Greenside stroke : CHIP SHOT - then there's the stroke below the belt - that's a chEAp shot
35. 1983 Styx hit that begins in Japanese : Mr. ROBOTO - I liked it when it first came out; now, not so much
37. Flanged fastener : T-NUT
38. Rogue : CAD
40. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
41. Francs and beans? : MONIES - Plural of money; clever - loved the clue
43. Winger of "Black Widow" : DEBRA
45. Cretaceous giant : T-REX
47. Stretch : AREA - I get it, but this was the 's-t-r-e-t-c-h' clue for the day
48. Seas overseas : MERS
49. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, now referred to as a Smartphone
52. Certain threshold : EVE - the next "eve" on my calendar is Feb 8th
53. Brewery sight : VAT
15. He played the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven" : ELI WALLACH
16. __ Maar, mistress of Picasso : DORA - all perps
17. Qualified for : ENTITLED TO
18. "The Enemy Below" setting, briefly : WW II - Waaaay before my time; IMDb
19. Zap : LASE
20. Kid's cry : Maa~!
21. Overpower with noise : DEAFEN
23. Airline created by an Act of Parliament : BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation
25. Take away : DETRACT - I went with DEPRIVE to start; only 42.8% correct
26. "The Love Machine" author : SUSANN - Since I do not know this person, I was curious about whether this was a first/last name - her Wiki
29. Place to stretch : REST STOP - They're called REST AREAS around here, but I was pretty sure about that second "S" from 11d.
30. In abeyance : ON ICE
31. "Michael" co-screenwriter Ephron : DELIA - I put in NORAH - Bzzzt~! (spelled wrong, to boot); her movie bio page
32. Expected : DUE
33. Tie : LINK - Dah~! My only bad cell; I had LINE, and since it crossed a "foreign" word....
34. "Hot House" Grammy-winning pianist : COREA - Did not think of Chick until I had C-R-A in place
35. Philadelphia tourist attraction : MINT - ah, not BELL; look for the "P" on dimes, etc.
36. DJIA part: Abbr. : AVG - I thought "DOW" was too simple, but it's what I went with until SOLAR PANEL 'enlightened' me
37. Massenet opera : THAÏS - the Wiki
38. Heraklion's island : CRETE - the clue looked Greek, turned out to be Greek -ish
39. Chimney repair job : RELINING - REPOINTING did not fit
41. 14-Down, for one : MARTYR - I did not know this about St. Pete
42. Some property safeguards : PRE-NUPS
43. "Alice in Wonderland" bird : DO-DO
44. They may be frozen or liquid : ASSETS - this was, like, one of my only fills on the first pass (OK, I had MAA & TASE to start, and that was wrong)
45. Ideal figure : TEN - Mr. Silk is probably referring to Olympic scoring; a woman's figure is ideal if she were, say, a "two" - IMHO ;7))
46. School with the mascot Big Al : 'BAMA - mostly perps, but makes sense - my mom loves elephants
51. Food chain group : HERBIVORES - anyone else think something like "IHOP" first?
54. Greek letters : ETAs
55. Gourmands : OVER-EATERS
56. Erato's instrument : LYRE
DOWN:
1. Sense : FEEL
2. Radius neighbor : ULNA - 'dem bones
3. Unpopular spots : ZITS - I knew ACNE was what we were looking for, but I had TASE and felt pretty confident about the "S"
4. Literally, "twice-baked" : ZWIEBACK - I thought it was a cookie (and the last name of a kid I went to high school with); after reading up on it, I prefer Biscotti
5. Rod : GAT - gangsta talk for a gun
6. "Tracey Takes On" author : ULLMAN - and her TV show spawned "The Simpsons" - its first airing was Dec 17th, 1989, and has since surpassed all other TV shows for longevity
7. Intestinal : ILEAC - DaH~! Spelled it with two "I"s
8. Cry of achievement : "Ta-DA~!"
9. Routine : ACT - ah, that kind of routine; I guess UPS has got me thinking "RUT"
10. Botswana neighbor, formerly : RHODESIA - a WAG with half the letters via perps
11. Some October campaigns : AD WARS - we're getting close to another "AD" high point - the Superbowl
12. Fare reduction option : LOW-FAT DIET
14. Keys holder in a Rubens portrait : SAINT PETER - Total WAG with only the two "E"s in place; I'm proud of myself~!
22. Singer James : ETTA
24. Person : ONE
25. Strikes out : DELES - DAH~! Was in baseball, not editing, mode
27. Brown, e.g. : UNIVERSITY
28. Business where lines are short? : SINGLES BAR
29. Equip anew : RERIG
31. Pain relief pill brand : DOAN'S
35. 1983 Styx hit that begins in Japanese : Mr. ROBOTO - I liked it when it first came out; now, not so much
37. Flanged fastener : T-NUT
38. Rogue : CAD
40. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
41. Francs and beans? : MONIES - Plural of money; clever - loved the clue
43. Winger of "Black Widow" : DEBRA
45. Cretaceous giant : T-REX
47. Stretch : AREA - I get it, but this was the 's-t-r-e-t-c-h' clue for the day
48. Seas overseas : MERS
49. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, now referred to as a Smartphone
52. Certain threshold : EVE - the next "eve" on my calendar is Feb 8th
53. Brewery sight : VAT
Splynter
54 comments:
Not a snowball's chance
in hell on this one:(
The Ventures - The 2000 Pound Bee (Parts 1 & 2)
Link(4:05)
Never heard before myself.
Morning, all!
I used to really loom forward to Mr. Silk's puzzles, but either his puzzles are getting harder or else I'm getting stupider (either one is equally likely, I suppose).
I did finally manage to get through this one, but halfway through I had to stop and Google to see if DOANS was actually a thing or not before continuing on. I was pretty sure about all the perps, but I couldn't believe that DOANS was a real brand. Funny the things we have never heard of, eh?
Elsewhere, I needed a lot of perp help to eventually get other total unknowns like DORA and FUZZ GUITAR. I wasn't familiar with the Reubens painting, so it took a long time to get SAINT PETER and MARTYR (I actually got MARTYR first and then struggled to think of a MARTYR that might be in an old painting).
Notable missteps included TASE for LASE, LUTE for LYRE and ELAL for BOAC (which I finally remembered after missing it in several previous puzzles).
In addition to all that, of course, much of the cluing was brutal. "Food chain group" for HERBIVORES was especially nasty (or clever, I suppose) as was "Fare reduction option" for LOW FAT DIET.
Good morning!
Easier that yesterday's, I thought. I fell into some common traps: ACNE/ZITS, SMEARS/AD WARS, Rest AREA/STOP. Wite-Out was only required sparingly. Finished with time to spare.
Splynter, last I checked SANDUSKY was still in Ohio. Jerry, on the other hand, may well be in a Penn pen. And you really didn't need the "ish" for Crete -- it's Greek. TEN could also be referring to that Bo Derek movie.
The Enemy Below is a really good flick -- not so much a war movie as a psychological battle between the destroyer captain (Mitchum) and the German sub commander (Jurgens). It's probably on NetFlix.
Final fill: Changed CELIA to DELIA and then I recognized DO_NS as DOANS. In my ute I clerked in a small-town Rexall drug store. Folks were always coming in for Geritol for their tired blood, Carter's Little Liver Pills for headache or dyspepsia, and Doan's Pills for their aching backs.
Mr. Silk's puzzles always take time and lots of head scratching.
Well, the dog got up in the middle of the night so I tackled this one early. If you are a crossword constructor and attempting to make a Saturday (difficult, but clever) offering, then this would have fulfilled your goal, in my opinion. This one took me 1:09:03, mostly because after I finally finished it, for the life of me, I could not find my mistakes. Without turning on the red-letter help, I continued and finally noticed I had herbifores, not HERBIVORES, and fat for VAT.
Yesterday we had white side (SLAW); today we have south side (TEXASTOAST). Pretty misdirectional but getting to be a common ruse.
Looking over the puzzle, I admit I actually didn't know the majority of the answers. WAGS and more WAGS got me through. So typical.
Another learning day. Wasn't familiar with: FUZZGUITAR (but I just listened to the Ventures instrumental and liked it), DELIA Ephron I'll have to check... is she Nora's sister? Loved Nora's description of her rent-controlled apartment in NYC in one of her books. Not familiar with the key holder in a Rubens portrait nor the MARTYR... will look them up later. Should have gotten SOLARPANEL earlier because I just had ten installed on my roof. Tough day but kind of satisfying... I knew only a few answers for certain but got through anyway.
Typical Saturday solve. Pick the low-hanging fruit, then go back and start stretching for the rest.
Never heard of a FUZZ GUITAR, but I guess it makes sense. I thought the clue for UNIVERSITY was totally devilish. MOF, most of the clues were.
Thanks for the write-up Splynter, and for the pics. It sure looks cold up there!
Yep. Pretty typical for a Saturday Silkie. Tough....but ultimately fair as well as solvable. I only had two actual erasures: ILIAl and REST area. Those both held me up a lot, but there were so many others where I had guesses in my head that seemed plausible. (e.g. Godzilla for Mr Roboto...never mind that that was BOC, not Styx. And it fit!). These kept me in idle and never able to gain much speed.
But it finally came together without error in somewhere around an hour. Seemed worth the time today. Thanks Splynter!
This puzzle constructor's a pimp
Purveying a vice dressed quite skimp-
Ily, mostly bare
Except here and there,
But satisfaction? In two words: "Imp
Ossible!"
Good Morning! I awoke this morning and thought--here we go again. But this test was easier than yesterday. Never thought I'd say that. Thanks, Mr. Silk.
I wanted SUBS for the enemy below. Kid's cry works nicely for both goats and babes. Knew BOAC my first fill on the opening run. Tried LIMBO first for "in abeyance." Yes, I did it: with a great deal of confidence thinking it was one of the gimmes: BELL for MINT. Silly! It's Saturday. ERATO's instrument was a freebie because she is the muse of LYRical poetry. Iliac is pelvic, Ileac is intestinal--read carefully before you sign the surgical docs. ;) Went to baseball for October campaigns; AL-WARS because NL-WARS wouldn't work. I thought ratings sweeps were in November and May. Don't watch much live TV anymore. News lead-ins used to sound like the magazine rack at the checkout.
Thanks Splynter for an excellent DELIVERY. I m glad I still use my PaperMate Erasermate pens! Happy Weekend, all!
For a Silkie this was very doable for me, I started a little fuzzy on the guitar but the perps filled the NW and the game was on. THAIS was the only complete unknown. I had the same otc pill memory as D-O when I filled in Doans.
SANDUSKY OHIO was an important stop on the Underground Railroad during the waning years of slavery in the US. It seems an appropriate fill during the Martin Luther King birthday week.
Thank Splynter, your pictures look great and I remember why I moved Florida 45 years ago.
When I was growing up Zweiback was the cookie of choice to give to teething babies. Do people still do that?
When I started and saw the Ventures, I thought 'Walk Don't Run' and theme from the original Hawaii Five-O, but was unfamiliar with the one tone apian. I went to 11A and looked at my shoes, which are BASS and thought, no way. On the way to TEXAS TOAST,I only knew Chick COREA and T-REX.
A few write overs after going back up were ALEVE, ADVIL, or DOANS ( does anybody remember Carter's Little Liver Pills), KEG or VAT, RICK or ETTA, RUT or ACT, IND or AVG, EL AL or BOAC, NUKE, TASE, or LASE, CAR or GAT, NORA or DORA, ACNE or ZITS, and KWAI or WWII.
As usual, Saturday puzzles take me out of my zone requiring so many guesses. Didn't know SUSANN had two N's and ULLMAN had two L's. ZWEIBACK, DELIA, and MR ROBOTO were complete unkowns and solved 100% by perps.
Best clue around for anybody-ever. 42A Property Safeguards PRENUPS
Not bad for a Silkie. I moved along fairly well through most of it, until I became mired in the NE. So I went to get the car washed and when I returned I completed the rest of it, I thought. I didn't notice my warning question mark where I had written BUZZ instead of FUZZ, so I didn't go back to correct it, alas. I could have made it. I will have to put my warning in red ink from now on. Still way better than Friday's.
A quick shout-out to fellow Nebraskan Avg Joe. Thank you for your wisdom and insight yesterday.
I'm grateful for the day I found this message board. This is where the cool people hang out.
I woke up at 4:30 with the wind knocking things around and couldn't go back to sleep. Made some coffee and waited for the newspaper to come. Cat on lap, coffee ready and whap-a "Silkie!" Had one answer Trex because I knew cretaceous for some reason. Then things started going up. I reached the NE and had fuzz and couldn't think of anything fuzzy that was a musical instrument. Moral of the story, if you are still sleepy and the wind is whipping things around, don't attempt a Silkie puzzle and expect to do it in the allotted (mine's way long) time. I so enjoy checking this site, though, that it's now become a bit of a ritual. On the days I can't figure things out by myself here's the place to come! (And even when I can.) Thanks, All.
Good morning everyone.
Tough Silkie today. But then, similar to Splynter's experience, it slowly came together. Had 'tase; didn't FEEL LASE was right. Also bawked at ADWARS, was leaning more to political or beer connection.
NE was last to fall. Didn't know there was an ERIE COUNTY in Ohio. A learning. When MARTYR loomed, SAINT PETER appeared and made sense of the clue.
ZWIEBACK - It was called Twieback (L. German) in our house. (Didn't think about the twice baked aspect, though.) Merriam states that ZWIE comes from Old H. German. Modern German uses the prefix Zwei to imply 'twice'. BTW the ie vowel has an 'ee' sound as in 'tweet'.
Spitz, I think you're correct about the political aspect. In October it's candidate's AD WARS.
Marti, what does MOF mean? I'm guessing it's not Ministry of Finance.
Guess that should have been candidates', but what's a misplaced apostrophe among friends?
Second technical DNF in a row for me. Had BOAL / ILEAL and CNUT / CHAIS as my downfall. But overall much more enjoyable than yesterday's misfire. I'm starting to look forward to a Saturday Silkie. Must be getting used to his cluing.
MOF - I think she means 'matter of fact'
Donate what you think it's worth to you. There is no "standard" amount.
Superb! The NE corner bedeviled me as I thought of a Bass SHOE, Fare reduction starting with HALF, COAL in the Sandusky reference, REST AREA - not STOP and SMEARS as Oct. campaigns. I looked up the keys holder (SAINT PETER, duh!!) and it all fell out.
Musings
-Filling the NW corner easily gave false hope
-FEDRAL PEN was my first Sandusky locale for this creep
-Eli played a similar character in this role
-Omar Bakery entry in AD WARS – “Oh MAA, here comes the Omar Man”
-Police use flash bombs that temporarily DEAFEN and blind suspects
-Most people know why some stained glass images of MARTYR SAINT PETER show him upside down
-I wonder if Lady Crawley had Lord Crawley sign a PRE-NUP
-A TV sitcom about two Gourmands
-Eins, ZWIE, drei, vier… Oh, I get it.
-Most famous AD WAR?
-DEBRA was a Husker Hit when she was dating our governor
Hi Everyone:
This one is Silkie at his most devilish, deceiving, and dastardly self! After much hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing, I finally finished, no help, but lots of angst. Having rest area made the saint, Agnes, but the r in martyr changed that. (St. Agnes was a martyr, also.) However, I held on to rest area far too long. Also, I was thinking airlines for fare reduction options, acne/zits, taste/lase, baa/maa, etc. (I'm not sure if Abejo's Erie or Tin's _ _ _ shows up more often.)
All is forgiven, Mr. Silk, but I hope your next offering is just a tad easier. Nice job, Splynter.
Have a great day.
The only Sandusky in PA is former football coach who is currently in Prison in Greene County. The only Sandusky in Erie County is in Ohio.
Its unfortunate that Jerry S. sullied the name of the fine Ohio city of Sandusky, home of Cedar Point. Hopefully soon people will once again think of SANDUSKY as a fun place for families to visit the lake, the islands, the wineries, the water parks and the many other attractions. I personally prefer a fishing charter followed by a delicious dinner of fresh walleye and perch with local Firelands Pinot Grigio and Catawba peach cobbler for dessert.
Well, after yesterday's bear I just resigned myself to having to cheat when I saw today's puzzle was going to be a Silkie (aaawwwrrrggg). But maybe that's a good philosophy, because I actually ended up somewhat enjoying doing it. And Splynter, big help, as always.
Actually started with a few items I knew: DORA (remembered this, to my surprise) ETTA, DEAFEN, ULNA, MERS, and CRETE. That helped get me started, but I would never have gotten FUZZ GUITAR or ZWIEBACK in a million years, even though I probably munched the things when I was a kid in Austria.
Anyway, the tough puzzle weekend is over, thank goodness. It will be sunny and warm in California, and I hope everyone has a good one!
As proof that you can't argue with a sick mind, I've been trying to remember the shill for an elixir on a wrestling program when I was a kid. This was all started by the twice baked answer. It was becoming an obsession, but it finally came to me: Joe Zweiback's Gera-Speed
Does anyone remember this?
Hello Puzzlers -
Really struggled today. Few of the proper nouns were known to me, so right there I needed massive perpage. There were a few of those logjams caused by answers that seem perfect but aren't - such as Bell for the Philadelphia landmark. Some very sneaky clues today!
Cruciverb is still out of action, so this was a pencil and paper effort. I like the challenge of solving in ink, but with a Saturday Silkie, that's asking too much. Erasures are inevitable.
From yesterday: thanks, Lemon, for that news about the Cruciverb guy. I'm given to understand that he is the key to the smooth running of that web resource, and presume there isn't a staff to back him up.
There was mention yesterday about other outlets for the LAT puzzle, such as Mensa. To the best of my knowledge, only Cruciverb is able/authorized to distribute the puzzle in the format used by Apple devices. I prefer to use an iPad, because I have no other portable device. If anyone has more up-to-date information - say, the knowledge of an Apple app that plays other puzzle formats, I'd be interested to know.
I remember Gera-Speed Avg Joe. I also remember many of the wrestlers:
The Ox
Baron Von Raschke
The Greek (puniest wrestler ever to take the mat. A perfect palooka)
Mr. X Ha! No one ever did unmask him.
Greg and Verne Ganya
Hulk Hogan (when he was a much despised 'bad guy.')
I don't know how widely that show was broadcast, Ergo, but I know we saw it on a Sioux City station. I doubt there would be too many here that would remember it, but figured there has to be someone. Gary?
Thanks for the shoutout earlier, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.
After yesterday's debacle, todays Saturday Silkie was a treat. I'm sure I've said it before, but I enjoy Mr. Silk's offerings and look forward to them. Thanks, Mr. Silk, for a challenging, but doable and fun puzzle, and thanks, Splynter for an educational expo.
I had a lot of the same hang-ups as others. I still cannot see a STOP as a "place". Fortunately, perps straightened out all of my false starts and I finished in less than usual weekend time.
Now, back to the accounting.
Well, I got more of them than not. I made all the expected mistakes-- MANON instead of THAIS, even TEE instead of TEN. Didn't know what a FUZZ GUITAR was. My favorites were the WAGs I got away with: ELI WALLACH and OVEREATERS.
Stop as a place is okay by me. The state line will be our next gas stop, rest stop, food stop. We used to change drivers at a rest stop. I often use this word as a place on bus and car trips.
When solving online is there a way to flag doubtful answers? But, even on paper, sometimes when I flag them I still neglect to rethink them.
Bluehen, good luck with the accounting. With my accounting finished, I am really enjoying having Alan back home and he is enjoying it, too.
NW corner was my downfall, not even a forehead slap. Never heard of a fuzzguitar. Only twice baked I know is biscotto. Had tase instead of lase. Lately our Sunday puzzle is easier than Saturday's frustration
YR: "When solving online is there a way to flag doubtful answers?"
Alas, no (at least not on the Mensa site I use). Of course you have to make educated guesses but, after a few minutes, you forget how much of the entry was a guess and how little was educated.
So, as someone mentioned the other day, I try to at least do a quick perp check. That, and trying to remember that even the most "certain" entry is only tentative until I hear the "Tada!".
Yesterday was the first puzzle in ages that I gave up on.
Today is like the 3rd Silkie in a row I've completed...not sure of any real significance other than yesterday's was super tough that really didn't allow a foothold. The Silkie at least gives you a chance.
Musings 2
-Yeah, Joe, I remember Joe Zwieback hawking his elixir during live Omaha TV Wrestling. One of the premier villains was Joseph Maurice Regis “Mad Dog” Vachon, a French-Canadian who retired in Omaha and just died last year at the age of 84. Watching the great unwashed in the stands surrounding the ring was equally entertaining!
-There was no shortage of German and Japanese villains in 50’s rasslin’ fare so near to the end of WWII. The Iron Sheik appeared after our problems with Iran started.
-Slowly the NCAA is relenting on his punishment of Penn State after that monster was put in jail. The administrators are in the midst of legal proceedings about there actions concerning what they knew or should have known.
-60˚F yesterday but the course was still snow covered and so it was a good thing I subbed. The next two days are around 50˚F but today is way too windy. Sunday and Monday look like good bets. Fore!
Hi Puzzle Pals!
Again, I tip my hat to Sat. Solvers. I tied myself up in knots and eventually TITT.
1st pass - FEEL, AHAH, MR ROBOTO -> BAMA & DODO. 34d Long putt?, CHIP in?, CHIP SHOT! That blew away epicurean for 55a (OVEREATERS? - I need to look up Gourmand).
I found this way harder than yesterday (I did it, but didn't post - eldest was Jacob's wife in Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat - for a HS play, it was pretty good w/ a live student orchestra, etc.) It's amazing how, out of an entire group singing, you can hear your own kid's voice.
For 4d - all I could think of was au gratin (as in potatoes). Oh, the melba / ZWIEBACK things we used to give to the teething babes. Yes, LEM, we still do (did 12 years ago) that.
TL; DR - today == total fail.
Dudley - Mensa's site requires Flash which is not available in the iOS environment.
Ave Joe - a buddy in HS loved wrestling and would make me watch. It was like soaps for boys - not my cuppa.
Cheers, -T
Hello, puzzlers.
Late again due to doing this in bits and pieces first, because it was darned hard and second, going to the dentist to have the tooth permanently crowned.
WEES. Almost every clue was a clever misdirection. ELI WALLACH was one of my first to fill then DELIA, Nora's sister, etc. It was a very slow slog with many WAGs and a few Google searches. Not my best effort but certainly one of Mr. Silk's. A great challenge.
SUSANN was also an early fill. She was an excellent writer who died much too young.
Thank you, Splynter, for your enlightening analysis.
I hope your Saturday is going well, everyone!
Am I the only one that looks forward to a Silkie? With a few Googles I don't do too badly.
Many years ago, I was driving on I-80 and came across and passed a couple of these wondering what they were. When I stopped for gas, one of the carriers pull into the oasis (is this an Illinois term). I asked the driver what it was and had an AHA moment.
Ooof! Had a lot of proud moments in the corners and long fills but the center had some short stacked stumpers that wore me out and caused me to miss an easy CHIPSHOT. That doesn't DETRACT (RETRACT) from a nobel effort.
"Strikes out" had me going with going with baseball at first, then editing (EDITS, STETS (wrong direction), (what's that other word? (DELES!)), then on to ventures (hey the Ventures song Walk Don't Run was running through my head (couldn't think of the name, but that wasn't the question, and never heard of 2000 Pound Bee)) which left me with RELOS.
Lucked out on DELIA thanks to DOANS (not ADVIL) and ETTA (not RICK!) and some fortunate, but incorrect perps. Had NORA(misspelled with an)H but that wasn't working. Remembered that she had a sister writer but not a clue to her name.
And so it goes.
...err...noble. I don't think I'll be winning any prizes.
Ergo said...
"I'm grateful for the day I found this message board. This is where the cool people hang out."
I totally agree with you, Ergo!
Montana
Gary and Ergo, I vaguely remember some of those Rasslers names, but I honestly never watched with any interest. There just weren't many choices in those days, with 2 or 3 channels, and with majority rule in a household of 8, and with me being the youngest..... But I could almost recall Joe Zweiback, and that sent me on a several hour search of the memory banks. It was a long strange trip, but I got to the destination.
John28man, the only time I've seen oasis used to describe a rest area was on a turnpike. IOW, a toll road with fewer exits and where those few available also had gas stations. Those I've seen have been in Kansas and Illinois. I'm sure there are others. But I think the distinction is that a rest area has only a place to take a break, leave a pee and maybe buy a soda.
Montana- If this is where 'the cool people hang out', I will probably be banned from future postings.
Wrestlers- There were many wrestling circuits in the 50's 60's. They all had their'good' guys and their 'bad' guys. I remember bad buys who always wore masks. WHY?
Because they could wrestle on another circuit as a good guy. Every circuit had their 'world champion'. With tag teams, the bad guys were never caught doing anything illegal while the good guys always got caught.
Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz) starred in a film, 'The One And Only', many years ago as an actor turned wrestler.
Seems as if rasseling was popular in old timey Nebraska...
Ergo:
Careful hangin' w/ the cool kids...
It will start off with a Monday C.C. or a Tuesday Marti. Soon you'll be out on the streets looking for a hit of Lim. Not too long after you'll be freebasing a Silkie wondering what happened to what you knew on Monday...
I went down that road and I'm still on that, oh, what's 7 letters for merry-go-round?
Cheers, -T
Thank you for helping to clear my mind of that name and learning that there are wonderful things in that city.
Yes, a struggle, and a very satisfying solve at the end (of an hour or two). Some quibbles, however:
Who ever heard of the DJIA? The short form is "the Dow." And it didn't help that the small type in my newspaper made the clue appear to say "DNA."
"Some property safeguards" was an insufficient clue for PRENUPS. "Prenups" is short for "prenuptial agreements," and the clue should have given us a "for short" or a "briefly" or somesuch.
The SUN is the power source, not the SOLAR PANEL. The solar panel is a collector.
Horse for courses. Put me on the Yesterday's Puzzle was much harder list, not to mention the satisfaction of handily handling Barry.
Still not clear on the "area"/" stretch." ?
That area of road out past Rt. 27.
That stretch of road out past Rt. 27.
Thanks, Argyle.
I was having trouble thinking of a "stretch" example that wasn't to linear to substitute "area."
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