Words: 70 (missing Q,X,Z,)
Blocks: 32
Well, I am surprised at how easily this one filled in - and there were
plenty of proper names and vague clues to make think otherwise at the
start. I have worked Saturday puzzles from both constructors, but not as a duo; strangely, I used the phrase "Plan B" (see 16a.) in the write-up of Mr. Christian's 7/26/14 offering. A rare grid with three separate climbers and one spanner, and
no-so-intimidating corners;
36. Does some political maneuvering : JOCKEYS FOR POWER
3. Reaction to excessive attention to detail : BUT WHO'S COUNTING~?
7. Unplugs in a big way : LIVES OFF THE GRID
11. Post-washing warning : CAUTION WET FLOOR
underwa[te]rd~!
ACROSS:
1. Card __ : TABLE - ah. This did not occur to me until I had --BLE
6. "The Hobbit" being : ELF - not ENT - pondered ORC, too
9. Tied accessory : ASCOT - threw it in, and it stayed
14. Cameron Indoor Stadium college hoopster : BLUE DEVIL - an educated WAG from ----EVIL
16. It has a backup : PLAN A
17. Feigns innocence : ACTS NAÏVE
18. Like Zitronen : SAUER - German for lemons, and sour; I gathered it meant "citrus"
19. Inexperienced : RAW
20. Tons : A SLEW
21. First : ON TOP
22. Acidity nos. : pHs
24. Virtue of the 2010 Olympic champion ice dancing team Virtue and Moir : TESSA - I had TE--A, and went with "RR" - Bzzzt~! ( I knew a girl in Florida named Terra )
26. Gershon of "Killer Joe" : GINA - could not think of her name
27. It involves pockets : POOL - Had it, took it out, put it back in. I like shooting pool, but have not done so in about 6 years - even have my own cues
29. Some crosses : ROODS - went with ANHKS first
31. Alley ending? : OOP - Alley-oop
32. Freelancers' encls. : SAEs - Self-Addressed Envelopes
34. Ross Sea sight : FLOE
35. Captain's dir. : NNE
40. Tokyo-born artist : ONO
41. Lit __ : CRIT - perps - Literary Criticism; the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. I am presently reading Nelson DeMille's "The Gate House". I like his stuff
42. Kennel pickup area : NAPE - ah - where you literally pick up an animal, from the back of the neck
43. Coin first minted in 13th-century France : ECU - Learned doing crosswords; we almost got away with a Frawnche-free puzzle this week
44. Challenging pitch : HIGH C - I had the "C" first, so I was not feeling it
46. Baryshnikov, at birth : LETT
48. What "c" may mean in South Africa : CENT - their "dollar" is the rand, and therefore....
50. "One can say everything best over __": George Eliot : A MEAL
52. Corp. treasurer, perhaps : CFO
53. Playground comeback : AM TOO - are so, is not....couldn't decide at the beginning
55. __ Dei : AGNUS - OK, I was in a "Da Vinci Code" frame of mind, couldn't get past "OPUS"
57. Bodybuilder Ferrigno : LOU - best known for the greener side of the TV series "The Incredible Hulk"
59. Ballerina Shearer : MOIRA - a WAG from M--RA
60. Eccentrics : CRACKPOTS - nailed it
62. Big name in auditing : ERNST - I had a room-mate in college who was destined for the "Ernst & Young" accounting firm
63. Police-search discovery : HIDEY-HOLE
64. Colorful Danish export : LEGOs - not LILIES (didn't fit), and not DELFT, the dishware - because they're Dutch
65. B.C. neighbor : IDA - ah. IDAHO - I was stuck up in 45d., thinking it was either ALBerta, or SASkatchewan
66. 10th-century English king : EDRED - never heard of this guy
DOWN:
1. It takes you to the top : T-BAR - skiing
2. Sadie Hawkins creator : AL CAPP
4. "__ Troyens": Berlioz opera : LES - like I said, almost
5. Krabappel of "The Simpsons" : EDNA
6. More wicked : EVILER - my one "meh" clue for the day
8. Traveled alone, perhaps : FLEW SOLO - I'm still flying solo :7(
9. Lhasa __ : APSO
10. Urban Dictionary content : SLANG - there's a lot of funny stuff on the site, but a little on the vulgar side; I found this one to be amusing
12. Game for two : ONE-ON-ONE
13. Roofing material : TAR PAPER - it's but one layer of a roof
15. Bridge column word : EAST - figured it was 50/50 - this or "WEST"
23. Gouge : SOAK
25. Festoon : ADORN
28. Clinging type : LEECH
30. Calyx part : SEPAL
33. Aleppo's land : SYRIA
36. Marlboro Man contemporary : JOE CAMEL - I remember the controversy, and the suble sexual innuendo of the image
37. Again : ONCE MORE
38. Frat founded in 1855 at Ohio's Miami University : SIGMA CHI
39. Gp. that includes Nigeria : OPEC
45. Country with the largest surface area of water : CANADA - I knew this, for some odd reason; probably came up in a crossword clue from the past
47. Amble (along) : TOOTLE - I had -OOT--; didn't think "FOOTED" was right
49. Statue subject : TORSO
51. "__ and His Empire": 1972 Pulitzer-winning biography : LUCE
54. Mare's mouthful : OATS
56. Terrier type : SKYE
58. Like many eBay items : USED
61. One hanging out in a coll. office? : PhD
6. "The Hobbit" being : ELF - not ENT - pondered ORC, too
9. Tied accessory : ASCOT - threw it in, and it stayed
14. Cameron Indoor Stadium college hoopster : BLUE DEVIL - an educated WAG from ----EVIL
16. It has a backup : PLAN A
17. Feigns innocence : ACTS NAÏVE
18. Like Zitronen : SAUER - German for lemons, and sour; I gathered it meant "citrus"
19. Inexperienced : RAW
20. Tons : A SLEW
21. First : ON TOP
22. Acidity nos. : pHs
24. Virtue of the 2010 Olympic champion ice dancing team Virtue and Moir : TESSA - I had TE--A, and went with "RR" - Bzzzt~! ( I knew a girl in Florida named Terra )
26. Gershon of "Killer Joe" : GINA - could not think of her name
27. It involves pockets : POOL - Had it, took it out, put it back in. I like shooting pool, but have not done so in about 6 years - even have my own cues
29. Some crosses : ROODS - went with ANHKS first
31. Alley ending? : OOP - Alley-oop
32. Freelancers' encls. : SAEs - Self-Addressed Envelopes
34. Ross Sea sight : FLOE
35. Captain's dir. : NNE
40. Tokyo-born artist : ONO
41. Lit __ : CRIT - perps - Literary Criticism; the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. I am presently reading Nelson DeMille's "The Gate House". I like his stuff
42. Kennel pickup area : NAPE - ah - where you literally pick up an animal, from the back of the neck
43. Coin first minted in 13th-century France : ECU - Learned doing crosswords; we almost got away with a Frawnche-free puzzle this week
44. Challenging pitch : HIGH C - I had the "C" first, so I was not feeling it
46. Baryshnikov, at birth : LETT
48. What "c" may mean in South Africa : CENT - their "dollar" is the rand, and therefore....
50. "One can say everything best over __": George Eliot : A MEAL
52. Corp. treasurer, perhaps : CFO
53. Playground comeback : AM TOO - are so, is not....couldn't decide at the beginning
55. __ Dei : AGNUS - OK, I was in a "Da Vinci Code" frame of mind, couldn't get past "OPUS"
57. Bodybuilder Ferrigno : LOU - best known for the greener side of the TV series "The Incredible Hulk"
campy
60. Eccentrics : CRACKPOTS - nailed it
62. Big name in auditing : ERNST - I had a room-mate in college who was destined for the "Ernst & Young" accounting firm
63. Police-search discovery : HIDEY-HOLE
64. Colorful Danish export : LEGOs - not LILIES (didn't fit), and not DELFT, the dishware - because they're Dutch
65. B.C. neighbor : IDA - ah. IDAHO - I was stuck up in 45d., thinking it was either ALBerta, or SASkatchewan
DOWN:
1. It takes you to the top : T-BAR - skiing
2. Sadie Hawkins creator : AL CAPP
4. "__ Troyens": Berlioz opera : LES - like I said, almost
5. Krabappel of "The Simpsons" : EDNA
Edna Krabappel - The Simpsons Wiki
6. More wicked : EVILER - my one "meh" clue for the day
8. Traveled alone, perhaps : FLEW SOLO - I'm still flying solo :7(
9. Lhasa __ : APSO
10. Urban Dictionary content : SLANG - there's a lot of funny stuff on the site, but a little on the vulgar side; I found this one to be amusing
12. Game for two : ONE-ON-ONE
13. Roofing material : TAR PAPER - it's but one layer of a roof
15. Bridge column word : EAST - figured it was 50/50 - this or "WEST"
23. Gouge : SOAK
25. Festoon : ADORN
28. Clinging type : LEECH
30. Calyx part : SEPAL
37. Again : ONCE MORE
38. Frat founded in 1855 at Ohio's Miami University : SIGMA CHI
39. Gp. that includes Nigeria : OPEC
45. Country with the largest surface area of water : CANADA - I knew this, for some odd reason; probably came up in a crossword clue from the past
49. Statue subject : TORSO
54. Mare's mouthful : OATS
56. Terrier type : SKYE
58. Like many eBay items : USED
61. One hanging out in a coll. office? : PhD
Splynter
I was saddened to learn from Patti Varol yesterday that Leslie Billig, editor of Crosswords Club, passed away Wednesday morning. Patti said "Her creativity and wit, as well as her sharp eye for detail, shaped not only Crosswords Club and Uptown, but many publications at Dell Magazines. Leslie's passion for puzzles and her infectious giggle will be sorely missed by everyone who knew and worked with her. I already miss her more than I know how to express."
Notes from C.C.:
I was saddened to learn from Patti Varol yesterday that Leslie Billig, editor of Crosswords Club, passed away Wednesday morning. Patti said "Her creativity and wit, as well as her sharp eye for detail, shaped not only Crosswords Club and Uptown, but many publications at Dell Magazines. Leslie's passion for puzzles and her infectious giggle will be sorely missed by everyone who knew and worked with her. I already miss her more than I know how to express."
I
never met Leslie in person. Only a few email exchanges regarding a
distracting RAMBO in a AM/PM two-way rebus. As Patti said, she had a
keen eye for detail. She was very warm & encouraging. She quietly edited my puzzles, corrected my mistakes and spiced up my clues with her wits. She made me look good. Thank you, Leslie!
You can click here for a great interview Leslie did with Puzzle Nation.
 |
| Leslie Billig, ACPT, 2004 |
37 comments:
Morning, all!
Managed to get through this one unassisted at the end, but it was rough going for a bit. Especially down in the SE where I had AS-IS instead of USED, didn't know EDRED and didn't realize HIDEY-HOLE was a thing. LOU Ferrigno saved my bacon down there, but I somehow just didn't notice him for awhile.
Elsewhere, SAUER took all the perps and I still wasn't sure about it. ACTS NAIVE doesn't really sound like a real phrase to me (i.e., that's actually used in normal speech), but I was able to eventually guess it.
On the bright side, I really enjoyed all the long answers today. All totally in the language and a joy to discover and fill in.
I had the right vibes today! I won't say I didn't have a lot of WOs, but my final fills were just correcting misspellings: JOCKIES & AGNES! Mostly the same WOs Splynter noted. 1a I started with SHAR_ and waited for a perp to tell me if it ended with P or K, but downs quickly changed it to TABLE.
Good morning!
Got 'er done in Thursday time and with only a few stumbles: APRON/ASCOT, NORMA/MOIRA. Jeff Chen often stumps me, so I was relieved to find some easy going here.
EDRED was all perps. I can spell all of English royalty in just four letters: YAWN.
Can never decide if it's going to be AGNUS or ANGUS -- Christian or Hindu.
Splynter, was Terra's last name Cotta? Or, perhaps, Haute?
I did not recall TESSA did not know EDRED thought BLUE DEVIL and EVILER gave a certain tone to the puzzle enjoyed the long fill also and Splynter' s write up was great especially his SLANG link followed immediately by ONE ON ONE
Off to make bedevilled eggs for a wedding...coincidental?
Never heard of EDRED either so did some research. Name is actually spelled (back then) EaDRED. He ruled from 955 thru 959. He was still in his teens so I wouldn't be surprised if an ambitious rival had him knocked off.
D-O, Hope I didn't put you to sleep!
Slow start, but it picked up the pace as it went. The eraser had to be employed a few times, but it worked out. At the end I really questioned Edred. Enough to erase the D in PhD and ponder alternatives, in fact. But it just had to be. Must be a forefather of Red John, eh?
Challenging puzzle today but it filled rather smoothly. I think the only unknowns were GINA Gershon and TESSA Virtue. A shame that JOCKEYS FOR POWER couldn't appear last week for the Belmont! Wanted AEthelred the Unready for 66A but that didn't quite fit.
Thanks for the writeup, Splynter. Loved the WET FLOOR and Moai pictures!
C.C., in your postscript, you use RAMBO and AM/PM. I couldn't locate those on the abbreviations page. Can you provide the meanings, please?
Good Morning,
I had a pretty good run for a Saturday morning. I did yesterday's puzzle first, read your Corner comments and was completely warmed up to do another puzzle. Total crossword mode!! Goofed up with s.a.s.e. instead of the simpler SAEs. Couldn't get to EVILER as it sounded too awkward to be useful. I've always thought a two-syllable comparative took "more" instead of adding "-er." Since CWs are more fluid, it works--just took me a little longer to get there. I liked the long fills today; they helped me break through the GRID.
Thank you for a fine Saturday, Kevin and Jeff. Splynter, as always, your write-ups are fun. Thanks. Everyone have a pleasant day.
HowardW@8:11 -- I don't think that comment was "crosswordese." I think C.C. was referring to a specific puzzle she'd written where the rebus squares contained AM in one direction and PM in the other. RAMBO would have been one of the AM answers.
Correction: RAMBO was an answer in the puzzle, but the AM wasn't on a rebus square. Thus the "distracting" remark.
Thanks, d-o!
Great puzzle. I was quite sure of Norma, but Joe Camel prevailed, so I switched to MOIRA. Although EVILER is sort of awkward I was sure of it, so I wrote ENT, which gave me a problem in the north central area. When I switched to REGULAR to check it, NT came up red. Then I switched back to MASTER and completed the puzzle without further help. I didn't know there was an ELF in the HOBBIT, not a book I care for.
Saddam was captured in his HIDEY HOLE, my first acquaintance with the term. ACTS NAIVE is fine with me. ERNST was so easy and yet I needed 3 perps.
ANGUS is a male Scottish name and also refers to a breed of cattle. AGNUS is Latin and means lamb, as in AGNUS DEI, lamb of God. I have to be careful not to spell it AGNES, a female name.
Very enjyable puzzle and great blog, Splynter.
A note to correct Hondo's research: He got Edred's successor, King Edwy (Eadwig) but Splynter's link has it right.
Hi, this is Kevin Christian, co-constructor of today's puzzle.
I'm very happy to have my first collaboration published with Jeff Chen. Hopefully we'll have many more together. Jeff and I were roommates at the 2014 ACPT. Jeff is a very talented constructor. He does a lot of puzzles with left right symmetry (rather than the traditional 180 degree rotational symmetry), and puzzles where the arrangement of black squares is part of the theme, such as a puzzle where the grid resembled a dog's face, or a Roger Ebert themed puzzle with two thumbs up in the black squares on the left and right sides. Very creative.
CAUTION WET FLOOR came from me, the other three 15's (BUT WHO'S COUNTING, LIVES OFF THE GRID, JOCKEYS FOR POWER) all came from Jeff. Jeff did most of the fill as well. So this puzzle is more than 50% his.
Everyone enjoy your Saturday, take care. - KevinC
Hi all! Just stopping by to say hi. Really enjoyed working with Kevin on this one. Thanks for solving!
Best,
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff & Kevin.... smooth working puzzle, and got around the unknowns. Like D-O, solved like a Thursday/Friday once I got going.
Thanks, Splynter, again for your always enjoyable write-ups. We are totally "underwater" this am..... street flooding and monsoons all day. Had to call off our annual picnic for 80+ people. Bah!
Good Morning:
Typical Saturday stumper but getting the long fills helps a lot. Finished w/o help but it was slow going. That's okay because the effort was much rewarded with the solve itself.
I wonder when the escaped murderers "hidey hole" will be discovered. Soon, I hope; they are dangerous, evil men.
Thanks Kevin, Jeff, and Splynter for a fun and enjoyable weekend treat. Also, K and J, thanks for stopping by; it's nice to know the constructors are interested in our "little Corner of the world."
We had a lot of stormy weather yesterday. Spitz, was your area under that tornado warning?
YR, you are spot, on as my name has been mangled many times to Angus or Agnus, even Agness.
Have a great day.
IM @1031 - Re: Tornado warning. No, the county to the west of us, Madison Co., was under the warning for a short while.
Hello Puzzlers -
Had to work at this one, as expected for a Saturday, and finished unassisted. Impressive use of long fills today! Nicely done, Jeff and Kevin, and thanks for stopping by today. It's always nice to have constructors' perspectives.
Hello, friends!
First, thanks to Kevin and Jeff for providing a doable and enjoyable Saturday puzzle. Like others, SAUER seemed unlikely, but had no other option. Thanks, for 'splaining it, Splynter. It adds to my German store of knowledge. I loved your illustration.
The entire top filled in nicely though not without some hard thinking. Ort, ent and finally ELF made the top but I was reluctant to use EVILER. EAST also came easily because it seemed more likely that a vowel, E, would be used rather than W.
I've actually heard of the BLUE DEVILS. ROODS and AGNUS dei are of course part of the liturgy although I almost missed the mark since I originally had LIVES OFF THE LAND. Eventually GRID prevailed. Also I was fairly sure about CANADA but looked it up just to make sure.
EDRED didn't surprise me as I've read so much English history. Sorry, DO, I love that stuff.
I hope you are all experiencing a grand Saturday!
Like Splynter, I was surprised at how easily this puzzle filled in. Thanks for a fun romp, Kevin and Jeff. Nice to see you stop by. Thanks also to you, Splynter, for an erudite expo.
I raised an eyebrow at EVILER, but the perps were solid so I stayed with it. Needed nearly ESP for SAUER. If the clue had been "Former Cubbie power hitter", it would have been a gimme.
Let's see if this posts. For the last week or so, every time I have tried to post, I have ended up booted off the internet.
Anyway, Cya!
Just nit for D-O: If it was Haute it should have been preceded by Terre and not Terra.
Well Splynter, I never heard of EDRED or HIDEY HOLE But they were the only logically fitting fills for the downs. I didn't know if it should be TOODLE or TOOTLE., Cpa or Cfo, but I did know the "Incredible Hulk".
HIGH C, how about DOUBLE HIGH C, as we trumpet players strived for.. This was a normal Saturday puzzle for me, requiring a break after 20 minutes and then it filled quickly.
Unknowns were Blue devils, sauer, Tessa, Lit CRIT, Lett, Edna, Luce.
Bridge word. Pass. East or west. Orc or Elf. Lotsa or A Slew. Berg or Floe. We had two EVILS, with one being a blue-D. PHS ans PHD. Cents directly below ECU, which could have been SOU..
Please excuse any typos as I am sitting on a cellphone and not wearing my glasses.
I have to say to those who found this easy, please remember when just solving ANY Saturday puzzle was a moment to remember.
I thought this a well designed puzzle with just a couple of meh clues. No lookups needed and a nice finish. Had (card) sharp for table and (amble along) doodle for tootle and that was it.
See y'all Monday. Hopefully…
In theater (and theater education) we look at each artist's (director, designer, actor) initial plan as "Plan B." PLAN A is something no one can work up on their own. This thinking is a switch from the old days when a director's master plan was the only true PLAN A, dictated to the others. But now we consider that PLAN A can only arrive in collaboration.
Bring all the Plan Bs together, let the sparks fly, and --voila!-- PLAN A!
Nice pzl today. It was daunting at first, but turned out to be one of the few Saturday Xwds I could finish w/o look-ups.
Great write-up, Splynter. My mileage about the same as yours. I loved the Easter Island statues!
It's World Gin Day today, and as it's just five minutes from noon, and my local bar is ten minutes walk away, I think it's a perfect time to put a cap on my comments and reward myself for a 5-mile hike up to the Hollywood Sign in the fog this morning.
Selah!
Excellent puzzle today. Just right for my Saturday morning.
Including Rubio, how many Republicans have a chance at beating Clinton in 2016?
COUNTING BUSH, TWO... BUT WHO'S COUNTING?
Just found out that the prison employee who aided and abetted the two escapees has been transferred from Dannemora to the Rensselaer County Jail which is approximately 3 miles from my house. (My niece's husband is the Under Sheriff at that facility.). This whole drama has more twists and turns than you can keep up with. I just wish they are found soon! As of yesterday, there were 800+ law enforcement searchers, plus helicopters and K-9 trackers.
As is typical for Saturday, I had a lot of white space for a while. Then got a toehold here and a foothold there and things slowly fell into place. Nothing better than a challenging puzzle that's nonetheless solvable and I thought this one was great.
Entering MariA and AresO made the southwest take A SLEW longer than it should have.
RuneS at 29A didn't help, either.
Hmm,
I don't remember doing a Kevin Christian puzzle, (but then I don't remember what I had for breakfast...) But I will never forget a Jeff Chen puzzle, (because it kicks me in the butt every time...)
Pls do more puzzles together, because I like the illusion that I can solve one of these dang thingies!
I finished this great Saturday puzzle at 9 am but had to yada, yada, yada and just now got back to it. Lots of fun.
I don't get a chance to use OLIO very often, so here goes.
Olio:
~ I was starting to put my bike on the back of my car. My gardener's son, about 18, was just unloading his equipment when he came across the road and asked if he could help me lift the bike onto the bike rack. I started to tell him 'no,' that it wasn't necessary, but then I changed my mind. Though I really didn't need the help, I thought his helping would make both of us feel better.
~ There's a traffic reporter on the local all-news radio station who continually says 'as well' instead of 'also' or 'too.' It sounds pretentious to me.
~ There a nice but homeless veteran who I've seen near the coffee shop I frequent. He's asked me for money once or twice. I saw him sitting in the corner of the parking lot. He seemed to recognize me and waved. When I was heading home, I went by that corner again and fished out some small bills. It felt good for both of us I'm guessing, avoiding his having to ask...
~ A small lending company has sprung with ads on the radio. It's called LOAN ME. That name just grates on my ears.
~ Tutoring is almost over. I'll miss it.
~ My bike-riding buddy is into amateur astronomy. He's used his telescopes to take some pretty nice photos of planets, star clusters, galaxies, etc. He tried to take a photo of the half moon with his phone through the telescope eyepiece. It came out pretty good.
Bill G - I live about two blocks from a hospital. Not long ago I gave a ride to a young guy walking down the street with crutches. Long story short, he was a homeless veteran trying to get back to his homeless camp. Not long ago the town I live in opened an animal shelter that cost a million and a half dollars. I say this as a lifelong antiwar activist... The way we treat veterans is a national moral crime. We treat dogs better than the men and women we ask to possibly give their lives in support of the policies of politicians who won't and don't put their lives on the line for their beliefs.
Sorry for the rant, folks, but it's sickening.
Really Jerome?
do you like puppies too?
Of course we all support our veterans and pray and hope for the best for them.
not going to 'humble brag' about my admiration for veterans.
use Urban Dictionary for 'humble brag'.
Olio continued:
~ What is your reaction to people who find it necessary to continually use "air quotes" while they are pontificating?
~ Jerome, agreed. I don't know how to help this fellow except to give him some money from time-to-time. When some people respond that maybe he'll just spend it on cigarettes or alcohol or ???, I just say that I'm happy for him to spend it on whatever makes his existence a little more pleasant.
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