Theme: "Eight is Enough" - The first words in theme entries spell out "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos".
23A. *"I won't tell a soul!" : MY LIPS ARE SEALED. Reminds me the logo of Ashley Madison.
36A. *"You're not even close!" : VERY COLD. This refers to little kids' "Hot and Cold" game, right?
53A. *Not just a shot in the dark : EDUCATED GUESS
59A. *Sci-fi fleet leader : MOTHER SHIP
73A. *Not seriously : JUST FOR FUN. Purported reason for some to join Ashley Madison.
82A. *Words from the aptly punished : SERVED ME RIGHT. Lament for the exposed members of Ashley Madison.
94A. *Adversarial attitude : US vs THEM
113A. *Popular party dish : NACHOS AND CHEESE. I thought Nachos refer to the chips and cheese together? Never had Nachos myself.
35A. Familiar octet : PLANETS
104A. A typical one for the 35-Across can be found in the first words of the answers to starred clues : MNEMONIC
This might be our constructor. Congratulations on your LA Times debut!
I
solved this as a themeless. I'm sad to say that I never heard of this
mnemonic. Wish I immigrated to the US at age 13 rather than 30. Lots of
simple gimmes like this are just foreign to me.
Across:
1. Unwilling to listen : DEAF. Nailed it.
5. "Please don't __" : BE MAD. 34D. "__ needle pulling thread" : SEW A. 37D. Keep an __ the ground : EAR TO. And 44D. Take __: try the pool : A DIP. 110D. "The heat __!" : IS ON.. Fill-in-blanks are often partials. Rich normally caps the partials at four for Sundays. Two for weekdays.
10. Pot holder : CHEF. I was thinking of drug.
14. Japanese comics : MANGA
19. Lacking originality : UNCREATIVE
21. Work on the road : PAVE
22. Subject of a 1989 international trade ban : IVORY. Got via crosses.
25. "Yes __!" : SIREE
26. Riyadh natives : SAUDIS. 1,200 of them are members of Ashley Madison. Adultery is punishable by death there.
27. Botanical cover : ARIL
28. One scouring the junkyard : RUMMAGER
30. Dam city : ASWAN. I kept thinking of Hoover Dam.
32. 104 of Haydn's are numbered: Abbr. : SYMS (Symphonies). More music references: 41A. Like Brahms' Third : IN F. 95D. Violinist Louis who invented the chinrest : SPOHR. 98D. Pianist Watts : ANDRE. Both unknown to me. Also, 62D. Renaissance fiddle : REBEC. We had this before. I forgot.
39. Burpee product : SEED
42. Word repeated before "sis" : RAH
43. Ending with cup : OLA. Cupola.
44. Snoopy-Red Baron conflict, e.g. : AIR WAR. Friendly crosses.
46. Where some precious metal may be exchanged : ALTAR. Oh, gold rings.
50. Valued geologic mass : ORE BODY. How is different from ORE?
55. Whiskered swimmer : OTTER
56. "Ah Sun-flower! ... / Seeking after that sweet golden __": Blake : CLIME. Crosses again.
57. Sheltered at sea : ALEE
58. Dune buggy, e.g., briefly : ATV
64. Storm harbinger : CLAP. Thunder clap.
65. Hilo his : ALOHAS. Read it as "Hi's". We also have 79. Nonnative Hawaiian : HAOLE. Pronounced like "Holly", right?
66. Kubla Khan's palace : XANADU
68. Street __ : CRED
71. Cornmeal loaves : PONES
77. "Found it!" : AHA
78. Chopped down : HEWN
81. Stiller's mom : MEARA. OK, Ben.
85. 1966 #1 hit for The Association : CHERISH. I only knew Madonna's "Cherish".
87. DNA structure : HELIX
88. 7-__ : ELEVEN. They have fantastic snack food in Guangzhou: hot and tasty.
89. Foe of Chiang : MAO
90. Sigma follower : TAU
91. Jersey casino, with "The" : TAJ
93. Gets it : SEES
97. Apple and Google started in them : GARAGES. Did not know Google started in a garage as well.
101. "Dang!" : DRAT
103. Tending to ooze : SEEPY
106. Kind of agt. : GOVT. Tough crossing with VACs (107D). Roombas, briefly). I did not know what Roombas are. Robotic vacuum cleaner.
108. Arrive, as clouds : ROLL IN. And 112. Contribute : ADD IN
117. "The Three Sisters" sister : IRINA
118. More than think : KNOW. MUSE won't fit.
119. Environmental activist : ECO-WARRIOR. Nailed it.
120. Allowed : LEGAL. So is LEGIT.
121. Alluring : SEXY
122. Moving about : ASTIR
123. Shore thing : SAND. Not DUNE.
Down:
1. Doo-wop syllables : DUMS. Crosses again.
2. "Orinoco Flow" singer : ENYA
3. NSA wiretap challenger : ACLU
4. When Shabbat begins : FRIDAY
5. Linden tree : BASSWOOD. Did not know Linden = Basswood.
6. BWI posting : ETA. BWI = Baltimore Washington International. Learning moment to me also.
7. Arizona opponent in a landmark Supreme Court case : MIRANDA
8. Categorically state : AVER
9. Both Arnaz guys : DESIs
10. Tax season VIP : CPA
11. Shakespearean prince : HAL. Prince Hal.
12. Where or when attachment : EVER
13. Exasperated : FED UP
14. Handle badly : MISMANAGE
15. Frequent flier's malady? : AVIAN FLU. Nice clue.
16. Sweden : Sverige :: Norway : __ : NORGE. What Norway is in Norway.
17. Meet partner : GREET. Meet and greet.
18. Australia's __ Rock : AYERS
20. Certain Prot. : EPISC
24. Mythological heaven : ELYSIUM. I like this word.
29. 11th-century year : MLI. 1051.
31. Friend : ALLY
33. Macon university : MERCER. Never heard of it. What are they famous for?
36. Formula One sound : VROOM
38. Butler with "a cynical humor in his mouth" : RHETT. Just fill in RHETT whenever you see "Butler" in the clue.
40. Record collection : DATABASE
45. Cave : RELENT
47. Bluish green : TEAL
48. Hammett hound : ASTA
49. It may contain regrets : RSVP. Had ??V? in the slot and wondered about LOVE.
51. Get conned : BE HAD
52. Russian city east of Kiev : OREL
53. Beethoven honoree : ELISE
54. Unleaded? : DECAF. Got me again.
56. Speaks for spirits : CHANNELS
60. Lured (in) : ROPED
61. "This I gotta see" : SHOW ME
63. Rejoice : EXULT
64. One using salt, perhaps : CURER. Oh, literally.
67. Rounded roof : DOME
68. Kind of cow? : CASH
69. South Korean president, 1948-1960 : RHEE. Nailed it as well. Korean RHEE = LEE = Li (as Jet Li). Same character.
70. "Downton Abbey" title : EARL
72. Cold response : SHIVER
73. Biblical baptist : JOHN
74. "Taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase": MLK : FAITH. Also the name of my mother-in-law. Her two other sisters are named Hope and Charity.
75. Latin bears : URSAE
76. Book describing the fall of Nineveh : NAHUM. Stumper for me.
78. Like typical snowflakes : HEXAGONAL
80. Way back when : AGES AGO
83. Carrot nutrient : VITAMIN A. Don't drink too much carrot juice. It makes your skin orange.
84. Swamp thing : REED
85. Check out, as a joint : CASE
86. Sci-fi transport : HOVERCAR. No idea. Like this?
89. Prohibitive words : MUST NOT
92. "Friends" actress, familiarly : JEN. Newly married. So happy for her. Can't less less about Angelina.
96. 1840s White House family : TYLERs
97. AOL alternative : GMAIL
99. Excavate again : RE-DIG
100. Founders : SINKS. Verb.
102. Where cruise ships go : TO SEA. Partial in disguise.
105. Sugar source : CANE
109. Sister of Luke : LEIA
111. Stereotypical computer whiz : NERD
114. Crew chief : COX. Coxswain.
115. Pacific Coast or Alaska: Abbr. : HWY. And 116. 115-Down offense : DWI
I'm still in shock that we lost the crossword legend Merl Reagle. I never met Merl in person. Just a few email exchanges with him over the years. He was always sweet, kind and encouraging. You'll always be in my mind, Merl!
Happy Birthday to Tinbeni, whose daily sunset toast to blog regulars often makes me smile. Hope it's a day full of pleasant surprises and romances, Tinbeni.
C.C.
59 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks, Gordon and CC!
Did not get theme.
No cheats.
Never heard of MERCER. All preps.
Happy birthday, Tinbeni!
Am also sad about Merl. Worked his puzzles on line every week. Clever fellow!
Cheers!
Morning, all (and Happy Birthday to Tinbeni)!
SEEPY?
Impressive theme density today, but nothing about this one really excited me and I groaned a number of times at the fill (and not in a good punny way, either).
Sorry to hear about Mr. Reagan.
Impressive theme density.
However, too many junk fill.
Good morning!
Only a few missteps in my race to the bottom: US or THEM, and I started with MUST NOT, changed it to MUSNT DO when GMAN showed up. Changed it back when GOVT appeared. I thought ORE BODY and SEEPY were weird.
BWI -- Traveled to DC via BWI a few times. It was cheaper to fly there and rent a car than to fly into Reagan and take the train. (Barry, his name was Reagle -- Reagan was a bit earlier.)
C.C., not certain, but I believe HAOLE is pronounced halfway between holly and howley -- both the a and o are sounded. Hey, I've lived in this country almost 70 years, and I didn't get that MVEMJSUN "simple gimme" either.
HBD, Tinman! Toast yourself at sunset tonight.
The puzzle was a very impressive concept and execution. The cluing was mostly fair but I too did not know SPOHR or ANDRE. I also do not recall REBEC.
I did know MERCER as my ex has a cousin who was Dean at the College of Law and the Association's music was big as I was growing up. This version of CHERISH is classic.
I too was shocked at the death of Merl Reagle a very prolific and entertaining constructor who seemed universally respected and liked.
Finally a very happy birthday to Tinbeni.
The Week in Review: M 6:13 T 8:44 W 6:43 T 12:34 F 16:48 S 17:36 S 27:25
Thursday: IRE before IRK delayed AUK which delayed ISAAC HULL (who?). I was expecting a single surname.
Saturday: RATSO before RIZZO was the biggest stumbling block.
Sunday: Fairly smooth though it took five minutes to see that SERVES and ROPES needed to be SERVED and ROPED. Typos on a Sunday puzzle can be surprisingly hard to find. And that particular MNEMONIC was unknown to me so I didn't get it until I read the write-up. Of course when I was a kid there were nine PLANETS . . . and no one had heard of NACHOS.
See y'all next weekend.
Where are Hawaiian posters? I agree that I believe each vowel is sounded PoLynesian languages
Barry, his name was Reagle.
My bad, sorry about that. Thanks for the correction.
I knew a lot of Hawaiians at college and got called HAOLE periodically. And yes, each vowel is individually pronounced and it is pronounced HA-OH-LAY. I remember a football player there named Nu'u Fa'aola, and it was pronounced Noo-oo Fa-ah-oh-la.
Anybody else having trouble getting the NYT today? I can't get their site to open, and Shortyz on my Android can't download it, either.
Good Morning, CC and friends. Fun Sunday puzzle. Although Pluto was demoted in 2006, I still think of Nine PLANETS, so I didn't learn this MNEMONIC in school.
I, too, wanted THEM OR US instead of VS.
Miranda vs. Arizona is the case that brought us the phrase we all know from television crime shows: You have the right to remain silent ...
QOD: The way money goes so fast these days, they should paint racing stripes on it. ~ Mark Russell (b. Aug. 23, 1932)
Happy Birthday, Tinbini! How could I have missed your special day!
Good Morning:
With the exception of some previously mentioned unknowns, such as, Spohr, Rebec, and Nahum, this was pretty straightforward, if somewhat unexciting, theme wise. I never heard of that mnemonic and can't even recall if I was ever taught one for the planets. I only remember HOMES for the Great Lakes.
Thanks, Mr. Johnson, for a Sunday saunter and thanks, CC, for the fun and informative summary.
Last but certainly not least, a very Happy Birthday to Tinbeni. May your cup runneth over at sunset! Cheers! 🍸
Have a great day.
A lovely puzzle sans Pluto.
Musings
-We use you’re HOT/COLD to find that last Easter egg
-EDUCATED GUESS is a staple around here
-You’ve got bad bosses if you feel it’s US VS THEM
-Movie with The Heat Is On (starts at :35)
-CWSO to our lovely Hawaiian Chef Wendy with Ben Stiller (lives just north of her), HAOLE and ALHOA
-A published harbinger of spring
-We saw the marine layer ROLL IN everyday on our Pacific Coast Hwy tour
-A destructive ECOWARRIOR tactic
-My avatar Lily is ASTIR at 6 am even when I’m not
-Adolescent speak
-AVIAN FLU has caused thousands of chickens to be euthanized here
-TCM had a documentary about the problems filming RHETT, et al
-A pleasant movie about her CHANNELING him
-Baseball in Minneapolis without a DOME can be dicey
-I love my GMAIL correspondence from bloggers here
-HBD Tin, my first Sprite toast will be to you, my friend.
Happy Birthday, Tinman!! I'll be sure to have a toast for you at sunset. ;-)
¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫
I had no clue what the theme was, even after finishing the puzzle and reading out loud MY VERY EDUCATED...etc. Never hear that mnemonic, probably because there were nine planets back in the dark ages when I grew up.
But I did like the theme entries themselves - all were fun phrases to me, and I wrote in several of them without a second thought. So it was pretty much a speed run. WBS about SEEPY, though!
Sorry to hear about Merl Reagle. A shining light just went out in the crossword world.
Haole is pronounced as how-lee.
"Saturday: RATSO before RIZZO was the biggest stumbling block."
I also first went with "RATSO," then realized it was probably wrong because "rat" was in the clue.
Years ago I taught the MNEMONIC:
My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
Back then there were nine planets.
I think NACHOS can refer to the torilla chips themselves, as in "nachos with salsa" or the dish which has the nachos topped with cheese. I like both.
REBEC was a gimme, I just needed to wait to see whether it ended in C or K. NAHUM, also only needed 2 perps. Unknowns were SPOHR and ANDRE, gotten by perps and wags.
I didn't register a MEH for either the puzzle or the theme. It was fine with me.
ASTIR today is much more common than yesterday's ADOZE.
There were high school students in my community college Japanese language class who wanted to learn Japanese because of MANGA, They were very bright and motivated and did exceedingly well in a college level class. The adults were successful, too. All the young college students who were taking the class for their foreign language requirement couldn't care less and didn't do well. We laughed to ourselves when one student said he took the class because last year he found Spanish too difficult. OMG.
Happy birthday,Tinbeni. I raise a glass of Merlot to you tonight. Cheers.
Hello Puzzlers -
This must have been an ambitious project, this theme-rich puzzle in which the order had to be exact! Moved right through, hitting a few speed bumps at unfamiliar phrases such as Ore Body.
Morning, C.C., I never learned that mnemonic either, despite having grown up with all the excitement of the Apollo missions. What's more, I've just had a surprise: all these years I had Mars and Venus switched, an error that never got caught in all my years in science and engineering, including a long involvement in the Shuttle program. Is my face red!
Relatedly: one of my schoolmates, still living nearby, announced that she doubts we ever landed on the moon. This is an educated woman of considerable intelligence, who grew up in a family of aviators; not exactly the type of person or environment I'd associate with the doubters. I have yet to learn what influence caused it (must suspect the Internet...)
Hello, Friends!
Happy birthday, Tinbeni! Since I'll be at a birthday party, I'll toast Pepsi to you today though I think I KNOW what you'll be drinking.
WEES about the puzzle. OREBODY and SEEPY did seem weird to me, too. Otherwise most of the fill was straight forward and not too challenging except the SE. SPOHR was unknown and USVSTHEM took a long, long while to parse. Did not recall REBEC.
Thank you Mr. Johnson and C.C. I get to do your NYT puzzle today!
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Several unknowns today -- MANGA, SPOHR, HAOLE, TAJ, BASSWOOD, MERCER, NAHUM come to mind. Despite that, this was my fastest Sunday solve since I started keeping track about 5 months ago. Only false step I recall is USorTHEM, as others have said. And like Yellowrocks, I learned a different MNEMONIC for the nine planets. Nice to see XANADU, perhaps ALPH in a later puzzle?
Entertaining summary, CC. Funny references to Ashley Madison, about which I learned only yesterday. [A little behind the times.]
"Puzzling thoughts":
Lemon, I agree that Cherish - by The Association - was a classic hit; I'm sure many of us remember it from HS Proms or at wedding receptions; surprised that The Association has not been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Their other top singles (Windy, Along Comes Mary and Never My Love) all were Platinum sellers
HBTY Tinbeni - I will raise a glass of "neat" Islay Scotch tonight at sunset in your honor
Good afternoon everyone.
Happy birthday, Tinman. Don't wait for sunset today.
C.C. and Dan hard G have a puzzle in NYT today. Congrats.
Fun puzzle today. Lots of mis-direction. We never learnt today's MNEMONIC for PLANET placement. Cute, though. Perps were adequate. We had BASSWOOD on our farm. Never knew they were Linden until I was older.
FIW, due to crossing of MERCE? and ?EBEC. Put a D instead of an R. Bzzzt! Did not know the mnemonic, but figured out the planets anyway.
Thanks, C.C. for the fine write-up.
HBD to Tinbeni - will toast to you at sunset!
Anonymous T - I sent you an email that was undeliverable. Do I have the wrong address or has it changed? Thanks.
Steady solve today. The MNEMONIC is different these days, as we had to learn it with Pluto - the mother served nine pizzas - nachos were not the snack staple they are now either. Later in med school we had mnemonics for everything - now the students just look it up on their smartphones.
I still have fond memories of attending a concert of ANDRE WATTS in the early 70s. He had a concert that night with the symphony - so during the day I went with other music students from the local schools to a concert. He was so energetic and skilled in his playing as well as an engaging teacher in between pieces.- I was wowed (and also loved getting out of school for it!)
Thanks, CC and Gordon! and Happy Birthday, Tinbeni!
Hi all,
Some of you write of being "on a constructor's wavelength." I was definitely out of sync today. Managed to get all but a few naticks in 3 sittings, but I just never felt it.
I'm fairly confident that most of us here were taught that there were nine planets.
Yep, really liked The Association.
Thank you Gordon and CC. Enjoyed your write up and found similar points at some of the clues / answers.
p.s. love this video of ANDRE WATTS in his breakout performance with Leonard Bernstein and the NYSO in 1963 at age 17 that was broadcast on CBS for the Young People's series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgprvL1ZDEg
Our understanding of the universe is always improving. Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet?
Link Pluto is not a planet
I was surprised to see that many had never learned a mnemonic for the order of the planets.
So, have you seen this hoary chestnut for the Order of Operations in math?
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. (Some call it PEMDAS, but the Aunt Sally one is catchier)
Parentheses. Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction
Vale Merl Reagle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqw1MGEHKNE
Planetary Mnemonics and a poem I wrote back in June of '13.
PLANETS
When I was born the planets known they numbered just at nine.
As I grew up, and then grew old, that didn't change, 'twas nine.
But then things altered, worlds were found where none were seen before;
The Kupier Belt yields planetoids, then more, and more, and more!
So Pluto gets demoted, but asteroid Ceres gets restored,
Like Pluto, once a planet, till lumped with its rocky horde.
Planets now are eight, but dwarf planets are abounding.
The heavens now are crowded, the increase is just astounding!
But then, that wasn't yet enough to change our frame of mind
Sufficiently, so exoplanets they began to find.
Circling other stars, strange huge worlds far from home,
Giants first, then rocky core enclosed in gaseous dome.
New methods are developed, telescopes in orbit hone
The grails are smaller planets in the Goldilockian zone.
Worlds are found in hundreds, promises of other Earth
Where life, not as we know it, could have had a cosmic birth.
What does it mean to this old man, new things that humans learn?
I shall not live to fly out there, to ride a rocket's burn.
Yet when I see the stories science fiction has produced
There's comfort in the wonder science proves is not reduced.
YR: PEMDAS?
Divide and Multiply rank equally.
Add and Subtract rank equally.
So the MNEMONIC could just as well be PEDMSA.
In the UK they say BODMAS (Brackets, Orders, Divide, Multiply, Add, Subtract).
CC, I don't think that MNEMONIC for the planets is very common. I have known all (nine) of them since childhood and I've never needed nor even heard of that one.
Being a retired math teacher, I was just thinking of PEMDAS too though I learned Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally early on.
Happy birthday Tin! I hope you have a great day and a great year.
Dudley wrote: "One of my schoolmates, still living nearby, announced that she doubts we ever landed on the moon." Yep. There are two kinds of people. Those who tend to believe almost all conspiracy theories and those who are skeptical of most of them. I fall into the second category.
Yes, in the U.S. some instructors use the acronym PEMDAS, not so catchy. Google it. We teach that multiplication. and division rank equally and that addition and subtraction rank equally, but that would make it hard to create a mnemonic. Nevertheless, students won't go wrong by using this mnemonic. There are quite a few other mnemonics on the order of PEMDAS and BODMAS, but they all are sooo boring.
Other interesting mnemonics are: Pudgy Elves May Demand A Snack, Please Eat Mom's Delicious Apple Strudels, People Everywhere Made Decisions About Sums
I understand that different countries have different names for the operations, such as brackets vs parentheses and exponent vs powers. My students would not understand ORDERS. In the USA the Aunt Sally one works in the classroom and in tutoring those with math weaknesses.
I am amazed that students who need math tutoring do not use the math they have learned so far when it comes to expressions, equations and algebra. It's like students who, reading Longfellow, forget the meaning of words they learned in the first through fourth grade. In every subject I start with what the students have learned and add on bit by bit, building a learning ladder and building confidence
Good Morning.
Late to the game today. Have been busy with grand kids. Didn't do Friday til Saturday and finished it yesterday. Did yesterday's today before this one. I think I'm puzzled out and a little slow. WES at this point. I liked RHETT as butler. Kept wondering which Downton, Upstairs Downstairs, etc. butler would fit. Didn't see that at all. Thanks, Mr. Johnson for a challenge today. Thanks C.C. for the tour. Sorry about Merle Regal. My, my. So young.
Barry, I was sorry to learn of your dad's passing. Just keep telling his stories--especially to you son. Thinking of you.
Another Grand tomorrow. My three teachers start before the kids. This retired teacher fills in. Off to Dallas on Tuesday for a week. It oughta be a hot one!! Helping my daughter out there--otherwise, why go to Dallas in August? Lotsa family fun, maybe not a lot of puzzle fun. I will enjoy it.
Y'all have a good week in case I have to become a lurker. ;^)
William And James Made Money, And James Ventured Home To Publish The Fact, Proudly Believing Life’s Joys Gained. He Gazed At Cheerful Home Crowds, Proudly Rejoicing To Watch Him Come Home Radiant.
Huh?
Does anyone else hear that raspy noise in the background? Oh, yes, that was TW choking again as usual, at Greensboro,NC.
I wasn't familiar with the mnemonic, and wouldn't have gotten the significance without the reveal, but did get it after completion. At least i did grasp the significance of 8 in the clue for the reveal while working the grid, so having that helped. Good puzzle with plenty of grist to keep you on your toes.
Also, I'd forgotten about the NYT from LAT week being a C.C. / Don G creation, so I had that treat today as well. That was a tough puzzle, but got it done correctly. Excellent offerings today.
I hope you have an wonderful birthday, Tinman! Celebrate responsibly.
If this was my blog I'd delete the comments at 3:07, 3:10, and 4:09.
Sometimes you have to pick up someone else's poop.
Good puzzle, though the mnemonics eluded me. The phrases themselves were obvious enough with perps. Thanks for explaining it, C.C.!
I always thought the effort it took to memorize the mnemonics was excessive! Much easier just to learn the planets ...or whatever. "My very educated mother" ?? Who can remember that??
Tin, here's looking at ya! HBD
Owen, I learned a lot!
MAHALO, Husker Gary!
Happy Birthday Tinbeni
SEEPY? Okay, so how 'bout this: Like wolves baying at the moon: HOWLY.
A toast to you, Tinbeni, and best birthday wishes to you today.
Swamp Cat, whatever floats your boat. There are different learning styles and mnemonics help some who cannot memorize the way you do. Being a long time tutor to the educationally challenged and having a learning disabled family member I say do whatever it takes.
On the bright side of the news, we now have new twin Pandas to oh and ah over. Hooray! 🐼 🐼 It amazes me that such a large animal delivers such small offspring; they're only as big as a stick of butter!
More good news for our area and racing fans: American Pharoah is going to run in The Travers at Saratoga next Saturday. If you didn't buy an admission ticket already, you're out of luck because the attendance is capped at 50,000 and there are no tickets left.
Yellowrocks. Amen!! We all just keep on keeping on!
Have a NEAT birthday, Tinbeni!
I enjoy your puzzles in the Arizona Republic. In today's puzzle (8/23/15) "Eight is Enough", I believe there is an error in the clue for 34D. It reads "____ a needle pulling thread". I believe this is a reference to the song from "The Sound of Music" and the actual lyric is referring to the musical scale and is "sol, a needle pulling thread", pronounced the same but spelled differently. I got the answer you gave by filling in the surrounding words. Thanks again for lots of hours of enjoyment.
Sheldon Crook, Prescott AZ
sheldoncrook@yahoo.com
May be too late for anyone to notice but I jus thought of a limerick regarding today's theme:
Some say scales are a big waste of time,
But I'd rather musicians not whine.
Even our Philharmonic
Does OK with MNEMONIC;
They know that Every Good Boy Does Fine
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Gordon Johnson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
This was quite a puzzle. The theme, I never got until coming here. It has to be fairly new because there were nine planets until a few years ago, as others have said.
The only mnemonic I really used in personal life was ROY G BIV. However, on the job I used them daily. I was in telephony and we lived with mnemonics. My favorite was SATT, Strowger Automatic Toll Ticketing. That was our old long distance ticketing machine. First put into use in 1957.
Anyhow, to the puzzle. Lots of unknowns, but perps and wags helped. Ie: MANGA, CLIME, REBEC, IRINA, ELYSIUM, NORGE, SPOHR, etc.
This took me about 3 hours.
Tinbeni: A toast to you with my Shiner Bock!
Cooked stuffed peppers today with peppers from our garden. Boy, were they good.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Abejo
Chairman Moe. And ... Good Boys Deserve Fun Always....I think! I'm never sure about these mnemonics!! Fun talking about it anyway!
Sheldon Crook 8:07 - I'm glad you put that sew/sol thing into words. I thought it was a little inconsistent too.
Back when I first learned Doe a Deer, I thought the fifth note was "so". It makes more sense. All the other notes have two-letter names, so why not "so"? I never heard of "sol" until recent years, through doing crosswords. It's not obvious how "sol" is meant to be pronounced, but the extra "L" makes a homonym with "sew" seem unlikely.
SwampCat: here is a link to the treble or G clef. If you look at the "lines", the notes they represent go from bottom to top as E, G, B, D, F - which I remember as Every Good Boy Does Fine. The spaces between the lines are represented by F A C E, which is also a mnemonic but wouldn't work in my limerick! ;-)
Just lurking today said...
C.C. I'm still trying to suss last week's NYT. Thanks for the fun.
IM - I sent you an updated email addr.
HBD Tin. I love your daily toasts. A toast to you (I've got a Goose Island Honker's Ale raised). Cheers to you.
Cheers, -T
Swamp Cat and Chairman Moe, G,B,D,F,A are the lines with the bass clef.
I thought SEW should have been SOL, too.
Anonymous 'Nother Husker@3:07 -- I admit, I had to look it up, but it is sorta neat.
WAJMM AJVHTPTF PBLJG HGACHC PRTWHCHR
Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,...Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt. Need to add TEKJNFCBCBOC (Gad, I've lived through that many!?)
OMG OKL! BOC CUT!
Take me away from Bush, Obama and Clinton!
Not to mention who you failed to mention. Sad, really. Poor Owen....
Smokey the Bear got up and disappeared in this
"neck of the woods"-everything is hazy up here
as well as my brain! Got haole easily-but rebec
alluded me so it served me right that I was not
creative where the planets collide! See you sooner
than later!
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