Well we have Jeffrey back on Friday with a very visual puzzle that mandates you have the circles to make sense out of his creation. There are no conventional theme answers except the reveal 34A. Classic comics catchphrase ... and a hint to four sets of puzzle circles : LEAPIN' LIZARDS.(13).
The circles reveal 4 familiar lizards GECKO, SKINK, MONITOR and CHAMELEON with the letters in the circles producing a picture of the motion of jumping. I love the visual. The icing on the cake for me is having CHAMELEON which is famous for changing color to elude predators hidden in the puzzle. The rest is a daunting combination of very difficult fill and tricky cluing. ATACAMA SAMISEN NEBULAE MINI-LOTS INERTIAL and many others make this a Friday challenge. Having no theme to fill in easily took out a normal crutch I use to solve, but for me the payoff was worth the effort. Let's see how I got there.
Across:
1. Game piece : TILE. Especially if you play Scrabble.
5. Place for oysters : BED. Cute misdirection. So much I did not KNOW.
8. Perch, at times : LIMB. A friend has taken two sparrows into his home.
12. Beef __: dish sometimes made with Guinness : IN ALE. Steve, help? Sounds YUMMY.
15. Social __ : MEDIA. Often quite anti-social.
16. Narrow landforms : NECKS. Isthmus is from the Greek word for neck.
17. Record number, briefly : RPM. Revolutions Per Minute.
18. Hides : SKINS. Sounds like the skink, I think.
19. Higher ed challenge : GRE.Graduate Record Examination.
20. Aromatic : ODOROUS. Not a common word.
23. Hägar creator Browne : DIK.
24. Emperor before Vitellius : OTHO. Lucky for me my son studied Roman Archaeology so I knew of this short lived emperor one of FOUR who served in 69 AD,
26. Yards, e.g. : UNITS.
27. Rude look : OGLE. Politically incorrect look.
28. "Runaround Sue" singer : DION.
29. Path lead-in : OSTEO. Nice misdirection, not in the woods but at the doctors.
30. Pace maker? : FOOT. More tough cluing for easy fill.
31. Setting for a Tony-winning Miller play : SALEM. No politics, but this is a powerful PLAY.
33. Cheers : ROOTS. I have an ear worm LISTEN.(1:07).
40. Patronizes, as a hotel : STAYS AT.
41. Hold on a diner order : OMIT.
45. Common sense : SMELL.Great pun.
46. What Barry White often sings? : BASS, LISTEN. (4:30).
50. Cosmic clouds : NEBULAE. Great word; the building blocks of the universe.
52. Slithery : EEL LIKE.
54. Fireplace wood : BEECH. I know little about FIREWOOD.
55. Relief provider : OASIS. Not Tums or Rolaids.
56. South American desert : ATACAMA. I knew nothing of this DRIEST place.
59. Like some landscape paintings : MOONLIT.
61. Plucked Japanese instrument : SAMISEN. Don't fret if you never heard about THIS.
62. Bleepworthy : OBSCENE.
63. Sci-fi staples : ETS.
64. Calculate, in a way : ADD. One of the many on modern calculators.
65. See 35-Down : TIE. I need an explanation for making this simple fill a cross-reference.
66. U.S. Army E-5 : SGT.
Down:
1. Self-important authoritarians : TIN GODS. Really fun fill.
2. __ navigation: aerospace guidance system : INERTIAL. My learning MOMENT.
3. Wingtip feature : LACE HOLE. What is needed for tie shoes.
4. Rockies grazer : ELK. Not to be confused with 8D. Albanian coin : LEK, though I believe you can buy ELK meat with LEK.
5. Some nobility : BARONS. Counts?
6. Lively wit : ESPRIT.According to MW "vivacious cleverness or wit."
7. Punish for a military rules violation, perhaps : DEMOTE.
9. "Yay, me!" : I DID GOOD. Nice phrase.
10. Small currency-market trading quantities : MINI-LOTS. A way to take some of the risk out of trading currencies. READ.
11. Navajo craftwork products : BASKETS.
13. That, in Madrid : ESO. Back again.
15. Rejects, usually: Abbr. : MSS. Abbreviation for manuscripts.
21. Laurel and Hardy, e.g. : DUO.
22. 1941 FDR creation : USO. So many acronyms during the FDR years; I am still watching the Roosevelts while I ride the exercise bike.
25. Selective Service status : ONE-A.
27. "__ a Thousand Tongues to Sing": Christian hymn : O FOR. Not in my wheelhouse.
32. USMC enforcers : MPS. Military Police.
33. Singer? : RAT. Someone who tells on another, especially popular with the mob.
35. With 65-Across, soccer game cry : IT'S A. See above.
36. Word before or after brand : NAME. We have had this odd one before.
37. Corrosive material : LYE.
38. Key : ISLE. And, 47D. Theatrical features : AISLES. English is a wonder.
39. Big name in jewelry : ZALE. Every kiss begins with ... oops.
41. Distracting the pitcher, maybe : ON BASE. Well this is stretch but I do recall some who were good when they got on.
42. Use for a rendezvous : MEET AT.
43. Steel girders : I-BEAMS.
44. Stanley who plays Flickerman in "The Hunger Games" : TUCCI. Despicable.
46. Sommelière's suggestion : BLANC. Ou rouge.
48. It may be freestyle : SKIING. marti?
49. Sonnet part : SESTET.Six.
51. Tibet University city : LHASA. Many students go there to get HIGH.
53. Free : LOOSE. I had a date like that once.
57. Rx spec : MED.
58. Furthermore : AND.
59. Nice word : MOT. The old French city "Nice" trick
60. Geisha's band : OBI. Another touch of Japan as our exit line; makes me wonder if there are any Geisha musical groups playing the Samisen. One last LISTEN.
Another innovative look from Jeffrey and lots of work for me. I hope you all enjoy it.
Lemonade out.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Belated Happy Birthday to dear Chickie! I'm so sorry that I spaced out yesterday morning. Hope you had a wonderful celebration with Bill and the kids and grandkids. Are you planning a big gathering this weekend?
Left to Right: Chickie, JD, Garlic Gal and Lucina.
June 3, 2015
2) Also belated Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's wife Betty as well! Betty makes a mean Baklava, if I remember correctly. I've yet to find the filo dough in our grocery store, Spitzboov.
 |
| Spitzboov & Betty at the reunion dinner held at the US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, 2012 |
77 comments:
Three pocket-sized leapin' lizards and one behemoth. A bit of trivia, a chameleon's tongue is twice the body length of a similar-sized gecko.
I made a poor showing today -- I had to use red letters in both NW and SW corners. A natick at TUCCI+SAMISEN, exacerbated by wanting ATACAMPA for the desert. Tried leaving out the M so that I could put PRN for Rx Spec.
The NW was even worse. LACE HOLE was unknown, I wanted AU JUS before IN ALE, and several other words just wouldn't come to me.
The school kids were subdued, as never before.
A huge LIZARD was wandering the school corridor!
Said Principal Leeds,
"I'm really quite pleased
At the order that's kept by our Hall MONITOR!"
A GECKO, alas, was besot with a SKINK,
Too love-sick to eat, or even to blink!
His girl-buddy, a CHAMELEON,
With a LEAP Machiavellian
Brought him round with a tongue-kiss that made his tail kink!
Just went back and read Lemonade's explanations more closely -- wingtip SHOES! I'd been thinking all along about airplane wing tips, and trying to fit nACElLES in there! No wonder I didn't know LACE HOLES!
Morning, all (and Happy Birthday to Chickie and Betty)!
Some circles might have made this one a bit more enjoyable for me instead of the slog it ended up being. When I finally entered the last letter and didn't get the *TADA*, I had no desire to check where I had gone wrong. Turns out I went with the common crossword puzzle abbreviation TID (Latin for "three times a day") instead of MED, which gave me a desert called ATACATA and a Japanese instrument called a SAMISIN.
I struggled in the central part of the grid after attempting to throw down LEAPING LIZARDS and not noticing there weren't quite enough spaces. Which is to say I somehow entered LEAPING LIZADS and didn't notice for quite awhile. Once I finally saw my mistake, though, the section came together pretty easily.
Beef IN ALE took forever to get since I've never heard of that dish before and I was looking for a single word. LACEHOLES are not really specific to Wingtip shoes, so I had trouble coming up with that as well. OFOR? ITSA/TIE?
Bottom line, I wish I could brag that I DID GOOD on this one, but that would be a lie...
Very happy birthday wishes to Chickie and Betty. August abounds with birthdays, I have three to celebrate this weekend.
Good morning all. Thank you JW and thank you Lemonade.
Many errors. I DID THAT instead of GOOD. MINImums before MINILOTS. OGLE made me change the bottoms of those two answers.
On the other hand, nailed many answers from jump street, filling in order starting with TILE, INERTIAL, ELK, ESO, ODOROUS, DUO, OSTEO, USO, BED, BARONS, MEDIA, LIMB, STAYS AT, NAME, LIE, BASS, and a couple more at the bottom before I stalled a bit. Plus the two partially correct answers above.
Favorite clue / answer was "Common sense" / SMELL.
Less for "Hold on a diner order". Nope, it was OMIT.
That SW corner was a bear. Entering BIRCH rather than BEECH didn't help. No idea on Stanley. But the real problem was SAMISEN, and ATACAMA. I am not familiar with either one. AND, I kept thinking in terms of RX dosage frequency and wanted TID or something. Perps helped me fill TUCCI, but in the end it was the ME in MED that I missed.
There's always a kerfuffle about uncommon A words.
Tom Brady looks deflated in that courtroom sketch.
Is talking about Tom Brady and deflategate considered politics? I watched some football last evening....
The NW slayed me this morning. I got Batman's ( or was it Robin's) LEAPIN LIZARDS and the rest of the puzzle fairly easily but wasted way too much time trying to finish the NW. DNF today.
Beef IN ALE, OTHO, and TIN GODS would have never fallen as I was guessing HARD SOLE for LACE HOLE, PHD for GRE, and OTTO for OTHO. I didn't know if it would be ESO or OSO. I knew INERTIAL navigation but kept wanting to somehow fit a GYROSCOPE in but that wouldn't work and CELESTIAL would fit but was incorrect. That was a brain fart for me because a friend, who just retired as a Captain for US AIR, told me years ago that their planes didn't use GPS or LORAN, but gyroscopes. I did some research on the INERTIAL navigation and learned that they now use it for drilling oil wells. But that's enough of my lack of knowledge. In the SW the intersection of TUCCI and SAMISEN was a guess; both are unknown to me.
For the 'Nice' word I originally filled MON before I filled the NEBULAE and I realized the clue was not about cheering, but complaining that ITS A TIE and changed MON to MOT. 9D went from I DID, IDID to I DID GOOD, had not idea about firewood and was thinking LARCH before I filled BEECH. The misdirection clue of 'common sense' was nice for SMELL, but I don't want to LYE, this puzzle beat me today.
Barry, if I said I DID GOOD, I would be LYEing.
Happy birthday Chickie, Betty, and Jenna ( my 16 year old granddaughter).
Hello Puzzlers -
Today's crafty Jeff Wex beat me up, took my lunch money, and gave me a wedgie before it left. Don't get me wrong, it's an impressive grid with its vertical symmetry, even the circles are balanced. I just don't know my lizards. Chameleon and Gecko were easy enough, but the other two? Bzzzzt.
Tried to turn on red letters just to finish, but for some odd reason that part of the software didn't work. Plum gave up at that point, with the north and northeast unfilled. Major DNF.
Needed red letters. Any Latinization of a Japanese word is arguably a variant spelling, but I'm more used to shamisen than what we saw here. Some awkward fill. Overall I have to give this an ugh.
Cheated my way to a complete fill; Google did the puzzle, not me. I do this when I get stymied, and hope that by cheating my way to a completion, I will at least learn something. I did get quite a few fills the honest way, but, in reality, a DNF for me. Thanks for the Limerick, Owen. Terrific write-up, as usual, Lemonade, thanks!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Chickie
Ah Leah (warning ! Rock and roll), and to Betty.
Guess I should have said, "Perps helped me wag TUCCI."
Also like "Pace maker". Of course that made me think of Gerry and the Pacemakers. Don't get me wrong. I like them. But on the other hand, their sad, woesome, rueful sounds were enough to single-handely leave one desirous of the opposite end of the spectrum with the lively, upbeat pop and bubblegum music.
Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
Talking about the views and positions of Hillary, The Donald et al. would be considered politics. Talking about Tom Brady / deflategate might be an emotional and sensitive subject to some, but it's hardly politics. My comment was only meant to be a humorous observation and play on words given the subject matter.
For those of you who commented on my refusal to pay a hospital for tests that were not covered by Medicare or my wife's secondary( Blue Cross), first of all the bill from the hospital came 11 months after the tests were done. Just a blank bill with a total. The billing dept. wouldn't explain what it was for and said we just owed it. So I went to mymedicare.gov and researched it. They billed Medicare $792.00 for simple blood tests, of which Medicare approved $501.00 and paid them a grand total of .....$25.98. That's about a 95% discount. I told the hospital I would pay the rest if they gave me a 95% discount.
The ones Medicare wouldn't pay for were:
Cholesterols and Triglycerides-----$159.00--- and Thyroid---$132.00. Total BS prices. After Diane went back to the doctor, HE told her he didn't order it and not to pay it, which I wasn't about to do anyway.
The irony of the situation is that this same hospital holds health fairs every few months and does these test for FREE. My brother, who just retired from a large teaching hospital and worked in surgical billing, said that the only entities that pay the full amount on a bill are the insurance companies involved in car wrecks. EVERYBODY else gets a discount.
Good morning!
This was like six mini-puzzles in one. With such distinct areas, you needed a touchstone in each one, or you'd get stuck. I made two major blunders: NORMS/MEDIA and SAMOVAR/SAMISEN (I urned my comeuppance on that one). With OT_O in place,I even had the sense to wait on the perps to decide if it was H or T. It took a little longer than a typical Friday, but it did eventually come together. Solving on paper means that I also had the circles to guide me, but I only saw the embedded lizards after the fact. Big Easy, it wasn't Batman or Robin -- it was Little Orphan Annie.
That's the second time this week we've had left-right (but not up-down) symmetry. JW managed to fit in some really neat fill. I liked it.
Lemon, your YUMMY link resulted in, "Sorry, we haven't been able to serve...". Fitting.
BE, LEAPIN LIZARDS is from Little Orphan Annie
Some of the cluing just seems ... nonspecific. Started with MAYO as a diner hold, nothing about OMIT says "diner". Maybe most MSS are rejected, but so are a lot of things. Just because a runner is ON BASE doesn't mean he's distracting the pitcher. Is beef IN ALE a "dish" or just a way to cook?
Good Morning:
A belatedly but warm Happy Birthday to Chickie and Betty.
I' m sorry to say this was a definite Thumper for me. 👿 Lemony, you did a fine job.
YR, I hope Alan has bounced back from the procedure.
Have a great day.
Good Morning.
Bzzzt! would easily describe my many false starts today. I did the puzzle on Mensa, (I just rent space there, not qualified to belong). There were no circles, but the honest news is that they would have made no difference! This is about the 87th time I could not move away from locks or essentials and use "key" to get to ISLE! Just assume the worst about my travails here; I shan't list them all. Luckily, TUCCI was the only Stanley I could think of right now. RPM was well-clued, but I was looking to baseball. Now that the Cubs can play, I have been listening to more games. I tried RBI, ERA, HRE, even ATT. Ha! I wanted scimitar for "wingtip feature"! I embarrassed myself by not seeing how obvious Beef IN ALE was. The Guinness was right there!
Nonetheless, in my world a CW is always fun. Favorite clue: common sense. Learning moment--always important--ATACAMA. Thanks, Jeff.
Lemonade, thanks for the hand-holding. Have a fine Friday, everyone.
billocohoes said...nothing about OMIT says "diner"
"Hold" is diner-speak for omitting an item (e.g. "Hold the mayo")
The classic "Hold the chicken" scene from "Five Easy Pieces" (1970).
I needed a few red letters today. I see I am in good company. I found the theme delightful. I had the circles and caught on early.
I knew SAMISEN but was unsure of the last vowel. I wanted a T for 57D, but ATACATA seemed wrong. I had to red letter the M. Then I realized I had heard of ATACAMA and MED should have been easy. DUH!
IN ALE took a loooong time. I had OTTO instead of OTHO. I was thinking of shoes, but LACE HOLE seems odd to me. I guess it's okay.
I knew the first name of Browne had an odd spelling but I couldn't come up with it. DIK's son, Chris now produces the comic strip.
Happy birthday to Chickie and Betty. I hope you both had/will have a great day.
Alan was scared during the procedure yesterday morning, but it was really easy with nothing more challenging than the insertion of the IV needle. He felt fine right after. He was starving so we ate breakfast on the way home. No problems were found. Retest in TEN years!
billocohoes I linked both to Daddy Warbucks saying Leapin' Lizards and to a recipe for beef in ale.
Tell me how a foot can make a pace; a jump maybe but not a pace.
Yummy link still not working for me.
Clues do not seem to match the answers..................
The dictionary defines a PACE as "a single step taken when walking or running." A foot makes that step.
In re hospital costs:
I have read in many places that insurance companies receive a deep cut from hospitals not available to the under-insured. Time Magazine had an article about this a few years ago. Here is the gist of it. “Profiling a half dozen patients – most of whom are uninsured or under-insured Brill looks at the astronomical prices that hospitals expect such patients to pay for care when they would accept much lower payments from insurance companies or Medicare.” The article said that insurance companies insist on getting a lower rate than others, so the hospitals raise the going rate. I know personally some under-insureds with low incomes who were charged fantastic rates when they didn’t qualify for charity care.
Anytime I see a Jeff W. Puzzle,I know it will offer a worthy challenge, and this was up to expectations. The theme was figured out pretty quickly, and had enough circles filled to see the different lizards. Alas, the north west section prevented me from a correct solution.
The a amazing thing, to me, about this puzzle is the sheer genius in the construction with perfect symmetry. It must take a ton of time, skill and thoughtfulness to put together a great puzzle like this. Thank you Jeff W.
Owen K, you continue to amaze. Enjoyed your offerings today, especially the third one. How you can come up with rhymes off the top of your head, AND in context with the current puzzle is phenomenal.
Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us, by Steven Brill, appeared in TIME magazine in 2013. Brill's book, America's Bitter Pill was published this year. He was interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air.
Owen K. I meant second, not third.
Thanks, Mr. Google. Those are the articles to which i was referring.
Loved the theme! But my solving experience was similar to this one...
Very tough puzzle! I started it in ink, filled in a smattering of hieroglyphics, & prayed to Ra for perps! Ended up going to the computer & restarting for red letter help...
With red letters, I managed to fill the entire bottom, which gave me leapin lizards. But I was so enamored with this puzzle, I went back and filled in all I knew with ink on paper so I could enjoy it better. Finding all the reptiles was a lot of fun, but in the end finding everything else kicked my butt...
DNF (only because I cheated...)
I had to look up this GodDamn stew at 12A! Until I read the Blog I still had no idea how to parse "inale." (hmm, must be a county in Ireland...) But once I read the Blog it made sense, of course I couldn't get it. No beer has ever made it into my cooking because I always drink it first... (CSO Tinbeni!)
Anyway, I have seen Obi in Crosswords so many times that I decided I need to know how to tie one.
& it just so happens that I ran across an Internet Chameleon yesterday that blew my socks off!
I was sure 3D, wingtip feature was Ailerons. But the *&^% clue wasn't plural... (24a emperor Otto didn't help) So, in response, I tried to find some funny ailerons, When this came up?
Ok, I understand the puzzle now, but can some one explain why this pic is under ailerons?
Missed Emperor OTHO. Went with OTTO hoping to discover a new word in LACETOLE. I did, but it looks like nothing related to wingtip shoes.
Also missed MED. I was thinking a dosing abbreviation BID/TID/QID. Went with TID, which left me with ATACATA and SAMISIN, which seemed reasonable. I tried to cheat by glancing over at the Hagar strip, right next to the Crossword, but that was no help since it's Chris now. Took a swag with a close NIK, and perp fixed it up. Only 5 letter firewood I could think of in here in Colorado is CEDAR (never had any luck with ASPEN). Perps gave me BEECH (which I'm not familiar with, but thought was similar to ASPEN and not a very good firewood; turns out I was thinking of BIRCH. But I guess any wood works if dried properly).
This puzzle was a real brain workout, but I enjoyed it.
The only lizard I'm not familiar with is SKINK, but the area filled itself in, so I didn't need to know it. It was cute how the circled letters "leapt" around.
For 8A I originally had "fish" instead of "LIMB". For 41A I had "mayo" instead of "OMIT". Like this answer better, and so did other bloggers
Preps and WAGS helped with ATACAMA,SAMISEN, and the entire NW, which stayed blank until the end. TINGODS..Need to look this up, although I do get the idea.
Desper-otto....Robin DID say, "LEAPIN' LIZARDS, Batman!".
Argyle...What do you think humans use to PACE with? One FOOT in front of the other.
Barry White has one of the most sexy voices ever. It was a shock to me when I first saw what he looked like. I only knew him from the radio. For a man his size to have such a tender side, it's beautiful. I now appreciate what the term "gentle giant" means.
A good Friday level (at least for me) solve.
Well, let me get EELLIKE, and slither on out of here. Enjoy your weekend folks.
So it takes two foots(sic) to make a pace unless you call a one-legged hop a pace.(or step)
This was a fun puzzle and once "Leaping Lizards" was filled, the lizards filled in nicely around the circles. Only pitfall was crossing of TUCCI, ATACAMA and SAMISEN. Bzzzt! But still loved the puzzle! Thanks JW!
Very nice job, Lemonade, as well! Your insight in the intro was very nicely done!
I found this puzzle unenjoyable. Forget the arcane clueing and the circled squares that show really nothing. There were lots of naticks and I just said the heck with it. And I haven't done that in quite some time.
I hope others had more fun than I did. Actually that should be easy as I had no fun whatsoever.
Belated Happy Birthday Chickie!
I had a little trouble finding a Chickie cake, So I hope you won't mind sharing a Baklava Cake with Betty...
Spitz, from last night, I am still trying to figure out who BH is?...
Too bad "Cry heard when opening a Father's Day present" was not the clue for IT'S A TIE.
CED -- the sign in the picture says it's the "Aileron" something or other. And I'm pretty sure when Spitz says BH he means Better Half.
Forgot eariier -- Happy Birthday, Chickie!
@ C.C.
For the filo/fillo/phyllo dough, look in the frezzer section near the pies and other desserts. The brand I purchase looks like this. I use it for my spanakopita recipe. Yum!
I've had some very good(for the price) wines from LEAPING LIZARD winery. A nice Cab for around 10 or 15 bucks IIRC.
No circles in the grid at the Yahoo Games site (UClick). I had many of the same experiences a number of you have described. Of course I entered MAYO instead of OMIT. At least I knew ATACAMA, NEBULAE, TUCCI, DIK, and SGT right away. But I had the same problem relating some of the clues to their answers. And I couldn't parse INALE for the life of me, perhaps because my mind was trying to relate the "dish" to something Irish such as ONEAL. Total FIW.
The company I sort of work for has an earthquake sensor in northern Chile, in the ATACAMA desert, so I knew that one.
All trouble spots are already mentioned. Slow going from the start. Badly beaten at the tape in the SW by guessing TID and Tucco. Managed to muddle to a completion elsewhere. The theme was very helpful and I don't think I could have guessed enough spaces without it to complete the fill (even if wrong) as the circles gave me several of those. Particularly the starting G, M and C. Can't say I didn't like it, but it's not one of my all time favorites.
Happy Birthday Chickie and Betty!
Desper-otto, Better Half, Of course! Thank you...
The lizard in a bra is still confusing to me...
(plus she had some good knockers..)
Obligatory cat reference. Leapin lizards?
I would love a good spanakopita recipe.
When duelists walk 20 paces before they turn and fire, they move only one foot for each pace. The other foot makes the next pace.
Tough Friday workout. I had the circles and did get the theme but was not familiar with SKINK. I did enjoy the placement of the circles.
Not familiar with SAMISEN, ATACAMA, TUCCO. Also did not know GRE and ZALES but assumed it was a regional thing. I don't think Canadian universities use GRE. Mr Google tells me that ZALES owns Mappins and Peoples and I do know them. My engagement and wedding ring set came from Peoples!
Interesting discussion about billing for lab work. One benefit of being a Canadian is our free health care. We should probably receive a copy of our bills so that we would appreciate it more!
HBD to Chickie and Betty.
Our Blue Jays try for 12th straight win tonight with game against Yankees. New pitching acquisition David Price is on the mound tonight. All 3 weekend games against the Yankees are sold-out. Not such excitement since 1992-93
CanadianEh! said "My engagement and wedding ring set came from Peoples!"
I assume both rings came from the same people?
Fun with a few tuts, some of which have been mentioned.
I was only vaguely familiar with the (dated?) phrase "leapin lizards", but when I had ..IZARDS and .ONITOR I connected the dots, and then wrote GECKO straight in, which opened up the Northwest Passage quite nicely. TIN GODS was unknown, for example, but gettable with perps.
BEEF IN (BASS?) ALE PIE is a great treat. You can buy them (frozen) in many market,s at least in Southern California.
In case you were wondering, while Brits write ODOUR rather than ODOR, they (quite sensibly) drop the U and spell ODOROUS the same as in the U.S. (just too many U's one suspects, as FAVOUR stubbornly retains its U in FAVOURITE, for no good reason).
PEDANT's CORNER
1. IT'S A TIE" is not a a "CRY" I ever heard in a soccer game. I get that soccer is unusual (in US sports) in that a game may finish with no winner. But the referee does not call out the result at the end of the game. Incidentally, in Brit-speak, a "TIE" is called a "DRAW". With NBC just signing a 5-year contract with the EPL, and their use of Brit commentators, you may hear "DRAW" more often.
2. As noted by others, a player standing OFF BASE would surely be more of a distraction to the pitcher.
3. The informal use of "GOOD" as an adverb still irks be real BAD…, esp. in the context of "HOW ARE YOU?" "I'M GOOD" = "I'M [DOING] WELL"
3a. WINGTIP FEATURE was a clever misdirection, but since the answer referred to shoes in general, some pointer to this would have been appropriate.
3b. Along similar lines, "Navajo craftwork products" = BASKETS seems far too specific a clue for a generic object.
4. Since Barry WHITE died more than 10 years ago, this clue should have been in the past tense.
5. MOONLIT as a descriptor for landscape paintings seems much too vague.
6. LYE is a solution used for washing and cleansing. It would be CORROSIVE if left in an Aluminum pan, but that is not its major raison d'être.
7. SNAKES are SLITHERY, EELS are SLIPPERY.
NC
Interesting comment about medical bills, Canadian Eh. I agree that seeing what the costs are is a good idea. On a tangential note, my wife works for the University. Every year she gets a complete detailed breakdown of her "total cost of employment" showing every dollar that she not only was "paid", but every dollar they spent that never shows up on the W-2. I've been self-employed most of our married life, so we both have a full appreciation for the total costs, but not everyone does. I think it would be great for everyone to get that kind of detailed accounting so that they could see what the total outlay is. Not sure it would result in less bitching, but it couldn't hurt.
Dear Crossworder's: thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. They were much appreciated. We had a big celebration last weekend with all six of our family August birthday people! We descended en masse on the local Chinese Restaurant where we have been patrons for over 30 years. Delicious fun for everyone.
CED, I loved the cake. I'm sure Chickie cakes would be really hard to find except maybe at Easter.
I haven't done the crossword today, as I have 20 friends from college coming for a BBQ tomorrow. Too much to do to before then.
Have a wonderful rest of the day, everyone.
Owen
Just a polite suggestion with regard your Limericks/poems. They are very clever and welcome, but they could be improved with a little more care spent on perfecting the meter. Here is my suggestion for your first Limerick today. [] = word deletion {WORD} = word addition.
The [] kids were subdued, as never before.
{BY} A huge LIZARD [] wandering the [] corridor!
Said Principal Leeds,
"I'm really quite pleased
At the order that's kept by our [] MONITOR!"
NC
NC, your posts seem to always have a bit of snootiness associated with them, but that one @3:18p is just ridiculous!
Ever heard that phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"? I'm sure you have and prolly have an explanation of how it has origins in English history and we Americans actually have it wrong when we use it...
NC@ 3:04, way too pedantic
Must be NC' s "turn in the barrel"
Concerning firewood...
The Firewood Poem
Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold
Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown
Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.
Author Unknown
But what wood burns the best is not always the best wood to burn.
xtulmkr
The Firewood Poem was written by Lady Celia Congreve and published in 1930.
Thanks for the link to Birches. It's a favorite of mine and I was just about to post a link.
Once LEAPIN’ LIZARDS filled in, the theme circle were a big help with all the great Friday fill! Wow what a workout!
Musings
-As C.C.’s recent Sunday puzzle taught us, those Scrabble TILES are ¾” square
-_ _ _ O for emperor. Gee I wonder what I put first…
-David Beckham is the OGLER but is undetected by the OGLEE!
-I’ve never heard of BEECH firewood around here
-I’ve known some TIN GOD administrators!
-We space science teachers have all used gyroscopes to illustrate INERTIAL guidance
-I had a chance for an “I told you so” the other night, but I DID GOOD and remained mum!
-Many poor students in the Vietnam Era lost their TWO-S deferment and became ONE-A after flunking out of college
-These men definitely distracted the pitcher when ON BASE
-Is there something Freudian about aglets and LACE Holes?
-Two defenders MEET AT the quarterback. Ouch!
-Relaxing on an Empire State Bldg. I-BEAM
-Lemon, some LOOSE women aren’t free! ;-)
-My hospital bill was around $250,000 and we have had to pay nothing
-HBD to Chickie and Betty. Yesterday was also my grandson’s 13th birthday. We are inundated with birthdays in August including my MIL’s 93rd on August 6th.
My sister was 70 on August 3rd.
Steve Martin is 70 today.
What is it with August?
A "tree" poetry slam?
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the Maples want more sunlight
And the Oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks, just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw
I think mid to late September has the highest concentration of birthdays. Infographic for support.
I think you could blame it on colder weather, longer nights and Christmas parties. Nothing wrong with a little yuletide cheer...
you're making me blush
Neil Pert: Posting lyrics without giving credit is bad form.
The Trees by Rush.
1st, Neil Pert @ 4:34, Thank you for posting, I had never heard it.
2nd, Neil Pert @ 4:57, Double Thank You for clarifying. Would you believe I never heard of Rush? (I must have been "too" into Allman Bros, Yes, & Jethro Tull at the time)
Now I have a lot of catching up to do...
Starting with Broon's Bane, the acoustic intro to trees...
Here is a pic of Rush performing...
Thanks, Lemonade, for guiding us Over the River and Thru the Woods on this one. I was hopelessly lost, but enjoyed some of the clever misdirection.
And, Owen, how do you do it?!! Loved today's offering!
Happy birthday to all celebrating. I agree August must represent Christmastide cheer and long nights!
CE Dave, thanks for the obi tying clip. My Japanese DIL actually took a course in obi tying. There are many, many different styles, especially for the formal kimonos. The woman in the clip is wearing a casual, informal yukata with a rather plain obi.
Good evening everyone.
C.C. - thanks for the good wishes for Betty; and for reposting our picture at dinner at the CG Academy; one of our favorites.
CED and D-O - Yes, Better Half. I don't get in trouble with that.
Very difficult puzzle from Jeffrey today; with some devilish misdirections. Favorite was Nice word - MOT.
Needed red-letter help in the north. Wanted Nero for OTHO, and pelts before SKINS. Never did check out the circled stuff. Sigh.
What is it with August birthdays, you ask. Well, maybe it's time to turn the heat on in November! In lieu of that, there are other ways to keep warm. . . . . Umm, knit a blanket or . . . . Even Madame Defarge might opt for something other than knitting. ;-)
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7f9c90cb0785409590e10cc29be49e8b/buffalo-hospital-prepares-baby-boom-9-months-after-storm
Anonymous @2:51
Peoples is a jewellery store. LOL!
Blue Jays lost tonight and broke their streak. Oh well.
Re Argyle @ 2057: 3 of our 4 children were born at Mercy Hospital.
A year ago I wasted a few hours of my life watching "How to Get Away with Murder." No more. This year I wasted an equal amount of time watching "True Detective, Part 2. It's well done and there was stuff to admire but nothing to enjoy. I feel dirty and sad. Life is too short...
what the hell are you guys talking about?
@Yellowrocks re: spanakopita
This is very close to my version of spanakopita.
I think that the "USMC enforcers" are called SPs (shore patrol) since they are part of the navy.
MOS 5811 - - Military Police
I stand corrected.
Has that always been true or was it changed?
Don't know. I tried not to have any direct dealings with them. SP or MP.
Post a Comment