Theme: So Bright I have To Wear Shades
20A. Carbonated beverage : SPARKLING WATER
25A. Bright, photogenic grin : DAZZLING SMILE
41A. Excellent year-end review, say : GLOWING REPORT
47A. Epitome : SHINING EXAMPLE
Argyle here. A very pleasant start to the week.
Across:
1. Singapore's continent : ASIA
5. Arches National Park state : UTAH
9. Spread out, as one's fingers : SPLAY
14. Amorphous mass : BLOB
15. By way of, briefly : THRU
16. Leave no doubt about : PROVE
17. Name as a source : CITE
18. Club often used for chipping : IRON
19. Procedures to learn, informally, with "the" : ROPES
23. Track section : RAIL
24. Assent to a captain : AYE
31. Boat not to rock : CANOE
32. Miler Sebastian : COE. It's Lord Coe now, British politician.
33. Grazing area : LEA
34. Charged toward : RAN TO
35. Fairy tale home builder : PIG. One of three.
36. Note equivalent to E : F FLAT
38. Catering dispenser : URN
39. Galoot : APE
40. Online finance company : E-LOAN
45. Tiny farm denizen : ANT
46. Ripped up : TORE
54. Italian violin maker : AMATI. Not just violins.
55. Cross inscription : INRI. Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews)
56. Bar from a dairy case : OLEO
57. Slow-witted one : MORON
58. Walking stick : CANE
59. Actor Penn of "Mystic River" : SEAN. In 2015, Penn starred in The Gunman, a French-American action thriller.
60. Getting on in years : AGING
61. Fleecy farm females : EWEs Now that's some alliteration.
62. Repertoire requirement for a military bugler : TAPS
Down:
1. Preschool lessons : ABC's
2. Lose traction : SLIP
3. Greek "i" : IOTA
4. Deviating from the norm : ABERRANT. 50¢
5. Employ : UTILIZE
6. Roller coaster excitement : THRILL
7. Elvis __ Presley : ARON
8. Suspended on the wall : HUNG
9. Wets with a hose : SPRAYS
10. President __: Senate bigwig : PRO TEM
11. More than trot : LOPE
12. State firmly : AVER
13. "You bet!" : "YES!"
21. Hummed-into instrument : KAZOO
22. "Living" compensation : WAGE
25. "Hawaii Five-O" nickname : DANNO
26. More standoffish : ICIER
27. Spiked yuletide beverage : NOG
28. __ ease: anxious : ILL AT
29. Tilt to one side : LEAN
30. Have a bite : EAT
31. Astronomer Sagan : CARL
34. Persian on the living room floor : RUG
35. NBA scoring stat : PPG. (Points Per Game)
36. Horticulturist's study : FLORA
37. First and __: most important : FOREMOST
39. Objector : ANTI
40. Model kit glues : EPOXIES
42. Serve, as diner patrons : WAIT ON
43. Baseball game ninth : INNING. But it may only be half an inning.
44. Without end, in poetry : ETERNE
47. Skyline haze : SMOG
48. Big name in spydom : HARI. Mata Hari.
49. "__ going!": "Good job!" : NICE
50. Work on a bone : GNAW
51. Intense request : PLEA
52. Jump : LEAP
53. Very long time : EONS
54. Org. with many specialists : AMA. (American Medical Association)
Argyle
36 comments:
Morning, all!
No fuss, no muss today. It is a Monday, so I can be excused for initially misreading the clue for 11D as "More often than not". That was the only bump in the road for me.
Anybody else find it odd that the clue for FOREMOST included the word "most"? It seemed especially strange because I had already filled in FORE via the perps when I read the clue and saw the rest of the answer staring me right in the face...
Hello Puzzlers -
WBS.
Back at home following a long day of travel. Still on European time, of course.
Morning, Argyle!
WBS especially the surprising icing of FOREMOST. Any puzzle with Zs and Xs will have some fun and ZAZOO and EPOXIES stood out for me.
Last week in Ocober, Halloween coming quickly along with the end of Daylight Savings Time; not a fan of fighting the traffic in the dark but we work.
Have a good week all.
Good morning!
This was a nice romp from GG and BV. Argyle, thanks for 'splainin' INRI -- I've seen it before but had no idea what it was supposed to mean. In my ute, PPG stood for Pittsburgh Plate Glass company. Like IBM, 3M, ad nauseum, those letters don't stand for much of anything today.
The rain gods spared us. From Saturday until now, we accumulated about 3 inches of rainfall -- nowhere near the 12-16 inches threatened by the over-zealous TV weathermen. It's been dry lately, so that rain was welcome. Nice that it came down in steady drizzles and not buckets.
Busy day today. Enough! I'm PO'd at Chase, so now I have to notify all my direct-pay accounts to switch to Ally Bank. I didn't realize there were so many.
BTW, Argyle, your Nog and Puzzle Grid links don't show up on the main page. They're fine if I open 'em in their own window.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Easy and Bright Monday puzzle.
I liked how SPRAY crossed with SPLAY.
Also liked the YES and AYE even though they didn't cross.
Hand up for OAF before APE.
The Senate PRO TEM is third in line for the succession of US President, coming after the Vice President and before the Secretary of State.
Mata HARI (1876 ~ 1918), whose given name was Margaretha Geertruide MacLoad, was an exotic dancer who was convicted of being a spy during World War I and was executed by firing squad.
Not sure if the rain has stopped or not. It is still very wet outside.
QOD: I’m more concerned about members of Congress being drug-free than I am about members of the Yankees or Giants. ~ Pat Sajak (b. Oct. 26, 1946)
Speed run today, an easy Monday LOPE. Thanks GG & BV. "Persian on the living room floor" could be a CAT, I suppose.
D-otto, I had to do a similar thing when I changed my "usual" card. And then again a few years later when the new card was canceled due to fraudulent charges. [Not mine! I hasten to add.] My advice is to make a list as you're notifying, so that if there's another go-round you won't overlook any accounts. Of course, then there's the problem of remembering where you put the list...
Thanks for the expo, Argyle. Not seeing d-o's problems with the images here (Firefox), if that helps.
I can see them now. Don't know if Argyle fixed it, or if my fruit-based computer decided to wake up.
Lemon, I hope it was KAZOO that stood out for you and not Zazzo.
As has been said by others, easy start to the week thanks to Gail and Bruce. FOREMOST clue did not bother me one bit.
Painters rapping up today so renovations complete. Now we have to put everything back in its place which I'm sure will cause a "discussion" or two.
I believe the line of Succession for the president in case of death or disability is the President of the Senate (I.E. the Vice President) the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro Tem of the Senate then the Secretary of State.
Middletown you are correct, I left out th Speaker of th House. The pro team is still 3rd in the line of succession, however.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
This puzzle was quite easy this morning. Theme jumped off the page.
I was going to politely correct Hahtoolah, but Middletown Bomber beat me to it.
Why have I never heard of Arches National Park? Guess I don't get out much.
Very familiar with INRI.
As a youth we ate OLEO all the time. I will not touch it now. Strictly butter. Not sure if OLEO is any good for you.
I do not think I have ever played a musical piece that had an F FLAT denoted as such. It is always an E Natural. At least in my music in bass clef.
Still working on Sunday's puzzle. Pretty tough one. Just caught the theme this morning.
See you tomorrow, or later today.
Abejo
( )
Fast fun solve.
Didn't notice MORE in the clue.
Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett.
Been seeing a lot of ETERNE lately.
Middletown Bomber - yep.
Your little area didn't get much rain D-O, but other areas of Texas got deluged again, with up to 20 inches. A train was derailed near Corsicana. They also reported that there were a lot of (50 ?) road closures in Houston. Sounds like you were spared.
Texas rain weather can be really weird. I've seen it a number of times where it was like a wall of rain. My sister's house got no rain while her next door neighbor a quarter mile away got pummeled. Like there was a straight line the rainfall couldn't cross. Many central Texans would be able to tell stories of a storm and rain being on one side of I-35 and not on the other.
Argyle: Nice write-up, as always! Especially enjoyed your NOG, my fave answer today.
Gail & Bruce: Thank You for a FUN Monday puzzle!
Nothing to GNAW about my solving experience.
Hondo: I'm with you. The clue/answer to FOREMOST didn't get my shorts in a twist either.
D-otto, the weather person's here are predicting we shall get some of that rain tomorrow & Wednesday.
A few inches, at this time of the year, would be greatly appreciated.
(Glad to hear you only got 3 inches ... and not 15 inches.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Good morning everyone.
WEES. Bright theme and easy solve. Gentle nudge into the week.
KAZOO - We used to live a mile from the Kazoo factory.
Have a great day.
Good Morning:
Well, shame on me! 😔. Surprisingly, after sailing through with nary a bump, no tada. Went back over each entry but nothing stood out so I asked for any errors and, lo and behold, I had INRE/epoxees. What a silly error but a FIW, nonetheless. Otherwise, I enjoyed this nice and easy start to the week.
Thanks, Gail and Bruce, for a sparkling offering and thank you, Argyle, for your always spot-on summary.
Have a great day.
..
This was the only interesting thing I found under Dazzling. (Chicago, emerging from the clouds...)
I found this under Glowing...
& a possible Halloween costume under Shining...
But Sparkling got a little weird...
Hmm, maybe i should give sparkling another try...
Oh, forget it...
Nice little storm we had yesterday. Spent all morning sweeping up the driveway that had thousands of acorns and hundreds of small branches. Then I started to tackle the yard but it started raining again so I decided to come in and work the puzzle.
Mondays are usually 6-10 minute speed runs and this was a SHINING EXAMPLE. But I will give Gail and Bruce a GLOWING REPORT for all their previous fine and more challenging puzzles. MY only trouble was the correct spelling of ABERRANT, which I could never have done without the crosses. I initially filled BANJO for KAZOO because I misread the clue, which I seem to do a lot. F-FLAT or the key of E major. PPG- Pittsburgh Plate Glass which has now changed its name to guess what? PPG Industries. OLEO- I remember when it had to be white in LA so people would not confuse it with butter; dairy farmers had political pull.
Barry- you're sharp because I didn't notice the MOST in the clue.
TV weather personnel- if they didn't talk about potential catastrophe, no one would pay attention. If they're right they act like heroes but if they're wrong they will just say " we are lucky that '___________' missed us".
That was easy and fun. Thanks Gayle, Bruce and Argyle.
As a kid I constructed many a model from a kit. I can't remember one that used epoxy however. Epoxy used to involve mixing two parts to get a chemical reaction. Afterward, it was very strong. Model glue, on the other hand, came out of a tube and was quick and easy. Is it different now or is the clue off a little bit?
Hondo, I'm impressed that you have rapping painters. I would prefer painters who sang more like the Manhattan Transfer myself.
Thanks, Bruce & Gail for a "glittering" effort. Not too easy, but still a walk in the park to get us going for the week.
Argyle - Thanks for the write-up. Knew that Tinbeni would love your "NOG" pic.
D-O, we, too, were "underdeluged" with only 5+ inches over 2 days. Waited for a month for E-Cycle day on Sat am, but went and then it was cancelled due to "Inclement Weather". Only drizzling at that time..... go figure?
Delightful Monday puzzle with a sweet theme--many thanks, Gail and Bruce. Lovely pic of Arches park in UTAH, Argyle.
Have a great week, everybody!
TTP, You are right, we have had ETERNE turning up for an eternity (well at least 3 times this week).
Bill G. Re modeling. That was my experience too. We had polystyrene cement for plastic models and "wood glue" for wooden models. Epoxy resins are typically used to build or reinforce "industrial scale" things like automobiles, and also in electronics.
Agree with Barry G. Tut tut, Rich. 37D part of clue in answer.
Other than that, the theme clues were all all write-ins, but there was some uber-Monday fill, including ABERRANT, and ETERNE (if we had not seen it so often lately).
It's a pity the U.S. (in 1913) decided to make the Senate an elected house rather than an appointed one - election = mandate = power - now you have to deal with a 4th arm of Government (including the judiciary). Wouldn't it be better if you could appoint nice smart people like Seb Coe, even a few SCIENTISTS and other NON-POLITICIANS, to the Senate – people with specific skills, backgrounds, and BRAINS, for ADVICE – and appointed until age 75, and therefore immune to Special Interest Groups.
Good Morning, A speed run today. I even "got" the theme after Sparkling and Dazzling. My only real problem came when I put in Glob for Blob. That was quickly changed with Preschool lessons.
Externe has appeared again today. I think I'll finally have this word down for good. I thought aberrant, foremost, utilize, and epoxees were somewhat non-Monday words, though easily filled with the perps.
This was a "shining example" of a crossword which gives me the confidence to try the next day's puzzle.
With all the talk of the rain others have been getting, we here in CA are still suffering from the drought. We MIGHT get rain tomorrow, but it isn't promised. The weatherman had mixed reviews last evening. One predicted rain, the other said that it would miss us altogether. Time will tell.
Have a great day everyone.
Nice start to the week. No problems. Thanks to GG and BV for the fun.
Big Easy, we had a local weather forecaster who was wrong more than he ever was right, but that did not keep him from getting paid. Always said that was one of the only jobs that it did not matter if you got it right or not.
About the discussion on OLEO, once, a few years ago I heard that it was one molecule away from being plastic! I am no chemist, but upon hearing that, I've never used anything but the real thing. What say our corner chemists?
Bill G, agree on the Manhattan Transfer. Classy. To me, Rap is NOT music.
HowardW, Uma was on the Today show this AM. Hope you caught it.
Tin, when I saw that classic bottle, I KNEW you would be off to the races for the week!
Thanks Argyle for the excellent review.
Argyle nice vid of the Amati cello. I put in Amati because of the cluing. Has anyone read the Violin Hunter. It is a very good read.
I have a 1824 Huff violin. I use it as a fiddle in Cajun french music.
Bill G I built models in the mid seventies and used the cement like you did. Maybe the newer model kits for RC cars and plane might use the epoxy type since they are put to use and not put on a shelf.
Wow,
I think I got solar retinopathy solving this glaring puzzle.
CED @ 9:31, Are those golden BM pills that you linked under "Sparkling" real? It might almost be worth the $425 to give them to our new cat in order to freak out my wife and five-year-old son.
NC, yes, and I'm pretty sure that I saw it in some Universal crosswords as well. Funny how some words seem to show up in spades.
I did not know that Maureen O'Hara had passed until watching the news this morning. Remembering Maureen O’Hara ~ 1:38.
It's almost Halloween. Time for a little hooter. More like a little screecher. Oakley the owlet ~ 1:09.
Argyle, In re INRI. Thanks. I knew the letters but never knew what it meant.
Boo, I too have an old violin and bow in the closet downstairs. The chin rest has come off, but I have it. It was passed to me from my father about 30 years or so ago, and it was passed to my father by his great-uncle Harry in the early 60s. Supposedly it was passed to his great uncle Harry. Have no idea how old it is.
Just went down to the closet to see if it was marked. There is a label on the inside that says "Copy of Antonius Stradivarius - Made in Germany. Maybe I should have it appraised. Wonder when Antiques Roadshow is coming to Chicago again...
Yes, Argyle, a very pleasant start to the week with 12 and 13 letter fill!
Musings
-A too DAZZLING SMILE from over whitening
-Asia’s population
-As a sub, you have to “learn the ROPES” at each school
-Some Vet groups are running out of TAPS buglers because of AGING
-One man’s ABERRANT behavior…
-Pleasant hose SPRAYING during a July 4th parade
-Having high PPG players does not guarantee success
-I usually tip 20% if someone does a good job of WAITing ON us
-DO - Thankfully, Hurricane Patricia did turn out to be less than feared
-I hope our left coast friends get this kind of weather without the flooding
TTP yes the copies were made in Germany they are called cottage violins. One family would make the body then it would to the next family and they would do the neck and scroll work etc etc. My Huff is patterned after the strad but the F holes are a little different. They are sweet sounding because of their age. That's what makes a sweet sound as the wood resonates better with age. Yours is worth about 500 to 600.
Boo, thanks. I'd forgotten all about it. Quite frankly, the only reason I remembered it was because that big closet has gotten quite musty smelling, and yesterday afternoon I saw it on the back shelf as my wife and I started cleaning the closet out. I read some articles on the internet after typing in Copy of Antonius Stradivarius - Made in Germany. Sounds like I should have it appraised. Thanks again !
CED
For once-in-my-life ... I am actually glad that I am too broke to buy your "Sparkling" links product.
SH*T they have a product for everything. LOL !!!
Very enjoyable puzzle today. Didn't get to it until mid afternoon. A pleasant way to continue the day. Didn't know PPG as a sports term; to me it will forever mean Pittsburgh Plate Glass, a company whose history includes a couple of ancestors of mine on my mother's side, George A. and George D. MacBeth, and a guy to whose home I have been invited several times, Raymond Pitcairn, son of John Pitcairn. Ah, memories ETERNE.
Hand up about the model glue; it wasn't epoxy.
Let's keep Daylight Savings Time all year around and call it standard.
Best wishes to you all.
Speaking of Zazoo and Pittsburgh, wasn't there a performer named Zasu Pitts? And speaking of Pitts, I love the writings of columnist Leonard Pitts. Along the same line of thought, I remember a friend of mine once describing the city of Manila as the armPIT of the Pacific. He apparently must have had some bad experiences there, though he wouldn't talk about it.
Speaking of Asian cities, why the hell has it become de rigeur to pronounce Beijing as "Beizhing"? Sure hurts my ears. I blame Bob Costas for starting it during the Olympic Games there. Costas also kept calling Sochi "Soshee" while doing commentary on the games there. And Raj on The Big Bang Theory is called "Razh." When the Islamic Hadj starts getting pronounced "hazh" I'll plug my ears with EPOXY ETERNE. Oh, and who's going to be first to sing "Zhingle Bells"? Bob Costas?
I'll shut up now.
Jayce, as much as a sports fan as I am, if Bob Costas is the announcer or commentator, I change the channel. I'd rather not watch than listen to him. Him and Marv Albert.
The PPG Building and Plaza reminds me of the
Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) that Dudley just visited. Gothic to me.
Time for some Monday Night Football.
Late to the party today after working. Good Monday puzzle to relax my mind.
No nits over the foremost clue because I did not notice the recurring "most". We don't see FFlat in music very often. The rocking canoe clue reminded me of the Pierre Berton quote about Canadians and canoes but I have shared it here before.
Blue Jays were done in by the ninth INNING Friday night.
Nice Cuppa, your ideal Senate sounds like the Canadian senate and that hasn' worked out very well for us either unfortunately.
Good evening all.
,
Yes, it was an easy puzzle today. But....Maybe I'm just sensitive after teaching special ed for 30 years, but I don't like clues such as "slow-witted" with a solution like "moron". And since when is a "galoot" an "ape"? I know, I'm too PC!
Hi all!
Fun zippy puzzle today. Thanks Gail & Bruce. I liked the them, but I especially liked 4d.
Thanks Argyle for the SPARKLING writeup and the expo of PPG, no clue.
ESPs - 32a, 35d & 54a.
Fav - 44d's Clue made me think of this Airplane scene.
Close second - MORON, I call myself that every time I do something dumb, like lock myself out of the house and I see my keys sitting on the table. Then there's, this MORON that kicked off Belushi's speech.
TTP - sounds like a nice find! $600 is nothing to sneeze at.
I seldom watch TV weather-people - they get much too happy when a Cat-5 hurricane is headed our way. Me? I read the paper and look at RardarUS on my iPad and make my own prediction. I have the same 'right' rate as them :-)
I don't know if y'all saw this ad b/f Argyle's AMATI video (I know they're targeted ads, so I don't know what this says about me...), but TIN, you're right, there's a product for everything Poo-Pourri ad (@:52 - warning teenboy potty jokes; Hey!, CED started it :-)).
Cheers, -T
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