39-Across. School area workers, and what the four pairs of intersecting starred answers depict : CROSSING GUARDS.
Eight synonyms for GUARD cross each other in this puzzle. Here they are:
21-Across. *Former Ford compact : ESCORT. crossing 4-Down. *Hypnotist's prop : WATCH.
23-Across. *Orlando newspaper : SENTINEL. crossing 10-Down. *Janitor : CUSTODIAN.
59-Across. *German __ : SHEPHERD. crossing 49-Down. *Regulation-sized fish : KEEPER.
66-Across. *"Heaven Can Wait" (1978) Oscar nominee Jack : WARDEN. crossing 42-Down. *Lawyer, at times : DEFENDER.
70 theme letters is a whole ton, leaving very little wiggle room to sparkle with the fill.
Across
1. "__ go, into ... " : OFF WE. So yes, off we...
6. Top level : ATTIC.
11. Night school subj. : ESL. English (as a) Second Language.
14. Boggy tract : MORASS.
16. Verdi aria : ERI TU.
17. Poor grade : DEE.
18. Determined : GRITTY. Like him?
19. Terms for a student loan : SEMESTERS. Not the conditions of the loan, but the length of the program it pays for.
24. Egyptian symbol of life : ANKH.
25. March time : IDES.
27. Put in one's two cents : OPINE.
28. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I.
29. Halifax hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time. (UTC -4:00)
30. Not even : ODD.
32. Low island : CAY.
33. Cinque times due : DIECI. 5 x 2 = 10. It comes out the same, even in English.
36. Abysmal : HORRID.
44. Beat : PATROL.
45. Duma votes : NYETS. The Russian State Duma consists of 450 members, each one having "da" or NYET vote on any given matter.
47. Mayall of "Drop Dead Fred" : RIK. Absolutely no clue. He died last year from cardiac arrest after a run.
50. Arctic bird : AUK. The great AUK is extinct, but other birds of the family alcidae still survive in northern waters.
51. "Too many to list": Abbr. : ETC.
54. __ Fighters: Dave Grohl's band : FOO. Feel free to link away!
55. Millennium-ending year : ONE BC.
57. Month after Shevat : ADAR.
58. Optical device : LENS.
62. Historic Honolulu palace : IOLANI. So pretty!
68. __ Miss : OLE. Shout out to DH - his Alma mater.
69. Defamatory text : LIBEL.
70. Strip, as of rights : DIVEST.
71. Poetic adverb : E'ER.
72. Rodeo catcher : LASSO.
73. "Star Wars" title : DARTH. It is reserved for Sith Lords.
Down
1. Shocked letters : OMG."Oh My Goodness..."
2. Like much court evidence : FORENSIC.
3. More kittenish : FRISKIER.
5. This, in Toledo : ESTO.
6. JFK's UN ambassador : AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson.
7. Barrette target : TRESS.
8. "Pencils down!" : TIME!
9. Coast-to-coast hwy. : I-TEN. The southernmost east-west hwy. in the continental US.
12. Star sometimes eclipsing Venus? : SERENA. The Williams sisters of tennis.
13. Stahl of "60 Minutes" : LESLEY. I can never remember if it is "ie" or EY at the end.
15. Fertile Crescent land : SYRIA.
20. Reward in a jar : TIP.
22. NFL six-pointers : TDs. Touch Downs.
24. Come to the rescue of : AID.
26. Prefix with biology : ETHNO-.
30. URL ending : ORG.
31. Actress Joanne : DRU. Born Joan Letitia LaCock. (Really!)
34. Steal ... or the one who catches the thief : COP.
35. War of 1812 commodore : ISAAC HULL. No clue.
37. Considered figures carefully? : OGLED.
38. Like some wit or wine : DRY. I like both that way. ;-)
40. "The Simpsons" disco guy : STU. I don't even have to think about these characters any more.
disco = STU
store = APU
bar = MOE
smart = LISA
etc etc etc...
41. Rankle : IRK.
43. Most unemotional : STONIEST.
46. "Help! We're sinking!" : SOS.
47. '70s-'80s tennis star Tanner : ROSCOE. He was not a huge star, and might be more well known to the police than to any tennis fan.
48. Yoga instructor's direction : INHALE.
52. Mai __ : TAI.
53. Get too close to : CROWD.
56. ER vitals : BPs.
57. Carpentry tools : ADZES.
58. Cocoon dweller : LARVA.
60. Director Kazan : ELIA.
61. Pokes fun at : RIBS.
63. Ascribed, as blame : LAID.
65. "Telephone Line" rock gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra. "The British guys with the big fiddles."
67. Last degree : Nth. So we have reached the Nth...
And I'm out!
Marti
57 comments:
DNF for me today. Three problem spots. One was a natick (rIK+rOSCOE), one I got right, but thought might be wrong (AES+ERI TU), and one I thought I had right, but got wrong (ROSCOo+oER).
Got the GUARD part of the theme early, but didn't notice the CROSSING part until the very end. The longer clue tipped me to the reveal, so I skipped over it without reading it until I'd gotten as much low hanging fruit as I could.
A CROSSING GUARD has a single tool
To help him SHEPHERD the kids to school.
A stick with a sign
Of eight-side design,
But over the cross-walk this scepter rules!
When I was young, we had no grown-up
To shield us from auto and truck.
The Safety PATROL
Had a flag on a pole
And over the younger kids we'd cluck!
Hello Puzzlers -
Impressive theme layout today! Nicely done, Alan.
Morning, Marti, hand up for that Leslie/Lesley thing.
I thought the grid was very impressive and fill like MORASS SEMESTER FORENSIC and FRISKIER a challenge. Like marti I did not know the aptly named Admiral HULL though I do remember Drop Dead Fred with Phoebe Cates and May all. ROSCOE Tanner had a great serve.
Thanks
Morning, all!
Back from a family vacation in southern Maine which was wonderful except for the fact that it was cut short due to the unexpected death of my father yesterday morning. So now I'm back home and trying to get my heard around what happened and what needs to be done. Fortunately, I have brothers and a sister that are all flying or driving out today and tomorrow, plus my stepmother is a real "take charge" kind of woman who wants to make all the arrangements herself. I was planning on driving down to see her today, but she told me that she's really too busy right now and it would be better if I came by on Saturday instead (the funeral itself won't be until Tuesday). Whatever.
My dad and I didn't get along very well when I was growing up, but we developed a much closer relationship in his later years. I actually saw him last weekend and talked to him on the phone the night before he died, so at least I don't feel like there was anything left unresolved between us. It's just going to be hard to accept that he's no longer here. And, of course, being an atheist, I have to deal with it in my own way and focus on the life he led and the time we had together instead of just believing I'll see him again some day. I can certainly understand why people cling to the notion of an afterlife even though I don't share that belief.
In other news, I did go through the puzzle this morning, but I have to admit my heart wasn't really in it. I didn't catch the theme at all and was put off by obscure stuff like ISAAC HULL, CAPSULIZE, ADAR, DIECI, ROSCOE, etc. I tried EGYPT before SYRIA and SUN-TIMES before SENTINEL, which slowed me down further. But I did manage to get through it unassisted in the end, so there's that.
Barry G. -
Much sympathy for your loss. I'm sure it is a comfort to you, as it was to him, that your relationship improved over time. May his memory be a blessing.
Barry, condolences on your loss.
Barry - Sorry to hear about your dad - glad you saw and talked to him recently.
Puzzle had it's challenges, but slowly worked through. I was trying to make ISAAC HULL a one word last name -- so thought for sure the AA in isaac was wrong, especially since I originally had DIECE instead of DIECI.
Off to work
Good morning everyone.
Barry G - Sorry for your loss. I'm glad you had a relationship with your Dad in the later years.
Good puzzle today. Not too easy; not too hard; just right. Liked the SERENA clue. Well, we're up tp DIECI in Spanish. Wonder what comes next. Liked the long downs.
ISAAC HULL - Got it without a problem. He commanded the USS Constitution during the 1812 war including the battle with HMS Guerriere which was pounded into a wreck.
German SHEPHERD - Deutscher Schäferhund in Düsseldorf
IOLANI - Been WATCHing Hawaii 5-O so this was easy. Lots of vowels.
So sorry for your loss, Barry.
Barry G., so sorry to hear about your dad. Keep him alive in your memory, and let that be your comfort.
I'm very sorry to hear of your loss Barry.
Barry, condolences on your loss. I am glad you were able to have an improved relationship with your dad in the end. Now you have some good memories to sustain you.
The puzzle was just right for a Thursday. HULL was all perps, but the AA gave me ISAAC. I had ROSCOO before ROSCOE. I wagged the R. I don't know RIK. FOO was all perps. Otherwise there were no probs. The top half was easier than the bottom.
--P--LIZE gave me capsulize, a good word. German__ could have been anything, until the theme told me to look for a guard.
With gentle self exercise in the pool this morning I am slowly mending and am sure I will be OK by Sunday. I thought Monday was a little too much and should have called a halt. I am not a wuss about pain, but I know my limits.
Barry G. ... tears ...
As for the puzzle ... the CROSSING GUARD reveal really helped in my solving.
Today was a "Wag-fest" ... too many to mention.
Fave was the easy Mai-TAI, I always like some booze in the grid!
"Puzzling thoughts":
Barry G, sorry for your loss; condolences
I was gone all day and night yesterday, so I just now got caught up on the balance of Wednesday's blog - to Tinbeni: "morning wood" indeed would've been a better clue for 10d, given the theme!! :-) Of course, too, I think the word BONER would've "looked" better if it filled in an across space ... but maybe 5 spaces (one each, for the letters) made it look too small !! :-D
Not to dwell on yesterday, but I wanted to use this link when I did my grouse limerick (always a Stooge!)
Today's puzzle was great! Hats off to Alan and also Marti for a super theme and recap. No major glitches; spelled it LESLIE in 13d and had KIDS in 61d before I checked perps. Lots of fun words and crosses!
Good Morning:
I am so sorry for your loss.
This was a tad tricky in spots but finished w/o help. Had no idea of the theme until the reveal. Only w/o was elite before attic. Can't wait to see what Mr. Meow pulls out of his hat for more kittenish=friskier. 😻😼😽😺
Thanks, Alan DK, for a Thursday challenge and thanks, Miss M, for being our faithful guardian.
YR, glad you are feeling a little better; keep up the good work.
Have a great day.
Barry
So sorry. I am an atheist too, so have no crutch either. Expect things to get worse for some time after the initial shock/numbness and formalities of the funeral, etc., are over. My father died 6 years ago, at age 83 (I had just turned 50), after an action-packed 25-year retirement. He was a genuine patriarch, and there is still a painful gap there. I still think of him often, despite having my mother (who's still going strong) and my own wife and kids to take care of.
Here is an honest and forthright piece by a highly respected reporter about his own father's death that is neither mushy nor godly:
Matthew Parris
I'm so sorry for omitting Barry in extending my condolences.
Hello, friends!
Barry, I'm so sorry. Please accept my deep sympathy for your loss. It's good that you resumed a relationship with him.
Well, this was no sashay in the park, just a good workout. The SW gave me fits, of course, though I vaguely recalled ROSCOE Tanner. I would not have known RIK in a hundred years. The theme gave me the hint it would be KEEPER. DIW, however, as I misspelled CAPSULIZE and had no idea about HULL; thought it was HALL. Trust Spitzboov to know that one!
Thank you, Alan for a good challenge and Marti for a fine analysis. I hear you on LESLEY.
Have a stupendous day, everyone!
Hi gang -
Barry - my condolences as well. I always had a rocky relationship with my father, and there was a lot of unfinished business when he passed, lo, these many years past. I was angry for a long time afterward. It's very good that you were able to level things out with yours. Cherish the memories.
Really struggled with this puzzle, and thought right up to the end it would be a DNF. Got the reveal pretty early and that helped. Mis-spelt DEVEST, and that didn't. Don't know IOLANI so LAID was my fast fill. Is there a BONER in there somewhere?
Don't usually enjoy a puzzle that fights back this hard, but really liked this one. Great execution of an excellent theme.
Not sure why I knew the Orlando paper is the SENTINAL. Dragged ROSCOE up from somewhere deep. RIK and STU were wags. LESLIE - sure. SERENA rates a V-8 can.
If ONE BC ended a millennium, and 1 AD started a new one, then there was no year 0.
Why are wine and wit never WET?
ISAAC HULL ?!? Anyone from my generation in Toledo would want Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry.
We stopped at Tim's for an ice cap this morning, and I wound up with an especially intense episode of sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia. That'll slow you down.
Abejo - you sure got your money's worth at that ball game last night. Sadly, Norris's big night came to a sad end when he strained an oblique.
I see the Giants are using Bumgartner as a pinch hitter now. That boy can swing a bat!
Cool regards!
JzB
Barry G my condolences, my father has been dead almost 42 years but I still miss him. I do recall your father being ill in the last few years so it must not have been a surprise.
JzB, what is an ice cap? I get the brain freeze comment but not the source.
Barry, deepest condolences.
Had a difficult time today and ended up with a FIW because of not knowing my I's & U's. Had a U for 33A & 35D, CAPSiLIZE instead of CAPSULIZE.
Like someone already said, had a ton of wags today. Not surprised a couple were wrong.
Jazz, Bumgrarner was in Norwich (Eastern League) in 2009. He had one of the higher batting averages on the team. Was used to pinch hit on occasion. Can't remember exactly, but I think he had 2 or 3 HR's. On top of that, he was a nice kid. Very fan friendly.
JzB @ 11:15:
sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, eh? Hate when that happens. But my usual brain "maladies" these days are farts, not freezes! This CRS is driving me nuts ... !! :-)
Lucina @ 1059
About a dozen years ago I toured the Constitution with some of my family. I remember the docent saying how fat Hull was and how they had to cut the access between decks larger so he could get around. I guess he was a good war fighter, though.
Lemon - I'm guessing ice cap means an iced cappuccino but I could be wrong
Barry, what sad and moving news. It's hardest when the loss is unexpected, and I know what you mean about the difficulty of not being able to expect a reunion in the hereafter. Grief is so painful, but I think it helps to focus on the good things. I look at photo albums and read old journals to remember all the good times I had with Rowland, and reliving them helps.
This was a fun puzzle but also a bit of a toughie in the SW corner and in the end I had to cheat and look up the RIK/ROSCOE thing. But still very enjoyable along with Marti's always fun write-up.
Have a good day, everybody.
@Lemon, are you dense or just trolling?
Ice(sic) Capp at Tim's
My condolences on the loss of your father, Barry. My dad died 13 years ago and I miss him still. Monday would have been his 91st birthday. So sorry.
I didn't know ISAAC HULL either, but appreciate how these pzls often introduce me to obscure but sometimes important bits of knowledge. For those interested, here is the Commodore.
Thanks for the kind words, all. My dad basically died four or five years ago when he suffered congestive heart failure and went into a coma after being resuscitated. At the time, the doctors told he he likely wouldn't ever wake up so we should gather the family to say our last goodbyes, which we did. He then somehow managed to wake up and we've spent the time since accepting every day as a extra blessing that could stop any time. So I've been dreading this day for quite awhile, but also had time to make my peace with him.
And thanks to Anonymous for the explanation of Ice Cap[p]. We don't have Tim Hortons near where I live so I had never heard of it. Sorry if that makes me "dense".
Clever theme with a very obscure Commodore but a lovely Marti write-up!
Musings
-The honeymooners had a WATCH dog, but they wouldn’t let him
-Today only CUSTODIANS are supposed to clean up bodily fluids in your classroom
-Even the Colorado theater shooter had a legal DEFENDER
-Student Loan Debt is horrendous but I hear no one calling for lowering tuitions
-Most famous use of HORRID in a poem?
-The part of my golf game that needs work – Driving, fairway irons, chipping, ETC.
-I also remember this fabulous Banyan Tree outside the IOLANI Palace
-It’s pretty easy to CAPSULIZE a junior high story by eliminating “ya know” and “awesome”
-OMG (:03)
-AES’s high water mark to me (esp @ 2:05)! (2:22)
-CROWD? Get on a Disney bus after the parks close.
-Condolences Barry. Dad and I were never close but now I remember good times more
Actually it is called an Iced Capp.
Sorry, Barry.
Got a late start today and really didn't know if I could finish. But luckily I did with a pile of perps: French-DIECI, Spanish-ESTO, Hebrew-ADAR, Russian-NYET(S). If Putin offers a resolution, I wonder how many 'nyets' are in the 450.
ISAAC HULL, RIK Mayall, Jack WARDEN- struggled to fill those unknowns. I liked the 'Considered figures carefully" and "Terms for student loans' clues.
ROSCOE Tanner- played in Wimbledon Finals one year.
ER Vitals- I wanted BPM (beats per minute), not familiar with BPS- blood pressure(s)?
Isn't a cocoon dweller a PUPA, not a LARVA? egg, Larva eats, Pupa transforms, into a butterfly.
Barry, sorry about your dad.
Marti- you left out the most important Simpson- George, I mean Bart
That is not a picture of Iolani Palace. The Palace is across King Street from the King Kamehameha statue.
I join Lemony and Barry in the dense department, having never heard of Tim Horton or Iced Capp.
Time Warner is testing my patience for the third day in a row of hours w/o internet service. Grrrrr!
HG's comment about a legal defender made me think if there's a naive lawyer out there who might make this mistake:
New DEFENDER saw the police blotter
That contained the details of a squatter.
He was pretty surprised
They would criminalize
A poor gal who could not hold her water.
Sorry!! ;-)
Barry, my deepest sympathy goes out to you and your family.
Hello Everyone,
Barry, My deepest condolences on the passing of your father. When parents leave us we become the older generation. I'm so glad you were able to have a relationship with your dad these past few years.
Barry G... I am sorry to hear of your loss.... my sympathy and good thoughts will be with you.. may each day be a little easier...
thelma
We don't have Tim Horton's around here either but I'm aware of its existence as we have discussed here at the Corner a couple of times. IIRC, Mr Horton was a hockey player turned restauranteur.
Well, back to work. It's time to make the donuts.
To clarify, I've heard of Tim Hortons. But, since we don't have any near here, I've never heard of an Ice Cap/Iced Capp/Iced Capp/whatever the heck you want to call it.
Barry, I'm very sorry to hear of your fathers' passing. It's difficult to accept even when it's been expected. My sympathy and positive thoughts to you and your family.
Like others, I've heard of Tim Horton's but there aren't any near me so I'm not familiar with the menu items.
The entire southwest corner was one big Natick. Marti, thanks for the explanations. Alan, thanks for the challenge. I enjoyed what I could solve.
Pat
Barry, I still miss my parents, long gone now. Condolences and best wishes for you all.
Some-ONE doesn't like Lemonade, and it is getting waay too tiresome. Stop already. Please.
Barry, my condolences for your loss. My prayers for you and your loved ones. Time heals most wounds. In any case, there is no alternative, and such are the rites of passage through life. Since, I assume, most bloggers here have entered the senescence of their lives, we have probably all suffered through that loss of our parents. That doesn't ofcourse make it any easier.
Is Tim Horton the fella who heard a Who, in Who-ville ? ;-^)
Now, to move onward, to read up on the Commodore Isaac who was aptly named after a part of a ship ....
Barry G,
My sincerest condolences. May his memory be a blessing to you.
I liked the puzzle, although I struggled. I did know Isaac Hull ... so there! I got the theme, but the rest was mostly WAGs. Thanks for walking us thru it, Marti!
Owen. Did I forget to say today's offering was delightful!!
Sorry to hear yr news Barry G, it reminds me of that difficult time we all go through. My condolences.
Dnf for me, and not for lack of trying. I saved this puzzle several times on my iPhone, but i guess i waited too long because it restarted in a blank puzzle & I am just too tired to fill all that fill again on this tiny little screen with thumbs that cover 4 letters at time...
Anonymous T, thanks for the help last night. I also had assistance from 2 daughters who said what I was trying to do was impossible because the iPhone does not Get HTML.
My problem was that's keyboard froze as soon as I pasted the copied link. And I could not continue with the BLUE part.
So this is a test...
crossing guard.
For Irish Miss, hmm, I guess I not as frisky as I used to be...
Anonymous T, it seems the problem is the iPhone interface just sucks.., all I has to do to continue was click done even though I wasn't ... However I still cannot link a single image without the page it came from . Crossing guard is a case in point
Greetings!
Thanks to Alan and Marti!
Lots of WAGs, but I eventually prevailed.
Barry: my deepest sympathy. My father's death in 1984 was so traumatic that it eventually led to a suicide attempt. At the time, my older son was treating me with contempt. (Only brother was a huge causal factor here also.) Think of my dad every day.
Another horrible afternoon at the dentist's.
Cheers!
CED: get a stylus for the iPhone! (I keep losing them. Just ordered 10 for about 8 bucks.)
Hi All!
Barry G. So sorry for your loss. I'm glad for you that you had the time before the end. DW had the same rocky relationship w/ her dad until his angioplasty. When he finally passed 10 yrs later, they were on good terms. Glad you were too. My dad became a little religious after he dad passed; I may too.
Well, I did better today - only 2 Googles (35 & 47d). Without them, I'd have never broken up the SW. Thanks Alan for a fun distraction while my computers were waiting for search results from my security tools (I am doing a FORENSIC investigation on some interesting internet traffic).
Marti - as always, a fun and enlightening write-up. Thanks.
I got CROSSING GUARDS w/ only the G from .ORG. My moment of pride for today :-)
ESPs - 16a, 32a & 62a. W/os - PummeL b/f PATROL and eST b/f recalling AST from a few month's puzzles ago.
Did no one else, even at 1st, want Chocolate Cake (Cosby) for 59a?
JzB - Knowing no year 0, I put an I at the end of 55a until I realized "Doh! We haven't gotten to MMMMI yet" :-)
Cutes: 6a & 20d; Fav - 12d c/a pair.
CED - Can't help w/ just the picture. Maybe click it to open in a new page and link that? Also, it was ODD the cat liked water; I was waiting for it to claw the guy's hand.
OcL @5:25 - Yes, I loved the aptronym of Commodore HULL.
Owen - I've not thanked you all week. Keep up the good work!
C. Moe - Saw a squatter in the French Quarter while watching my (broken down) car. She was hammered. Fortunately for her, a) she was in a dress, b) it was already raining. She left her intimates on the sidewalk. Some peoples' kids.
Here's 1000 folks paying tribute to the FOO Fighters and the FOO Fighters paying tribute / playing with RUSH(my fav band).
Cheers, -T
Barry
So sorry about your Dad. I am currently helping care for mine on a daily basis. No matter how ill a close family member is we are still not quite prepared when it occurs. Prepare for it getting worse before it gets better. My mother has been gone 18 months now and i still haven't fully dealt with it. Like you in my younger years my father and i often had trouble communicating even simple things to each other. Take time for yourself to be alone and sort through your thoughts. Best wishes for a healing heart.
CED - one other thing that may help whilst on the iPhone.... Use notes to draft your post, then cut & paste into "Leave your comment." That's what I do via iPad after being frustrated w/ 1/2 my post going away while I look for a link. C, -T
Pizans - Did anyone watch the FOO tribute (from 3:40 on)? If so, can you translate the response? I'm 1/4 Italiano but the language was beaten out of Grandpa ("Yous in Amerigo Vespucci, you speaka da English." Slap. That was his story anyway.) Cheers, -T
Good Friday morning, folks. Thank you, Alan DerKazarian, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for a fine review.
I started this last night about 11:30 after I got home from Lodge. Worked on it for a while then hit the hay. Finished this morning.
First, Barry, my deepest sympathies to you on the the loss of your father. Mine died 25 years ago and I still miss him.
Jazzbumpa: Yes, that was a wild game Wednesday night. 15-8 Tigers. Lots of action and home runs. A couple double plays.
This puzzle went along about on a Thursday level. A little tough.
OFF WE go into the wild blue yonder, climbing high, into the sky. . . . That was my dad's song. He was a WW-II pilot out of England. 8th AF of the Army Air Corps.
Very clever theme. Liked it.
My big hang up was 55A ONE BC. I wrote in Y TWO K and was stuck on that forever. Finally fixed it this morning. BPS is what helped.
No idea who LESLEY is. Perps.
Since I am a day late, no one will probably see this, so I am signing off. See you later today, maybe. Have an Almoner meeting this morning and then pulling weeds at the church later.
Abejo
( )
Post a Comment