Theme: Hey buddy, can you spare a medi? - The sequence of the letters in the word SPARE have been changed and scrambled inside 17-, 32-, 38-Across and 11-, 29-Down. If you have the circles, that's fine. If you don't, then it's an added challenge.
17A. Airport security indignity : STRIP SEARCH
32A. Flour packaging : PAPER SACK
38A. Diva's big moment : OPERA SOLO
11D. Social gathering at a home : HOUSE PARTY
29D. Region beyond our atmosphere : OUTER SPACE
54A. Pocketful of coins, and what literally occurs in the circled letters in five puzzle answers : SPARE CHANGE
Lyegar here. I found having the circles and knowing the gimmick helped a skosh in the solve. Otherwise, a standard grid with mostly standard fill. Too many proper names?
Across:
1. Tennessee senator Alexander : LAMAR. (Andrew Lamar Alexander, Jr) Unknown to me.
6. Disgusting : GROSS
11. Summary on a timecard: Abbr. : HRs. (hours)
14. Olds model : ALERO
15. Emotionally expressive, as poetry : LYRIC. Dictionary approved.
16. OPEC commodity : OIL
19. Charlottesville sch. : UVA. (University of Virginia)
20. "Mazel __!" : TOV. ("good luck!")
21. Flair : ELAN
22. NFL Network talk show host Rich : EISEN. A journalist who attended the University of Michigan and was NOT an athlete although he was co–sports editor of the school's paper.
24. Father of Cain and Abel : ADAM
25. "The Maltese Falcon" novelist : HAMMETT. (Dashiell Hammett)
27. "That's enough!" : "STOP IT!"
30. Get started, as a grill : FIRE UP. Oh, yeah!
31. One-eighty : U-TURN
35. Bon __: witticism : MOT
36. Animal skins : PELTS
37. __ v. Wade : ROE
41. "Another card, dealer" : "HIT ME". Playing Blackjack.
43. Citizens under Caesar : ROMANS
44. Gorge : CANYON
45. Pure joy : ECSTASY
47. Quaint dagger : DIRK. 'Tis the one ye Scots wear in their hose.
48. Controversial Nixon records : TAPES
49. Blue jay or oriole : BIRD
50. Down in the dumps : SAD
53. Actress Thurman : UMA
58. Mo. with the shortest day of the year : DEC. Day meaning the period of sunlight.
59. Elaborate display : ECLAT
60. The "A" in "CAT scan" : AXIAL. (computed axial tomography) Older and less preferred term. per Wiki.
61. Fair-hiring abbr. : EOE. (Equal Opportunity Employment)
62. Thick-furred dog : SPITZ
 |
| Finnish |
63. Colorful tank fish : TETRA
Down:
1. "The __ of the Mohicans" : LAST
2. Choir voice : ALTO
3. "Jeopardy!" creator Griffin : MERV
4. The D-backs, on scoreboards : ARI. (Arizona Diamondbacks)
5. Tricked by a scam : ROPED IN
6. Sparkle : GLEAM
7. Meg of "You've Got Mail" : RYAN
8. Bruin legend Bobby : ORR
9. Attack, to Rover : SIC
10. One with a devious plan : SCHEMER
12. Metal fastener : RIVET
13. Bias : SLANT
18. Bed support : SLAT
23. Don of morning radio : IMUS. "Don Imus Leaving Fox Business Network". Didn't know, don't care.
24. Auto financing abbr. : APR. (annual percentage rate)
25. Aware of : HIP TO
26. Greek god of war : ARES
27. Japanese wrestling : SUMO
28. 'Vette roof option : T-TOP. The '68 Corvette coupe was the first U.S.-built car to feature a T-top roof.
30. Niagara __ : FALLS
32. Showy flower : PEONY
33. Crooner Perry : COMO. If it's hip to be square, this dude was.
34. Sharp : KEEN
36. "The more you know" TV ads, e.g. : PSAs. (Public Service Announcement)
39. Repetitive learning : ROTE
40. Builds up : AMASSES
41. Construction site headgear : HARD HAT
42. Bic filler : INK
44. Newspaper sales no. : CIRC. (circulation)
45. Technique-mastering piano piece : ETUDE
46. Short film role : CAMEO
47. "Legion of the Damned" series writer William : DIETZ. What? His website.
49. Naughty kid : BRAT
50. Cranky state : SNIT
51. Biology lab gel : AGAR
52. Fashion's Oscar __ Renta : DE LA
55. Narc's find, briefly : PCP. Angel Dust.
56. Boxing immortal : ALI
57. Firefighter's tool : AXE
Yes, too many names.
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Kerry S, a long time lurker on our blog, sent me this fun picture yesterday: 1-A: Town in Italy!
55 comments:
Morning, all!
Circles? We don't need no steenkin' circles! Which is good, since I didn't get any today...
Mostly smooth solve. There were a few unknown names, such as EISEN and DIETZ, but the perps got me through. Fortunately, I remembered LAMAR and HAMMETT or things might have gotten a bit ugly.
Do people really get STRIP SEARCHed at airports??? One more reason to hate flying, I guess...
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I found this to be quite a challenge for a Tuesday. To me, this was more of a Wednesday-level fare.
Since I cancelled my newspaper subscription, I print out my puzzle each morning, so had no circles. Hence, I really wanted Loose Change in lieu of SPARE CHANGE, despite the fact that I knew that BRAT was the correct perp.
I really wanted Hides instead of PELTS.
We often travel to South America in DEC to avoid the shortest day of the year. LOL!
Desper-Otto: We were in your fair city over the weekend, where we were treated to an OPERA SOLO.
We were caught in yesterday's severe storms that rumbled through the south. Very scary watching the storm from the 12th story of my office building.
Apropos of yesterday's conversation about Commas, here is a recent article from the New Yorker, which I found rather amusing. (I couldn't post this yesterday because we lost electricity for several hours.)
QOD: You can’t stay mad at somebody who makes you laugh. ~ Jay Leno (b. Apr. 29, 1950)
Good morning!
Where is everybody?
No problems with the puzzle, even figured out that the circled letter strings contained the same letters, but couldn't decide if the theme was SPEAR or RAPES.
The I at the crossing of EISEN and IMUS could have been a natick for some. The Z in SPITZ/DIETZ also.
Perry COMO's career spanned many decades. From what I've read, he was well-liked both inside and outside the entertainment business. He provided many Magic Moments.
Howdy,
This was a pretty easy puzzle until I reached the far South. DIETZ, SPITZ, ECLAT, & PCP were achieved by relying on perps. EISON was only unknown in North. Never watch the NFL network, hardly watch NFL games anymore. Hate the time lost for all the TV interference, ads, challenges, play reviews. Too much.
Anyhow, a successful solve. No circles, but they were not missed.
Almost WBS as Eisen is known to me, DIETZ not at all.
Senator Alexander has the distinction of succeeding actor turned politician return to actor FRED THOMPSON.
Very, very few get strip searched at airports but it can happen.
Thanks Lygera and General Morris
There is no "A" in "CAT scan": "CAT scan" is merely a phonetic (anagrammatical) rendition of "CT scan." The "CT" stands for "computed tomography." Some lexicographers later inserted "axial" because they could not stand the idea of medical slang. Another corruption in some definitions of the term is rendering "computed" as "computerized".
Tell my ex wife that you cannot stay mad at someone who makes you laugh.
My brother represented Perry Como and Burt Reynolds in a project they did together in Florida and found Como to be a very nice man. Of course he had letters.
Good Morning, all.
A sunny day and a pleasant puzzle make for a fine Tuesday. Thank you Mr. Morris and Argyle.
My only freeze was the cross of DIETZ and DIRK. I wanted snee for that quaint dagger.
Hahtoolah confirms that I am a nerd: The New Yorker essay by Mary Norris was a delight! Thank you.
Off to finish a long To Do list today, including, of course, two knitting projects that need concluding. Additionally, DH has jury duty, and I want to make a nice dinner for his return.
Lyegar: Ecin riwet-pu. Thanks for the SPITZ photo.
Hmmm, I was taught that ALL-DAYS were 24 hours long.
Though I like Hahtoolah's solution for avoiding the DEC situation.
When I finished, it HIT-ME ... there is nothing to drink in the grid.
Oh well, it is raining "Cats-and-Dogs" ... and I didn't get the Ark finished yesterday ... tears.
The Lightning are providing ECSTASY to the Tampa Bay area.
Cheers!
Names were definitely a challenge to me today, since I always have trouble remembering even those I know, and I knew precious few of today's.
Also, having SMALL before SPARE, TAKEN before ROPED, and SCAMMER before SCHEMER were all separate holdups. Other than that, since I did eventually finish, it was OK.
Sorry for not being here to respond to all the birthday wishes yesterday, but I did eventually get here at the end of my evening, so if you wish to see how my weekend went, please look at my comment from last night. Thanks again for all your kind wishes!
GROSS- Perot's twin brother that was named right before him.
A fun speed run. Didn't know EISEN or DIETZ, but the other names were familiar. No circled letters in my version, either.
Thanks for the summary, EarlyG. Or is that LargeY?
FIW,
Easy Peasy Tuesday, until...
I am amazed that I correctly WAGed DIRK/DIETZ, however 55D Narc's find, briefly, I put POT...
(I would never do PCP...)
"puzzling thoughts":
For anyone who's curious, here is a link to Rich Eisen
There is actually a SO to me in this puzzle - the connotation of which is something far different from when I was a kid growing up
For DIETZ and DIRK I HTC
I recall having to undergo a partial STRIP SEARCH when TSA first implemented the full body scanners. Was definitely weird. BTW, scroll down to the fourth image (cartoon) for a little humor
HIT ME was a favorite; brings back memories of my former Blackjack playing days; not that I was a frequent player, but I did like that game above all other casino games. Liked playing third base; I would usually "hit" a 16, especially when the dealer had a higher "up" card. Lots of the others at the table would question why, but I probably won more than lost when I did
I had no trouble with this one. The unknowns filled themselves with perps. Loved the theme....and thanks, Argyle, for the wit and comments.
Hahtoolah, like Madam D, I guess I, too, must admit to being a word nerd. I read every word (and noticed the punctuation ) of the delightful article from the New Yorker. And I hope you came through the storms yesterday with little bother.
Good morning everyone.
Agree with Argyle's comments. I looked at the circles when I was through, and said, "Oh".
Clean solve except for one white-out; I had 'hides' before PELTS.
23d - IMUS - He shows up in CW's every once in a while. I attended his morning show once, about 15 years ago when he did a road show from Utica.
SPEAR, PEARS, PARSE, nope SPARE was the gimmick on this Tuesday
Musings
-I once heard baseball compared to opera – A lot of tedium with a superb event(Aria/big play) making it all worthwhile
-1952 – 1969 HOUSEPARTY
-My nephew and niece attend this GROSS school
-It turns out that Bogart’s Maltese Falcon is… STOP IT, Gary!
-Part of Nixon’s TAPES and many of Hillary’s emails just vanished
-I’ve had three CAT scans in the last two months
-Lord Grantham almost ROPED IN, “I’ve heard of this man name Ponzi in America who gets fabulous returns on money!”
-The goal is to have PEONIES available around Memorial Day here
-I say PEE un nees. Dad always said pee OH nees. You?
-Kids that are great ROTE learners have trouble with these
-IMUS can be thoughtful and fun but always goes over the line for GROSS humor. Ya gotta know that goin’ in!
I had the circles but didn't need them. I agree that there were too many names but I WAGGED EISEN, HAMMETT, DIETZ.
I had hides before PELTS, heat up before FIRE UP, Mars before ARES (oh Greek not ROMAN!) until I came to Niagara FALLS. No question about filling that one!
Tourists will be returning now that the weather is improving and ice is melting on the river and Lake Erie. Welland Canal opened at a record late date in April due to heavy ice this winter.
Enjoy this beautiful day!
Hi All!
A Tues. DNF... 47d xing 59a - I stopped the alphabet run at 'D'... ECLAd.
WEES re: lots of unknown names.
W/os OPERA aria before SOLO and almost put in ALER at 49a - the perps prevented that.
Fav: ROPED IN - the story of my life :-)
Thanks Mr. REL Morris and EL-Gary.
I heard about Ms. Noris' book "Confessions of a Comma Queen" on NPR and have it in my Amazon queue. Thanks Hahtoolah for reminding me.
Apparently, like espresso, there's no X in ECSTACY either.... (I hate those word cri-iiii-mes - no I won't link again :-)).
Re: TSA's STRIP SEARCH - no need; Their "zoop-poof" machines can tell what religion you are.
Cheers, -T
Good Morning:
A bit if of crunch in the Deitz, Spitz, éclat area but perps were solid, so no harm, no foul. Saw the jumbled letters easily enough, but I thought the theme was going to be PEARS. The reveal took care of that notion quickly!
Thanks, Hatoolah, for linking the Mary Norris essay. I thoroughly enjoyed it; loved her humor.
Thanks to Mr. Morris and Argyle for a delightful Tuesday experience.
HG - Any background on that unusual school name?
Have a great day.
Hahtoolah, guess I'm one of those "stick in the key and turn it" kind of guys. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed that article more than I would have enjoyed the OPERA SOLO.
Gary, Art Linkletter was always good at interviewing kids in the audience. On one program a nun had brought in some kids from a NYC elementary school. Art asked a little girl what her favorite Bible story was. "My favorite is the story of Edam and Ave. They lived in a beautiful garden which was just like Central Park. But they sinned bad, so God punished them. Twice! He kicked 'em out of the garden and turned 'em into protestants."
Good morning, folks. Thank you, R E L Morris, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
I agree with Hahtoolah, that this was more a Wednesday level puzzle. But, that is OK. I finished it fairly quickly.
I had the circles because I used my newspaper. It all fell together.
I also tried POT (in the puzzle) instead of PCP. Fixed that.
EISEN was unknown. Perps.
HAMMETT was unknown. Perps.
DIETZ was unknown. Perps.
Our old friend AGAR. Puzzle staple.
MERV Griffin was quite a genius.
I got a lot more done on then Sunday crossword last night, but not quite finished. Hopefully today.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Hi gang -
I'm going to guess that the GROSS school is named for a person. In olden times in Toledo we had Gross Photo, and Gross Electric.
DNF for me due to the south central natick cluster. Should have known SPITZ, but couldn't dredge it up. Is PCP aka angel dust? Third letter eluded me. Don't know DEITZ.
SPARE CHANGE is just a great reveal. Had the circles. Didn't help with the solve, but I don't know how you'd ever piece the theme entries together without them.
Sunny and cool here today.
Sunny and cool regards!
JzB
I'm amazed I got the WHOLE thing, even with all those names I didn't know. Held my breath with the SPITZ/DIETZ cross, and was hugely relieved that I had it right. Our paper had the circles, so the theme was fun to spot. Many thanks, REL, for a delightful start to my day, and you, too, Argyle, as always.
Have a great one, everybody!
Hello, friends! I thought someone else had taken over the Tuesday duty then laughed. Thanks for the joke, Argyle, whatever your anagram might be.
Yes, my newspaper had circles but didn't really need them for the solve. Most of the fill was straightforward until the southern tip where SPITZ, ECLAT and DIETZ gave me some pause. I had AKITA first and not knowing the writer, William simply offered a challenge. It soon got sorted out, though.
Very clever, thank you, Robert E. Lee Morris and Argyle.
Now I'll go read that article.
Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!
Hahtoolah:
What a charming article! Thank you for posting it. I love beautiful prose.
Got the reveal before any of the complete circle answers, so that made it a speedy run today.
Not as intriguing as yesterday's, but still worthwhile puzzle. Thank you, Mr. Morris.
Lygare - nice write-up as always!
I'm so proud of all my peeps here on the blog. For years I have been proselytizing about the difference between anagrams and simply mixed up letters. I think you've got it!!
Btw, that being said, "A bit odd to have PSEAR, PERSA, SEPAR, PERAS, and ERSPA as the SPARE “changes,” given that there are several actual anagrams of SPARE: pears, reaps, pares, and spear give you a clean quartet without “rapes.” I don’t get excited to see things like ERSPA in circled letters."
Happy Tuesday! Thanks Mr. Morris and Argyle.
Lucina, hot weather is coming your way, or maybe it has arrived already!
I'm curious what you women think of the modern style for men to appear unshaven on TV. David Tennant did it to extreme in Broadchurch and Gracepoint. I'm guessing it's supposed to be sexy but it just looks scruffy to me. You?
Hi Y'all! Theme? It had a theme? No circles. No light-bulb moment. But I believe Lygare. Thanks, friend.
Actually, I liked the puzzle without the theme. LAMAR, DIETZ & EISEN all filled with perps but I knew the rest of the names.
I thought they took IMUS off years ago for "dissing" that women's sports team. Didn't know they snuck him back on.
No idea about AXIAL in CT Scan. I was the first person to have a CT Scan at our little hospital when it first got one. I happened to be in the hospital after a strange allergic reaction. The CT operators thought it would be great to "do me" first so I would do a story for the newspaper on the experience. Luckily the brain scan didn't show any abnormalities except that I did have a brain, which some people weren't sure about. They gave me a sticker on my hospital gown that said, "I was a very good girl".
Musings 2
-For all interested parties, here is how Omaha Gross Catholic got its name
-Omaha also has Skutt Catholic High School, which is named in honor of V.J. Skutt, longtime CEO of Mutual of Omaha
-Gross in a working class neighborhood in Southeast Omaha and Skutt is in a wealthy area in Southwest Omaha.
BillG: Unshaven men on TV always make my face itch in remembrance of being rubbed sore by such scruffs. Longer beards don't bother me. My husband always shaved in the evening to accommodate my tender skin. LOL!
A fast, fun fill today. Thank you, REL Morris for the construction; and thank you Lyegar for the dissection. One time through across and down and the only holes were in the south center that gave so many people trouble. Perps gave me SPITZ (CSO Spitzboov) which gave me DEITZ, and so on. Last to fall was PCP.
Bad stuff, that PCP. I knew a kid in college who overdosed on it, and while he did barely survive, he had to be taught how to walk and talk again. I vowed never to use the stuff, and when I found out that some marijuana was laced with PCP I quit drugs all together. I spent the last six years of my pre-retirement directing a nonprofit program to help recovering addicts. There but for the grace of God. . .
Enough for now. Cya!
Anon @1:34 - Doh! The V-8 just HIT ME - SPARE (literally) CHANGEs. I was trying to look for retirement $$ in the theme answers.
Bill G - I shave w/ a real razor CIRCA Sunday (whether I need it or not :-)) and try to keep up w/ my electric during the week. DW does not like a GROSS shaggy PELT. I got HIP TO that in a hurry! C, -T
I forgot. Hahtoolah, I enjoyed that link. Thank you.
HG - Thanks for the background. In my area, the Catholic schools are named after Bishops, Cardinals, Popes, and Saints, no mere mortals that I know of.
Bill G - I agree with you re David Tennant's scruffiness in both shows. In fact, he sometimes looked like he could use some time in a hot shower, with lots of soap! BTW, what did you think of the ending of Broadchurch? (Lee and Claire were evil personified, IMO.) There is going to be Season 3, but haven't a clue about the story arc.
I would not have, normally, read an article on commas and writing style. But, after all the plaudits, from many of you, I decided I should give it a try.
Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a linkup to a very intelligent article, on something that is generally utterly boring. I thought the article was rather long, but I persevered... (ellipsis -)
I still think its too much, "an ado about nothing" - when there are much, much worse writing errors that most writers commit. And its like someone threading the eye of a needle. But, I suppose, people can specialize in the most arcane of things.
As, for me, I put a comma, WHEREVER POSSIBLE - it always prevents confusion.
If in doubt, always remember, God gave us punctuation for a purpose (!) ... use it. Argyle isn't going to charge you five cents a word.
But I've had my fill of writing styles, and if this is what The New Yorker is all about, I suppose I would not care to pick up a copy - even if its an old one in my doctor's waiting room - and even if it's free.
Now to check if I'm a tobor.
Bill G,
I agree--there's nothing worse against a woman's face than short stubble. My DH has always had his beard, and that's no problem as long as it's not too short, and kept neat.
Irish Miss, I sometimes like shows because of the characters or the 'feel' of the show; Foyle's Law for example. So I found Broadchurch worthwhile for those two reasons. However, the story and the ending seemed muddled to me but that may be the fault of my feeble brain. I tend to like dramas where the bad guys are apparent and where they get their comeuppance in the end. These days I'm a fan of NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, etc. I tried How to Get Away with Murder and hated it. I liked Suits at first but it got self-indulgent and tedious.
Fun puzzle today. Had the same pause-giving experience with the SPITZ, ECLAT, DIETZ area as many of you did. knew HAMMETT but not EISEN, but got it by perps.
Hahtoolah, I enjoyed that article you linked. Thank you.
I always thought the "A" in CAT scan stood for "assisted."
Avg Joe, your comment yesterday afternoon was awesome.
Best wishes to you all.
I, too, dislike that stubble look. To me it just looks unkempt and unclean.
Bill G, I agree with you about kinds of stories on TV that I like. When the plotting gets too circuitous, sometimes I can still enjoy the performances. How to Get Away with Murder was awful!
I just wish the BBC shows had better sound; really hard to hear the dialog in most of the British shows, as it is usually drowned out by background sound effects and music. My wife can't understand the Yorkshire accents.
Honesty.
Aw nuts! I gotta have some spare change for this guy...
Ingenuity at work!
Hey! I have the same sign on my dishwasher!
From YouTube trending:
Knowledge does not = understanding Neural Plasticity.
Which makes me wonder, would a crossword be more difficult if it were backward? I mean 1A was on the bottom right, or the whole dang thingie was a mirror image? Has it been done??? Hmmm...
Hello Puzzlers -
Glad to learn there are others who dislike the stubble style. I'm getting tired of the look in the L.L. Bean catalog, frinstance.
As for the puzzle, no real problems. Hand up for Snee before Dirk. Dashiell Hammett was easy, I just re-watched the Maltese Falcon a few days ago.
Correction of my 7:04 a.m. post on "CAT" scans: The use of the "A" is "acronymic," not "anagrammatical."
For those having trouble with accents on BBC TV, turn on Closed Captioning (not my idea; I think someone mentioned it here some time ago).
What Dudley and Jayce said.
OK enough of this silliness. Enjoyed the puzzle, but not as much as yesterday. Had some trouble remembering PCP, and the Dietz Z was only by virtue of getting Spitz with perp help, but got it done. Like others, I saw "spear" in the circles prior to the reveal.
Very cool backwards bike video, CED. Sent it to all the kids.
Can't bring myself to click on the punctuation link. Sorry Hahtoolah. I spent last Friday in a 7 hour seminar on writing, where we spent 3 hours on punctuation. Overload. Maybe another day.
Yes! I strongly recommend the use of Closed Captioning for British TV. I believe BillG first mentioned it.
As for the face stubble on men: no thank you! It not only looks ugly, it feels worse. I like to kiss a clean-shaven man. Mmmmm
Greetings!
Thanks, Mr. Morris and Santa.
No problems.
Hate the unshaven look on Tennant and others. Hated "Murder."
Beautiful day here.
Cheers!
I loved the image of "two stacks of magazines on my lobster-crate coffee table, one of Hoard’s Dairyman and one of The New Yorker."
Tonight's Final Jeopardy question is now a personal favorite. I've heard it before but had forgotten the answer. It was a great inner struggle and, alas, I could not prevail. So, now, it is a fact that I will never forget. Funny how the mind works ala CED's bicycle link.
People will ask, "How do you know that!?! And better yet, why?!?"
Also, Alex's comment, after the question, before the reveal, was misleading, if not wrong.
CED - you make me smarter (or at least amuse) every day. I studied AI (my masters thesis was on machine vision) and watchig my kids learning was/is absolutely fabulous. Maybe IBM got it right in Watson. Thanks for the UTURN left / it goes right bike link. Cheers, -T
Jayce, I agree about the sound quality and accents on some of the British shows. When that happens, I turn on subtitles.
CED, great bicycle video!
I haven't watched Jeopardy yet but I will soon. To my mind, Alex often makes mildly annoying comments when he's trying to be cute or clever.
Bill G - you done did it Obligatory Jeopardy link. //yes I'm in a Weird Al kick/SLANT. I have all the TAPES. Cheers, -T
Hey Alex, this clip is waaaay different from this clip.
Post a Comment