Theme: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." No-one ever accused the dastardly Goldfinger of having a bullion heart, but that's exactly what connects all these theme entries, chemical symbol-wise.
19A. Home of the Green Bay Packers : LAMBEAU FIELD. AKA "The Frozen Tundra".
35A. "Northanger Abbey" author : JANE AUSTEN. This was her house, not far from where I went to school in Winchester:
45A. Bistro drink : CAFE AU LAIT. Add a pain au chocolat, a Parisian bistro terrace and some people-watching and you've got the world's best breakfast. You can also pretend to read "Le Figaro" for authenticity.
56A. Olympic action involving a bar : POLE VAULTING. Crazy antics atop a 16-foot fiberglass whiplash of death.
And the reveal:
17D. Kind nature, and, symbolically, what 19-, 35-, 45- and 56-Across have : HEART OF GOLD. Also, for sci-fi comedy fans, the name of the spacecraft powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series of books.
Well now - Steve here this first Wednesday in August with "our" Marti's quite excellent auric-themed puzzle. Note how the "AU" is centered in each answer and the down reveal entry intersects all the horizonal themers. That's some mighty fine constructin'. Top that off with some great fill and cluing and we've got ourselves a grand Wednesday.
The theme could count as a CSO to a Corner regular, but I'm not sure you can shout-out to yourself!
Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Barbie maker : MATTEL
7. Dada pioneer : ARP. He called himself either Jean or Hans depending on which language he was speaking. This is my friend Jill's charcoal sketch of his "Torse des Pyrénées" sculpture:
10. Soviet air force acronym : MIG. I went through a MIR-er-um-no-MIG transmutation here. I didn't know it was an acronym - it comes from the names of the founders of the design bureau Микоян и Гуревич.
13. Melodic piece : ARIOSO. Thank you, crosses. Marti - does your knowledge of Italian help you with musical clues?
14. Source of Sun. inspiration : SER. Words from the Rev. Not too long, hopefully.
15. Life-altering words : I DO
16. Mississippi River explorer : DE SOTO. I remembered it! There's a De Soto Avenue not far from me, that's my aide-mémoire now.
17. Put to work : HIRE
18. Stock quote? : MOO
22. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA
25. Where to find a horse with no legs? : SEA
26. Outlaw Kelly : NED
27. Favre of the Green Bay Packers : BRETT. No stranger to 19A, he started at QB for 15 straight seasons from 1992 to 2007, before having an early mid-life crisis, decamping first for the New York Jets, and then the Packer's bitter rivals the Minnesota Vikings, and "retiring" twice along the way. He seems to have stayed retired now.
29. Evita's land: Abbr. : ARG. Don't cry for me.
31. Supply with more weapons : RE-ARM
38. __ code : AREA. 818 for me. Apparently that makes me a Valley Girl. Uh-huh, gag me with a spoon. Totally!
39. N.H. clock setting : EST
40. Chanted : INTONED
42. NFL snapper : CTR. Here's Jonathan Goodwin, the center for the San Francisco 49er's. Does wearing that uniform make him a red snapper?
43. Bistro awning word : CHEZ. Somewhere to enjoy your 45A.
47. Austrian state bordering three countries : TYROL. I learned to ski in the Tyrol many years ago. I also learned how to drink schnapps.
49. NFL positions : RGS. It's an NFL-fest today. Standard equipment issue for all playing that position (I hope):
50. Lovely, like a lass : BONNY
51. Cookie Monster eating sound : NOM
53. Poetic preposition : O'ER. How about this:
Nah, I'll leave the poeticals to those of you who know what you're doing.
55. Equipment : GEAR
61. Brother of Peyton : ELI. Their pop, Archie, played QB for Ole Miss, and the campus speed limit is 18 MPH in honor of his number. Neat-o.
62. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD. Probably a good job you don't add the time as well. "ESTD MMDXLVI 9:00 EST"
63. "I'm clueless" : NO IDEA
67. Go pfft : DIE. Full disclosure. I had "DIS" here first, as in DISSING someone with a "pfft!". Of course DISS is the correct spelling, and I didn't notice that LISU at 58D didn't make any sense. So I got the dreaded "The puzzle is completely filled" (translation: "Yeah, you goofed, dingbat") message when I was done. You can see my hunt for the culprit in the grid at the bottom.
68. It's charged : ION
69. Stretched out on the beach : SUNNED. Lovely subtle part-of-speech clue. "Stretched" in the past tense sense, not the intransitive verb sense. Had me thinking for a while.
70. Promise from a shy person? : IOU. Nice! Shy in the "not quite enough" sense.
71. New Orleans-to-Detroit dir. : NNE
72. Put to work : ENGAGE. Clecho with 17A. All kinds of stuff going on today.
Down:
1. "Spy vs. Spy" magazine : MAD
2. Modern art? : ARE. Another great little clue/answer. Eventually the "verb" usage penny dropped.
3. "__ the year's midnight ... ": Donne : 'TIS
4. "You missed it" : TOO LATE
5. Spanish 101 verb : ESTA
6. Appears impressively on the horizon : LOOMS. Usually in a bad way. Icebergs, slab-sided rusty tankers, battleships, Godzilla, Mount Doom and what-not.
7. Where most live : ASIA
8. "M*A*S*H" episode, now : RERUN. RETRO went in, TRO came out.
9. Favor : PREFER
10. Silent ape : MIME. Why aren't mimes particularly original? Because they can't think outside the box.
11. "American __" : IDOL
12. Like no news? : GOOD
20. Make it big in Hollywood : BE A STAR
21. Bean sprout? : IDEA. Lovely clue/answer. Food! Well, the clue was. I'm making pad thai tonight.
22. Goal : OBJECT
23. Like many tabloids : TRASHY
24. Tenant : RENTER
28. Mai __ : TAI
30. 64-Down research subject : GENE SET. Used in gene set variation analysis, as everybody knows. Well, as everybody knows who just Googled it like me. Thank you, crosses.
32. Obscure : ARCANE
33. Light-sensitive eye layer : RETINA
34. Saint Stephen, e.g. : MARTYR. My patron saint. December 26th is his Saint's day, for those of you who pay attention to such matters.
36. Mom's bro : UNC
37. PBS funder : NEA. National Endowment for the Arts. Lovely people.
41. Name : DUB
44. Temperate __ : ZONE
46. Lumberjack's trade : LOGGING. I can't resist.
48. Hippie happening : LOVE-IN
52. Layer of stones : MASON
54. Shampoo instruction : RINSE. Then, apparently, repeat. In other words "use twice as much product as you need to, thank you very much".
56. Mani counterpart : PEDI
57. Mishmash : OLIO. One of my personal crossword faves - C.C. patiently explained the difference between OLEO and OLIO to me when I first started reading this blog,
58. Stead : LIEU. Ha! I had "DIS" in lieu of "DIE"! How apropos.
59. "Cure Ignorance" online reader : UTNE. I didn't even see this until I got here, so thank you, crosses.
60. Doohickey or whatchamacallit, e.g. : NOUN. Very neat. Another of the day's fun clues.
64. "CSI" evidence : DNA
65. Brain scan, for short : EEG. I'm starting to finally get all the "E-something-G" stuff straight.
66. Citrusy drink : ADE.
Here's the grid. I'll get my coat.
Steve
19A. Home of the Green Bay Packers : LAMBEAU FIELD. AKA "The Frozen Tundra".
35A. "Northanger Abbey" author : JANE AUSTEN. This was her house, not far from where I went to school in Winchester:
45A. Bistro drink : CAFE AU LAIT. Add a pain au chocolat, a Parisian bistro terrace and some people-watching and you've got the world's best breakfast. You can also pretend to read "Le Figaro" for authenticity.
56A. Olympic action involving a bar : POLE VAULTING. Crazy antics atop a 16-foot fiberglass whiplash of death.
And the reveal:
17D. Kind nature, and, symbolically, what 19-, 35-, 45- and 56-Across have : HEART OF GOLD. Also, for sci-fi comedy fans, the name of the spacecraft powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series of books.
Well now - Steve here this first Wednesday in August with "our" Marti's quite excellent auric-themed puzzle. Note how the "AU" is centered in each answer and the down reveal entry intersects all the horizonal themers. That's some mighty fine constructin'. Top that off with some great fill and cluing and we've got ourselves a grand Wednesday.
The theme could count as a CSO to a Corner regular, but I'm not sure you can shout-out to yourself!
Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Barbie maker : MATTEL
7. Dada pioneer : ARP. He called himself either Jean or Hans depending on which language he was speaking. This is my friend Jill's charcoal sketch of his "Torse des Pyrénées" sculpture:
10. Soviet air force acronym : MIG. I went through a MIR-er-um-no-MIG transmutation here. I didn't know it was an acronym - it comes from the names of the founders of the design bureau Микоян и Гуревич.
13. Melodic piece : ARIOSO. Thank you, crosses. Marti - does your knowledge of Italian help you with musical clues?
14. Source of Sun. inspiration : SER. Words from the Rev. Not too long, hopefully.
15. Life-altering words : I DO
16. Mississippi River explorer : DE SOTO. I remembered it! There's a De Soto Avenue not far from me, that's my aide-mémoire now.
17. Put to work : HIRE
18. Stock quote? : MOO
22. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA
25. Where to find a horse with no legs? : SEA
26. Outlaw Kelly : NED
27. Favre of the Green Bay Packers : BRETT. No stranger to 19A, he started at QB for 15 straight seasons from 1992 to 2007, before having an early mid-life crisis, decamping first for the New York Jets, and then the Packer's bitter rivals the Minnesota Vikings, and "retiring" twice along the way. He seems to have stayed retired now.
29. Evita's land: Abbr. : ARG. Don't cry for me.
31. Supply with more weapons : RE-ARM
38. __ code : AREA. 818 for me. Apparently that makes me a Valley Girl. Uh-huh, gag me with a spoon. Totally!
39. N.H. clock setting : EST
40. Chanted : INTONED
42. NFL snapper : CTR. Here's Jonathan Goodwin, the center for the San Francisco 49er's. Does wearing that uniform make him a red snapper?
43. Bistro awning word : CHEZ. Somewhere to enjoy your 45A.
47. Austrian state bordering three countries : TYROL. I learned to ski in the Tyrol many years ago. I also learned how to drink schnapps.
49. NFL positions : RGS. It's an NFL-fest today. Standard equipment issue for all playing that position (I hope):
50. Lovely, like a lass : BONNY
51. Cookie Monster eating sound : NOM
53. Poetic preposition : O'ER. How about this:
"With the ebon glass-fiber'd wand
in her grip held tight,
the 56A goddess arc'd
o'er the bar at such height,
falling softly to earth's bosom
afore e'en tis night".
in her grip held tight,
the 56A goddess arc'd
o'er the bar at such height,
falling softly to earth's bosom
afore e'en tis night".
Nah, I'll leave the poeticals to those of you who know what you're doing.
55. Equipment : GEAR
61. Brother of Peyton : ELI. Their pop, Archie, played QB for Ole Miss, and the campus speed limit is 18 MPH in honor of his number. Neat-o.
62. Cornerstone abbr. : ESTD. Probably a good job you don't add the time as well. "ESTD MMDXLVI 9:00 EST"
63. "I'm clueless" : NO IDEA
67. Go pfft : DIE. Full disclosure. I had "DIS" here first, as in DISSING someone with a "pfft!". Of course DISS is the correct spelling, and I didn't notice that LISU at 58D didn't make any sense. So I got the dreaded "The puzzle is completely filled" (translation: "Yeah, you goofed, dingbat") message when I was done. You can see my hunt for the culprit in the grid at the bottom.
68. It's charged : ION
69. Stretched out on the beach : SUNNED. Lovely subtle part-of-speech clue. "Stretched" in the past tense sense, not the intransitive verb sense. Had me thinking for a while.
70. Promise from a shy person? : IOU. Nice! Shy in the "not quite enough" sense.
71. New Orleans-to-Detroit dir. : NNE
72. Put to work : ENGAGE. Clecho with 17A. All kinds of stuff going on today.
Down:
1. "Spy vs. Spy" magazine : MAD
2. Modern art? : ARE. Another great little clue/answer. Eventually the "verb" usage penny dropped.
3. "__ the year's midnight ... ": Donne : 'TIS
4. "You missed it" : TOO LATE
5. Spanish 101 verb : ESTA
6. Appears impressively on the horizon : LOOMS. Usually in a bad way. Icebergs, slab-sided rusty tankers, battleships, Godzilla, Mount Doom and what-not.
7. Where most live : ASIA
8. "M*A*S*H" episode, now : RERUN. RETRO went in, TRO came out.
9. Favor : PREFER
10. Silent ape : MIME. Why aren't mimes particularly original? Because they can't think outside the box.
11. "American __" : IDOL
12. Like no news? : GOOD
20. Make it big in Hollywood : BE A STAR
21. Bean sprout? : IDEA. Lovely clue/answer. Food! Well, the clue was. I'm making pad thai tonight.
22. Goal : OBJECT
23. Like many tabloids : TRASHY
24. Tenant : RENTER
28. Mai __ : TAI
30. 64-Down research subject : GENE SET. Used in gene set variation analysis, as everybody knows. Well, as everybody knows who just Googled it like me. Thank you, crosses.
32. Obscure : ARCANE
33. Light-sensitive eye layer : RETINA
34. Saint Stephen, e.g. : MARTYR. My patron saint. December 26th is his Saint's day, for those of you who pay attention to such matters.
36. Mom's bro : UNC
37. PBS funder : NEA. National Endowment for the Arts. Lovely people.
41. Name : DUB
44. Temperate __ : ZONE
46. Lumberjack's trade : LOGGING. I can't resist.
48. Hippie happening : LOVE-IN
52. Layer of stones : MASON
54. Shampoo instruction : RINSE. Then, apparently, repeat. In other words "use twice as much product as you need to, thank you very much".
56. Mani counterpart : PEDI
57. Mishmash : OLIO. One of my personal crossword faves - C.C. patiently explained the difference between OLEO and OLIO to me when I first started reading this blog,
58. Stead : LIEU. Ha! I had "DIS" in lieu of "DIE"! How apropos.
59. "Cure Ignorance" online reader : UTNE. I didn't even see this until I got here, so thank you, crosses.
60. Doohickey or whatchamacallit, e.g. : NOUN. Very neat. Another of the day's fun clues.
64. "CSI" evidence : DNA
65. Brain scan, for short : EEG. I'm starting to finally get all the "E-something-G" stuff straight.
66. Citrusy drink : ADE.
Here's the grid. I'll get my coat.
Steve
70 comments:
What a wonderful mittwoch puzzle, with a really fun reveal. As Steve points out the inside joke of the reveal including a reference to our poster heartrx is special. Marti and Steve thank you.
With a little crunch from fill like ARIOSO TYROL and GENE SET this was great and to top it off we end with our favorite drink suffix....
Missed by two cells. ArE+ArIOSO -- I didn't catch the trick on ARE, and ARIOSO was unknown to me, so I WAGed ALE as the modern art of microbreweries. GENE sET+RGs got me because I didn't notice 49a was plural, so WAGed RGd for Rear GuarD. Never heard the term GENE SET before, and GENEtics wouldn't fit, but GENE DET.ective seemed reasonable.
• Are IDEA & NO IDEA in the same puzzle really kosher?
• Ditto EST, ESTA, ESTD. (That last one reminds me of a computer virus -- an E-STD. You know which sites you can get that from!)
• A nice bit of alloying, having ARGent in an AUric-themed puzzle.
• No funny poems, a more serious tone today for my fraternity.
FreeMASONs are thought to have secrets ARCANE,
And Master MASONs through conspiracies reign.
But view the hodge-podge
Of a meeting at lodge,
And you'll see in a flash the IDEA's inane!
MASONs have lain CORNERSTONEs in numbers untold,
And INTONED rituals from times ancient and old.
But they wield no magic,
(Which wackos find tragic)
Nor have they storehouses chock full of GOLD!
The power of MASONs is true brotherhood,
Improving for better the men who are GOOD.
'TIS every man's creed
To help those in need,
MASONry just made it more fun when it could!
Morning, all!
Marvelous Marti puzzle today. Didn't get the theme until I reached the reveal, but it was instantly clear to me once I did. Didn't care for GENE SET, but enjoyed the rest of the grid and had fun with the "tricky" cluing ("Modern art" for ARE was a personal favorite, but "Layer of stones" for MASON was a close second).
Another hot & humid day today on tap. But still, at least I don't have to shovel anything...
Good Morning, Steve and friends. Fun and easy Wednesday puzzle despite all the football references!
I thought of Kazie when I came across NED Kelly (1855 ~ 1880). She gave us a bit of history about this Australian outlaw once.
Hernando DE SOTO (1496 ~ 1542) is believed to have been the first European to have crossed the Mississippi River. He is believed to have died on the banks of the Mississippi River in what is now Ferriday, Louisiana. Can you name the three most famous people associated with Ferriday, Louisiana?
Jean ARP (1886 ~ 1966) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
My favorite clue was Modern Art? = ARE.
Like Berry, I wasn't keen on GENE SET.
I initially tried Nod in lieu of IOU for Promise from a Shy Person.
QOD: I believe that every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises. ~ Neil Armstrong (Aug. 5, 1930 ~ Aug. 25, 2012)
Noticed the EAU in each long fill , But did not see the AU for Gold.
I thought the Heart part was put in because of Marti,s handle on here.
Ferriday is known for JLL, MG and JS all cousins.
Good morning!
I enjoyed Marti's puzzle, and even got the theme before the reveal showed up. I even knew LAMBEAU FIELD; I grew up not far from there. And I recognized BRETT Favre's name, staying true to my practice of only recognizing long-retired player names.
Steve, I enjoyed your VAULTing poetic effort. I thought Dec. 26th was "Boxing Day" -- did St. Stephen die in the ring? Or, perhaps, that's the day they nailed him into the box.
Around our town construction requires a series of permits which must be posted on the site: Culvert permit, LOGGING permit, General Construction permit, Watering System permit, ad nauseum. They haven't gotten around to the Mowing Permit, yet.
ENGAGE -- really evokes an image of Jean Luc Picard, doesn't it?
Boo, wasn't JS the guy who cried on TV? There's nothing quite so beautiful to behold as the downfall of a holier-than-thou TV evangelist.
"Cookie Monster eating sound : NOM"
Really?
Good morning all. Thank you Marti and thank you Steve. Great puzzle. Great review. Stimulating.
Not one perp needed for LAMBEAU FIELD or BRETT Favre. OTOH needed more that a few perps for JANE AUSTEN.
That northeast corner was a piece of art. "Life-altering words" was cute. "Stock quote" directly underneath was funny. "Silent ape" was so clever.
So many great clues. Another favorite was "Promise from a shy person." "Modern art."
Had HEART TO and automatically entered the second heart. That slowed me down when the crosses didn't work. But hey, who is keeping time ? Then realized I really didn't have HEART TO... Was missing the second T.
Misread of the day was 22D. Read the clue as goat rather than goal.
Mmmmm. Katic Breads pain au chocalat Mmmmm!
What does an electrician INTONE ?
Nice puzzle Marti. It was a total speed run for me this morning with my only trouble being misspelling JANE AUSTEN as AUSTIN. GINE SET got a gene splice and was genetically rearranged to the correct words. I was initially thinking a rhyme sequence after LAMBEAU, thinking JUNEAU but TRASHY took care of that.
Favorite clues- 70A- 'Promise from a shy person' 18A- Stock quote
NOM-??? don't get it. I have NO IDEA.
This is my favorite puzzle...ever!! Soooo many clever clues. thanks, Marti!
Stock Quote is my favorite. I laughed out loud when the final M appeared from crosses. I was trying out things like IPO.
And Moderm "Art". --- Promise from a Shy Person -- Bean Sprout -- Layer of Stones. Such fun!!
I was surprised I even got all the football stuff. Brett Farve is from Kiln, MS, so he counts, almost, as a local. For all his shenanigans I still think of him as a Packer.
And Steve, your Red Snapper, Jonathan Goodwin, was once a Saint. I still miss him!
I'll quit now, before I OD on saccharine!
Related cartoon from Argyle Sweater(no relation).
Cartoon
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Thanks Marti - and Steve, too - for a fun start to my Hump Day. WEES, I enjoyed the various mis-direction clues and solves. And my hand is up with regard to ink blots and write-overs for: DIM before DIE; TIROL before TYROL - which made TRASHY -> TRASHI ...
54d (RINSE), and Steve's mention of the instruction on the shampoo bottle reminded me of a bad blonde joke - where the blonde used an entire bottle of shampoo each time she washed her hair, because she kept following the instructions: apply shampoo to hair, work into a lather, rinse, repeat ...
Hatoolah and Boo lluquette, was there something in the water in Ferriday? All those cousins were...em...strange!
Marti, clever puzzle. I quickly saw the AU's in each theme answer, but it took a while to get the golden idea.
Does the Cookie Monster actually say NOM? Look at the third frame here.
Link You decide
I see ARIOSO more frequently in x-words than anywhere else, but I know it is used in music circles.
Why is EST ESTA ESTD together in a puzzle questionable? They are all from different roots. Would TO TON TOTAL also be questionable?
Owen, loved the poetry. It reflects my reaction to Free Masonry. Brotherhood, kindness, etc. not magic.
Hahtoolah,
Thanks for the QOD--I need that today. Something snapped in my lower back yesterday and now I can hardly bend or change position without hurting and feeling terribly old. I know it will improve with more of what hurts, but right now it's rather daunting.
Thanks also for remembering my info on Ned Kelly.
Marti,
Thank you for a great puzzle today. There was much to love, but my fave was modern art--ARE, which was my last to fall. Considering my ignorance of football, I was lucky to live in WI where Lambeau Field appears in the news frequently. Many of the other FB clues needed perps to be solved, but what else is new?
Steve,
I always enjoy your blogs, with their touch of essential English humour, so today was no exception. I just don't always have time to mention it. But with another newsletter freshly done, I am back on deck for a while.
In a couple of weeks, we should hear of our second grand-daughter's arrival, so that's my focus for a while now. So far all is going normally with my DIL, so nothing to do but wait...
Thanks for the lovely write-up, Steve. I’m glad you noticed the construction, because this one was a real bear.
And I’m not sure if my rusty Italian helps with music clues, but I’ll take whatever answers I can get, however I can get them!
GENE SET analysis is at the core of all human genome studies, so I was delighted to be able to include that one. Sorry it gave some of you fits…
Still not getting "modern art" ... "Are"??
Further explanation is needed for this blonde ;(
Old fashioned question, "Where ART thou?" is modernized to "Where ARE you?"
Good Morning!
It's football training camp! So much of this puzzle was wonderful. A challenge and great fun to solve. I didn't even see the golden parts as I was having so much fun with the clues! Is it possible to have six favorites? Well, I did, and I'll not name them as others have already. BRETT Favre will be honored this season at LAMBEAU FIELD when his number is retired.
Marti, thanks for this golden work of ART; you have outdone yourself. Steve, thanks for the fantastic tour. I especially liked your red snapper!
Hope this was a delightful start to a delightful day for all of you.
Good morning everyone.
Fun puzzle from Marti; great intro from Steve. Thank you both.
Had to fish for a good anchor point which became the SSW, and the solve bloomed out from there. When I got to HEART OF GOLD, and got the theme, I thought how clever Heart Rx was. Many fun clues - my favorites were those for IDEA, ARE and IOU. Seemed to be a football sub-theme with LAMBEAU, BRETT, RGS and ELI.
Can you have IDEA and NO IDEA in the same puzzle?
BZ on a fine job!
Good morning. Enjoyed the puzzle and the write up. Very clever, both.
Thought the theme would be water related after the first 3 "eau" entries. But pole vaulting put an end to that, so needed the reveal to get the theme.
I do not understand the problem with GENE SET, it is very real and very contemporary. It also was introduced to the LAT in 2009, before the switch from Wayne Williams.
Marti & Steve: Great puzzle and write-up. There were a number of head scratcher clues that ultimately became apparent with the perps. I enjoyed the challenge.
I knew DESOTO right away. My first car was a 1958 DESOTO that I bought in 1964 for $400. It was a real beast.
Have a great day everyone.
Good Morning:
While I finished this sparkler with no help, it took longer than a usual Wednesday. My brain was just not processing Marti's devilish clues, e.g., Silent ape/stock quote=Mime/moo. Naturally, when filled in, it's so obvious I groaned at my ignorance. Saw the au immediately after filling in heart of gold.
Great challenge and fine achievement, Marti, and thanks to Steve for the usual witty and wonderful write-up.
Have a great day.
Very nicely done, Marti! Thanks for the fun ride. Loved the "Life Altering Words" and "Promise from a shy person". Great theme placement.
Steve, like Kazie, always like your write-ups, and humorous takes.
Great clues today. Quite a few answers we see a lot clued in new ways. Perhaps my favorite was having Cookie Monster in the clue instead of something like Nice name.
I'm always excited to see a Marti puzzle, and this one was a lot of fun even though it was also a toughie. Thank goodness, I knew JANE AUSTEN and TYROL, which helped, since I never heard of LAMBEAU FIELD. I also didn't get the theme till Steve explained it--many thanks. But there were still lots of delightful moments in the solving, so this was a great way to start the day.
Have a good one, everybody!
With all the sports clues wondered if Rich had screwed up naming the constructor, thinking it sure look like a CC creation. No offense meant Marti, it was a terrific challenge for a Wednesday puzzle. Several fun clues..... 18A, 70A, 21D, & 52D. Lots of chuckles.
Took a while to get this done because of brain lock in the Central West and South West sections. When POLE VAULTING appeared, things began to move quickly.
Lucy in Newburyport today taking grandson on a whale watch. I'm home with "the monster" (see avatar). Will highlight some of his MANY antics one of these days. He is and will continue to be a welcome addition to the household.
I loved this puzzle. Such clever and fun clues! And your writeup, Steve, also clever and witty. Well done, both of you!
Hi everybody. Marti, what an enjoyable puzzle. One of my favorites of the year. So many of the clues were either tricky or fun or both. So thank you for those. Was Rich responsible for any of them too?
Olio, mishmash, etc:
My favorite detective fiction writers have passed away; Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe), Robert B. Parker (Spenser). So I've switched to old westerns. I have been enjoying Louis L'Amour and right now, "Riders of the Purple Sage" by Zane Grey. They are very enjoyable bedtime reading.
Hitch hiking was being discussed a couple of days back. I used to hitch hike all over Cornell. It really helped getting girls back to the dorm. It was a long walk to the girls' dorms up a steep hill in often cold, winter weather. Then my biggest adventure was to hitch hike from Cornell to Philadelphia to see a girlfriend over a weekend. It started out easily enough but got tougher when it began to snow where I was located. The weekend was worth it though.
Barbara and I were on a late date night in Washington D. C. While driving back to Virginia at about one in the morning, it began to snow. We passed a homeless guy shivering on the side of the road. I gave him a ride. It made Barbara nervous but I felt good about helping a fellow traveler in need. Almost everybody is afraid to stop to help out another person these days. It's understandable but it's also a shame.
Hello, friends!
What a pot of GOLD you gave us, Marti! Thank you! WEES about the clever clues for ARE, IOU, MOO, etc. No love for football clues, however, yet the perps filled them. The B in LAMBEAU took a long while to emerge as I've not heard of it. I have heard OF BRETT, though.
Unlike TTP, JANE AUSTEN flew off my pencil, she being one of the authors I PREFER. I love her style and have read Persuasion several times.
I also wondered about IDEA and NO IDEA.
Steve, loved your fare, as well.
Back to packing for my next trip.
Have yourselves a lovely day!
BillG:
Have you noticed that Foyle's War is returning to PBS? It starts on Aug. 23rd and something called Foyle's War revisited on the previous week.
I know you like it and so do I.
Bill, I have read many of L'Amour westerns and several of Zane Grey's. Very enjoyable, but not bedtime reading for me. When I get into a good book, I press on and on until, it is near dawn, especially now that I am retired. By the time I lay the book down it is almost time to rise and so I download the LAT puzzle. I always tell myself I will read just until I find the resolution to the present predicament only to become embroiled in a new issue to be resolved.
For a change of pace, have you read L'Amour's The Walking Drum? It is set in the middle ages, about an adventurer who travels over much of the known world meeting love and danger everywhere. I loved the new-to-me historical and cultural insights from the Middle Ages.
Very appropriate puzzle from our HeartRx. I went across, then down, then the puzzle filled itself in from the bottom up like Martis' avatar. My only sticking point was in the NW, not knowing Lambeau, Desoto, having til for tis & otro for otra, made 4D "you missed it" almost true. I kept working on Aria(something) until almost every possible combination was used up.
In the end I looked up Desoto, & it all came together. But it drove me nuts for a while....
I am still looking for a heart of gold...
Anon@7:17 Hmm, is is Nom, or Nam? Lets ask an expert...
18A stock quote? Is destined to go down in history...
(Never saw Utne either...)
Steve, Awesome! Are you (Art thou) a Poet, or a good editor?
69A sunned, next time you expose yourself to the sun, be aware that you might be exposing yourself to the Internet! (note, don't bother switching to satellite view & zooming in, you will go blind...)
I usually read at bedtime. Currently it's a Herman Wouk historical novel about the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The problem is that I drowse off while reading, but my mind keeps inventing the storyline. By the next night it's hard to figure out where Herman left off and D-O began. It's much easier to figure out with the Kindle than with a dead-tree version that falls closed.
Yeah. Loved "Modern art?"! Also "Promise from a shy person?"! The latter stalled my finish because I wanted NOD once I had the middle O. It took me a couple of re-thinkings to get past the misdirection to the intended sense. Good work, MD-C!
This was a little tough for a Wednesday.
Sports clues Ugh! But I ENGAGED my brain and forged on.
Once I got the theme, and saw the word "GOLD" I recalled other element related puzzles and saw the "AU" in the middle of the long fills. Ta da!
My favorite was Stock quote/MOO..Very cute.
The DESOTO answer reminded me of a car my father had. A black bottom, yellow topped number. That auto was a tank and very roomy inside. They sure don't make'em like that anymore.
My unknowns were ARIOSO. LAMBEAUFIELD, TYROL, ARP, UTNE, NOM, GENESET...but perps to the rescue.
In the end, took a little longer than usual for midweek, but got 'er done.
Did anyone else notice that putting "CHEZ" on a restaurant's awning seems to be an indication that the food will be overpriced? Just an observation.
And that is my Hump Day contribution. Good job Marti and Steve.
Desper-otto Yes he was.
Swamprat I think there is something in the water. The big muddy runs not far from there !
Todays apercu.
Star Ledgers Thought for Today:
"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." - Gen. George S. Patton (1885-1945)
Steve: Thanks for the write up.
Marti: That was the best darn weekday puzzle ever! I really enjoyed your clever cluing. You put some nice spin on some tired old answers. The theme was the last to be revealed, which created a nice aha! moment.
Thanks for making my Wednesday!
Marti’s puzzle took the GOLD for me. Theme and cluing were fabulous as well summarized by Steve!
Musings
-Anti-sports fan friend of mine adopted a dog named LAMBEAU who was named for…
-World record pole vault (2:38) of over 20’ 2”. Wow!
-Slightly different uniform for female vaulters. Odd to see RUSSIA and not CCCP for some of us.
-Several MIG pilots have defected. Not so many F-16 pilots.
-SER’s can serve as stimulants or sleeping pills. Our priests opt for the latter.
-BRETT was tougher than a $2 steak
-It seems when we REARM the Iraqis, ISIS winds up with the weaponry
-You could entertain your BONNY lass on the BONNIE, BONNIE banks of Lock Lomond
-Some of the GEAR for climbing Everest
-Deadlines used to LOOM on my procrastinating horizon
-Is this non-tabloid TRASHY?
-Not a great phrase to here, “In LIEU of cash…”
-Whose boyfriend was “about a thousand kisses SHY?”
I'm feeling smug having learned that so many had trouble with LAMBEAU FIELD, compared with me, seeing as how I'm always the one complaining about all the sports clues/answers! It just depends on one's local experience often. I do however wish that WI taxpayers weren't being hit up for $250 million to rebuild the sports arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. Many others besides me will never see any return on that money.
HG, thanks for the earworm...now I'll be singing "XXXX XXXX, I'm home again XXXX, about a thousand kisses shy" all evening!!
Hello Puzzle Pals,
What a wonderful witty puzzle & writeup from our STARs Marti & Steve!
I thought "Yuck, my grid looks like a Sat - so many names, so much I don't know, the ? clues..." But, I kept inking at it and w/ POLE VAULTING and the AU from 7 & 8d I suss'd the theme. Boy, did that help!
W/os - CAFE b/f CHEZ, OLeO b/f DIE fixed that, and OTRe almost TOO LATE.
Fav 18a c/a. I even have HA! in the margin. The other ?s were fun too.
CED - 'ya beat me to the Om, NOM, NOM link...
See y'all after work.
Cheers, -T
Good afternoon, everyone.
I haven't posted much lately because I've been a little under the weather, though I have been solving and lurking. Something must be blooming around here because my hay fever has kicked into overdrive. Despite feeling like I've drug through a knot hole, I had to come onboard and let Marti and Steve know what a great puzzle and reveal today's was. Outstanding job, both of you. Thank you.
CED, your links always brighten my day. Thanks.
OKL, especially poignant poetry today. Thank you.
Cya.
Hello Puzzlers -
Just loved this nicely crafted gem from my clever state-mate Marti. Among the clever clues my favorite has to be "modern art?". And you gotta love the exact centering of Au in all the theme answers. Nicely done, Hearti!
Howdy Steve, enjoyed the write-up.
CED, it sounds to me that Cookie Monster is saying NUM, not NOM or NAM. But that wasn't an option! LOL
HG - what Marti said. I couldn't resist watching a video of that beautiful part of a fine old musical. Now it's cemented in my brain.
I hear the Cookie Monster saying NYUM.
Any book or movie that I fall asleep over twice is not worth my while so into the deep six it goes.
Bluehen, feel better. Nice to hear from you.
Very punny puzzle, Marti. Great write-up, Steve.
GENE SET was a learning moment, but easily perped and wagged. My never having heard of something does not make it arcane, obscure, regional, or unfair, especially from Wed. puzzles onward. We all have items that we can learn about.
Perfect weather here today, quite warm, but low humidity and comfortable with blue skies, white clouds and no rain, which we had overnight to green the trees and grass. Summer is more than half over, but autumn and spring are my favorite seasons.
Bill G. @ 11:42, I had to do a little research to see if any of the clues were changed. As it turns out, most of them were the originals that I submitted to Rich:
I DO "Life altering words"
MOO "Stock quote"
IOU I had "Letters from a shy person" instead of "Promise from a shy person"
ARE "Modern art?" But, this is not an original clue - it has been used before.. :-(
MIME "Silent ape"
MASON "Layer of stones"
OH! And I was totally surprised to see IDEA and NO IDEA in the final version. I can't believe that passed the beta testers...and me! I always check to see if there are any dupes in the puzzle. But I think it is a result of a re-work on my part, which didn't go to the testers again. Oops! (I promise, I will "try" not to let that happen again!)
Wheee, a Wednesday speed run! Thanks, Marti! A fun puzzle followed by the equally entertaining expo! Thanks, Steve!
WEES about the puzzle. My only questionable answer was GENESET. It made no sense, but the perps were strong, so left it. Thanks for the explanations.
I just made a pot of soup for tomorrow night. In the morning I get to experience my first--and hopefully last--root canal. I'm not looking forward to having my mouth open for however long it takes.
Enjoy your evening!
Pat
Hello Everyone,
It took me all day to get back to the puzzle after starting early this morning. I loved the misdirects today. WEES for Art and Moo. I also thought Bean Sprout/Idea was a great clue.
A Marti/Steve pairing is always a fun time--even though it took me forever to finish it. Thanks guys.
We traveled to a nearby city to order a Tuff Shed. They are made to our specs, and so it took most of the day to travel, see the demo sheds on the warehouse floor, and then choose the things we wanted in our "little house".
Now we have to make sure the trash man comes to haul away the debris we've been accumulating which is all on the spot where the shed will be constructed.
We've also been putting together our disaster kit(s). It is amazing what we decided we needed in said kit. We could probably camp out for a week or more with what we've put together--including 30 gallons of water!!
Have a great evening, everyone.
What a great puzzle. Thanks Marti and Steve.
I'm late to the party so WEES. I did question the use of IDEA and NO IDEA.
Son used to pole vault. I did not go to watch him hurl himself into the air. Too nerve-wracking.
Daughter and son-in-law are currently in Paris. I hope they are enjoying CAFE AU LAIT on their hotel terrace.
Marti,
I think some of those clues should be nominated for clever clues of the month,
especially shy and moo. Brilliant!
Lucina, my sediments :>) exactly.
Chickie, sounds like a great plan.
Surprised no one, especially Anon-T and Desper-otto did not get respond to my "What does an electrician intone ?
Pirates taking care of the Cubbies. Recent pickup Soria from Detroit looks good.
Greetings!
Many thanks to our very clever Marti and Steve! Very enjoyable puzzle and expo.
Scratched head at IDEA and NO IDEA. Other than that, no problems!
Had another dentist appt. this afternoon. Unfortunately, Delta Dental has run out for the year (and three more appointments to go this year).
Owen: I copied your poem about Masonry and printed it out for Harv (who is leaving for Buffalo conclave at the crack of dawn tomorrow). Sure will miss him!
Cheers!
TTP - Ohm... Ohm.... Ohm.....
The cowboy electrician favorite, "Ohm on the Range".
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Marti, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
I actually grabbed the paper before my wife did this morning. Did the puzzle. Did not get a chance to report in until now.
Puzzle was a little tricky with some definite misdirection on several. Nice job, Marti. IOU, I DO, CTR, ARE, MIME, IDEA, and MASON
At first I thought the theme was EAU, until I got to POLE VAULTING. Then I took a closer look and actually solved 17D HEART OF GOLD. Then I knew it was AU. OK, onward.
It is late and I am packing for Buffalo, NY. Stopping in Erie for the night tomorrow, then on to Buffalo Friday. Hope to see Harvey there (fermatprime's friend).
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Revisiting the puzzle now that my computer is busy finishing my work...
++ Lucina's idea. We should NOMinate c/a pairs throughout the month for best / wittiest, etc. Marti, it's only 8/5, but I think you're going to take it... Too bad you used up all the BONNY ones at once :-)
BTW Marti, did you just whip this puzzle up overnight after CED posted HHGTTG clip? ;-)
Thanks all for pointing it out; I had NO IDEA IDEA was there twice. (really, I didn't see it).
Who else started humming I've been through the desert on a horse with no... @25a? Just me?
What about Song of the Cebú* @18a? Just me? Again?
Steve - Python's Lumberjack Song came to mind immediately @46d (thanks for the link). Unfortunately, I was on a conf call (non-productive conf / sales calls are perfect xword time) and started singing it b/f I realized I wasn't muted. 'TIS funny.
Cheers, -T
*I think many of you will find it cute: Veggie Tales, "A boo-moo-moo..."
Marti, thanks for the feedback on the clues. Very well done. Idea and no idea didn't bother me. I guess that's because I'm not a constructor or purist.
I'd rather watch The Music Man again for the fifth time than most of the newer shows for the first time.
Lucina, that's great news about Foyle's War. I love the show; partly because of the plots but mostly because of the excellent characters and acting.
Their three kids, all successful, agreed to a Sunday dinner in their honor.
"Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad," gushed Son No. 1.
'Sorry I'm running late. I had an emergency at the hospital with a patient, you know how it is, and I didn't have time to get you a gift."
"Not to worry," said the father.
"Important thing is we're all together today."
Son No. 2 arrived. "You and Mom look great, Dad.
I just flew in from LA between depositions and didn't have time to shop for you."
"It's nothing," said the father.
"We're glad you were able to come."
(Conntinued)
Just then the daughter arrived.
"Hello and happy anniversary! Sorry, but my boss is sending me out of town and I was really busy packing so I didn't have time to get you anything."
After they had finished dessert, the father said,
(Continued from above)
"There's something your mother and I have wanted to tell you for a long time.
"You see, we were really poor, but we managed to send each of you to college.
Through the years your mother and I knew we loved each other very much, but we just never found the time to get married."
The three children gasped and said,
"WHAT? You mean we're bastards?"
"Yep", said the father,
"Cheap ones, too..."
Bill G -- Ohmmm :-) Funny.
I just got off the horn w/ MIL. Marti, she loved the puzzle too. She has a way about those BONNY clues; it goes something like this...
"What? IOU? You dirty dogs..." (shaking her fist)
Then she laughs.
Thanks again Marti.
Cheers, -T
Just spent hours listening to Buffalo Bills, plus other vocal harmony groups...that stuff is catnip for me.
Lida Rose makes me tear up. No idea why. But let's face it, the Bills own it. It's all theirs. Anyone else who performs it does so as an offering to the Great Ones. What a blend they had!
You started it, HG.
:-)
BillG:
Too funny!!
Exactamundo Anon-T. Good one Argyle.
Maybe that's an oldie. I saw it in another puzzle recently.
Re: pole vault. I tried track and field my junior year in high school (mainly because I really didn't like the baseball coach) and did the pole vault. It is amazing the amount of running speed, eye-hand coordination to properly set the pole, and the upper body strength that it takes to pull off a vault successfully.
To vault 20+ feet flabbergasts me. I was lucky to successfully vault 12'. My senior year I went back to baseball. Enough said. Incredible video. I'm stilling trying to get my head wrapped around it.
Post a Comment