Theme: Give me a hand, will you?
18A. *One of a group of particles used to demonstrate a magnetic field : IRON FILING. Ruling with an iron hand. The "iron fist' usage seems to be more common, but both variants are out there.
23A. *Mob employee : HIRED GUN. Hired hand. Being critical here (what, me?) the thematic answer seems awfully close to the clued answer, and very close to the next thematic ..
33A. *Salad topping : RANCH DRESSING. Ranch hand. I make my own fat-free ranch dressing, I use it as a dip, a dressing, as a mayo substitute in sandwiches and wraps, and lots of other things. I make two pints at a time! Rather than spending $3 for a sachet of the mix every time I make a cup, I mix my own and make four times that amount for pennies.
48A. *Party clothes : GLAD RAGS. Glad hand. Greeting a crowd with handshakes, usually insincerely (e.g. anyone on a campaign trail!)
and the reveal
52A. In advance, and, literally, where the starts of the answers to starred clues might go : BEFOREHAND
Welcome to Wednesday, you midweek warriors! Steve here reporting from the Lone Star State today - I've got a couple of meetings in Dallas so I'm breaking out the cowboy boots and practicing my "yee-ha's"!
Maybe I've got my grumpy trousers on today, but I wasn't bowled over by Jack Mac's theme for the reasons I've already mentioned. I also get mildly irked when 1A is an abbreviation, I just don't think it's a smooth way to lead in to a puzzle.
Finally, you can get TRIABLE through crosses, but it's obscure enough to have been used only once before in the LAT and it might quality as a bit of a stretch for a Wednesday.
There's a lot on the plus side to like though - I thought the NE corner was really nicely put together and that's where I finally finished up. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Benchmarks: Abbr. : STDS. Standards.
5. West African capital : ACCRA. Specifically, capital of Ghana.
10. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL. Or border environmental disaster, take your pick.
14. Tough trip : TREK
15. Like much invasive software : VIRAL
16. Lawless role : XENA. I never remember this actor's last name, even though I did meet her at a charity golf tournament. She gave me a beer on the first tee, in costume, wielding a sword - not something you'd think I'd forget.
17. Agree : JIBE. Gibe vs jibe vs gybe vs jive. Discuss.
20. Churchill Downs shape : OVAL. Home of the Kentucky Derby and Act 1 of this year's Triple Crown triumph by American Typo - sorry, American Pharoah.
21. No-frills sleeper : COT
22. Salami choice : GENOA. Food! This stuff - I'll spare you the argument regarding whether any self-respecting Genovese would ever acknowledge it.
26. Ambles : MOSEYS
27. Loathsome things : NASTIES. A little slangy, but a nice word.
28. Mercury or Saturn : CAR. God? Planet? Nope, auto brands today.
29. Put down : DIS. Contraction of "disrespect", no longer viewed as slang. British English spells it "diss" for no good reason other than to be awkward and confuse the French.
30. Cologne-to-Leipzig direction : OST. Cologne to Leipzig is EAST, surely? Köln to Leipzig is OST.
31. Lord's Prayer possessive : OUR
32. Sup : DINE. From whence SUPPER. Pre-crosswords, I thought it meant "drink".
37. Yellow Monopoly bills : TENS
38. Row : OAR. The verb form. not the noun. A little crossword-esey to my oar - I mean ear.
39. Sounds of pleasure : AHS
40. Fix in a bad way? : RIG. As an election, following a lot of glad-handing perhaps?
41. Prankster : IMP
42. Boston __: '50s TV detective : BLACKIE. Crosses all the way for me. A reformed jewel thief and safecracker, I now discover.
46. Arriving after curfew : IN LATE. And grounded?
49. Winner of six 2011 Grammys : ADELE. Here's a great live performance of "Rolling in the Deep"
50. Vein yield : ORE
51. Arrow-shooting god : EROS. Here's the statue at Piccadilly Circus in London, a memorial to the philanthropist Lord Shaftsbury, for whom the adjacent Shaftsbury Avenue is named.
55. Drive filler : DATA. Fun clue/answer combo to unravel.
56. Some summer births : LEOS
.
57. Brie coverings : RINDS. Food! If you can find a triple-creme French brie made with unpasteurized milk, you're in for a treat when it ages and the rind gets a yellowish, waxy appearance. Yum!
58. __-bitty : ITTY. This is one of those "can't be anything else" clues. I'm not sure how else it could be clued though.
59. Is wrong : ERRS
60. "Wrong!" : NOT SO!
61. Beverages sometimes served over ice : TEAS
Down:
1. According to Christian tradition, Bk. of Revelation author : ST. JOHN. Beloved book of the Tinfoil Hat Brigade also.
2. "Jeopardy!" material : TRIVIA
3. Excludes : DEBARS. Your second essay question of the day. Debars vs. disbars. Discuss (or decuss!)
4. Closet occupants, perhaps? : SKELETONS. None in mine (at least that I'm aware of.) Or own up to.
5. Prefix for the birds : AVI. -ation, -ary, you get the picture.
6. Tent event : CIRCUS.
7. Sing like Bing : CROON
8. Talk frantically : RANT. Compare and contrast with CROON.
9. 1920s-'30s politico Landon : ALF. I had to look him up to see why a depression-era state governor qualifies as a Wednesday crossword clue. Apparently he is best known for being roundly spanked in the 1936 Presidential Election by FDR. Still mystifed.
10. Turnpike toll units : AXLES. Part of the tricky (for me) north-east. MILES went in first.
11. Brought under control : REINED IN. This letter sequence has a great "what?" confusion factor when partially completed.
12. Irksome : ANNOYING
13. "Kick it up a notch!" chef : LAGASSE. I'm going to plead a "Thumper" regarding Emeril.
19. Movie lab helper : IGOR. Pronounced "Eyegore" for you Young Frankenstein ("Fronk-en-steen") fans out there.
24. Brake component : DISC. Shoe would fit. Pad, caliper not so much.
25. Finish a commute : GET HOME. Accompanied by lots of AHS. My commute mileage has varied between extremes - 20 feet from my home office to my couch or 8,500 miles from Mumbai to LA.
26. Veal dish wine : MARSALA. Most recipes are very heavy-handed with the butter. I use Lidia Bastianich's recipe as a base and use half the fat (olive oil and butter). Still very decadent, so I like to cut the richness with a little lemon juice and lemon thyme and garnish with plenty of fresh parsley.
28. Pool stick : CUE
31. Legend on the ice : ORR. Bruin Bobby.
32. Cast doubt on : DISCREDIT
33. Sven of "Frozen" is one : REINDEER. I've never seen "Frozen", but given the frequency it now comes up in puzzles I probably should! Crosses all the way.
34. Artfully try to get, as a compliment : ANGLE FOR
35. Skip along the water : DAP. Aptly, given the preceeding answer, this is a fishing term. I don't fish, so I don't DAP
36. Roe source : SHAD. Food! Generally cooked and eaten rather than served caviar-style.
37. Subject to court judgment : TRIABLE. Hmm. Rarely seen - LAT once in 2008, NYT once in 1999.
41. Old Roman road : ITER. Plural "itinera" which gives us "itinerary". Who knew? Not me. An iter was more a pathway than a road, apparently.
42. Mixtures : BLENDS.
43. Self-defense method : KARATE
44. With "go," "See ya later" : I GOTTA
45. Bacon products : ESSAYS. Lovely. I'll forgive you the odd ITERs and TRIABLEs if you can come up with these gems.
47. At __ for words : A LOSS. Read clue. Fill in blank. Move on, nothing to see here.
48. Research money : GRANT
50. West Virginia border river : OHIO
53. South end? : ERN
54. Brit. military award : D.S.O. The Distinguished Service Order, almost exclusively awarded to officers for gallantry in combat.
And .... drum roll .... here's the grid! You can see where I finished up when the "REINED IN" penny dropped and the AXLES/MILES misstep was fixed.
Yee-Ha!
Steve
18A. *One of a group of particles used to demonstrate a magnetic field : IRON FILING. Ruling with an iron hand. The "iron fist' usage seems to be more common, but both variants are out there.
23A. *Mob employee : HIRED GUN. Hired hand. Being critical here (what, me?) the thematic answer seems awfully close to the clued answer, and very close to the next thematic ..
33A. *Salad topping : RANCH DRESSING. Ranch hand. I make my own fat-free ranch dressing, I use it as a dip, a dressing, as a mayo substitute in sandwiches and wraps, and lots of other things. I make two pints at a time! Rather than spending $3 for a sachet of the mix every time I make a cup, I mix my own and make four times that amount for pennies.
48A. *Party clothes : GLAD RAGS. Glad hand. Greeting a crowd with handshakes, usually insincerely (e.g. anyone on a campaign trail!)
and the reveal
52A. In advance, and, literally, where the starts of the answers to starred clues might go : BEFOREHAND
Welcome to Wednesday, you midweek warriors! Steve here reporting from the Lone Star State today - I've got a couple of meetings in Dallas so I'm breaking out the cowboy boots and practicing my "yee-ha's"!
Maybe I've got my grumpy trousers on today, but I wasn't bowled over by Jack Mac's theme for the reasons I've already mentioned. I also get mildly irked when 1A is an abbreviation, I just don't think it's a smooth way to lead in to a puzzle.
Finally, you can get TRIABLE through crosses, but it's obscure enough to have been used only once before in the LAT and it might quality as a bit of a stretch for a Wednesday.
There's a lot on the plus side to like though - I thought the NE corner was really nicely put together and that's where I finally finished up. Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Benchmarks: Abbr. : STDS. Standards.
5. West African capital : ACCRA. Specifically, capital of Ghana.
10. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL. Or border environmental disaster, take your pick.
14. Tough trip : TREK
15. Like much invasive software : VIRAL
16. Lawless role : XENA. I never remember this actor's last name, even though I did meet her at a charity golf tournament. She gave me a beer on the first tee, in costume, wielding a sword - not something you'd think I'd forget.
17. Agree : JIBE. Gibe vs jibe vs gybe vs jive. Discuss.
20. Churchill Downs shape : OVAL. Home of the Kentucky Derby and Act 1 of this year's Triple Crown triumph by American Typo - sorry, American Pharoah.
21. No-frills sleeper : COT
22. Salami choice : GENOA. Food! This stuff - I'll spare you the argument regarding whether any self-respecting Genovese would ever acknowledge it.
26. Ambles : MOSEYS
27. Loathsome things : NASTIES. A little slangy, but a nice word.
28. Mercury or Saturn : CAR. God? Planet? Nope, auto brands today.
29. Put down : DIS. Contraction of "disrespect", no longer viewed as slang. British English spells it "diss" for no good reason other than to be awkward and confuse the French.
30. Cologne-to-Leipzig direction : OST. Cologne to Leipzig is EAST, surely? Köln to Leipzig is OST.
31. Lord's Prayer possessive : OUR
32. Sup : DINE. From whence SUPPER. Pre-crosswords, I thought it meant "drink".
37. Yellow Monopoly bills : TENS
38. Row : OAR. The verb form. not the noun. A little crossword-esey to my oar - I mean ear.
39. Sounds of pleasure : AHS
40. Fix in a bad way? : RIG. As an election, following a lot of glad-handing perhaps?
41. Prankster : IMP
42. Boston __: '50s TV detective : BLACKIE. Crosses all the way for me. A reformed jewel thief and safecracker, I now discover.
46. Arriving after curfew : IN LATE. And grounded?
49. Winner of six 2011 Grammys : ADELE. Here's a great live performance of "Rolling in the Deep"
50. Vein yield : ORE
51. Arrow-shooting god : EROS. Here's the statue at Piccadilly Circus in London, a memorial to the philanthropist Lord Shaftsbury, for whom the adjacent Shaftsbury Avenue is named.
55. Drive filler : DATA. Fun clue/answer combo to unravel.
56. Some summer births : LEOS
.
57. Brie coverings : RINDS. Food! If you can find a triple-creme French brie made with unpasteurized milk, you're in for a treat when it ages and the rind gets a yellowish, waxy appearance. Yum!
58. __-bitty : ITTY. This is one of those "can't be anything else" clues. I'm not sure how else it could be clued though.
59. Is wrong : ERRS
60. "Wrong!" : NOT SO!
61. Beverages sometimes served over ice : TEAS
Down:
1. According to Christian tradition, Bk. of Revelation author : ST. JOHN. Beloved book of the Tinfoil Hat Brigade also.
2. "Jeopardy!" material : TRIVIA
3. Excludes : DEBARS. Your second essay question of the day. Debars vs. disbars. Discuss (or decuss!)
4. Closet occupants, perhaps? : SKELETONS. None in mine (at least that I'm aware of.) Or own up to.
5. Prefix for the birds : AVI. -ation, -ary, you get the picture.
6. Tent event : CIRCUS.
7. Sing like Bing : CROON
8. Talk frantically : RANT. Compare and contrast with CROON.
9. 1920s-'30s politico Landon : ALF. I had to look him up to see why a depression-era state governor qualifies as a Wednesday crossword clue. Apparently he is best known for being roundly spanked in the 1936 Presidential Election by FDR. Still mystifed.
10. Turnpike toll units : AXLES. Part of the tricky (for me) north-east. MILES went in first.
11. Brought under control : REINED IN. This letter sequence has a great "what?" confusion factor when partially completed.
12. Irksome : ANNOYING
13. "Kick it up a notch!" chef : LAGASSE. I'm going to plead a "Thumper" regarding Emeril.
19. Movie lab helper : IGOR. Pronounced "Eyegore" for you Young Frankenstein ("Fronk-en-steen") fans out there.
24. Brake component : DISC. Shoe would fit. Pad, caliper not so much.
25. Finish a commute : GET HOME. Accompanied by lots of AHS. My commute mileage has varied between extremes - 20 feet from my home office to my couch or 8,500 miles from Mumbai to LA.
26. Veal dish wine : MARSALA. Most recipes are very heavy-handed with the butter. I use Lidia Bastianich's recipe as a base and use half the fat (olive oil and butter). Still very decadent, so I like to cut the richness with a little lemon juice and lemon thyme and garnish with plenty of fresh parsley.
28. Pool stick : CUE
31. Legend on the ice : ORR. Bruin Bobby.
32. Cast doubt on : DISCREDIT
33. Sven of "Frozen" is one : REINDEER. I've never seen "Frozen", but given the frequency it now comes up in puzzles I probably should! Crosses all the way.
34. Artfully try to get, as a compliment : ANGLE FOR
35. Skip along the water : DAP. Aptly, given the preceeding answer, this is a fishing term. I don't fish, so I don't DAP
36. Roe source : SHAD. Food! Generally cooked and eaten rather than served caviar-style.
37. Subject to court judgment : TRIABLE. Hmm. Rarely seen - LAT once in 2008, NYT once in 1999.
41. Old Roman road : ITER. Plural "itinera" which gives us "itinerary". Who knew? Not me. An iter was more a pathway than a road, apparently.
42. Mixtures : BLENDS.
43. Self-defense method : KARATE
44. With "go," "See ya later" : I GOTTA
45. Bacon products : ESSAYS. Lovely. I'll forgive you the odd ITERs and TRIABLEs if you can come up with these gems.
47. At __ for words : A LOSS. Read clue. Fill in blank. Move on, nothing to see here.
48. Research money : GRANT
50. West Virginia border river : OHIO
53. South end? : ERN
54. Brit. military award : D.S.O. The Distinguished Service Order, almost exclusively awarded to officers for gallantry in combat.
And .... drum roll .... here's the grid! You can see where I finished up when the "REINED IN" penny dropped and the AXLES/MILES misstep was fixed.
Yee-Ha!
Steve
52 comments:
Good morning gang!
Gary, Happy to see all went well. Try to
keep those roving hands off the nurses ( or not ).
Bill G. Congrats on the big 50! Quite the milestone.
Got Iron hand ok but Glad Hands was my WTH!
New one for me. Rest fell rather smoothly.
Off to the salt mines.
Later
When writing a limerick, we understand
That not everyone considers them grand.
Some, when they read it,
Would try to DISCREDIT
The attempt to ANGLE FOR getting a HAND!
There are some people it really ANNOYS
They think a limerick is just silly noise!
Never mind that it BLENDS
Rhyme and story, and tends
To be a JIBE³ that everyone else here enjoys!
Well, Owen, I certainly enjoy your witty limericks, thanks for the daily effort! As for the CW, I had "DISK" and never heard of "DAP", so "RANCHDRESSING" was slow in coming. Can someone tell dopey me why it's sometimes spelled "DISK" and sometimes "DISC"? Also mis-remembered and put in "BROWNIE" for "BLACKIE" (DOH!!) which slowed me down there for a while. Other than that a fun puzzle, and a really terrific write-up, Steve, thanks for the great effort! And if you feel like sharing I'd love to have that fat-free Ranch Dressing recipe. Please.
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth solve today. The "One of a group of particles" clue had me thinking it was going to refer to some sort of subatomic particle, so that slowed me down a little bit. Also, took awhile to dredge up BLACKIE. Not sure where I've heard of it before, but it was in there somewhere. I knew that 24D was either going to be DISC or DISK, so I just filled in DIS_ and waited for the perp to take care of it...
Smooth solve today. Enjoyable puzzle. I have no complaints. To me a hired hand is benign, such as a person who assists on a farm, ranch or estate. A hired gun is not so benign, and to my knowledge is never called a hired hand.
I knew ALF Landon right off, even though he was defeated before I was born. You could chalk that up to my interest in FDR's and Eleanor's biographies.
Boston Blackie was another gimme, but I doubt I have seen any of the movies or TV shows.
TRIABLE seems perfectly normal to me, even though it doesn't often appear in X words. I see it in the newspaper all the time, in reference to court cases. It also frequently appears in fiction about trials and lawyers.
I enjoyed teaching magnetism with hands on projects using iron filings, so I knew that one.
Only ADELE was all perps.
Great limericks, today. Keep 'em coming, Owen. You are appreciated.
I make chicken Marsala with less butter than called for and it still gets great reviews and requests to serve it again.
Good morning!
My big problem with this one was spelling Emeril's name. Tried LeGASSi first. I didn't realize DAP was a fishing term. I thought it referred to throwing a flat, round-edged stone so that it would skip along the surface of the water. I always say ITSY BITSY rather than ITTY BITTY, especially when speaking of spiders.
I remember watching Boston BLACKIE back in the B/W day. The program was sponsored by some oil company and the commercials featured a cartoon character named "Boston Brownie."
Gary, good to see you back and that you're doing well.
Yes, I'm $20 poorer.
Steve and I must have been thinking on the same wavelength. I never heard of Boston BLACKIE, and TRIABLE???, seems like very obscure. Maybe Mr. McInturff should be DEBARred, I mean DISBARRED. And I also wrote in MILES before changing it to AXLES.
As for ANGLE FOR, I've always heard the term FISHING FOR compliments and since Steve mentioned DAP and fishing, isn't DAP a brand of caulk? Skipping along the water is a new term for me when it comes to DAP, but I don't fish either.
Other unknowns solved by perps were REINDEER and ST. JOHN.
30A clue- if the answer is in Deutsch, shouldn't the clue be in Deutsch? Koln, not Cologne.
2D clue- the clue could have been 'Crossword Material'
OUR x ORR x OAR was interesting fill.
Did anybody notice the double-DISC? 24D DISC & 32D DISC-REDIT
LAGASSE- I remember Emeril Lagasse's first restaurant- Emeril's- after he left Commander's Palace. He built it in the old office of a warehouse with wooden floors and no sound dampening anything. It was so loud that they put foam under all the chairs to try to keep the noise down bu it didn't help.
Well that's my RANT for today.
Nice Wednesday puzzle and Steve I hope you are not getting any of the bad weather hitting Big D.
If you search TRIABLE in Yahoo you will find not only definitions, but dozens of references. IMO it is not at all obscure, just a very useful word which some have never met. On this blog I find that many words I have never met are quite common in other circles. That's one reason why I come here every day.
DISC and DISCREDIT have no relationship to one another, so they are legit. Other examples would be WERE and WEREWOLF, SPIT and SPITEFUL.
Good morning everyone.
Great puzzle from Jack, today. Plenty of bright, longer fill. Got the theme fill easily, but had to wait until the end to fully understand the wording in 52a. Favorite clue was for DATA - drive filler. Tar didn't fit :-)
GENOA - My favorite salami style. Favorite brand - Caranda; sold by Hannaford in our area.
Good Morning.
Thanks for the puzzle Jack. I didn't see the theme even after the reveal. Generally that's true for me. I wanted thy for OUR, and especially liked those SKELETONS in the closet--"moths" wasn't adequate. Also ESSAYS as Bacon by-products. Nice.
Thanks, Ron, for the escort. I love the MARSALA riff. Next time. . . .
Have a great day, all.
Smooth run today, as I remembered Boston BLACKIE and guessed right on DISC. (Not only the C vs. K, but DRUM fits as well.) Skipped right over the slip regarding OST -- you're right, Steve and Big Easy.
On a pedantic note, the memorial to Lord Shaftesbury is Anteros, not Eros. Not sure where I came across that bit of TRIVIA. As I recall, at the time I hadn't even known there was such a character.
Thanks to the composer Mc. McInturff and to Steve. Yee-ha! indeed. And thanks for the tip regarding veal MARSALA; I'll have to try that.
And happy to see you back, Gary. Hoping you have a rapid recovery.
This is probably my last crossword puzzle.(Not because of Steve's comments. LOL) My first puzzle was printed 11 years ago in the LA Times.Its been a lot of fun. I thank God and Rich Norris for their help in creating puzzles.
Jack, sorry to hear that. I've enjoyed your puzzles. Sure hope it's because you've got better things to do, and not because of any health issue.
Jack Mac- say it ain't so! One of the reliable entertainers in this business hanging up his spurs.
I liked that you are in Dallas and had a chance to MOSEY on down the street and go watch an episode of BOSTON BLACKIE
Thanks for 11 years of fun Jack and Steve you have many years to go to catch up, so keep on coming back
Also sorry to hear Jack is hanging up his grids. His are always entertaining with just the right amount of challenge. Also hoping it's a time issue and not health. Thanks for all your efforts on our behalf!
Like today--I had many unknowns: XENA, BLACKIE, ADELE, ALF, LAGASSE, DAP, and also went for the stalls or buildings rather than the basis for cost with "units" being AXLES. All the above were pretty much gettable with perps.
Like Steve, I paused briefly wondering where the German reference was for OST, but it had to be that, so I didn't fret for too long.
I liked this one! A few strange clues, sure, but then there were some gems, like 45d...Bacon products. And I knew oldies like Boston Blackie and Xena so that was a help. Jack, we'll miss you!
Steve, your grouchy clothes really made for a fun write-up. Wear them again. Yee-ha indeed!
Owen, keep 'em comin' !!
Very nice Wednesday puzzle, and I always enjoy Steve's write-ups.
Wanted to share a short item that appeared this weekend in the HUNTERDON COUNTY (NJ) DEMOCRAT in their "Old Ink" article which features selected items from back issues of our local weekly paper.
FROM 1925:
"One city newspaper is still publishing crossword puzzles, but back on the classified page. It looks like the next move would leave it out altogether. That fad is over."
............. Or maybe not!
In the words of Paul Simon, I’m HOMEWARD BOUND today!!
Musings
-A lovely last effort Jack!
-Didn’t we all play this IRON FILINGS game as a ute
-Put yer GLAD RAGS on and join me hon…
-It’s GEN’ OH UH, Italy and GE NO’ UH, Nebraska
-RIG – JFK told the joke about how his dad said, “Just buy enough votes to win, I’m not paying for a landslide”
-Joann stayed up until curfew when our kids were out to see if they were IN LATE. I slept
-Hey, ALF carried Maine and Vermont but not his home state
-Was Paladin the most famous TV HIRED GUN?
-In what movie does he use a Balabushka CUE?
-You BLEND (:10)
-8 absurd GRANTS you and I are funding
-Did I mention I’m going home today? Oh, okay!!
Liked the puzzle today.... agree with SwampCat on "bacon products". Didn't fool me, though! Sorry to hear that Jack won't be back.... perhaps we can change your mind?
Thanks, Steve, for a fun write-up. I'm glad there was food there for you! Stay dry in Big D!
Rowland was much weaker again yesterday and woke up agitated at 3 am--and I never got back to sleep. So it was a surprise that I was actually able to get this Wednesday puzzle without problems--many thanks, Jack, and I too hope you don't stop constructing for good. And thanks for the expo, Steve.
Have a good day, everybody.
Hi Everyone:
Wasn't sure where this was going until the reveal made the theme quite obvious. No real hang-ups; only w/o was orb before car re Mercury or Saturn.
Thanks, Jack, for this challenge and all of the others you have entertained us with. We'll miss you. Thanks, Steve, for your not-so grumpy pants review, peppered as it was, so to speak, with some food for thought!
After a few days of rain, we have a beautiful, sunny day which was just made brighter by receiving an invitation to dinner with a life-long friend from Arizona who is visiting friends and family in his hometown. We worked together years ago and have stayed in touch over these many years.
Gary, enjoy your homecoming! I can only imagine how happy you must be. (Joann and Lily, too!)
Have a great day.
Surprisingly easy for a Wednesday.
Everything seemed to just fall into place. The only one I didn't know, BLACKIE, was filled in by perps.
Am I the only one who thought the movie "FROZEN" was no big deal. I didn't even like the songs. Oh well, to each his/her own. Now "XENA", that's another story. Did not miss one show. Loved it!
I watched Emeril LAGASSE frequently, although his style of cooking is a little spicy for me. My all-time chef favorite is Gordon Ramsey. He may have a foul mouth, but he knows his stuff. I've watched ALL of his cooking competition and restaurant/hotel assistance shows. He's like the Ryan Seacrest of the food world. Never is idle, and has his hands is several things at once.
For all you Lightening fans, sorry for the loss. Put up a good fight. Nothing to be embarrassed about.
Not to be political, but if Donald Trump was elected president, it would be good to hear him say, "You're fired!" to many of Washington's incompetents.
Never tasted GENOA salami. It looks greasy and smells nasty. Only eat Kosher deli salami, preferable cut up and fried in an omelet, with a toasted bagel on the side.
That's all I got. Bye 'til tomorrow.
Be careful posters when discussing DEBARS! Remember that Tinbeni was banned from the blog for discussing that with Lemonade not too long ago.
Hello, friends!
Well, Steve, if not starting with an abbrv. were he STDS for crosswords, a whole slew would be eliminated. It happens quite often.
I really enjoy Jack McInturff's puzzles and am so sorry to hear this is the last one. Truly, I hope he's jesting with us.
TRIABLE threw me for a loop; guess I haven't seen it before but loved the clues for SKELETONS and for ESSAYS. DISC seemed more likely to BLEND so I started with it. And isn't DAP what happens when little boys throw pebbles on the water?
Thank you, Mr. McInturff for the hours of pleasure you provided over the years!
And thank you, Steve, for a rave review!
Here's an "a" word I thought all you puzzlers would appreciate: "The day began with a soft humidity in the air, the sky overhead ASHIMMER as sun reflected in a fine silk-scarf layer of cloud." Jacqueline Winspear, A Dangerous Place.
Have a beautiful Wednesday, everyone!
Dapping is skipping a flat rock on top of water. My brother is very good at that. I am not. Jacqueline Winspear!! A wonderful writer.!
I think the front page of today's (NY) Daily News sums up the Trump candidacy quite nicely.
Hello Everyone, Lucina and I agreed on all of the favorite clues today. Thanks Steve for a great write-up. Some of the more obscure answers were doable, but Triable was new to me as was Adele as a six grammy winner. I'm so bad at pop culture, music and otherwise.
I tried the capital of Senegal before Accra reared its head. Other than that, things went fairly smoothly today.
Thanks, once again, Owen for Limericks that always cause a chuckle.
Have a great day everyone.
Dap is a word for skipping stones on a lake or stream. Down here in south Louisiana there's not a lot of flat stones so we use clam shells.
Glad hands are also the fittings that are on the air hoses for semi trucks. They make the connection from truck to trailer for the air brake system.
Haden't seen Tinbeni post in a while. What exactly happened ??
I'd wager that GRANT did OAR in the OHIO and prolly use to DAP flat rocks in the water also as he MOSEYS along her banks.
Steve: Nice write-up with just enough food for you.
Jack: Thank You for a FUN Wednesday puzzle with a great theme.
Sorry to hear you won't be a LAT Constructor in the future.
Husker Gary: Glad to hear you GET-HOME today.
Well I finally broke-down and turned on the A/C.
(Guess I'll have to get out the Humidity-Shovel ... lol)
Cheers!
SUP Puzzle Pals?!
Jack's offering was just puzzling enough for a Wed. (No Mac, don't go!) I almost had a DNF, but guessed 'A' correctly at block 9... CUE the AHS.
Steve - Thanks for a great writeup, love the food pix. LAGASSE turned me onto food-porn; now my buddies an I snap lunch before we DINE and send to each other if sufficiently impressive plating is presented.
ESPs - 31a, 37d, and 42a
W/o's: Trying to stuff reign in one of 11d or 34d (2x REIN?), and good (hands) b/f GLAD.
Fav - DATA from Star TREK. Think his storage drive could fill up? Runner up, 45d. Francis is my second favorite bacon. :-)
HG - One scientist rebuffed Sen Coburn on his "treadmill shrimp" study.
Last night we went to the SPI airport to see the vets coming off the Honor Flight. My dad (Nam) is in the Italian-American War Vets group and was part of the color guard. One guy in the group is 92 yro and served in WWII - he's still a DAPper Dego.
Cheers, -T
H.G. - Those grants are minor compared to some of the proposals that I have seen. My son is a policeman whose job it is to scout for grants from various sources ( the feds tax and you have to beg to get some back). They lump all grants for everything together- education, police training, you name it- and post it every day. It should be criminal that some of the proposals are specifically aimed for one group or another to take advantage of. Multi-million dollar proposals. My favorite- $6.5 million to study discrimination against the LBGT community in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
Coneyro- I don't think Emeril's food is spicy at all. Gordon Ramsey is certainly foul-mouthed, but for the chef that knows his stuff, Alton Brown is head and shoulders above the other Food Network personalities. He knows his chemistry and physics. I don't know what his food tastes like but he can tell why certain things don't mix.
BAM!
Steve - thanks for a wonderful write-up. But I had a kinder view of the puzzle than you did. My only "huh?" moment was at TRIABLE, but I think I have seen the word often enough that it wasn't too weird-sounding.
Big Easy, I'm with you re: Alton Brown. But knowing the science of it all just gives you a basis for great cooking. My fav is Ina Garten ("Barefoot Contessa"). She brings an extra flair to dishes that are wonderfully seasoned yet surprisingly easy to prepare.
HG, sooooo glad to see you back!
And do you all really think that Jack Mac is hanging up his cruciverbal hat? I tend to think that some anon is playing games with us today. Of course, I have been wrong before...(once)...(I think)...(OK, maybe twice)...
I agree about not liking DEBARS and TRIABLE. I had DRUM for brake component but it didn't work with everything else. Oh well, challenging and fun. Thanks Jack and Steve.
We just got back from a graduation celebration and lunch. Jordan graduated from fifth grade today and we took him out to his favorite restaurant, Red Lobster. He had lobster bisque soup, shrimp alfredo and cheese biscuits. I'm proud of him. For me, time for a nap, a bike ride and some espresso.
If that answer is Oct the clue should be Kiln.
MOSEYS- Followers of the Ten Commandments
Iron Butterfly hit song- In-IGOTTA-Da-Vida
I was going to post earlier this morning, this puzzle seemed ripe for funny links. I really enjoyed this puzzle, as it was tough, yet doable. But when Jack McInturff posted I was so bummed, I could not go on... My 1st thought was to go on strike, never post again until Jack returned!
Then Anonymous T posts a commercial? (Good Hands) What were you thinking? & then Star Trek funny moments? (OMG! I was lost in the YouTube side links for hours) There is only one way to get even... Star Trek Commercials!
You asked for it Anonymous T!
Side note: Alton Brown is great, but the times listed for cooking lobster is totally wrong. (Mine came out raw?) But definitely fun to watch. Every recipe I ever made from Giada De Laurentiis was superb! (plus she is better to look at than Alton Brown...) My go to for recipes has to be Lydia, You can't go wrong! & if you want to know why it came out wrong, watch Americas Test Kitchen. (forget about finding on line, you have to buy their books, or just watch it when it's on. The guy with the bow tie is uglier than Alton Brown, but their how to recipes make up for it...)
Other side note: Is it a Dap if it doesn't make a ripple?
I'm sorry to hear your not planning on coming back Jack. I hope that's flexible. Enjoyed the puzzle. And the write up was a lot of fun despite the grumpiness, Steve. :-)
And very happy to hear you're going home today Gary. Don't overdo it. It'll wait.
I thought this was a great, enjoyable puzzle. Say it ain't so, Jack.
Great expo, Steve. I agree with you 100% on making your own ranch base. I found a recipe in an old "budget" cookbook years ago when we were first married, and DW and I both agreed that the resultant salad dressing was preferable to store bought and dramatically cheaper. Over the years I have modified it slightly as my family's tastes have changed, but I still make oodles of it at a time for use as salad dressing, dip, etc. Big hit with the tailgaters, too. My family's second favorite use after salad dressing is my Bacon Ranch Baked Potato Salad. Another big fav. with the tailgaters.
I agree with those who like Lydia. She has been a favorite of mine since she first started guest appearing occasionally on Jeff Whatshisname's "Frugal Gourmet" program. As for Emeril, I have gotten more recipe ideas from him than any other televised cook. His "Turkey Bone Gumbo" is still our family's favorite Thanksgiving leftover. I like to watch Giada (I'm just old. I ain't dead), but I have never wanted to try even one of her dishes. Just not up my alley. Alton Brown is another story altogether. I have used a lot of his recipes and liked them all, albeit perhaps with some minor modifications.
That's enough for now. Cya!
The Ranch Hand:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three...
Having flashbacks CED?
I hate commercials!
Revenge is a dish best served, Breaded!
Sorry, I did not mean to link a continuous loop of Star Trek crap!
(I must be having flashbacks...)
Ack! Make It Stop!...
Greetings!
Swell puzzle, Jack! Don't stop!
Great expo, Steve!
No troubles, except scratched head at TRABLE.
Great news, Gary!
Cheers!
I always get a kick out of chef Bela LAGASSE shouting "Bram!" and not even bat an eye.
CED
Excellent links ... thanks ... I needed a laugh!
The nice thing about Emeril's recipes is that you can add as much hot stuff as you like. Big Easy, add more red pepper or Tony's if you want. And Coneyro, just leave out the red pepper altogether. The favors are usually good.
I agree, Alton Brown is a genius! Nerdy? Of course. Attractive? Only to other nerds. But he knows his stuff and his recipes are actually very tasty.
Hahtoolah, I love Ina Garden, too. She cooks well, and vicariously visiting in the Hamptons is a treat!!
How did this get to be a cooking blog? Steve ....are you to blame? Or do you take credit!!! Heheheheheheeee
Dang CED...
I hit you with a pea-shooter and you come both barrels a blazin'... Thanks! :-)
Re: Alton Brown - Loved his original show (he taught me to brine a turkey). Not to DIS, but the Iron Chef thing is a bit much. Still love his breakdown of flavor BLENDS that JIBE. // and yes, yes we'll blame Steve for our Wed recipes :-)
BTW, Steve - are those boots still on or did you get out of Dallas before Bill showed?
I love vacationing at Pop's house. Tonight he taught the girls to make (his) sauce from scratch as they sous'd for him. The spaghetti is hand made in St. Louis (The Hill), the tomatoes (canned) and olive oil are imported from Italy, the sausage is local, the basil is super-local (read in a flowerpot in the kitchen) - all together w/ garlic and burger meat it makes one heck of a dinner for 20. Just add vino and family!
Cheers, -T
Anon T.... Alton Brown taught me to brine a turkey, too. I still do it. The only way to cook a turkey as far as I am concerned!
Now, who is gonna give us the recipe for CHEAP ranch dressing!??
SwampCat:
I only brine my bird now too. Father-in-law (RIP) got kicked under the table by MIL when he told me it was the juiciest turkey he ever had...
Just for you. I watched Justin Wilson after moving to Shreveport in the 80's. He's the original LAGASSE. Bam!
Cheers, -T
Re: Wednesday.
Sorry Steve, I thinked Ron in error.
Merci! Madame D
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