Theme: Keep looking up - to see the stars in the sky...and in the puzzle.
28D. Up-and-comers, and what the circled squares contain : RISING STARS
4D. "Sugar and spice" tykes : LITTLE GIRLS. RIGEL - In the constellation Orion.
9D. Altar exchanges : MARRIAGE VOWS. VEGA - In the constellation Lyra.
21D. Brunch dish with hollandaise sauce : EGGS BENEDICT. In the constellation Cygnus.
Argyle down here. Tough to pick out the stars without the circles but they aren't needed for the solve. One entry is within the last word while the other two span two words.
Across:
1. Wayne Gretzky's NHL career record 894 : GOALS
6. SALT warhead : ICBM. (intercontinental ballistic missile) It can carry a warhead but I would not call it a warhead.
10. Gridiron throw : PASS
14. Columbo's asset : LOGIC. The TV detective.
15. Law office hiree, briefly : PARA. (paralegal)
16. Superficially highbrow : ARTY
17. Singer Baker : ANITA
18. Finished : OVER
19. Way in : DOOR
20. Mickey of the Yankees : MANTLE
22. O.K. Corral family name : EARP
24. CAT scan kin : MRI
25. Table supports : LEGS
27. Three-dimensional historical display : DIORAMA
29. Throat soothers : LOZENGES
33. "Thrilla in Manila" boxer : ALI
34. Props and scenery, as a unit : STAGE SET
35. Treat leniently, with "on" : GO SOFT
39. Nobelist Morrison : TONI. Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 for Beloved.
40. Utah's __ Canyon : BRYCE
42. Intestinal sections : ILEA. Ileum, singular.
43. Actress North : SHEREE. ... was Kramer's mom on Seinfeld?!
45. With affection : LOVINGLY
47. System of connected PCs : LAN. (local area network)
48. Stretch out : ELONGATE. Turns a circle into an oval.
49. Waded to the other side of : CROSSED. Meh.
53. Hooting hunters : OWLS
54. Put a spell on : HEX
55. Perfect place : EDEN
57. Suppresses, as bad news : SITS ON
61. Flower painted by van Gogh : IRIS
63. Desktop image : ICON
65. Niño's mother : MADRE. Spanish.
66. Art class subject : NUDE
67. Roadwork marker : CONE
68. Shore up : BRACE
69. From square one : ANEW
70. Arborist's study : TREE
71. Heroic Schindler : OSKAR. He made a list.
Down:
1. Glittery rock music genre : GLAM. Short for glamour.
2. O'Neill's daughter : OONA
3. Feudin' with : AGIN. An informal, facetious, or dialect word for against.
5. Like some triangles : SCALENE. I had to look up the meaning. (unequal sides)
6. Wall St. debut : IPO. (initial public offering)
7. Stalactite site : CAVE
8. Diner basketful : BREAD
10. Bachelor __ : PAD
11. Food court lure : AROMA
12. Weather-controlling "X-Men" character : STORM
13. Country where damask was first made : SYRIA
23. Sport with mallets : POLO
26. Visionary : SEER
29. D-Day carriers : LSTs. Welcome back, old friend. (Landing Ship, Tank)
30. IMer's "Then again ... " : OTOH. (On The Other Hand)
31. Western writer Grey : ZANE
32. Fashion : STYLE
36. Gold medalist Korbut : OLGA
37. Poolroom surface : FELT. On the table.
38. Actor Diggs : TAYE. Taye Diggs, born and raised in Rochester, NY.
41. Where Pikes Peak is: Abbr. : COLO. (Colorado) Just behind Nevada in size.
44. Lack of difficulty : EASE
46. Left hanging : IN LIMBO
49. Wedding registry category : CHINA
50. Between-seasons TV fare : RERUN
51. Nitrous __ : OXIDE
52. Interior designer's concern : DÉCOR
56. Zero : NONE
58. Mt. Rushmore's state : SDAK. (South Dakota)
59. Ocean predator : ORCA
60. Not e'en once : NE'ER
62. Attach a patch, say : SEW
64. Bridal bio word : NÉE
Argyle
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Gary's wife Joann wrote to me earlier. She said that the meds to remove the blockage have not worked, and it's very likely that Gary will have surgery sometime tomorrow.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Get back to us soon, Gary!
Gary's wife Joann wrote to me earlier. She said that the meds to remove the blockage have not worked, and it's very likely that Gary will have surgery sometime tomorrow.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Get back to us soon, Gary!
 |
| Joann & Gary |
Good morning
ReplyDeleteA bit of a challenge with scalene and stage set slow fills. The theme was interesting but did not appear until the end. BRACE and BRYCE are fun together and DIORAMA is a nice word.
I see lots of bad storms on the radar
Be safe. Thanks David and Argyle
Now this one was Monday-easy! I even guessed what the reveal was going to be just from DENEB! My biggest block (not serious) was reading "Sugar and spice" as "Sugar and Spike". One nit: an ICBM is a rocket that delivers a payload, a warhead is the payload the rocket carries. The taxi and the fare are not interchangeable! [I see Argyle caught that, too.]
ReplyDeleteThere once was a lawyer, a RISING STAR,
He'd aced all his courses and passed the bar.
But then, just for kicks
He got in politics
Now his rep is in ruins, tho he's just been made czar!
There once was a planet, a RISING STAR,
That shone in the heavens, away so far!
There were no saloons
On the orb or its moons --
It wasn't a good atmosphere for a bar
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteBlew through this one with little hesitation, despite the fact that (a) there were no circles for me and therefore I had no inkling of a theme, (b) I didn't know LITTLE GIRLS, (c) SHEREE was also unknown and (d) STAGE SET doesn't even seem like a real thing to me. Overall, I found the cluing extremely straightforward and the perps were solid enough to make guessing at the stuff I didn't know very easy.
I guess there aren't that many stars with short enough names for a theme like this. ALDEBERAN? ANTARES? SIRIUS? BETELGEUSE? Don't think so...
Hobos sNARE BED LAte?
ReplyDeleteCrosSER AT NAticks?
SeE SUE G.? LET EBenezer know.
SIRIUS defeated me.
Fun puzzle, Monday easy (like 'em that way!), and good fill. The same nit with the ICBM thing, other than that smooth sailing. Thanks hanks for the terrific write-up, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Argyle and friends. I found the puzzle, itself to be a breeze. There were several answers I had filled in before I got to reading the clue. The Star names on the other hand ... I recognize VEGA, but not a clue on the other anagramed stars. Ah well, at least I completed the grid with not write overs or errors.
ReplyDeleteNot much else to contribute. Stay safe from the violent storms.
QOD: A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human. ~ Alan Turing (June 23, 1912 ~ June 7, 1954)
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteMy paper had circles, so I should have been able to see the theme. But I didn't look at the circled letters until I was finished. Sigh.
I vaguely remember BRYCE canyon. I had chills and fever and sat in the car with the heater going full blast while DW walked some of the trails.
I wasn't sure about ILEA and wasn't familiar with TAYE, so that A was a WAG. I was waiting for Argyle to set me straight. Dodged one.
Fruit-based computer is in slow motion again this morning. The words I type show up about 10 seconds later. That usually means a Windows update is downloading. It monopolizes the CPU so that nothing else gets done. Oh well, time for another cup of coffee, anyway.
Just Read yesterday, my condolences JzB and regards HG
ReplyDeleteStorms do look scary
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteHas GO EASY b4 GO SOFT; guessed INDIA b4 SYRIA; those were the only ink blots. RIGEL and DENEB were unknown to me as gaseous bodies - since the reveal came mostly through perps, it mattered little. The reveal got off to a slow start since I still had GO EASY in 35a before correcting
A decent Tuesday puzzle with good clueing; not much misdirection which is good; my brain gets steadily more misdirected the longer the week goes
Will be taking a crossword break after tmw whilst the better half and I go visit family up north
Who's going to link an image to 66a??! ;^)
Yes, Monday easy, except that SHEREE was all perps and so was TAYE. Very quick solve. I had to stop before I had time to parse the very clever theme. To my regret, I didn't go back later to pick it up. "I coulda been a contender," as my ex would say.
ReplyDeleteFor a math teacher and tutor, SCALENE was easy.
IMO Schindler's List was a great movie. Some thought it too gruesome, but Schindler's humanity redeemed it, a light in the darkness.
CSO to Blue Iris. I love IRISes and Monet, so thanks for the pic, Argyle.
I ordered EGGS BENEDICT this AM but the diner was out of English muffins, so I passed, fortunately for my girlish figure. HAHA.
I loved all the limericks yesterday. Owen, your first one today was especially good.
Severe thunderstorms are forecast today for late afternoon and the rush hour, when I usually return home from visiting Alan. I am glad we scheduled a lunch date today, instead.
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a snappy Tuesday, David. I enjoyed the run. I was really on the same wavelength with the longer entries. I have the cirles and was baffled until I saw VEGA after I read the reveal clue. Then I saw RIGEL. I am not familiar with DENEB, so that was a learning moment. My favorite today was SCALENE. In Geometry, the only math I liked, I thought SCALENE triangles were pretty. Weird, eh?
Thanks for the walk around the block, Argyle.
Good wishes for your continuing recovery, Gary. Hurry back, I miss your musings!
Have a sunny day!
Thanks for the elucidation, Argyle! I figured we were looking at words going from bottom to top in the cirecles, but it didn't come into focus until I got to the reveal. Fun! Same hiccups as others - GO easy on before GO SOFT, and no idea about TAYE. Perps to the rescue!
ReplyDeleteChariman Moe @ 6:59, here ya go! NUDE.
Classy!
DeleteDuh! No wonder this was easy. I forgot that today is Tuesday, still early in the week.
ReplyDeleteI forget to say that Bryce was my favorite national park out west. We were on a bus tour so there was little time to wander, as I would have liked. The hoodoos are magnificent.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot RISING STARS early on. Seeing RIGEL rising helped confirm LITTLE GIRLS. Lots of fresh fill made this an engaging puzzle.
29d - LSTS - Rough riding, ponderous, and even dangerous (by today's standards). They were flat-bottomed and under powered with a top speed of about 11 knots, The engine room featured a ship's electrical distribution board with open (uninsulated) knife switches. The operator had a rubber pad to stand on and a wooden bar across the front of the board to hang on to (or to keep his free hand away from an open switch.)
Sorry to hear your news, Jazz. I had no time to get here yesterday, so only just found out.
ReplyDeleteI thought the theme would simply be "names" today, there were so many of them. For me the last area to fall was the NW corner, and it and the NE were totally reliant on perps. Other parts fell in fairly easily, but I also had the GO EASY/SOFT error for a while. I only know the star VEGA, the others had me stumped until I got the reveal and figured out they must be other stars.
Quick and steady today. I saw the VEGA and got the theme, but still didn't know the other stars after I had filled them in. BRYCE canyon is my favorite national park too, Yellowrocks. I like that you don't have to be in super physical shape to walk down to the canyon floor and back up. Love the sunsets there too.
ReplyDeleteTaye Diggs has been successful on both Broadway (Rent) and movies. He is recently divorced from Idina Menzel of Frozen ("Let it Go") and Wicked fame.
Thanks, David and Argyle for a fun start to the day.
Continued prayers for HG and JzB's family.
Not being an astronomer or ever having studied astronomy or read the voodoo in the paper- also known as the horoscopes, my knowledge of stars has come strictly from crossword puzzles. RIGEL and DENEB are stars; VEGA is a crappy product that Chevrolet made 40 years ago. Without the circles I would have never picked out the stars even after RISING STARS was filled completely by the crosses. I know the Big Dipper and the North Star. That's it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very easy Tuesday puzzle with only two other unknowns- TAYE and SHEREE- that had to be filled by perps. While technically correct on the ICMB, I doubt that there are any without warheads. And as long as we are picking nits, a CAT scan and MRI are not related. One uses xrays and the other magnetic resonance.
35A- I filled GO EASY before changing it to SOFT. The long fills IMHO, LITTLE GIRLS and EGGS BENEDICT, were immediate fills that kept any challenge from being presented in the puzzle. They should have had tougher clues.
SCALENE is not a word that is seen very often. I knew it but had to think twice before filling it. The town I grew up in had a museum in which the displays were all DIORAMAs and nothing else. Thinking back it reminds me of boys playing with toy soldiers in various formations.
ReplyDeleteEasy for a Tuesday, but I guess I was on the right wavelength. I even correctly WAGged Taye and Ilea though both were unknown. 35A changed quickly from GO EASY to GO SOFT with RISING STAR AND OLGA.
Thanks David and Argyle.
Very nice theme. Not often do we get the theme up/down. Thanks, David, for the fun today.
ReplyDeleteNice write-up, Argyle. Thanks, Marti, for the "nude".
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteGary's wife Joann wrote to me earlier. She said that the meds to remove the blockage have not worked, and it's very likely that Gary will surgery sometime tomorrow.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I'm so worried.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteFun, easy Tuesday offering. Hand up for easy/soft and nuke/ICBM. Taye Diggs was a gimme as he stars in one of my favorite summer fill-in shows, Murder In The First, which is on TNT on Monday night.
Nice job, David, and thanks, Argyle, for the great review.
I hear thunder and the wind is picking up, so I expect the skies will open up any minute.
YR, any date yet for Alan's homecoming? I hope he is improving by the day.
HG, you are in our thoughts and prayers. We miss you, so please get better soon! 😻
Have a great day.
The men who rode in them said LST stood for Large, Slow Target
ReplyDeleteArgyle: Nice write-up. Especially enjoyed the ANITA Baker tune.
ReplyDeleteDavid: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.
Only unknown, that was solved by the perps, was the Actor TAYE Diggs.
Tear ... no booze in the grid ... but there is some here at Villa Incognito.
Husker: Get Well Soon!!!
Cheers!
Straightforward solve today and nice lightbulb moment when I got the theme. Amazing, since I am still groggy after storms in the night.
ReplyDeleteThanks David and Argyle.
Continued wishes for improved health for Gary.
My prayers for Gary continue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments on LSTs, I had guesed it meant Land-Sea Transport. I can't imagine having to slowly go towards the Normandy beaches in them.
I tried BRUCE before BRYCE for the canyon. I took astronomy 101 a LONG time ago, and the only star I recognized was RIGEL.
We had nasty storms with MUCH lightning here in Cleveland Monday afternoon and 4 am this morning.
That was a very pleasant puzzle and theme. I didn't feel right about ICBM either. Hand up for Bryce. It's pretty and it's at high altitude so the air feels crisper and cooler.
ReplyDeleteGary, my very best wishes continue to head your way.
Don't forget to look west about 9 pm tonight. Venus and Jupiter are getting closer and make a pretty sight.
To be honest, it wasn't the most interesting of puzzles for me. No fault of the constructor.
ReplyDeleteI am not familuar with the star names, so until the reveal, I had no idea what was up.
SCALENE, LAN, BRYCE, LSTS were unknowns.
A gimme for me was TAYE DIGGS. He used to be on the tv show "The Practice", now on "Murder in the First". A fine stage actor, as well. Very talented, and has a great voice.
My thoughts are with Gary for a positive outcome and recovery.
"Shindler's List" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Reminds you that even at the darkest times, some still shine a light. A testament to humanity.
Speaking of Mantle and the Yankees. The old timers' tribute and game was really enjoyable to watch. And A Rod finally did it...3000 hits. Too bad his legacy of drug use taints his achievements.
Guess that's about it for today. Stay happy and safe.
Perfect Tuesday puzzle--pretty easy but with a little challenge or two. Many thanks, David! And nice pics, Argyle, thanks for those too!
ReplyDeleteGary, you will be in our thoughts and prayers. We'll also send our best vibes to your wife, and our best wishes for a speedy and total recovery for you.
Have a great day, everybody.
Hello, friends!
ReplyDeleteThank you, David Poole, for an easy breezy puzzle. The entire eastern seaboard especially flowed in quickly with only GO EASY/GO SOFT write over prompted by OLGA. After I saw TAYE Diggs on TV and finished swooning I could never forget him!
And thank you, Argyle, for a fun review. Love ANITA Baker.
My newspaper had circles so I saw VEGA first and then the others. We've seen RIGEL in crosswords and maybe even DENEB.
Loved DIORAMA; it took me back to my teaching years when students always made some for their lessons. It's a wonderful teaching tool. Sometimes they each made one individually, other times one big one as a class or several small groups.
Prayers going to Gary for a successful operation and recovery.
Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteDNF today because I stubbornly kept GO EASY on. Never heard of GO SOFT on supposedly meaning the same. Hmph.
Best wishes, Gary. We all love you and hope for the best.
CHEERS
Hmm, all the funny rising star pics seem to have a Star Trek theme today...
ReplyDeleteMr Meows limericks...
Rising stars versus red shirts...
Reposting...link in original was for a thumbnail. Hopefully, this link is better.
ReplyDeleteNot RISING STARS but converging planets are visible in the night sky this week. Weather permitting, keep an eye on the western sky shortly after sunset for the next 7 days as Venus and Jupiter converge on June 29. In the photo (see link) Venus is at lower right with Jupiter to its left. Regulus, of the constellation Leo, is visible along the same orbital plane between Jupiter and the moon, seen in the upper left. Jupiter and Venus Convergence
For HG:
ReplyDeleteA little exercise for when you are stuck in bed...
& a few pics that might make you want to stay in bed...
& The Star Ledgers Thought For The Day:
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self." - May Sarton, Belgian-born American poet (1912-1995).
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck Husker Gary.
Puzzle was easy. Liked it.
Have a lot of work to do in Colorado, so I will back out for now and check in later.
Abejo
()
Enjoyed the comments on the blog.
ReplyDeleteI find that I can increase the degree of difficulty of the puzzles by writing the answers to the across entries only while reading the down clues for help.
CED - Loved Mr. Meow's limericks and the Thought For The Day.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, thanks for remembering. Alan will come home to stay in two days, June 25. He is in better shape than he has been in a long time. I think this mysterious malady has been pulling him down for several years. In spite of much running to all kinds of doctors it was only recognizable and diagnosable when it came to a scary head last month. I really appreciate Medicare and Medicaid or we would have lost everything, including our home. Thank you, taxpayers, for saving Alan's life.
ReplyDeleteOur crisis is past and as I think of Gary it brings to mind the quote,"I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." I wish Gary the best of care and the best of returning health.
Sallie @11:44
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoy seeing your Avatar and comments.
As for GO SOFT on ... in the past that would have brought out a lot of DF comments.
Cheers!
Yellowrocks, that's wonderful news about Alan. I am so happy for both of you. Let us know how things go.
ReplyDeletegood afternoon all,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed today's puzzle which flowed quickly for me. had only 2 write overs goes easy> goes soft and sodk>sdak. didn't get the theme, but that is nothing new.
Lucina, I agree with you about Taye Diggs. he is easy on the eyes. thanks Irish Miss and Coneyro for cluing me in about his new show.
Gary, I'm praying that this operation will fix everything and you'll be home soon. I know that you are keeping a positive attitude and you are entertaining the staff, but we want you back.
bill, thanks for the heavenly reminder.
Yellowrocks, such good news about Alan!!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGary, prayers from here for success...And an early return to us who need your humor!
YR - That is wonderful news about Alan. I hope you both enjoy a happy and healthy summer!
ReplyDeleteJD - If you have On Demand, I suggest you watch the first three episodes of Murder In The First because it is a continuing story arc, with several sub-plots. You won't want to miss a thing!
Bill G - I know you have mixed feelings about Suits but FYI, new episodes start tomorrow night. (I think Ferm may be a fan, also.)
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteThanks David for a fun star-filled puzzle and Argyle for a fine review w/ extra learning moments (i.e. SHEREE was Mrs Kramer).
Still batting 1.000. Today 3 WAGs & 2 W/os (easy b/f SOFT & ZANE set me straight; there's no S in LOZENGE). ESP's 17a, 38d, 39a, 40a & 43a - the west-central was a WAG-fest.
Fav - LAN & HEX as you write your LAN (ethernet) addr in HEX. COLO makes me think of a data-center (CO-LOcation facility) where part of your internets are.
I also liked the image of a pine in south-central (CONE OVER TREE - DW used pine-CONEs in the DECOR).
CED - LOL RedShirt pic.
What does the Vatican prepare for the old Pope's breakfast? Ex-BENEDICT!*
God Speed HG!
Cheers, -T
*wow, I can hear the collective groan over the internet...
What I thought of at 4d's Sugar & Spice clue Good Morning Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteDid ALI ever GO SOFT as he CROSSED w/ his right/left?
So many fun words to play with...
Mr. Pool is this where your constructing-mind was? This is just LOGIC.
The STAGE is SET:
You & your GIRL - up in a TREE; the ICON of k-i-s-s-i-n-g...
You both FELT the rush. So, after MARRIAGE VOWS she's got a NEE. So you cary her through the DOOR of your former PAD to the MANTLE.
GOALS (BRACE for it):
1) Both NUDE, things start RISING and ELONGATE, LEGS (erm), and 9mos later she's a MADRE.
2) To start ANEW, treat her LOVINGLY OVER and OVER
3) PASS the time IN LIMBO (till kids stop using your BREAD and GLAM onto their own CHINA) watching RE-RUNs snuggled up on the couch (currently in STYLE).
4) Finally EASE into EDEN where the DECOR is 25 years out of date.
Wait, what? Just me? Oh... Well, NE'ER mind.
Cheers, -T
Good wishes HG & Joann! I'm looking forward to Thursday's good news - Love your way...
Good Evening, I'm late in reading the blog. I'm so sorry to hear that Gary will undergo surgery tomorrow. Good thoughts are sent his way. Hoping that his surgery is successful and that he is back on the Corner real soon. We miss you, Gary.
ReplyDeleteAs for the puzzle, it was easy, fun, and I got the theme early on, like many of you did today. Nothing new to add what already has been said.
Barbara and I made our nightly excursion down the driveway to look at Venus and Jupiter. They are bright in the western sky and slowly getting closer and closer. I used my Canon image-stabilized binoculars to look at both the half-moon and Jupiter. I can't wait to show Jordan the craters on the moon. Jupiter was clearly a disk through the binoculars though I will have to break out my telescope if I hope to see the moons of Jupiter tonight. I'm sure it is possible to see them through the binoculars so I'm guessing they are in front or behind Jupiter or at least not at their greatest elongation.
ReplyDeleteI came across 'The Three Amigos' and am watching most of it all over again. I'm almost embarrassed to be laughing and enjoying its unsophisticated humor.
Irish Miss, I enjoyed the early episodes of Suits but became disenchanted as the series went on. I'll certainly start watching it again this season to see how it goes.
Gary, best wishes again. It's about the fourth or fifth time but you can't have too many good thoughts headed your way.
Regarding NUDE: A family went to a nude beach for the first time. Their young son came up to the mother and asked about breasts. Some of them are much bigger than Mommy's he noted. His mother said that the women with the bigger breasts were less intelligent. He seemed OK with that information. Later he told his mother that some of the men had bigger penises than Daddy. Again, she told him that was combined with not being as smart. Later on he rushed up to his mother again. "Mommy! Daddy is talking to some of the really stupid women and the longer he talks to them, the dumber he gets!"