17. Political nickname for the Pacific states : LEFT COAST. Because they lean politically left.
29. Mexican seafood entrée : FISH TACOS. That made me hungry.
49. Protective botanical layers : SEED COATS. Look, it really is like a little coat.
66. Foppish neckwear : SILK ASCOT
41. Puccini title soprano whose name is an anagram of the ends of the four longest puzzle answers : TOSCA. Trailer below from The Royal Opera House in L(1:06)
Melissa here. Five letters that can spell at least four different words - although two are plural. Also, ACOST, but I know of no "____ ACOST" phrase. The crossing of ROLLE and BILE was the last to fill in for me - I first entered BITE, not remembering the name of the actress.
Across
1. Lose brightness : FADE
5. Sonic the Hedgehog developer : SEGA
9. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" instrument : ORGAN
14. High-resolution film format : I-MAX. Tried HD--.
15. Spanish cross : CRUZ
16. Lariat loop : NOOSE. Lasso? Nope. Reata? Nope. Noose. Ding ding.
19. Up and about : ASTIR
20. Catch in a snare : ENTRAP
21. Departs : HEADS OFF
23. Tiler's calculation : AREA
25. Civil War side: Abbr. : CSA. Confederate States of America.
26. Deep voice : BASSO
35. European peak : ALP
36. Delivered from the womb : BORN
38. Trix or Kix : CEREAL
39. Rubber roller : TIRE
43. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA
44. Nevertheless : EVEN SO
46. Geological timespans : EONS
48. Put a match to : LIT
51. Uneven, as a leaf's edge : EROSE
53. Everything : ALL
54. "Gone With the Wind" plantation : TARA
56. When the cock crows : DAYBREAK
61. Gospel writer enshrined in a Venice basilica : ST. MARK. Outside. Inside. Interesting.
65. To no __: fruitlessly : AVAIL
68. Esther of "Good Times" : ROLLE. Couldn't remember her name.
 |
| ha ha |
69. Bendable joint : KNEE
70. Lake on New York's western border : ERIE
71. 140-characters-or-less message : TWEET
72. Like much cheese and wine : AGED
73. Scream : YELL
Down
1. Submit one's taxes : FILE
2. "You said it!" : AMEN
3. Inane : DAFT.
4. Crowd scene actors : EXTRAS
5. Mouthwash brand : SCOPE
6. Significant time : ERA
7. Speak effusively : GUSH
8. Early Mexicans : AZTECS
9. At the movies, perhaps : ON A DATE.
10. '90s candidate H. __ Perot : ROSS
11. Attend : GO TO
12. "Yeah, sure" : AS IF. Such a rude expression, imo.
13. Soft ball maker : NERF
18. Chocolate substitute : CAROB
22. Waste receptacle : ASH CAN
24. Dr. J hairstyle : AFRO
26. Motel in a Hitchcock classic : BATES
27. Energetic : ALIVE
28. Shopping frenzy : SPREE
30. Map in a map : INSET
31. "__ you coming?" : ARE
32. String quartet member : CELLO. Two violins, one viola, and a cellist. Pictured below is the Brentano String Quartet. Here is their performance of "Quartet for Strings No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80 by Felix Mendelssohn (5:03).
33. Fertile desert spot : OASIS
34. Pool table slab : SLATE
37. "Becket" star Peter : O'TOOLE. 1964 Movie with Richard Burton, I had no idea.
40. Come to a close : END
42. Price : COST
45. Miss in the game of Clue : SCARLET
47. Mattress choice : SERTA
50. 49th state : ALASKA. Setting of Northern Exposure. Filmed in Roslyn, Washington.
52. Jazz pianist Lewis : RAMSEY
55. Showed curiosity : ASKED
56. Blowgun projectile : DART
57. Swear to be true : AVOW
58. Third-oldest U.S. university : YALE
59. Irascibility : BILE. Not bite.
60. Mattress choice : KING. Clecho.
62. Good-sized backyard : ACRE
63. Churn up : ROIL
64. "Power Hits" series record label : K-TEL. Wasn't aware they are still in business.
67. Robert E. __ : LEE
44 comments:
Congratulations to Jerome Gunderson for a clever puzzle, and thanks Melissa for an enlightening writeup. TOSCA is one of the great operas in the repertory, and it's difficult to listen to it without also chuckling at some of the anecdotes (some undoubtedly apocryphal) about what can go wrong with the performance. Click here for examples.
On other fronts, congratulations to C.C. who has today's puzzle over at the New York Times. Wonderful theme and execution.
Finally, with the baseball postseason about to begin, my friends and I have created a puzzle called Fast Ball, which marks a memorable 50th anniversary (think back to October 6, 1965). We hope you like it!
Morning, all!
Blew through this one in Monday time with only minor speed bumps along the way such as AWAKE before ASTIR. I got the theme reveal halfway through the solve, and that let me quickly get SILK ASCOT and SEED COATS instead of having to wait for the perps.
ROLLE was well-known to me, but I needed all the perps to get RAMSEY.
Following up on yesterday's discussion, the hospital will let you take a taxi home after a colonoscopy, but only if you have somebody to ride with you. In my case, my wife (who doesn't drive) accompanied me to and from the hospital in a taxi. Not really necessary, to be honest, since I was back to normal within 30 minutes of the procedure, but rules are rules...
Nice to see a classic Jerome anagram puzzle and Melissa's wonderful style.
The puzzle was easy and I agree I have not heard from k-tel in a long time.
Victor thanks for a wonderful tribute puzzle.
Now to go to the NYT
Hello Puzzlers -
Pretty much a walk in the park, except for not knowing Rolle, and not seeing a link between irascibility and bile. So the intersecting L was a most-likely thing. Thanks, Jerome!
Good Morning, M Bee, glad to have you holding the reins today.
-T from yesterday - hand up for being unenthusiastic about south-pole probings! Even so, I've gone through with it, and it's no big deal. As others have said the prep is the worst part, but at least you get to deal with it in your own home.
Good morning!
Nicely done, Jerome. Melissa, loved your FADE, and as always, your great photo links. I totally blew past the reveal on this one. Gotta learn to read the entire clue, not just enough to latch onto the answer. Only two stumbles this morning: CACAO before CAROB, and I waited to see if that last vowel in RAMSEY would be an A or an E. Remembered The In Crowd, but not how to spell his name.
It's almost DAYBREAK. Time to dodge school buses on our three-mile march.
Thanks Jerome, thanks Melissa !
I was ASTIR well before DAYBREAK, and decided to solve some puzzles since I couldn't get back to sleep. Coincidentally, I had a bowl of CEREAL while solving this one. Now I am getting TIREd so good night !
Jerome: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle with a nice anagram theme.
Melissa: Excellent write-up with great links.
Liked seeing both SCARLET & TARA in the grid.
Turns out the "seasons" are changing here in the Tampa Bay area ... baseball is done and hockey begins on Thursday.
A "toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Nice puzzle Jerome. Melissa, always look forward to your posts. I too got a kick out of your FADE.
SEGA ???? was the only difficulty for me today because I wasn't entirely sure about GUSH. RAMSEY was all perps. Everything else went smoothly.
Gotta run, busy day.
A lovely puzzle from our own Jerome who resides on the LEFT COAST amid the wine country! With the reveal in the middle, I looked for TOSCA in HEADS OFF at first
Musings
-Seed companies COAT their seeds to protect against pests and adverse planting environments
-I want to see this film in the IMAX format
-There is some debate about whether having 13 loops in a hangman’s NOOSE is legal or not
-Can you legally ENTRAP an honest person?
-ALL
-Price
-Very interesting St. Mark’s info, Melissa, in your nice write-up. We were also told the floor keeps shifting on its pilings
-The funeral scene in Ghandi holds the record for most EXTRAS – 300,000
-The Psycho IV house was on display when Universal Studios opened in Orlando
-A generic mattress – KING and a proper noun mattress – SERTA
Time to GUSH about this puzzle. AMEN! Thanks Jerome and Melissa.
I too waited for NOOSE to reveal itself as my first thought was Riata. Interesting cluing for EROSE as it is usually associated with mountains. I was sure about entering AVOW today -usually I have to decide between it and Aver.
RAMSEY and ROLLE were unknown to me but filled in eventually with perps. I had St Paul before MARK.
CSOs to Marti and Abejo with ALP and ERIE.
Have a great day all.
Never thought of LEFT COAST as an especially political nickname, it's just on the left side of a map of the USA.
Just back from another medical jaunt, Alan's second MRI in two weeks, along with an MRI and MRA last year. I did the puzzle while waiting.
George Barany, I loved your tale of Tosca mistakes.
Melissa, great write up and lovely pix and info on St. Mark's.
Thanks for the puzzle, Jerome, and great write up and images, Melissa. I especially liked the bean and its coat. [And I know how to do its properly thanks to WORD_CRIMES @ 1:23 minutes by Weird Al. Someone else did original post re: Oxford Comma, later in song.]
Not only is Sonic the Hedgehog a game by SEGA, his name is used for the SHH gene, Sonic Hedgehog. He has pals Desert Hedgehog, DHH, and Indian Hedgehog,IHH.
SHH_gene
Fun solve. Perps did it all. NE was last to fill.
The meaning of Yeah, sure depends on the inflection of the voice.
VS
Good morning everyone.
Easy enough. Liked the theme fills in their own right, but since I generally eschew anagrams, I did not parse them for that after having gotten TOSCA. Clever, tho.. BILE/ROLLE was almost a Natick but I WAGged correctly.
Melissa - Liked your F A D E.
Morning all!
I found today to be crunchy, tho it may be leftover fever. e.g. for 1d I kept wanting remit.
Thank you Jerome for another bit of fun and Melissa B. for the wonderful writeup.
Once my coffee kicked in, I CRUZ'd through w/ WAGs at 52d (I've heard of Dave RAMSEY but not Lewis) and 59d. EVEN tho I could see Ms. ROLLE in my mind's eye, I didn't know her name, plus I had no idea what irascibility meant (looks like in-a-scribble to me). ABC run ended at L for the win!
The theme really helped with 49a... letter-by-eliminated-letter.
W/o - I read 23a as tillers so ACRE went right in. Hand up for lasso. I almost had Nike for 13d, but held off.
When I was 3 or 4, Pop had a K-Tel album. I remember it had Paper Lace (The Night Chicago Died) and I Shot the Sheriff on it.
Dudley - I'll do it when I hafta. I think they pushed the recommended age to 50. I'm hoping fate pays me back for suffering the liquor laws in Louisiana... They kept pushing up the drinking age one year b/f I got there! :-)
Did anyone else think it funny that CRUZ was above LEFT COAST? (Don't let me ENTRAP you into politics :-))
Cheers, -T
George, I really enjoyed your Fast Ball puzzle today! It was timely and fun. I’m sure C.C. will find it to be a lot of fun too!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Cleverly anagrammed, Jerome, and an enjoyable recap from Melissa. Nice start to my Tuesday; no write overs, and didn't need many perps to solve. ST MARK was about the only perp needed but he fell when K TEL was entered. I solved mostly from south to north today; last entry was FADE/FILE
Ok, no graphics today! But maybe a "cute" pun:
The Hangman had a real "revolution",
He discovered a simple solution:
Don't leave the rope loose
When tying the NOOSE
As it's all about the "execution"
I've got a K-Tel album that I still like. It's Hooked On Swing with medleys of big band songs in a pseudo-disco fashion. It was a follow-on to the Hooked On Classics records. Larry Elgart's Orchestra performed it.
Anon-T, I also had thoughts about CRUZ, but bit my keyboard.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jerome Gunderson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.
Enjoyed the TOSCA film clip.
Puzzle zipped right along. Theme was easy and made sense quickly.
Wanted INCAS for 8D, but held off for a crossword. Glad I did, that would have been a huge inkblot. AZTECS worked and then I remembered the Incas were from Peru. OK.
Hope the Cubs win tomorrow. I grew up fairly close to Pittsburgh but was always a Cleveland fan as a youth. Pittsburgh was never in my sights. We will see. The Cubs came real close to home field advantage.
Good to know about ST MARK. His whereabouts.
I have not played CLUE in years but remembered MISS SCARLET easily.
My lake again, ERIE. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York all have Erie Counties. FYI.
Lots to do today. Taking an on-line Master Gardener Class later today. Band practice tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Great to see Melissa back with her wonderful links. I especially enjoyed the St Marks info.
Jerome too, great puzzle!
I relied on perps about as much as usual, but my only real hesitation was for ROLLE, which name I don't recall ever really being aware of.
Good Morning:
A quick and easy Tuesday romp with an easily discernible theme. No w/o's and no speed bumps.
Thanks, Jerome and Melissa, for an enjoyable solve and summary.
Have a great day.
Greetings, friends!
Melissa, how nice to see your review today! I, also, liked your FADE.
Jerome! What a wonderful, anagrammatic puzzle! Thank you!
I love it when a an early week puzzle is not only easy to solve but fun as well. My only doubt on this one was RAMSEY but it filled with reliable perps and I've never seen Psycho but have certainly heard plenty about it.
It's so good to be home again although I had an invigorating weekend with my California family. We were in Highland and Redlands for the annual Believe Walk. It's in the 8th year but this is my third attendance and the first time with pouring rain. It started just as we crossed the finish line but we had been forewarned and had umbrellas ready. It was dedicated to my late niece, Christina, who finally lost her battle with cancer in May. It's also a great reunion for our families.
And it's finally cooling down here and really feels like autumn.
Have a special day, everyone! Again, thanks to Jerome who made my homecoming special with your puzzle.
A perfect Tuesday puzzle, not a total speed run but very doable--many thanks, Jerome. Loved your pictures, Mellissa, and your Fade.
Thank goodness I watched "Good Times" many years ago, a big help with ROLLE which comes up frequently in puzzles. Never knew California was on the LEFT COAST and I've been living here for almost thirty years.
Have a great Tuesday, everybody!
Husker Gary, on the subject of extras, for the movie, in your musings.
The name of the man, is Gandhi not Ghandi. M. K. Gandhi. So was the name of the movie. Ghandi is an affected british pronunciation, and stilted writing, now totally disused, and is incorrect and inappropriate. Like J F Kanadi ?
Meant in a gentle way, as a reminder.
I forgot to say I remember Esther ROLLE very well from Good Times.
Interesting about the "LEFT COAST" leaning left, politically. Not too different from the RIGHT COAST doing likewise; leaning left, that is. Perhaps with an exception from the Carolinas and Georgia (a state which I don't really classify as "coastal"), the RIGHT COAST has almost always voted Democrat for President. A political term I've heard used to define both coasts, is "Brackets" or "Parentheses".
But that's as far as I'll take this . . . we are in a no-politics zone, here at the Corner! ;^)
Chairman Moe,
I've heard the rest of the continental USA, where the rest of us live, as "fly over country". I think because the news people seem to overlook us.
VS
Greetings!
Thanks Jerome and Melissa! NIce theme, too!
Ramsey was perped. Otherwise no problems.
Cheers!
Thanks, Jerome - love me some anagrams. Thanks for the St. Mark's links Melissa - I've never been to Venice, but after seeing those pictures of the cathedral I think I should put it on the bucket list.
@Barry - I had the same procedure a couple of months ago. Whatever they gave me beforehand should be available over the counter. I've never been so happy in my life.
Lately I've been not getting around to doing the puzzles until the afternoon. Not feeling up to snuff, but I push on as well as I can.
Second day in a row with a completion. Either this was easy, or I'm getting smarter. Could be luck too. I guess.
Esther ROLLE was a gimme. Saw every episode of Good Times.
Theme was cool. I liked it, even though opera is not my "thing".
Are you all into TWEETing? I have never done it, nor do I care to.
Never tasted FISH TACOS. Does not sound appetizing.
I cannot AVAIL myself of any more time. See ya..
Thanks to all for the kind comments and for putting a smile on my mug. In my little world fifteen minutes of fame is a hell of a lot of fun!
Melissa- Special thanks for the time and effort in reviewing the puzzle
ps- I really wanted to clue RAMSEY as the pet name used by a pharaoh's wife... but I didn't want Rich to think that I had lost it.
I think this puzzle was easier than yesterday's. Thanks, Jerome, for a fun time. Enjoyed your write-up, Melissa.
After doing yesterday's puzzle and reading some of the comments, I went to the store, bought some apples and made applesauce. Tonight we're having pork chops with it. Thanks for the menu idea.
Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday.
Pat
coneyro - FISH TACOS are quite good. (Look for the Elvis pic). C, -T
Coneyro, I agree with AnonT, I really like fish tacos. The fish can be almost anything including breaded fish as in fish and chips or blackened or shrimp or...?
No fish tacos for us today. We went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and split a Caesar salad, two soups in a bowl and a small pizza. Then pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Very tasty lunch!
Coneyro- Fish tacos are likely a regional food. They are very common in the Southwest and California. I live in Sonoma County California in a town of only 12,000 people, and we have 6 Mexican food restaurants, plus 3 Mexican style markets that serve fresh cooked food like tamales, tacos, carnitas, etc. There's even a Spanish tapas restaurant. And, oh yes, our Carl's Jr. has a Mexican food menu. For good reason, all these places are thriving and have been here for years. They are among the few places in this area where working class people can afford to eat away from home.
coneyro:
While I definitely prefer shredded beef tacos, fish TACOS are a lovely alternative. I had them for the first time last year as I thought they sounded, well, fishy, but found them delicious.
This was a great puzzle Jerome. I've been vocal in the past about anagrams, and that hasn't changed. But you don't have to like the theme to enjoy the solve. I enjoyed the solve a lot, and thought the difficulty was perfect for the day. Regarding the reveal, I had the O and the A from perps. I only glanced at the reveal clue and saw it was opera related, so switched to the downs to get the T, and went with Tosca in lieu of Norma. Didn't read that clue in it's entirety until it was filled, and only then got the theme. Lots to like, little to dislike. Perfect for Tuesday.
And it's good to see you Melissa. Tanks for your efforts. Can't help but wonder who will be up tomorrow morning with the changing of the guard. You are all appreciated.
Joe- There are a couple of things I don't like about the puzzle. I'm guessing that most of the time most constructors have a word or two, an abbreviation, a name, a partial phrase, a plural... a something that they would like to change. But, changing it would ruin a couple, three good entries or phrases. It's always about the trade off... what do you gain, what do you lose. We are all sick and tired of OREO AND OLIO AND ONO and ESAU and ESAI and ALAI, etc. However, we can't construct a puzzle without them any more than you can write your comment without ARE, TO, THE, FOR, IT, AND and BUT. They're the glue that holds it all together whether writing a puzzle or a paragraph.
I appreciate your comment. The honesty is refreshing.
Oh, I wasn't going to comment....and posting this late, no one will know! But Jerome. I just have to thank you for this refreshing puzzle.
Interesting and new fills. I got the theme right off. No, I don't usually like anagrams...but this one was fun. I got the reveal before I filled in all of the theme answers. And Tosca helped me a lot! (One of my favorites).
Your clue for Ramsey would have been MUCH better!!!
Melissa, I loved your links. Such a good day!!
Owen.........thanks!!
Jerome,
A 5-letter anagram theme is not really impressive...for a man of your talents. I would expect more from you.
MBee,
"ACOST?" Really?! C'mon...you're smarter than that!
Splynter,
I wonder what the over/under is on you getting mentioned tomorrow.
I'd say the line is 6.5 - and I'll take the under...unless CC chimes in. Then again, her chiming in creates its own set of odds.
Lucina,
I seem to recall something about your football stadium being named after Pink Tacos?
Hey Jerome,
I did your puzzle early this morning, & then when hiking all day.
So I only found out how wrong I was when I read the write up just now.
I did manage to WAG the L crossing bile & rolle,
but I have a terrible time with names.
My 52D came out as jazz pianist Lewis Bassey...
64D was Power Hits record label "Atel."?
& embarrassingly, 61A gospel writer enshrined in a Venice basilica, St. Sara?
Oh well, at least I have a new record. A triple personal Natick...
Fun puzzle though, but I am not really up on Italian Operas.
I did try to find George Baranys "bouncing Tosca" (see 1st post, 1st link) on YouTube,
the thought of the heroine jumping to her death, & then bouncing back, several times, just seemed hilarious. But I could not find it. So I watched a clip called Scarpia's death scene to try and better understand. Maybe it's me, but I just never know what the heck is going on when I
watch an Italian Opera...
good evening all - thanks for the nice comments - couldn't get here earlier.
jerome, you're welcome :).
anon@9:25 - i'm surprised no one else noticed (or perhaps they were too kind to mention it).
oddly, it shows up here as a word.
M. Bee don't feed the troll - he belongs on a different x-word blog. Thank you for hosting today.
BTW - If you haven't played C.C.'s NYT, it's worth the $2.50.
CED - Italian Opera... Hey, It's just business. You're best to stay out of it if yous knows whats good for you. Capishe?*
Cheers, -T
*thanks for the clip - LOL
Swamp Cat people not only read your comment last night it will be read for days. Anytime is a good time to comment.
Post a Comment