Words: 70 (missing Q,V,W,X,Z)
Blocks: 33
Nice - A Saturday solve from our blog host C.C.~! Of course, it would
not be a C.C. Saturday puzzle unless it had a theme, which I got right
away - but had one answer in the wrong position. Have to say, it was
looking pretty grim after the first pass; too many proper names, and
some properly vague clues made my grid very blank. I'll have to call
out a few "fun sponge" answers*. Triple 6- and 8-letter corners, two 10-letter climbers, and the 11-letter themes. Let's take a look at the theme answers:
27. Capital that starts with a month : JUNEAU ALASKA - June - oh. So cool how both answers had the same # of letters
45. Capital that starts with a month : AUGUSTA MAINE - August - a . Very proud for thinking of this one right away, but I put it in the 27a. spot. Oh well.
~!
ACROSS:
1. Caret-shaped letter : LAMBDA - ah, Greek letter
= ^
7. Entertainer whose name is Spanish for "churches" : IGLESIAS - I cheated; Helen at the restaurant helped me out with this, and 28d.
15. Film set in 2035 : I,ROBOT - I thought "I Am Legend", also with Will Smith, was better
16. Connected with : TRACED TO - I had "LEANEST" at 9d., which messed me up
17. Chinese discipline : TAI-CHI - not taOISM
18. Hood : GANGSTER - I was looking for the place, not the person
19. Duke collaborator : ELLA - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (p.s., Helen tells me "ella" is "she" in Spanish; I need to learn the language)
20. Sign of a spill : SLICK - Oil spills; think BP
22.* __ Chicago : EAST - fun sponge~! Not too vague....
23. Torments : MISERIES - the noun, in this case
26. Fast sports cars : GTs
31. Lacking heat? : UNARMED - har-har~! Gun = 'heat' in the gangster 'hood
32. 2009 MTV Generation Award winner : STILLER - Ben - I don't watch the MTV awards, so this was unknown
36. Carol kings : MAGI - I was thinking of the people who sing at your doorstep, not the subject of the song itself (oh, and har-har on your pun, C.C.)
15. Film set in 2035 : I,ROBOT - I thought "I Am Legend", also with Will Smith, was better
16. Connected with : TRACED TO - I had "LEANEST" at 9d., which messed me up
17. Chinese discipline : TAI-CHI - not taOISM
18. Hood : GANGSTER - I was looking for the place, not the person
19. Duke collaborator : ELLA - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (p.s., Helen tells me "ella" is "she" in Spanish; I need to learn the language)
20. Sign of a spill : SLICK - Oil spills; think BP
22.* __ Chicago : EAST - fun sponge~! Not too vague....
23. Torments : MISERIES - the noun, in this case
26. Fast sports cars : GTs
32. 2009 MTV Generation Award winner : STILLER - Ben - I don't watch the MTV awards, so this was unknown
36. Carol kings : MAGI - I was thinking of the people who sing at your doorstep, not the subject of the song itself (oh, and har-har on your pun, C.C.)
37. Stud site : LOBE - earring reference; not "wall"
38. Medium : PSYCHIC - we have a famous one, right here on L.I.
42. Desert : ABANDON - ah, the verb, not the place
38. Medium : PSYCHIC - we have a famous one, right here on L.I.
42. Desert : ABANDON - ah, the verb, not the place
47. Pay stub? : OLA - payola
50. Common knowledge : NO SECRET - it's common knowledge what image I am thinking of for 9d.
51. "__ again?" : COME
53. One of four Holy Roman emperors : OTTO I
54. "A Few Good Men" gp. : USMC - Did you hear what the toll collector's supervisor told him the day he got fired~? "You can't handle the booth~!"
58. Item required to be included on Nutrition Facts labels since 2006 : TRANSFAT - nailed it
60. Predicament : SCRAPE - I am still trying to solve my little "predicament"; C.C. knows why "Alexa" was only 55.5% correct in last week's puzzle
62. Walter White on "Breaking Bad," for one : ANTI-HERO - never watched, but I am told I need to - that and "Dexter"
63. Rode : TEASED
64. Placed a confident bet : LAID ODDS
65. Claim : ALLEGE
DOWN:
63. Rode : TEASED
64. Placed a confident bet : LAID ODDS
65. Claim : ALLEGE
DOWN:
1. Like some salad dressing : LITE
2. Sea ruined by extensive irrigation projects : ARAL
3. Work like a dog : MOIL - not Toil; not to be confused with a Jewish 'mohel'
4. "Doctor Who" airer : BBC AMERICA - also carries Top Gear, but I am no longer watching due to the firing of Mr. Clarkson
5. "Am I an idiot!" : D'OH~!
2. Sea ruined by extensive irrigation projects : ARAL
3. Work like a dog : MOIL - not Toil; not to be confused with a Jewish 'mohel'
4. "Doctor Who" airer : BBC AMERICA - also carries Top Gear, but I am no longer watching due to the firing of Mr. Clarkson
5. "Am I an idiot!" : D'OH~!
6. Debatable : AT ISSUE
7. Certain media darling : "IT" GIRL
8. Word of thanks : GRACIAS - and yet more Spanish
9. Most long and slender : LANKEST - I don't associate "lank" with sexy, so I'm gonna pass on a gratuitous legs image
10. Hosp. readout : ECG
11. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - Popular in crosswords, but it took me a minute to commit to "Sese"; didn't seem right
12. Security aid : ID TAG
13. Blast from the past : A-TEST - nuclear blast, that is
14. Thing that's no fun to be out of : SORTS - toyed with "Synch"; out of sorts, out of sync(h)
21. Pet controller : LEAD - I think this is more British than America's "leash"
24. Sum, to Claudius : I AM - not the adding 'sum', just straight up Latin
25*. Footwear item for Bode Miller : SKI
27. __ shot : JUMP - Could have been "LONG", too. The third verse in this song mentions 'jump shot'
28. Article in El Sol : UNAS - Helen tells me it's "some"; ergo a part of speech found in the local Latino paper
29. '90s Cleveland Indians pitching standout Charles : NAGY - no C.C. crossword would be complete without a baseball clue. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, my NY Rangers blew their first game against Washington; better hope they pull back tonight
30. Label on some whole foods : ALL NATURAL
33. California's self-proclaimed "Zinfandel Capital of the World" : LODI - toyed with Napa, but that's the valley; both are towards the top of CA
34. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON - Alexander Pope, poet
35. Kevin's "Tin Cup" co-star : RENE - I loved her in this movie; great, great story
39. Horde member : HUN - not "ORC"
40. Embarrassed admission : "I GOOFED"
41. Tart filling : CUSTARD
42. Early Bee Gees label : ATCO - 50% perps, 50% WAG
43. Bean expert : BARISTA - coffee bean, and I was not fooled
44. Soul, to Sartre : ÂME - Frawnche; in Latin, we have Sum, Esse (Fui, Futurus) - "to be"
46. Dustups : SET TOs
47. In base eight : OCTAL
48. Daughter of Lady Dugal, as it turns out, in an 1869 novel : LORNA - perps
49. Violin pioneer : AMATI
52*. Two-part poem in "Idylls of the King" : ENID - the Wiki
55. Convenient encl. : S.A.S.E.- self-addressed, stamped envelope
56. Video file format : MPEG
57. Turn over : CEDE
59. "Homeland" sta. : SHO
61. Dopey picture? : CEL - Dopey, the dwarf, from the animated movie "Snow White"
7. Certain media darling : "IT" GIRL
8. Word of thanks : GRACIAS - and yet more Spanish
9. Most long and slender : LANKEST - I don't associate "lank" with sexy, so I'm gonna pass on a gratuitous legs image
10. Hosp. readout : ECG
11. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - Popular in crosswords, but it took me a minute to commit to "Sese"; didn't seem right
12. Security aid : ID TAG
13. Blast from the past : A-TEST - nuclear blast, that is
14. Thing that's no fun to be out of : SORTS - toyed with "Synch"; out of sorts, out of sync(h)
21. Pet controller : LEAD - I think this is more British than America's "leash"
24. Sum, to Claudius : I AM - not the adding 'sum', just straight up Latin
25*. Footwear item for Bode Miller : SKI
27. __ shot : JUMP - Could have been "LONG", too. The third verse in this song mentions 'jump shot'
Paul Simon - Boy in the Bubble
29. '90s Cleveland Indians pitching standout Charles : NAGY - no C.C. crossword would be complete without a baseball clue. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, my NY Rangers blew their first game against Washington; better hope they pull back tonight
30. Label on some whole foods : ALL NATURAL
33. California's self-proclaimed "Zinfandel Capital of the World" : LODI - toyed with Napa, but that's the valley; both are towards the top of CA
34. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON - Alexander Pope, poet
35. Kevin's "Tin Cup" co-star : RENE - I loved her in this movie; great, great story
39. Horde member : HUN - not "ORC"
40. Embarrassed admission : "I GOOFED"
41. Tart filling : CUSTARD
42. Early Bee Gees label : ATCO - 50% perps, 50% WAG
43. Bean expert : BARISTA - coffee bean, and I was not fooled
44. Soul, to Sartre : ÂME - Frawnche; in Latin, we have Sum, Esse (Fui, Futurus) - "to be"
46. Dustups : SET TOs
47. In base eight : OCTAL
48. Daughter of Lady Dugal, as it turns out, in an 1869 novel : LORNA - perps
49. Violin pioneer : AMATI
52*. Two-part poem in "Idylls of the King" : ENID - the Wiki
55. Convenient encl. : S.A.S.E.- self-addressed, stamped envelope
56. Video file format : MPEG
57. Turn over : CEDE
59. "Homeland" sta. : SHO
61. Dopey picture? : CEL - Dopey, the dwarf, from the animated movie "Snow White"
Splynter
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thanks, CC for best Sat. puzz. yet!
Thanks, Splynter! Will read your recap later!
No cheats necesarry!
Must hit the hay!
Cheers!
Gus is a guy from AUGUSTA.
ReplyDeleteYou've heard of him? You musta'!
With ladies pursuing,
He's famous for doing
Salacious acts with a feather dusta'!
Jill was a jewel from JUNEAU,
Who had such a cavernous -- you know --
That her boyfriend could hide
By slipping inside,
So that's where he'd practice his judo!
A recent short story-poem, not crossword related. FYI, Jill ran the largest dojo in Alaska, you dirty-minded people!
Morning, all (and welcome back, Owen)!
ReplyDeleteMostly fun Saturday puzzle from C.C. today. I'll never fully accept that MOIL is a really word (regardless of what the dictionary says) and don't appreciate the vagueness of clues like "____ Chicago" for EAST, but that was it for nits today. Struggled a bit to get ATCO and really wanted either EEG or EKG instead of ECG. Also, needed to make some guesses at ENID and EBON to get the job done, but it all worked out in the end.
Always a challenge, with ambiguous clues like "lacking heat", "desert", "medium", "rode", and especially "sum, to Claudius". Loved the "carol kings" clue! Didn't know ATCO, LORNA, ENID, or STILLER, but guessed them once a couple of letters showed up.
ReplyDeleteThanks C.C. for a tough one, and Splynter for the excellent write-up. [Despite lacking a gratuitous leg image.]
P.S., a capital lambda looks more like a caret than the lower-case one you've used.
43D Really? BARISTA? "Bean expert"? Isn't that a bit like calling a burger flipper a "beef expert"?
ReplyDelete46D The SET-TO's I have witnessed all have been much more violent than any "dustup" I have ever seen. Or maybe you can call oil and grease the same thing. . . .
35D Any chick named RENEE who does not realize it contains three E's does not deserve to be in a crossword puzzle.
10D Again, again and AGAIN, it's EKG, not ECG.
21D lies in the list of "other fouls." You want LEAD, gimme "Heavy metal" for the clue. You wanna make it clever, make it "Black Sabbath genre."
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was suitably tough, as a Saturday should be, but the train arrived at the station right on time. Only overwrite was OLDIE where A TEST needed to be.
I'm guessing EAST Chicago must be somewhere in Lake Michigan. I'm also guessing that LORNA must be Lorna Doone.
Hesitated giving Bode Miller a SKI. Yes, you wear a ski on your foot, but is it footwear?
Well done, C.C. Splynter, I'm hoping those Chinese characters spell "Onward" and not [expletive deleted]. And now you've gotta 'splain about the 55.5%. Hey, I'm told tattoos can be removed!
EAST CHICAGO is in INDIANA. It's the East SIDE of CHICAGO that's in the Lake.
ReplyDeleteFun run from C.C. this morning. I was bopping along, filling one section at a time, and finally made it down south. It all came together nicely, but I have to claim a fail. Of course it was the one baseball reference that did me in - I had NAjY crossing my misspelled MAjI. Ack!!!
ReplyDeleteA bit of Spanish sparkle in this gem. IGLESIAS, Gracias (which anagrams to GARCIAS), BARISTAS, and UNAS. And oddly enough, ACTO, OCTAL, and TRACED TO all contain a TACO.
ReplyDeleteJUNEAU ALASKA and AUGUSTA MAINE being places named after months of the year is either brilliance of construction, or construction luck. I'm betting the Awesome Blossom wasn't lucky.
You'll be lucky to have never read this-
ALLEGE- Place where pigeons roost
ATISSUE- A piece of Kleenex
Wings hit, "ABANDON THE RUN"
What an unexpected treat, C.C. on Saturday. Is this your first published themeless?
ReplyDeleteInteresting note about June and August. Some tricky cluing BBC AMERICA opened up the the NW
IGLESIAS the NE lots of Spanish churches here in SoFla. I imagine the expertise in coffee beans relate to what it takes to make good espresso, though with automation....
Splynter I see NDRA in your future
Thanks
Happy Saturday everyone! Great way to start the weekend with a clever C.C. puzzle and entertaining write-up courtesy of Splynter. Thanks for linking one of my all-time favorite Paul Simon tunes.
ReplyDeleteHad to turn on red letters about half-way through, but still got off to a reasonably good start by filling in some of the longer answers such as JUNEAU ALASKA and BBC AMERICA right off the bat. Thanks to Senora DelMonte (my high-school Spanish teacher), I knew that churches are IGLESIAS. Didn’t realize the Latin connection in Sum = I AM (not IAM) until Splynter ‘splained it. Hand up for LEANEST before LANKEST.
Looking forward to the Run for the Roses this evening. I might even go to the local racino and plunk down a few dollars just for fun.
Have a great weekend!
Did this ever start wrong for me and stayed blank in the North with the exception of ARAL and ___TEST. I had a mental block for JUNEAU ALASKA but AUGUSTA MAINE fell easily and that enabled be to complete the South.
ReplyDeleteUnknowns galore- MOIL, LAMBDA, I ROBOT, UNAS, NAGY, LODI, EBON, AME, LORNA, ENID, STILLER. The long fills BBC AMERICA and ALL NATURAL were lucky WAGS. ANTI HERO was a guess as I had never seen Breaking Bad or any MTV show (although I am forced to pay for it as part of 'basic cable')
GT- I had always heard it as grand touring, not a sports car.
IGLESIAS- after a few perps I remember seeing a church van with that written on the side.
HUN- MONGOL wouldn't fit as being part of the Golden Horde.
ECG- This Tuesday our local hospital is providing free "EKG" and carotid artery tests, which my wife scheduled for me to take.
Well it's NO SECRET that there was a name calling cat fight yesterday but I will end and say GRACIAS to our lovely hostess with the mostest C.C. and Splynter, who has to tackle these Saturday torturing puzzles.
CC, this was a very fun puzzle, a quick solve for a Saturday. ATCO and GTS were unknown, all perps. EAST was my last to fill. It seemed vague until ANON @7:03 pointed out EAST CHICAGO, IND. I've passed through there, but it slipped my mind. That corrected A BOMB which I had right off, to A TEST
ReplyDeleteI've pointed out before that EKG and ECG are both legitimate and are both used in hospital and medical equipment advertising in the USA.
I loved lacking heat, medium, Carol kings and other misdirections.
DESERT reminds me of Gilligan's tropical DESERT isle, an abandoned or uninhabited isle, certainly not a sandy desert.
MOIL is fine with me. I learned it from copious examples in literature long before I saw it in crosswords.
“Nobody knows how he has toiled and moiled, except me.” Anthony Trollope. I have found more modern examples, too.
(continued from above)
ReplyDeleteSplynter, your blogs are always fun and informative.
Thanks, CC and Splynter, for a fine start to my weekend. I will go to Kenny's play, an hour and a half drive away. I will go early and we will go out for dinner. The meds have me down to a 3 pain level, instead of an 8 or 9, as it was this past week. A positive, can-do attitude releases endorphins which are real pain killers.
A quote from AWAD this week, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation. -Herbert Spencer, philosopher (Apr 27 1820-1903)” This is the watch-word of an inveterate “looker upper” like me. It is also a great learning tool and vocabulary booster.
Officially a DNF because I had to resort to Red Letter help after only getting 15 correct answers on the first pass through. I liked the state capital clues.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble accepting LANKEST. I thought it should be LANKiEST or more appropriately LEGGIEST, but they didn't measure up. Splynter didn't put in a picture that he wanted to put in his write up, so here is a Very Leggy Lady for him.
Beautiful weather today. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Good Morning! Despite the chatter yesterday, I am happy every day I wake to do a crossword. Better than the alternative, as my dad used to say.
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C., for today's fun. I really liked JUNEAU and AUGUSTA. I laughed out loud--should have said DOH!--because I could not see past my NOSE in 50A. Thanks, Splynter.
Speaking of Carole King, a former student of mine, Jessie Mueller, is the Tony Award winning lead in the musical, Beautiful. I don't know how to do this, but I'll try it anyway: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RZQ5XHcgxE.
I'm off to spread mulch. . . .
Yay! for tecno-challenged me! It worked. :-) Fun!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteSurprise, surprise! A Saturday CC offering. Enjoyed the solve and the devious, but fair, misdirections. Some miscues: alarm/ID tag, MGs/GTs, Taoism/Tai Chi, and JPEG/MPEG.
Thank you, CC, for bringing us back to true crossword country and thanks to Splynter for being our trustworthy guide.
Have a great day.
Splynter: Excellent write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank You for a FUN Saturday puzzle.
I normally skip the weekend, but decided to solve when I saw you were the constructor.
My fave today was MOIL ... just because it upset Barry G.
Hmmm, Kentucky Derby today ... I'm looking forward to the race.
My prediction??? Any horse BUT Keen "_ _ _".
I'm going to put a couple-of-bucks on Bolo ... a nice crossword answer. lol
Cheers!
Enjoyed the challenge - thanks CC and for the write-up Splynter! NE gave me the hardest time, but stepped away and then started back with new eyes.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Saturday - looks like it will be beautiful here
40,000 people have descended on Omaha for this annual event and so the puzzle was hidden in the Omaha World Herald car ad section!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-When 1 across was about a letter, I was afraid we were going to repeat yesterday’s adventure ☺
-Wow, what a treat! I had to ABANDON TOIL for MOIL and go to the Greek alphabet to finish but Wow. The fiendish cluing (great comments on them Splynter, but who is this Helen?) made for several DOH’s!
-Our St. Pat’s church has a thousand Hispanic members but there is also IGLESIAS Apostolica downtown
-PSYCHIC Kelli Coffee (PhD in metaphysics?) claims to have made contact with JFK
-Ben STILLER lives on Kauai near our Chef Wendy and found her lost dog
-Two episodes of Breaking Bad was enough for me. Man!!
-I won’t have LAID ODDS or cared about the ”big fight” tonight
-Has there been another IT GIRL after her 90 years ago?
-Do girls like RENE really fall for losers like Tin Cup?
-Our Kitty Lily (in her Kitty Holster ™) on a LEAD
C.C. thanks for the very nice Saturday offering, one that didn't make my head hurt! Just enough vagueness in some clues to make it a Saturday.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Splynter. Sorry you couldn't get the gams in there today!
ReplyDeleteAnd here am I. who always thought a Moil was the guy who put a front end limit to your manhood ....
I am having trouble getting this link to a song "New Math" by Tom Lehre. If it doesn't work for you go to youTube and search for New Math and go down for the one by lipsyncORswim. At about 2min25secs he does base eight subtraction. Because "Base eight is the same as base 10 if you are missing 2 fingers"
ReplyDeletelink
ReplyDeleteSaturday puzzles are too hard for me, but I learn from
them.
(correction) it is Tom Lehrer.
ReplyDeleteGood morning! It's a pretty Saturday here, not too warm. Cooler weather heading your way Lucina!
ReplyDeleteUsually, Saturday themeless puzzles aren't my favorite things but this one was more enjoyable for me than most. Thanks CC and Splynter.
In the past, we've had discussions about grammar and usage. For example, I'm not a fan of using 'loan' as a verb, using 'unique' to mean special and using 'comprised of.' I stumbled across this article on CBS News that sounded fun and interesting to me. One man's Wikipedia crusade against 'comprised of'
One of the most enjoyable Sat. Puzzles of the year. Loved the theme. One complaint…. not many people around here say "EAST Chicago". But there some that do.
ReplyDeleteC'mon C.C. you didn't think I'd get Charles NAGY in like a second ?? Great tie in with LAID ODDS on Derby Day. Very clever. With all these horses being scratched it's a hard race to handicap. My exacta for today is #2 & #18.
They don't have BARISTAS at DD which is where i get my coffee.
Lastyl, a couple things. So the Twinkies beat us the first 2 games of the series (you got REALLY lucky last night C.C. ), but I think we take the next 2. Nolasko's ERA is like 18.00. Blackhawks in 7 v. the Wild. Going for a bike ride because it's 75 and not a cloud in the sky.
Go 'Hawks !!!
Ok let me start this blog by saying this. I own horses and you don’t so just shut up and listen. Here is the thing about this race. I think American Pharaoh is a freak. He deserves to be the favorite. He may be the best horse of the past decade. He hasn’t just won all his races but he’s won for fun and he’s never been asked to show what he can do yet. He’s an absolute monster. BUT if you want to bet a horse at 5-2 from the 18 hole in a 20 horse field be my guest. That’s pure lunacy in my opinion. You can be the best horse by a mile and still not even hit the board. That’s how difficult it is to win the Derby.
ReplyDeleteSo who am I going with? Firing Line. If you like Dortmund at 9-2 you have to love Firing Line at 10-1. Firing Line has lost twice by a nose to Dortmund. Yeah I know Firing Line looked like he put away Dortmund only to have him come back on the rail which is as impressive a move as you can make, but I talked to my good friend Gary (Stevens) about this race.
Gary said this was his fault. He said he crowded Dortmund and woke him up. But here is what else my friend Gary said. He said he’s never bet on any of his Derby mounts before (3 wins already) but he is betting on Firing Line. He loves him. He loves his odds. His mother was a mudder. I’m talking he LOVED his chances. Couldn’t shut up about him for 20 minutes. He said the only horse who can beat him is American Pharaoh and that’s it. He said “don’t worry about Dortmund. Dortmund will take me where I need to go” You could see the confidence oozing out of every pore of his body. I almost broke my leg running to the window. I already liked Firing Line before I had my fireside chat with Gary Stevens, but now I love him. Don’t take my word for it. Take one of the greatest jockeys of our generation’s word for it.
ReplyDeleteHello, Word Wonders!
ReplyDeleteFun! Fun! Fun! Thank you, C.C. Of course IGLESIAS filled first but then I scooted down south where AUGUSTA MAINE cracked me up that's NO SECRET and it was done.
Up north, again JUNEAU ALASKA made me chuckle. Leave it to our C.C. to discover those hidden mysteries in our language. Is he PSYCHIC?
I confess, had to look at the Greek alphabet to discover LAMBDA; not a familiar one, that.
It does seem that LANKiEST should be there instead of LANKEST but that's the ONLY nit I have.
MAGI was cleverly clued. ATCO, 100% perps as well as OTTO I. Hi, desper-otto.
GRACIAS, C.C. and Splynter!
Have a special Saturday, everyone! Yes, Bill, only 90 degs. today.
Oops. I GOOFED big time. That should be "is SHE psychic."
ReplyDeleteMea maxima culpa!!!!!
Well, as you all may (or may not) have noticed, I haven't been posting on Saturdays and even some Fridays because I just haven't been able to get even a foothold on those toughies. When I saw this morning's was a C.C. I decided I had to give it everything I've got, even though my heart sank at the first run-through. And then, amazingly, it happened. JUMP gave me JUNEAU ALASKA, and from there, slowly, slowly, everything slowly started to fill in. I just couldn't believe it! No, it wasn't perfect. I had EGLESIAS and so (stupidly) didn't get the IT for the GIRL. I had TOIL and so didn't get LAMBDA. But I had just about everything else--my best Saturday puzzle in a couple of years! Thank you, thank you, thank you, C.C. You're wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAnd I loved your write-up and pics, Splynter.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Hey again!
ReplyDeleteJust got back from my 10-year-old son's piano recital. He made a few mistakes, but overall I'm very proud of the way he performed. If anybody is interested (it's only about three minutes long), I uploaded it to YouTube:
https://youtu.be/eLprjUhB2a0
Chicago is in northeastern Illinois. West Chicago is (now) a western suburb of Chicago. EAST Chicago is in Indiana! Promise. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWest New York is in New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many other towns have hitched their wagons to the larger star across the state line.
Nice to have a puzzle UNLIKE yesterday's.
ReplyDeleteNo real gimmicks here at all, just solid clueing that still challenges.
Yesterday's constructor was pleased that it caused such polarization.
Pound salt, pal. If polarization is your goal go into Republican politics and leave crossword puzzles alone.
Off the top of my head, I can think of East St. Louis in Illinois and Michigan City in Indiana. Today there was a earthquake near Michigan City which is located on the lake right at the Michigan/Indiana state line.
ReplyDeleteJzb may have felt it too.
Sorry Hot Brown, Seize The Day!!
East Dubuque, Illinois is another one.
ReplyDelete(I think Michigan City, Indiana, was probably named for the lake, not a city just across the state line.)
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteJust 'cuz it was a C.C. I stuck w/ it. Some c/a's were SLICK, but DOH, I GOOFED in the NE. ALARM/MGS(12d/26a) - no wait, TALKED TO - LEAN->LANK... You can TEASE, but I was in a SCRAPE and DNF.
OCTAL was 1 or 8 fills on 1st pass. While that opened the SW, I still wouldn't have LAID ODDS I wouldn't CEDE.
The only area I thought I got right that Splynter 'splained was 37a - I had LOdE, not LOBE.
Blast from the past? - I so wanted yesterday's RINGO. NO SECRET - Sat puzzles Don't come easy.
Thanks C.C., Splynter, and puzzle-pals.
Off to get ready for eldest's choir concert.
Cheers, -T
Barry:
ReplyDeleteYour link doesn't open.
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, C.C. It was not easy but at least it made more sense than yesterday and had some learning moments, not MISERIES. I had to use red-letter runs twice.
ReplyDeleteLearning moment: IGLESIAS = churches in Spanish. Good to know.
HOOD wasn't the "mountain" in Oregon. DOH!
Stud site wasn't Splynter's Saturday blog. But C.C. always calls him "Stud". I thought for sure...
I kept trying to abbreviate Georgia into the smaller space for Maine. I forgot there was Augusta up there. Oh well, I got JUNEAU, ALASKA with no hesitation.
We have Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. You'da thought Missourians would be too proud to copy Kansans. Both were named after Kansa Indian tribe though, I guess.
YR, you are so brave to go for a second knee surgery so soon after the first. I suffered through my mother's knee replacement surgery which was so traumatic, I swore I'd never get my own. I'm waiting for a full-body transplant.
Lucina@3:01
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't really a link but click here if you want to hear Barry G.'s son's recital. I'd be proud of him too.
I had a difficult time with this puzzle, which is to be expected for Saturday. Bit by bit it came together. Cluing was tough, which is to be expected from a C.C. puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI recited all the months but still failed to come up with the two capital cities until the perps gave me a few letters.
BarryG. Congrats to your son. Very nicely done. I liked the choices. I hope he's proud you posted--of course in Junior High it will make you a terrible dad. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBarry G. Impressive - Bill G. should enjoy the 1st peice.
ReplyDeleteBill G. I heard about "comprised-crusader" on NPR a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun to change them all back to "comprised of" just to keep him tilting at windmills. But, COME on, I'm not an ANTI-HERO
YR - PK said something the other day re: getting your leg yanked. I had a Chiro-quack-ter do that a few times and it helped with my Castanza wallet spine. YMMV.
Cheers, -T
Link Guy:
ReplyDeleteThank you. Well done, Joshua!!
Barry, you must be very proud.
OwenKL:
Welcome back!
Barry, good for Joshua! Very nice!
ReplyDeleteLucina, if that happens again, just copy and paste the URL into the address line of your web browser. Then hit Enter.
Hi again~!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments today, gang
Bless you, Lemonade, how I pray that you are right - that's what 55.5% is referring to, D-Otto.
(BTW, oc4beach linked a leggy pic; lady #2 may be too tall for me, but I like her name~!)
Java mama, I love the song, too - so I was glad for the opportunity to link it.
PK, I missed that 'alternative' to stud - and I'm thinking that's where C.C. was leading with that clue, too. Oh well.
As for the gratuitous picture, there's always next week~!
Splynter
Sooo..., Hot Brown.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Firing Line?
Wait! I think I know
Manac, your link should be filed under "the show must go on". Appropriate half an hour after watching the Kentucky Derby.
ReplyDeleteCC on a Saturday?
ReplyDelete(I immediately tossed the pen & went red letter, because I have trouble with her Tuesday puzzles...)
But first!
Splynter, who is this Helen?
She helps you with crosswords?
Could this be true love?
OwenKL, Excellent poetry today!
Barry G. I was not sure what to expect when I copied & pasted that link, but I was pleasantly impressed to hear Ragtime, Wow! Only one nit, (the little bugger plays Canon in D better than I do...)
& now, back to CC's puzzle...
(Yes, I finished it, but not without some serious cheating...)
Manac, I knew someone who didn't make any kind of guess would come on here chirping about my prediction, I just figured it would have been AnonymouseT.
ReplyDeleteBut how 'bout that race! Almost exactly how my friend Gary said it would play out. He followed Dortmund to the lead just as he said he would but he just couldn't hold off that freaky good horse. I had a feeling that would would happen so I made many bets including number 10 across the board, the 18-10 exacta, the 10 win/place and 10 place/show. I lost several bets of course, but I think I more than doubled my money. All in all a great day at the track and a great race to boot.
Bill G, you may be my new hero !! I have been fighting the "comprised of" battle for years! Thanks for the link. I had no idea someone was tilting at this particular windmill.
ReplyDeleteAnd Anon T, don't even think of becoming an anti-hero! LOL. I do understand that other people's crusades wear thin, but fighting it out on Wikipedia must be self-defeating in the end. Though it would keep several crusaders busy!
Good puzzle, though it defeated me. And fun write up, Splynter.
SURE, it took a while, but perseverance is usually--maybe always--the answer. Gotta keep it conditional, because who knows that we wouldn't have solved every freakin' pzl if we hadn't thrown in our respective towels.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, this toughie from C.C.seems to have pleased many of us, and it certainly gave me great satisfaction even after taking most of the day, and & off, to solve on my own.
Keith, you nailed it! This puzzle "pleased" me. No, I didn't solve it...lots of white when I gave in...but it gave satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cheating...
ReplyDeleteCapitol that starts with a Month?
Hmmm,
I know, since I am going red letter, I will start with J for January. (Holy Cow! it worked) 2nd letter A (Bzzzt!)
(Would you believe it took me 6 months to find another month that starts with a J?)
Oh well, it got me wondering if there were any other State Capitals that start with a month name? Where does one search to find such information?
Remember this adventure in East St. Louis? (2:13)
ReplyDeleteHB - Moi? I know nothing of the ponies and prefer to chirp re: things I've got at least 1/2 a clue about (with the exception of today's puzzle :-))
ReplyDeleteSwampCat - No worries, never would. I just get impish thoughts and giggle; I'd never knowingly be malicious.
I just returned from eldest's Choir recital. It was all opera pieces, a little Mozart, Webber, Verdi, and Britten (? That's what the program says). I was hoping for bit of Wagner but no luck.
HG - EAST St. Louis, I-55 exit 2B should say "ABANDON all hope, ye who enter." :-)
Actually, I've exited once or twice for fuel and folks were nice. My exit is 92A (South 6th) in SPI. Did y'all see the Lincoln procession there today? Last night Pop sent me a pic of Lincoln's old tomb looking all spiffy. It's down the hill in the back of Lincoln's tomb and has been in disrepair for years.
CED - Thanks for the Animaniacs cartoon!
Cheers, -T
CED, it's not a state capital but there's a TV actress named January Jones.
ReplyDeleteEvery now and then I see a TV talk show with guests like Ellen or Letterman. In the last several months I've noticed that women, even younger women, are wearing skirts that come about mid-calf. I guess that must be the new fashion decree. I don't like it. I think mini-skirts were a great innovation. Their style lasted a long time. These longer skirts look dowdy by comparison. What do you think?
I always enjoy looking at the beautiful horses in the Kentucky Derby. Lots of big hats too though not on the horses. This year, the race didn't seem so dramatic. Of course, I didn't have thousands of dollars riding on the outcome.
I've just come across some old Columbos on cable. Two hours in length seems too long. They're still fun though.
Swamp Cat: I'm glad you liked the "Comprised of" video. That makes two of us. I've noticed that it has shown up in the cluing several times so I guess Rich finds it OK.
Bill G, I Googled January Jones, but she is not really my cup of tea...
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand ( or thigh )
I did look up Micro Mini, & while it was difficult finding an appropriate pic for the Blog, I had a great time looking... (Thanks Bill G...)
CED, OK, if you don't want January Jones, I'll invite her over for a bike ride.
ReplyDeleteI was referring to a normal mini-skirt. A micro-mini on the other hand seems almost indistinguishable from a belt.
I was just re-reviewing my puzzle errors and realized a double-DOH! I had LOdE for 37a (mentioned earlier) and it's the wrong kind of load for a Stud.
ReplyDeleteOwen - I've missed your limericks. eSee you Monday?
Somehow I also missed the New Math video today - very funny. However, that's the old-math now (what I learned (and I'm fluent in base16 too!)) - now my daughter fills out 4x4 boxes for division to come to a solution. Bill G. you tutor kids - what's that about?
Alright CED & Bill G.... I have a 16yro and I try to push the full-length skirt. All I hear is "Daaaaaaad, this isn't Victorian England."
C.C. Fav was 61d, CEL though my 1st thought was selfie.
Cheers, -T
Lemonade,
ReplyDeleteThis is my second Saturday. As the Stud indicated, I like grids with a mini theme twist.
Anon T et al,
I'm glad you enjoyed the puzzle. Lots of clues are Rich's. EAST is a learning moment to me as well.
Hey hot brown got me the trifecta 101.00 for 1.00 bet
ReplyDeleteThanks HB
Hot Brown said...
ReplyDelete"Ok let me start this blog by saying this. I own horses and you don’t so just shut up and listen
BUT if you want to bet a horse at 5-2 from the 18 hole in a 20 horse field be my guest. That’s pure lunacy in my opinion"
I bet him from 18 hole and he won. My exacta didn't. $7.80 isn't the greatest payout. but he WON! Too bad you didn't bet him. Oh that's right it would be "pure lunacy " to bet that horse, I forgot. As far as not owning horses, you don't know me from Adam, how would you know? My father was part owner of a Preakness Winner. Were you? You're a blowhard with a big mouth.