No reveal today. Just four entries that could be sites for hoods.
17-A. Hood sites : KING COBRAS. [shudder]
26-A. Hood site : SHERWOOD FOREST. Robin, I presume?
46-A. Hood sites : GANGSTER MOVIES. Are they hoods?
61. Hood site : SWEATSHIRT. New England's favorite hood.
Across
1. iTunes Store category : SOUL.
5. Reach for the stars : GO BIG.
10. Ones dealing with deductions, briefly : CPAs.
14. Fit : ABLE.
15. Surpass : TRUMP.
16. Jessica of "Machete Kills" : ALBA. Oof. Not my cup of tea.
19. George H.W. Bush, once : VEEP.
20. Type of infection : STAPH. I always hesitate between STAPH and strep.
21. One eavesdropping, perhaps : SPY.
22. Royal decrees : FIATS.
23. "Cool!" : RAD.
25. Lesage hero Gil __ : BLAS. L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane. A picaresque French novel published in the early 1700s.
33. Bourbon bigwigs : ROIS. More French.
34. "Trust me!" : I SWEAR!
35. Shad delicacy : ROE.
36. Fidgety : ANTSY.
38. Raggedy character : ANN.
39. Theatrical device : ASIDE.
41. "Friday" actress Long : NIA.
42. Enter carefully : EDGE IN. And a partial clecho at 56-A. Enters, in a way : TYPES (in).
45. Pet-adoption ads, briefly : PSAs. Public Service Announcements.
49. Mafia bosses : DONS.
50. Busy mo. for FedEx : DEC.
51. On hold, with "in" : LIMBO.
53. Fuel efficiency stat : MPG.
60. One of a classically opposed pair : EVIL.
63. Peony holder : VASE.
64. North Dakota home of the Roger Maris Museum : FARGO.
65. '60s sitcom boy : OPIE.
66. Technical sch. : INST.itute.
67. "Dude!" : OH, MAN!
68. Overflow : TEEM.
Down
1. Lord and Taylor competitor : SAKS.
2. Departure notice? : OBIT. Nice misdirection.
3. Bone involved in Tommy John surgery : ULNA. Named after the major league pitcher who first had the surgery. It involves replacing an injured elbow ligament with one from a different part of the body.
4. Weight training exercise : LEG PRESS.
5. Pontiac muscle car : GTO.
6. Spheres : ORBS.
7. Dining faux pas : BURP.
8. Reply offering hope : I MAY...or I may not.
9. Rental car feature, briefly : GPS. Our rental car in Austria will certainly have GPS.
10. Fancy spread : CAVIAR.
11. Standing order? : PLEASE RISE. Courtroom.
12. Harbor after a heist, say : ABET.
13. Gullible sorts : SAPS.
18. Scorch : CHAR.
22. Native plants : FLORA.
24. Post-Breathalyzer-test charge: Abbr. : DWI. I fill in the d and i, then wait for perps to tell me if it will be "u" or "w" in the middle. Once convicted, the driver might go through 43-Down. Drying-out hurdle : DTs.
25. Dancer's deg. : BFA. Bachelor of Fine Arts.
26. Colleague of Elena and Ruth : SONIA. Supreme Court.
27. Not reliable : HIT AND MISS. I always say "Hit or miss." You?
28. "August: ___ County": 2008 Pulitzer-winning play : OSAGE.
29. Pro sports VIP : OWNER.
30. GUESS material : DENIM.
31. Party supplies : SODAS.
32. Pro shop pickups : TEES.
33. Buzzed : RANG.
37. Kind of question : YES / NO.
40. Like Kung Pao chicken : SPICY HOT.
44. Subtle acknowledgment : NOD .
47. Wine holder : GOBLET.
51. Son of Leah : LEVI.
52. "Terrible" ruler : IVAN.
53. [Air kiss] : MWAH. Nice.
54. Wave maker : PERM.
55. Lady __ : GAGA.
57. Water conduit : PIPE.
58. Home port for the USS Niagara : ERIE.
59. Peony part : STEM.
61. W. Coast airport : SFO. San Francisco.
62. Huge number : TON. I had a ton of fun, but now I'm done. Until next week!
Marti
46 comments:
A KING COBRA'S a snake with a HOOD on its head
And fangs full of venom to kill victims dead!
But when charmed by a flute
He'll forget he's a brute
And dance as a basket case instead!
There once was a HOOD in SHERWOOD FOREST
His exploits were grist for minstrel and lorist!
By using his stealth
For redistributing wealth
He proved his acumen as an empirical economist!
GANGSTER MOVIES change with the time.
Western gangs robbed on the railroad line.
Mobsters robbed banks,
But HOODS now cause angst,
Dealing drugs to hook kids is their crime!
Little Red Riding-HOOD wore a red SWEATSHIRT,
Encountered a wolf, and tarried to flirt.
But then on to Nana's
Where things went bananas,
She pulled out her axe and went psycho berserk!
Morning, all (and a Very Happy 60th Birthday to longtime lurker, Alan Feldstein)!
Definitely a fun, fair puzzle today, but also definitely a challenge for me. Or perhaps I should just say a very slow puzzle. Nothing was really that hard to get, but it just took me longer than usual to get most of it for some reason. Maybe it was the cluing? I dunno. And, yes -- I've always said HIT OR MISS (although that particular answer didn't slow me down since I already had most of it filled in by the perps before I even got to it).
I really loved the theme, btw. None of the theme answers sprang immediately to mind, but I got a nice *AHA* moment with each one once I got it.
A Thursday delight with a very smooth C. C. creation coupled with concise comments from divine miss m.
I learned of Gil Blas doing the LAT, learned MWAH after asking my children what it meant after I received it in a text. I have used and heard of things being HIT AND MISS and liked the clue for PLEASE RISE. I did not know there was a museum for Roger Maris in FARGO but putting NDak in the clue made it easy.
Bon jeudi.
Got stuck in north central with "GOFAR" and "KINGCOBRAS" that left a perp for "Dining faux pas" as F_R_. I didn't think C.C. Would consider "FART" an appropriate answer, and never had the light go on for "GOBIG" so....DNF. Dang! And I got the rest too! Fun puzzle, C.C., thanks. Not your fault I'm a bit dopey. Great write-up, too, Marti, thanx!
42a was filled by perps. When I read Ed Gein (notorious serial killer) I thought "yes, I would enter carefully around him". Took a moment to see the answer.
Good morning!
My problems today were in the south. It started with HOT AND COLD (yes, Marti, I say "hit or miss"}, but I didn't think French bigwigs could be ROOS. I confidently inked in BOSE as the Wave maker. These caused stumbles, but not enough to completely trip me up.
I guess GUESS must be a group that wears DENIM, but why is it in all caps?
In these parts the bailiffs aren't quite so polite. Here its, "All Rise."
I've always heard those "cones" called Elizabethan collars. We've got one or five around the house.
Anon@6:36 -- Do you remember all of those stupid Ed Gein jokes? Ex: Did you hear what they found under Ed Gein's pillow? Ans: A bed.
Uncle- I don't think FART would have made it past Rich. But I really liked TRUMP being under what he is trying to do: GO BIG. He'll flash and burn ( hopefully).
I found this easier than most Thursdays with Gil BLAS being the only unknown filled by perps. FARGO was WAG- not too many towns of any size in ND. I knew the MWAH sound but never had seen how it was spelled.
34A Clue "Trust Me', whenever anybody says that they usually mean "screw you", but it wouldn't fit so I filled I SWEAR.
Keep up the good work C.C.
Good morning all. Great puzzle and great writeup. Thank you CC and thank you Marti.
Yes Barry, a slower solve for me as well. Tougher cluing today. Marti, yes, "hit OR miss" for me as well.
GO BIG (10) or go home.
Docs using cones evokes funny images. Good one Marti.
"Standing order" to PLEASE RISE" was really good.
I use a KING COBRA 3-wood. As an ASIDE, I found a Bridgestone golf ball with the Cleveland Browns helmet on it. I like spanking it with my driver and 3-wood.
Anyone else notice the mini theme ? "Bourbon ...", "Wine holder", GOBLET, "Buzzed", DWI, DTs.
Here's your PSA: Buzzed driving is drunk driving. You will get picked up, and you will go to jail.
D-O, GUESS is (among other lines) an upscale jeans brand, and they've always used caps.
MWAH to you all !
Good day everyone,
Finally a success, but almost another FIW. I felt OHMAN for 67A was wrong and what the heck is 53D MWAH? I was thinking 67A should be My Man. But I was 99% sure SFO was good, so I wagged the H and lo and behold, it was right.
The rest of the puzzle was an enjoyable challenge. The theme answers were solved with a lot of perp help. Figured that cheater from Boston would appear in the write up wearing his hoodie and Marti came thru.
Considering current events, 15A TRUMP was an appropriate fill, don't you think?
Most appropriate clue/fill today was 48D Docs using cone/VETS. Casey needed one a couple weeks ago. Took him less then 10 minutes to get free from it. Second time was between 6 and 7 minutes. There was no third opportunity, I said the heck with it. He did ok with out it and all is well.
Fun puzzle with interesting fill. Brain isn't quite awake so even though I filled in VETS if couldn't figure out the clue for awhile - Doh!! Kept trying to think of a short way to say eye doctor with cones (and rods) in the clue.
I kept thinking one of the theme clues was going to be about gangbangers like Boyz n the Hood, but the Gangsters came close.
Thanks CC and Marti!
Cones can be useful beyond VETS.
Liked the theme and most of the fill...meh about MWAH though.
Thanks CC and Marti!
Anyone else looking for the appearance of Oregon as the site of Mt. Hood?
Greetings, friends!
An impressive puzzle from our fearless leader! C.C., you always GO BIG!
It's an intriguing theme and timely since hoods are often in the news but usually as hoodie.
Interesting to see both CAVIAR and ROE today and trust C.C. to give us a fresh clue for ULNA. Also there's DENIM and LEVI but not linked in meaning.
And thank you, Marti, for a fine review.
I'll be looking for an OBIT for my friend who was in Hospice. She passed away yesterday. We have known each other since we were 14 and I shall miss her. She was a talented singer, pianist and wonderful teacher.
Have a great day, everyone!
Good morning everyone.
Good intro, Marti.
Nice puzzle, C.C. BZ. Liked the theme.
Robin Hood - Came out in 1938. As old as me. I still seem to see it once or twice a year.
TON - There were a TON of comma comments yesterday. Don't know if anything got decided.
MWAH - Get lots of air kisses. The sloppy wet ones, not so much.
ERIE; USS Niagara's home port - That would not happen today. The Rush-Bagot Treaty precludes either the US or Canada from stationing an armed warship on the International Great Lakes without the others permission.
What a fun puzzle by our Reine not ROI. The lower middle came last as MWAH made sense, the “Lady” was GAGA and ambiguity fell from PERM and TON
Musings
-GO BIG…
-Yeah, Machette Kills ain’t makin’ my NETFLIX queue
-I SWEAR, if you do, I won’t post it on Facebook. Trust Me!
-10 movie moments that broke the fourth wall (ASIDES)
-This vehicle got about .007 MPG
-A guy said he had a letter from Mickey Mantle to Roger Maris on Pawn Stars. The expert said it was a fraud by way of gracious content and the slightly off signature
-Many pitchers are getting Tommy John surgery now because of throwing too many curveballs too young
-Would you harbor (ABET) your child if they committed a crime?
-HIT AND MISS, C.C., oh so you’ve seen my golf game?
-Pro OWNER in the news
-Would Tin’s party have any SODAS or, gasp, water? ;-)
-Wal Mart TEES are much cheaper!
-Like Lucina, I liked LEVI and DENIM in the same puzzle but not connected,
-In what 1986 movie did the lead character TRUMP some thieves by GOING BIG and pulling out a bigger knife?
To my wonderful crossword family on the blog:
My husband and I would like to thank everyone for their kind expressions of condolence on the loss on my kitty, Yentl.
It's been a rough two days. A simple task, such as desposing of her food dish, became an emotional ordeal. My other cats, Casey and Shayna(my avatar picture) are acting out. One is sniffing all over and meowing, the other stays in my shower, and rarely comes out. Unfortunately, they saw their "sister" in her injured state when my husband carried her in. I don't know how to help them cope.
The video link C.I.D offered of the rescued kittens was heartwarming.
I haven't done the puzzle yet, so I'll be back later.
Again, we appreciate you all.
Gary, I think that movie was Oxford Comma Dundee.
Fun outing today. Definitely a slow go, but managed it all. Needed a lot of perp help on the theme answers. But it was always there. Thank you C.C. And thank you Marti.
"puzzling thoughts":
WUFS (what unclefred said), I, too had GO FAR before GO BIG and FART before BURP. Agreed that it would've been a BIG surprise to see FART as an answer, especially from C.C.
Had a few W-O's; for 60a I guessed EVEN (as in ODD/EVEN) before my EVIL side kicked in (as if it has to appear; it's always active!!) }8^)>
Very enjoyable CC offering as well as Marti write-up. I was cruising in the northern half of the puzzle (even after I "farted" in 5a/7d); slowed a little in the middle, but all in all it was more HIT than MISS. Lots of great clues today; CC uses deception cleverly - still gives you a logical solve rather than something obscure; kudos!
TTP - funny comment about the Cleve Browns golf ball
Lemon - if you read this please send me an email as I need to chat with you - thanks!
A bit crunchy in spots, WAG'd my way thru the crossings of Sonia/Nia, Mwah/Ohman, & Blas/BFA.
It was the NW that gave me the most trouble, overthought it again...
I had the other 3 theme answers, but 17A Hood sites was only -----OBRAS. I could not get the picture of Camaro Bras out of my head... (Well, it is a hood site...)
Saks, obit, ulna, & changing sear to char finally made it all make sense.
D N F !!!
My 31-d, Party supplies, was SCOTCH'S ...
I know you think it wouldn't fit ... but I have to stick with MY SCRUPLES!!! ...
Soooo ... since I solve by pen, on newsprint ... I wrote smaller and forced it in.
Well it didn't rain here yesterday.
That's sunny & dry weather for "One-Day-In-A-Row!"
Cheers!!!
GO BIG or go home today. Excellent puzzle. Thanks C.C. and Marti.
I smiled at clues for OBIT, PERM, and VETS.
I say HIT AND MISS.
Condolences to coneryo on the loss of your kitty.
We will have a warm night for our last concert in the park!
P.S. Loved your poem OWenKl!
Lemony, what do you know of concise comments?
Husker,
That sure describes a scene from Crocodile Dundee I
This picture of a CONE on a dog with his kitty companion was making the rounds on the internet this past week. Talk about adding insult to injury!! The poor pooch just looks defeated. " Aww, what the hell, just keep quiet and don't fart"
OwenKL:
That's a really good poem!
Yay! A clever and challenging Thursday C.C. puzzle, and I got the whole thing! Thank you, C.C. And thank you, Marti, for including a pic of a CONE. I was totally stumped by that answer until your visual expo. Now if I only could understand MWAH? Did I miss an explanation somewhere?
Lucina, my condolences on the loss of your friend.
And Coneyro, I understand so well what your kitties are going through. Our dog Dusty has never been the same since a coyote got his sister/litter mate Misty last March.
Have a good day, everybody!
Shot myself in the foot by assuming HOOD referred to "Little Red Riding" and I was left staring down THE ?UOOD FOREST trying to make some sense out of it.
QUOOD? RUOOD?
Dammit.
No problem at all with MWAH, I didn't even pause for thought filling it in.
Nice one, C.C! Love the "Cone of Shame" from "Up", Marti :)
D-O, Apologies for (unwittingly) disinterring the OC debate yesterday, but I note that it still invoked nearly as many posts as the great DV controversy.
NC
Back for my puzzle comments.
My first thought was C.C.=Sports, so I'm doomed. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
I really liked today's offering. The theme was great, and easily figured out. A little easy for a Thursday, which is fine by me.
Hondohurricane...MWAH is the sound made when you kiss the inside of your hand and wave it away for an air kiss. Older bloggers will remember Dinah Shore doing this on her television show when signing off.
TRUMP...GO BIG or go home...Sorry. couldn't resist. No politics, just so aptly situated in the grid. He of the "BIG" mouth.
I liked that DONS was positioned under GANGSTER.
Never had a good experience with those cones on my animals, either dogs or cats. They would bunk into things, and lose their bearings. I was afraid of injury, so I eventually took it off. Luckily, no chewing of stitches resulted.
Wave maker...PERM...Cute.
Under the Dome fans...Cancelled...The TV version was so different than the book. It started getting stupid wiith the pod people angle. Haven't seen finale yet. Hope it ties it up neatly, and makes sense. I'd hate to be left hanging.
I also say HIT OR MISS.
In some countries, a BURP is NOT a faux pas, but an indication of your approval of the menu. It is considered a compliment.
Parts of the country are unseasonably warm. Over 90 degrees for days in NY. The East coast is sweltering. Washington D.C. is a real hotbed, in more ways than one . Over 10 degrees over normal for September. Summer is being stubborn and won't leave quietly. Won't need SWEATSHIRTS for awhile. At least it's cooler than Bagdad at 112+.
Tennis fans are enjoying the U.S. Open. Serena is going for a Grand Slam. Nadal is trying hard to stay in the game. I'm praying for his success. He needs a significant win. Love him, no matter what!
And that's my two(or three) cents for today. See ya..
CC - thanks for defining STAPH as "Type of Infection", which it is, rather than "Dangerous bacteria", given that most of them are not, as per comments made a few weeks ago.
No slap-on-the-wrists yet for "political" comments on the DONALD, so I will let you know that I did like the COMBO:
G_O_B_I_G
T_R_U_M_P
____R
____P
Greetings!
Thanks to CC and Marti!
Chewy puzzle, but got 'er done sans cheats. Liked theme.
Hit or Miss here too.
Coneyro: sorry about your kitty.
Lucina: condolences on the loss of your friend.
Under the Dome was pretty stupid this stint.
Cheers!
Here's Dinah Shore's MWAH, as mentioned by coneyro.
Wikipedia tells us that the air kiss "may be accompanied by the mwah sound".
Really, really liked this offering today, C.C. The theme was clever and the fill was perfect! Not a walk in the park, but not too demanding, either! Thanks so much!
Very nice write-up, Marti! Thanks for all your hard work.
Awesome puzzle! This one sparkled big time, with smile-producing cluing and, as Chairman Moe said, "CC uses deception cleverly." Favorites were "Standing order?" and the Tommy John clue for our old friend ULNA. CC, you rock!
Best wishes to you all.
Pretty much WEES. Fun puzzle with great, creative cluing and a lively expo from Marti. Thank you both. Well done.
Loved the limericks, Owen.
Gotta go. I'm cooking for tomorrow night's opening game tailgate. Smoked chicken wings, a rye boat, pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, baked beans, bacon/ranch potato salad, pasta salad. The old smoker has been SMOKIN'.
First puzzle in some time with no xouts or write overs. Clever clueing as well.
Hi Everyone:
Very late to the dance but had lots of enjoyable comments to read. CC continues to challenge and entertain us with another fun, clever, and just spicy-enough offering. Any bumps in the road were smoothed out with the perps. Nicely done, CC, and kudos to Miss M for a great expo.
On a more serious subject, is anyone else as fed up as I am with the cowardly Anons who post only personal attacks, insults, and pedantic nit-picking? My unsolicited but strongly felt advice is: If you are not happy with our Corner Family, then go find another one more to your liking or, for that matter, disliking.
Have a great day.
Quite a bit of nit-picking and pedantry occur frequently in this blog. Some of the nit-picking even takes the form of "Why are you nit-picking? Why the angst?"
Pseudonymous @ 2:37 - Just to clarify, I was not referring to comments about the OC, spelling, punctuation, usage, etc. as pedantic nitpicking; I consider these back and forth exchanges as learning moments and insights into the diversity of the Corner posters. Perfect example posed by Marti today: hit and miss or hit or miss? Ice Tea or Iced Tea? My reference was directed at the Anons who post ONLY to correct or criticize another poster's comment and, usually, in a not-so-nice way.
IM, I totally agree. Too many posters hide behind the "Anon" label to take potshots at regular posters or promote their personal agendas. If you're posting what you believe, you should be willing to put your name on it. It's easy to snipe from the sidelines.
Moe, I also first thought of EVEN for 60across until the hidden evil showed itself.
As to what GUESS stands for, I thought it might be an acronym and searched for it with no luck. Their merchandise is way over my pay scale though so I "guess" it could stand for Grossly Upscale Emporium for Super-rich Shoppers!
Hello Puzzle Pals!
Finished earlier but posting late. I had a CyberSec round-table summit/dinner until 9:30 and just finished reading all the comments. And IM @2p thought she was late :-)
I SWEAR the table next to us was SPYing - they had many of the same "results" from their round-table as we did. I checked the centerpiece thinking I MAY find a bug - EVIL them.
Thanks Marti for confirming I got it all correct. Thanks CC for a wonderful puzzle - WEES: re accolades for c/a pairs.
Many of my Alfa catalogues cary parts for FIATS too.
NE was the last to fall. 1d - SAKS or rosS, 2d (?), etc. Once I figured out KING it all fell.
W/o (and this is embarrassing) w/ the F---O in place, I inked FresO thinking of Fresno. The V-8 whack hurt.
ESPs - 25 & 41a.
Favs - 2d. I had O-IT and started the (short) alpha-run. OBIT. HA! 67a as c/a was also fun but because a colleague yesterday gave us the many uses of Dude. I shared the c/a w/ him and we both TEEMed w/ laughter.
Hand up - HIT or MISS. Lucina - great observations on c/a's (LEVI, DENIM, etc).
HG - This is a knife (you only have to go to :48).
Cheers, -T
Mr. G. Googler:
1. Agree - Unfortunately (for us), Argyle has a life outside the blog. Some snipes may last for a few hours.
2. Vitriolic sounding is a judgement call; e.g. someone yesterday calling out YR on Star Wars wasn't necessary esp. w/ the slap-down on her past posts (YR seems well traveled, educated, and puts up w/ enough s*** in her personal life to have to read that tripe).
3. If you're going to say it, own it as the avitar (unless it's a personal confession that flies in the face of "acceptance," jepordize your job, family, et.al. E.g. "wait, I like xyz for these reasons," "I learned xyz which is not public knowledge", or,* if you're PK (where did she drop off to? (is she OK CC?))).
4. There's another $0.005 for 'ya.
Cheers, -T
*OC strikes again!
Anon-T @12:58am,
Very well said!
PK is very protective of her email address and identity. I have no way of knowing if she's OK.
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