Theme: Riches to Rags - The Dow goes up, the Dow goes down, the Dow goes up, the Dow goes down.
Across:
1. Night table : STAND
6. Covers a lot of ground : SPRAWLS
13. One learning the ropes : NEWBIE
14. Stir-fried dish with rice noodles : PAD THAI. Food! Once of my favorite Thai dishes. I'm lucky enough to have a Thai market close by that carries the "secret" ingredients - pickled radish, lime leaves, Thai basil and tamarind paste.
15. Receipt datum : AMOUNT
16. Sources of inside info? : MRI SCANS. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, according to WebMD. People tell me it's claustrophobic inside the scanner.
17. Heart : MIDST
18. European coal region : SAAR. Partly in Germany, partly in France.
19. Your, to Pierre : TES. Thursday-level French.
20. Pre-splashdown stage : RE-ENTRY
22. Rice source : PADDY
24. Sports media consultant Fleischer : ARI. Former White House Press Secretary under G.W. Bush.
26. Hiding places : NOOKS
27. Moo goo __ pan : GAI. Yay! More stir-fry - Chinese this time. 蘑菇雞片
28. Good times : FUN
29. Blue Devils' school : DUKE. Perennial basketball powerhouse.
30. Strolled in the shallows : WADED
33. Invite as one's date for : ASK TO
35. UFO crew, so it's said : E.T.S
37. Willow twig : OSIER. Crosses for me. I think I knew this, but I needed lots of help to prod the memory.
38. Cut even shorter, as a green : RE-MOW
39. Chips source : SPUD. The largest potato was grown in the UK in 2010 and weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 4oz. That's a lot of chips!
41. R&B group __ Hill : DRU
42. Ristorante suffix : INI
43. "Pearls Before __": Stephan Pastis comic : SWINE
44. Tuba syllable : OOM
45. Supernatural benefactors : GENII
47. Do-it-yourselfer's website : WIKIHOW. Current front-page items include "How to wrap wontons", "How to help someone with low self-esteem" and "How to choose a good dairy cow breed". Fascinating.
49. Boxer Laila : ALI
50. Typically rectangular glass piece : PANE
51. Hatch in the Senate : ORRIN
54. Attractive : TEMPTING
57. Numbers game : SUDOKU
58. Produce eggs : OVULATE
59. Online newsgroup system : USENET. Is this a thing any more?
60. Pangs of conscience : REMORSE
61. Largely submerged threats : BERGS
Down:
1. Cargo carrier : SEMI
3. Cyberbullying, e.g. : ABUSE
5. "NYPD Blue" rank : DET.
6. Attacks in a hose fight : SPRAYS
7. Tango team : PAIR
8. Byways: Abbr. : RDS
9. LAX tower service : A.T.C. Air Traffic Control at my local airport. A lot of people think this is the control tower at LAX - it's not, it's a restaurant.
11. Like highways : LANED
12. Actress Spacek : SISSY
13. '60s hot spot : 'NAM
18. Stir up : STOKE
21. __-turn : NO U
23. Remote batteries : AAA'S
24. Way out yonder : AFAR
25. Trick : RUSE
31. Designer Saarinen : EERO. This is one of his - the TWA Flight Center at JFK.
32. One frequently hit on the head? : DRUM
34. "Un-break My Heart" singer Braxton : TONI
36. Sudden increase : SPIKE. As in voltage spikes.
40. Verse starter? : UNI. Cue some Beatles from the album "Let It Be".
43. Jolson classic : SWANEE
45. Swamp thing : GATOR
46. Lycée student : ÉLÈVE. Definitely Thursday-level French.
48. Monastic group : ORDER
50. Cherry discards : PITS
52. Turner and Clanton : IKES
53. Aficionado : NUT
55. Gaza Strip gp. : P.L.O. Palestine Liberation Organization.
56. It covers a lot of ground : TAR. There are approximately 2,500,000 miles of paved roads in the USA. That's a lot of blacktop!
57. One coming off the bench : SUB
Just time for the grid and my work here is done. Have a great day!
Steve
1) I apologize for those cringy entries today, everyone. You know I got desperate when I put OSIER in. Limited theme entry choices, heavy themage and the middle 13 all gave me troubles. I even used two corner black cheaters (Rich does not like them at all).
2) Happy Birthday to dear Jayce, who lights up my day every time he comments. Jayce lived in Taiwan for a few years and integrated himself into the local culture and tradition. He speaks fluent Chinese and eats many of the same authentic Chinese food I eat. Boomer thinks they're weird and never touches my fried Tofu or seaweed salad, yet he puts soy sauce on freshly cooked rice, weird!
Jayce and his lovely wife on their wedding day
2D. Common comedy club requirement : TWO DRINK MINIMUM. Noooo problem!
4D. Xbox 360 rival : NINTENDO WII. The company name roughly translates as "leave luck to heaven".
22D. "Right Ho, Jeeves" writer : P. G. WODEHOUSE. If you've not seen the BBC adaptations of the books starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, you're in for a treat over on YouTube. All the episodes are available.
10D. "Where was the mistake?" : WHAT DID I DO WRONG? The crossword-solvers lament.
and the reveal:
16D. Wall Street phenomenon suggested by this puzzle's circled letters : MARKET SWING
What ho! Steve here sailing into uncharted Thursday waters - I'll see if I can find Marti's navigation notes somewhere! Circles from C.C. - she told me last week that Rich adds the circles, she doesn't construct with them. I like this one - the reason the theme entries run north-south rather than the usual east-west is so that the word DOW can run up and down, not side to side. (Note from C.C.: I did have circles in this puzzle submission, Steve, but used "... and a hint to the four letters in the answers to the starred clues in this puzzle" for last week's WILD CARD. That extra circled A in 4-Down caused some confusion for a few of our regulars.)
A thumping 63 letters of themage, including two grid-spanners. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Night table : STAND
6. Covers a lot of ground : SPRAWLS
13. One learning the ropes : NEWBIE
14. Stir-fried dish with rice noodles : PAD THAI. Food! Once of my favorite Thai dishes. I'm lucky enough to have a Thai market close by that carries the "secret" ingredients - pickled radish, lime leaves, Thai basil and tamarind paste.
15. Receipt datum : AMOUNT
16. Sources of inside info? : MRI SCANS. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, according to WebMD. People tell me it's claustrophobic inside the scanner.
17. Heart : MIDST
18. European coal region : SAAR. Partly in Germany, partly in France.
19. Your, to Pierre : TES. Thursday-level French.
20. Pre-splashdown stage : RE-ENTRY
22. Rice source : PADDY
24. Sports media consultant Fleischer : ARI. Former White House Press Secretary under G.W. Bush.
26. Hiding places : NOOKS
27. Moo goo __ pan : GAI. Yay! More stir-fry - Chinese this time. 蘑菇雞片
28. Good times : FUN
29. Blue Devils' school : DUKE. Perennial basketball powerhouse.
30. Strolled in the shallows : WADED
33. Invite as one's date for : ASK TO
35. UFO crew, so it's said : E.T.S
37. Willow twig : OSIER. Crosses for me. I think I knew this, but I needed lots of help to prod the memory.
38. Cut even shorter, as a green : RE-MOW
39. Chips source : SPUD. The largest potato was grown in the UK in 2010 and weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 4oz. That's a lot of chips!
41. R&B group __ Hill : DRU
42. Ristorante suffix : INI
43. "Pearls Before __": Stephan Pastis comic : SWINE
44. Tuba syllable : OOM
45. Supernatural benefactors : GENII
47. Do-it-yourselfer's website : WIKIHOW. Current front-page items include "How to wrap wontons", "How to help someone with low self-esteem" and "How to choose a good dairy cow breed". Fascinating.
49. Boxer Laila : ALI
50. Typically rectangular glass piece : PANE
51. Hatch in the Senate : ORRIN
54. Attractive : TEMPTING
57. Numbers game : SUDOKU
58. Produce eggs : OVULATE
59. Online newsgroup system : USENET. Is this a thing any more?
60. Pangs of conscience : REMORSE
61. Largely submerged threats : BERGS
Down:
1. Cargo carrier : SEMI
3. Cyberbullying, e.g. : ABUSE
5. "NYPD Blue" rank : DET.
6. Attacks in a hose fight : SPRAYS
7. Tango team : PAIR
8. Byways: Abbr. : RDS
9. LAX tower service : A.T.C. Air Traffic Control at my local airport. A lot of people think this is the control tower at LAX - it's not, it's a restaurant.
11. Like highways : LANED
12. Actress Spacek : SISSY
13. '60s hot spot : 'NAM
18. Stir up : STOKE
21. __-turn : NO U
23. Remote batteries : AAA'S
24. Way out yonder : AFAR
25. Trick : RUSE
31. Designer Saarinen : EERO. This is one of his - the TWA Flight Center at JFK.
32. One frequently hit on the head? : DRUM
34. "Un-break My Heart" singer Braxton : TONI
36. Sudden increase : SPIKE. As in voltage spikes.
40. Verse starter? : UNI. Cue some Beatles from the album "Let It Be".
43. Jolson classic : SWANEE
45. Swamp thing : GATOR
46. Lycée student : ÉLÈVE. Definitely Thursday-level French.
48. Monastic group : ORDER
50. Cherry discards : PITS
52. Turner and Clanton : IKES
53. Aficionado : NUT
55. Gaza Strip gp. : P.L.O. Palestine Liberation Organization.
56. It covers a lot of ground : TAR. There are approximately 2,500,000 miles of paved roads in the USA. That's a lot of blacktop!
57. One coming off the bench : SUB
Just time for the grid and my work here is done. Have a great day!
Steve
Notes from C.C.:
1) I apologize for those cringy entries today, everyone. You know I got desperate when I put OSIER in. Limited theme entry choices, heavy themage and the middle 13 all gave me troubles. I even used two corner black cheaters (Rich does not like them at all).
2) Happy Birthday to dear Jayce, who lights up my day every time he comments. Jayce lived in Taiwan for a few years and integrated himself into the local culture and tradition. He speaks fluent Chinese and eats many of the same authentic Chinese food I eat. Boomer thinks they're weird and never touches my fried Tofu or seaweed salad, yet he puts soy sauce on freshly cooked rice, weird!
Jayce and his lovely wife on their wedding day
Click here for a few more photos
of Jayce and Mrs. Jayce (she won't like two of today's theme entries).
53 comments:
Greetings!
Interesting puzzle, CC! Great summary, Steve!
Wow, those long ones took awhile! But in the end, I prevailed! Unusual puzzle.
Late for bed!
Cheers!
I do like puzzles with long theme fill and the unexpected north south configuration.OSIRR was the hardest for me and I was unaware of WIKIHOW but it all came out in the end. I do eat PAD THAI more than ever now.
Happy birthday Jayce and many more.
Thanks C.C. and Steve
Morning, all (and a Very Happy Birthday to Jayce)!
Definitely not a walk in the park today, but doable in the end. No circles for me, so I had no idea what the theme was about. Fortunately, while I needed all the perps to get the theme reveal the long theme answers were very easy to get based on their clues, so that helped a bit.
Yeah, there was some crosswordese like OSIER, but nothing I haven't seen before. WIKIHOW was a complete unknown, but that was about it. What really had me limping along was the cluing. Fair to be sure, but awfully tough in spots. "Heart" for MIDST, for example, or "Largely submerged threats [with no indication of an abbreviation]" for BERGS.
Anybody else try SPATE before SPIKE? Fortunately, I knew the comic strip wasn't called Pearls Before SWANE...
And add me to the list of people who loves a good PAD THAI!
Good morning!
This one was a bit toothy. Al dente, even. But I managed to hit the NAIL on the head. Then DRUM showed up. Hand up for SPATE, Barry. My Cargo carrier was a SHIP, and my highway was PAVED before it got LANED. Those missteps made it hard to get started, but it all came together in normal Thursday time.
Steve, some might find an MRI claustrophobic. I don't. But I think **everybody** would find them noisy, with all the banging and clanking. We've never had Thai at my pad.
Happy Birthday, Jayce.
Enjoyed the puzzle theme. I had Spreads before SPRAWLS until LANED made me rethink
the answer. OSIER came out of the memory bank but only after most of the letters
were already in. PAD THAI made me think of what we should have for dinner tonight, yum!
Welcome to Thursday, Steve!
Thanks CC!
Happy Birthday, Jayce!
Enjoyable puzzle. A few rough patches, which I don't mind when it's just a question of getting the right combination of answers, rather than names and such that I just don't know. NW corner was the toughest for me, because going down I had BLASTS for SPRAYS, RTS for RDS, FAA for ATC, and PAVED for LANED. I thought those were reasonable guesses, although not absolutely sure of any of them. Eventually it all fell into place, as the horizontal answers fell one by one. MRISCANS was the coolest and maybe the last to fall. I kept thinking it must be some MR. So-and-so that was named in some insider trading scandal!
Oops--this nasty insomnia has me really turned around. Up and to the right is NE corner, not NW, I seem to recall.
Tough sledding today. A serious challenge that was at least Friday level for me. Managed to find my way, though, so it ended well.
Hand up for Pad Thai. Made it Sunday. Hand up for finding MRIs to be claustrophobic, but I discovered the last time in one that if you are lying on your stomach and the lights in the room are on, it's not nearly as bad. They are open on both ends. It's not a deep dark tunnel. More like a collar. The noise is another thing.....sounds like 50,000 elves banging on the plumbing with Silver Hammers.
And a happy birthday to Jayce. Hope it's wonderful.
A natick kept me from getting it today: PAD?HAI+A?C. Didn't get the reveal right away, but just the clue alone was enough to tip me off to the gimmick, which helped with all of the theme entries!
The STOCK MARKET's UP, the STOCK MARKET's DOWN;
The folks with investments are wearing a frown.
While some watch the turn
With unconcern:
What goes around, remember, still goes around!
If the lawn is MOWN, the lawn you did mow.
To mow it twice, the lawn you REMOW.
And if stories with action
Are your attraction,
Try one in Reno where Rambo meets Remo!
*What goes around, remember, still comes around!
Good Morning:
I'm always glad to see CC as the constructor because I know the puzzle will have a clever theme, tricky but fair cluing, interesting fill, and enough of a challenge to make the solve enjoyable and satisfying. Today's offering has all of these elements, I'm pleased to say. My only w/o was Play Station before Nintendo Wii. My electronics knowledge is on par with my hockey knowledge.
Thanks, CC, for a Thursday treat and, thanks, Steve, for the snappy review. Welcome to the Thursday podium!
Happy Birthday, Jayce, I hope you do something special.
Have a great day.
Happy Birthday Jayce !!!
C.C. WOW !!! What a difficult, but FUN Thursday puzzle ...
Only needed ESP (Every Single Perp) to get P.G. WODEHOUSE since I never watched that BBC show.
Also needed ESP for PAD THAI and WIKIHOW, a learning moment ... always a good thing.
Congrats to the Chicago CUBS ... hope they go "All-the-Way" ...
Cheers!
Steve, I'm glad you explained A.T.C. because I had no idea but the crosses were solid; I initially filled FAA and since I caught the DOW ( up this week, but down this morning) theme I filled MR. INSIDE before MRI SCANS. Claustrophobic and very LOUD. My wife's doctor gave her a Valium to take before she had a MRI SCAN.
C.C. congratulations again on your (and D-O's) WSJ debut. Today was hard for a Thursday and I was going nowhere until PADDY and GAI let me get the WODEHOUSE- knew the name but not the book. P.G. Beauregard is the only other name I know that starts that way. The long fills were easier than the short ones. I had some trouble in the NE filling WHEN DID I GO WRONG instead of WHAT DID I DO WRONG but it worked out. GRU Hill made as much sense as DRU Hill.
MIDST- I never think of it as the 'heart', just being somewhere in the 'middle', not being the core. Plenty of false starts. REEFS to BERGS, RUHR to SAAR, NAIL to DRUM, FAN to NUT, ROUSE to EVOKE to STOKE. DRU Hill was really the only unknown and I don't think that the PLO is too popular in Gaza. Didn't they lose out to HAMAS?
See you next week as I'm off to Dallas to go to ATT Stadium to watch a football game. Dallas Cowboys?- NO. My ten-year-old grandson is playing there Saturday. Also ARI Fleisher's boss's presidential library at SMU tomorrow.
DO now that you mention it, I guess my home is now a PAD THAI. Oo picks and grinds the tamarind herself.
Ave Joe, thanks for the maxwell's silver hammer link.
Good morning everyone.
Good job C.C. and Steve.
Happy Birthday Jayce. Always enjoy your ruminations.
A lot to chew on today but I finally got 'er done. Only error; missed the T in ATC.
OSIER was one of my first entries. 1st long down: PG WODEHOUSE.
Favorite clues were those for MRI SCANS and UNI.
I agree with TAR if it is roughly interchangeable with asphalt. I think, in the trade, it isn't.
I like the visual in the puzzle of the DOW going up and down, but not so much the DOW going down in my portfolio. For me keeping track of my investments, even when the market is excellent, is a huge, unwelcome chore. Not my cuppa tea. The theme was easy to spot and knowing the circle letters were DOW or WOD helped.
Has anyone else used the open MRI? You lie on a special table and the top of the machine is lowered to a few feet above you. All the side are open and it is in a room with many windows. Of course, the body part being scanned is immobilized in a device. It not claustrophobic at all, but it still clanks very loudly.
I've heard of PG WODEHOUSE as an author, so just a few perps suggested him, even though I didn't recognize RIGHT HO, JEEVES. The only thing he wrote with which I am familiar is "Anything Goes," which he co-authored.
I had PAD THAI only once and found it extremely bland. Meh. I have been told I should specify spicy when I order.
A very happy birthday to you, Jayce. I'll always remember how welcoming you were to me when I first joined the Corner.
Great puzzle, CC. Thanks for the writeup, Steve.
HBDTY Jayce!
My online did’t do circles. I did notice a lot of Ws in the theme entries.
I was able to get theme entries and unknowns with perps. Mostly unknowns were spelling or memory needing jiggling. OSIER is an Every Word odd word used in the anagram game.
I had ORReN before ORRIN. Had Nik, then NiT, finally NUT. Lots of mental DOPE slaps to the head, which I had before DRUM. SUDOKi, before SUDOKU. Had REegrets before REMORSE.
NE was hardest. Had MRI-CANS before went aha! Like Freond at 7:25 am, I kept thinking whistle blower.
Re Steves remark about claustrophobia in MRIs, we had a earlier puzzle clue about Open MRIs that try to avoid that. You still have to be careful about any magnetic metals, implants, shrapnel, metal objects in the room can be thrown about. To get the signals, they switch large voltages across very strong magnetic coils and the coils vibrate. Wikipedia on MRI says the noise can be 120dB, jet-engine take-off loud.
Bland Pad Thai? Ordinarily, the initial Thai experience is tears streaming down the face, and smoke exiting the ears. And even with mild sauce, there should be many flavors, sorry your experience was not good, YR.
PG Wodehouse was an extremely talented author and Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster and Steven Fry as JEEVES really captured the characters from the books. It was DOWNTON ABBEY played for laughs
Happy birthday Jayce,have a fun day.
This was a toughie today and wags became the norm. NINTENDOWII, PAD THAI, PG WODEHOUSE, ATC, needed a lot of guesswork.
16A MRI SCANS was favorite. Not my favorite medical procedure though.
In the end three wags did me in. 41A DRi, 44A OOP, and 32D DRIP were the culprits. So you can call it a FIW or a DNF. Whatever, it "weren't" done correctly so I could care less what it's called.
Hi gang -
Instead of getting a delicious Thai dish, I made a dog's dinner of the NE corner. RTS for RDS, LINED for LANED. Even with SPRAWLS and MRI SCANS in place, PAD THAI was not on the menu.
OSIER doesn't bother me. Don't recall seeing SUDOKU in a crossword before - that's fun.
My dad clued me into WODEHOUSE novels when I was in high school, so Jeeves made that entry easy.
I have a funeral to go to tomorrow, so I won't be checking in here. Enjoy your weekend everyone.
Here's hoping the Cubs and Astros prevail for another round. But I still want a a Jays-Mets series.
Cool regards!
JzB
My last answer to fall was MRISCANS as it initially didn't seem that MR should go together unless it's a "mister" someone. But it was a good meaty Thursday puzzle.
As for MRI scans that I've experienced for shoulder injuries, I never felt claustrophobic in the machine but what I found most difficult was having to lie. completely. still. for what seemed forever, especially when my nose started to itch.
Hello Puzzlers -
A very nice and crafty C.C. creation today! Went through fast for a Thursday, partly because of big solid answers like Wodehouse.
HBTY Jayce, and many happy returns. Morning JzB it's a pleasure to have your wit.
Thanks for the good wishes. Our voyage has begun. We got word that our cruise will involve a drive around where the Danube is too low for our boat. This was expected, as Central Europe has had little rain this year. Other rivers, such as the Elbe, are impassable. We'll have fun no matter what! It's a comfort to have a trusted house sitter looking after our place and our cat.
Lemonade - Your new avatar is precious.
Smooth sailing, Dudley.
Thanks, C.C. for the puzzle. Very clever! But workable, once I got ATC.
Nice job, Steve, on your Thursday debut! Always love your "FOOD!" entries.
I enjoyed all of that. Thanks CC and Steve.
Very happy birthday wishes for Jayce!
For 16A, "Sources of inside info?" I had filled in MR. ISC_NS for the longest time and couldn't figure out who the mysterious gentleman might be.
I had an MRI once. For me, annoying but no big deal.
C.C., I loved this puzzle even though it was a bit of a toughie for me. Part of the problem was that I put WOODHOUSE instead of WODEHOUSE, but I knew it had to be "Pearls before SWINE" because it's one of my favorite comics and I had read it just minutes before starting the puzzle. Took me forever to figure out my mistake, though. I got the theme right away because of the circles, and loved the DOW going up and down--just like in real life. But in the end I goofed on NINTENDO because I kept thinking the plural GENI_ had to have an S in the end. Still, not bad for a Thursday, and still a lot of FUN! So, many thanks, C.C., and you too, Steve, for your always FUN expo.
Happy Birthday, Jayce, and have a great day, everybody!
Greetings, amigos y amigas!
A very happy birthday, Jayce! I hope you do something special.
I STAND corrected because I failed to finish 53D, NUT and spelled SUDOKU as SUDOKI. Who knows why. Otherwise this was for the most part quick, though not easy. SPREADS filled the top for a very long time then PAD THAI (which I love) corrected that to SPRAWLS.
Fortunately, the theme letters, DOW, helped especially when I spelled PGWOODHOUSE incorrectly! WODEHOUSE emerged with WOD in place. And all perps were solid for the unknown NINTENDOWII.
Thank you, C.C. for this one and the WSJ yesterday. It's all great fun! And welcome to Thursday, Steve; I enjoyed your excellent expo.
Have a sensational day, everyone!
Great job, CC.
What Ho!, fellow posters.
Anyone who has seen Hugh Laurie in HOUSE but never seen him in any P.G. Wodehouse adaptations MUST check them out. The contrast is VAST - Laurie's "normal" speech and mannerisms are MUCH closer to the latter.
And I thought he was a totally convincing American (accent and manner) in HOUSE - quite impeccable, brilliant, in fact.
Jeeves (Bertie's manservant), commenting on a girl Bertie has taken a shine to:
“And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.”
STOKE means to add fuel, not to "stir up."
On PAD THAI
I have experienced two varieties:
1. A bland creation of sloppy, undifferentiated noodles in a gooey brown sauce, possibly with a couple of shrimp ($2 extra) thrown in at the last moment.
2. A masterpiece of taste, spice and textural variety (as in Steve's photo) that is a fabulous complement to a hot Thai curry,
I always order Pad Thai at a Thai restaurant, and my wife orders the curry. One mouthful of the former tells you all you need to know about the quality of the establishment (and chef).
CC, thanks for a baseball-free offering. Made it a walk in the (ball) park today. This basket-case prefers his OSIERS any day, along with French possessives and schoolboys.
Anonymous@11:58
STOKE also means (from Apple (American) Dictionary)
• encourage or incite (a strong emotion or tendency): his composure had the effect of stoking her anger.
Good Morning Everyone, First, Happy Birthday, Jayce. I hope your day brings you joy.
I'm afraid I had to Google answers today. For three days, I thought I was a really good solver--no lookups and few erasures. However, today, I was brought back down to earth. Missteps included sprints for sprawls, Intern for newbie to just mention a couple of my mistakes.
I did get the puzzle finished, but it took longer than it should have.
My favorite clue today was, Sources of Inside Info? My husband has had a few MRI Scans of late and he doesn't seem to mind the machine--though he says it is noisy.
Have a great rest of the day.
Thanks CC and thanks Steve. Happy birthday Jayce !
Tough Thursday. Had to go around the grid entering the easy answers first, then trying some of the uncertain answers to see if they fit with what I had previously entered.
Never having heard of R&B group DRU Hill, I entered a G and had ----DID I GO WRONG. Compounding that was having SPRINTS for "Covers a lot of ground" and RTS for "Byways:abbr."
Changed sprints to SPRAWLS but then entered LINED instead of LANED. That left me with PArT-iI for "Stir-fried dish with rice noodles."
At that point I changed the game and that red G showed up. Everything else was filled and correct. I got it resolved from there but will take the DNF.
I've had OSIER in a couple (or more) puzzles in the last week. I think the last clue was along the lines of basket weaving twig or something like that. It was one of those answers that filled on the first pass.
Well, NUTS ! Now that the Pirates have been eliminated with that gem thrown by Arrieta, I'm going to have to pull for the CUBS.
Happy Birthday, Jayce!
If anyone wants my Pad Thai recipe, email me off-blog and I'll send it to you. I went through about 20 iterations before I finally felt I'd nailed it. Test eaters agreed!
Wooster favorite:
"I hadn't the heart to touch my breakfast. I told Jeeves to drink it himself."
I found this a really tough puzzle. Least favorite answer was GENII. (Really?) Hardest bit was the NE. Even after I had ATC I didn't know what it meant. Even after I had MRISCANS I didn't see it; kept reading MR ISCANS and wondering who he is. Oi. Really dopier than usual today. Nice misdirection there, CC. Fun puzzle over-all, but for me, difficult. Terrific write-up, as usual, Steve, thanks for shedding light into the darkness of my empty cranium.
"Puzzling thoughts":
TTP @ 12:21 - the bases loaded, one-out Marte DP grounder was the dagger, IMO. Cole pitched well except for the top of their order. I figured once Arrieta got his 1-0 lead we were done; he's too good. As you might have mentioned yesterday, I think at the minimum there should be a best-of-three to decide the Wild Card winner
As for today's puzzle, C.C., you done good! I had trouble in the NW, and had to cheat to complete it. I couldn't STAND the ABUSE cause my SHIP wanted to carry my ROOKIE. And no AMOUNT of brain power helped me, aMIDST all of my efforts!
Too many favorites to mention; I also had SOD before TAR; SPREADS before SPRAWLS, and DEC before DET. My grid looks like a Rorschach image!!
WHAT DID I DO WRONG????!!!! ;^)
CC, here is a possible solution to your NW cheater square. It nicely bring in (High) LAWRIE; I don;t know how obscure OANI SUSHII is though. COTANH (hyperbolic cotangent) is probably Fri-Sat level; COTANS is an alternative.
C.O.T..A.N.H
L..A.W.R.I..E
A..N.O..I.N.T
M..I..D.S.T
I see many of you have commented on the "noises" a MRI machine makes. And since many of you, such as Wolowitz, don't have a Phd in physics, I'll try to explain the reason why as simply as my big brain allows.
"An MRI is noisy because its magnetic field is created by running electrical current through a coiled wire—an electromagnet. When the current is switched on, there is an outward force all along the coil. And because the magnetic field is so strong, the force on the coil is very large.
When the current is switched on, the force on the coil goes from zero to huge in just milliseconds, causing the coil to expand slightly, which makes a loud "click." When the MRI is making an image, the current is switched on and off rapidly. The result is a rapid-fire clicking noise, which is amplified by the enclosed space in which the patient lies."
See more at this link.
Btw, I built my own MRI machine when I was eight and needed to diagnose my cat's illness.
Here's how
Sheldon and his brain - yeah! Sheldon and his brain. YEAH!
"More puzzling thoughts"
HBD Jayce! Wishing you a prosperous and fun year ahead!
My daily limerick, hopefully for your amusement:
Back in NAM, knew a GI named Scooby,
A real greenhorn, or as you might say, NEWBIE.
He was not one to STOKE,
But he did like to toke
On a joint; it's FUN when Scooby do doobie!
Awesome puzzle today. I had a lot of fun solving it. The usual smile-inducing C.C. cluing. One of my favs is "One frequently hit on the head."
Had a lovely breakfast out with Mrs. Jayce this morning. Fantastic creampuffs and delicious, sturdy coffee served in real ceramic mugs. Tonight she says dinner will be a surprise; I bet it will not be Pad Thai, though.
Speaking of Taiwan, on Saturday they celebrate "Double Ten Day" (双十节), in commemoration of the so-called Wu Chang uprising which occurred on October 10, 1911, and which is considered to have been the trigger, the catalyst, that ended the Qing dynasty and marked the founding of the Republic of China. I remember the fireworks, much as we have fireworks displays on our Independence Day.
Thanks for all your birthday wishes, and please accept my best wishes to you all.
Nice Cuppa, I am thankful for CC's version. I see on the Internet that OTANI SUSHI is a restaurant. Way too obscure. And CONTANH is also very obscure. COTANS might give one a fighting chance. Sometimes a little fudging makes for a more satisfying solving experience.
Can't talk now, I am still working on your puzzle...
For the SE cheater square, you could have:
..ORR.I.N
SUDOKU
USENET
VERGAS
VERGAS is a small town in Minnesota "home to the world's largest loon" (a sculpture)
Can't talk right now, I am still trying to finish the &%$#@ puzzle!
The NE corner is driving me nuts!
What the heck covers a lot of ground? (Grass won't fit)
Sources of inside info? ( I got Mr. something or other...)
RIP, Paul Prudhomme.
AAAARG!
DNF
(Even after peeking twice...)
Hmm, I see I ran into the same icebergs a lot you did...
reefs b4 bergs
paved b4 laned
nail b4 drum
chips source, buffaloes b4 spud
(I also had 53D aficionado = fan b4 nut.)
Man, this was a lot harder than that fun puzzle over at WSJ yesterday...
HondoHurricane@ 10:14 32D one hit on the head = drip
(I see I was not the only one suffering Chinese water torture...)
CC, Osier? Ok, a twig for making baskets. But you have got to be careful how you use alternate words...
HBDTY Jayce...
Oh well, Maybe the Dow will go back up?
Not to belabor anything, but in case anyone that read yesterday's comments is unfamiliar with Katherine Heigl, Here's a pleasant reminder
And to sorta tie it together with today's puzzle, let's not forget Toni Braxton who's in the same category.
Hi all!
One dream came true - today was a C.C.! My other dream didn't - DNF (xing of 41a and 31d). Oh, well it was fun and a diversion from the pain (I'm done w/ pain-killers (except for 12-oz aspirins :-)))
Thank you Steve for the write-up; that PAD THAI looks TEMPTING (NC, I know what you mean on the explosion of flavor in good PAD; D-O there's a joint on Richmond just inside the loop that has good PAD). Thank you too C.C., the DOW them helped w/ 22d - w/o it, I'd have had a big-fat DNF and that's the PITS.
I tried Soaking my target before Squirting; finally, I just SPRAYS'd him. Other W/os - Omp @44a, fan @53d, sod @56a. SW was last corner to fall before ALI/GATOR/REMORSE came to mind.
ESPs - 43d & 22d.
I had an Open MRI SCAN last week. I found it quite quiet (just some whooshing). Years ago I had the old-school one (Ave Joe nail'd the noise!), but I was so tired I just took a nap in the tube.
HBD Jayce!
Cheers, -T
-I had to not only sub today but the day started early and I had to cover other study halls and go to a ball game. I did finish the puzzle and had a real AHA moment when MRISCAN filled in and I quit looking for MR. whatever. C.C.’s effort was clever as ever!
-HBD Jayce!
Good evening, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
Jayce: Happy Birthday, and many more!
Fermatprime: Ask Harvey to check this month's Knight Templar magazine, page 5. Right in the center is a shot of my drill team and myself marching. Looks good. We are actually all in step.
Puzzle started slow, but I hunted and pecked and bounced around getting a word here and there and finally it was done. About a two hour exercise.
Had the puzzle all dine before I looked for and found the theme and circled answers. Clever. Not me, but the constructor.
Never heard of, nor have I eaten, PAD THAI. Might be good.
Remember SISSY Spacek well. Coalminers Daughter.
P G WODEHOUSE was not known to me, but perps and a wag helped a lot.
Could not watch the Cubs game last night. Wish I could have. I was at a meeting. Someone was checking the game with his phone and kept us up to date. Go Cubs!
OK, off to Pennsylvania tonight. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Today I made a life changing decision: I upgraded up cell phone! More later as I have to start cooking dinner.
Hope your bday was great, Jayce!
Stoking anger is adding fuel to the fire.
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