Dan has some gazetteer fun with us as he takes world capital city names and, using their pronunciation or a reasonable facsimile thereof, creates a fun gimmick. Each city is paired with another word to make an "in the language" phrase or "close enough" sound-a-like. Some theme answers are just one word and some are two.
C.C. saw Dan and Me and decided to PARIS UP. :-)
17. Irish city in a recession? : DUBLIN DOWN/DOUBLING DOWN - Ireland's capital or Blackjack's elided strategy of doubling your bet after seeing first two cards (esp. with a 10 or 11)
63. South Korean sailors? : SEOUL MATES/SOUL MATES - Capital of the Korea that doesn't have a maniac running it and me with my SOUL MATE in Venice (Gondolier is reaching for his cell phone)
Across:
1. Volkswagen Type 1, familiarly : BUG - Designed for Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche (far left)
4. Yemeni neighbor : OMANI
9. Old-timey oath : EGAD
13. 1956 Gregory Peck role : AHAB - Many (including me) thought he was really miscast
15. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN
16. University of New Mexico athlete : LOBO
19. Watched warily : EYED
20. One with a stable job? : GROOM - The GROOM for Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah was Eduardo Luna
26. Body work, briefly : TAT - Tattoo shorthand
33. Catches some rays : SUNS - C'mon, you put TANS first too didn't cha?
37. Home ec alternative : SHOP - Industrial Tech today
38. Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, e.g. : ARENA - Home of the Cardinal basketball teams
39. Dessert pancake : CREPE - Pierre says Krep, Pete says Krape
41. Part of USDA: Abbr. : AGR - United States Department of AGRiculture
42. Spirited diversions : LARKS
43. Febreze targets : ODORS
44. It's on the house : ROOF - MIL needs a new one but hail avoids her!
46. Not as pricey : LESS
50. Originally called : NEE - Hillary (née Rodham) Clinton
51. Jackhammer sound : RAT-A-TAT - Sometimes called the jackhammer of the forest
56. Malady : SICKNESS
61. Thrill to pieces : ELATE - I've used ELATED and ELATION but not the verb
62. Bibliog. catchall : ET AL - ...and some other guys
66. Cartoon maker of explosive tennis balls : ACME - I think Wiley Coyote had an ACME charge card
67. Pile up : AMASS
68. Jib or mizzen : SAIL - The site says this has a JIB, JIB topsail, Foresail, Mainsail, MIZZEN Mast and MIZZEN Topsail. I live 1,500 miles from an ocean but I think the Jib SAIL in the bow and the Mizzen SAIL is astern. Spitz?
69. Where to store hoes and hoses : SHED
70. Tense with excitement : WIRED - Or on 65 Down
71. Genetic material : RNA
Down:
1. Western movie star? : BADGE - Gregory Peck looks better with this "Western movie star" than with a harpoon
2. Crewmate of Chekov and Sulu : UHURA - The Enterprise's communication officer is sending Spock a message
3. Eva or Zsa Zsa : GABOR - The Kardashian's of their day
4. Part of BYOB : OWN
5. Prefix with day or night : MID
6. Fusses : ADOS
7. Small salamander : NEWT
8. Present from birth : INNATE
9. Like a political "college" : ELECTORAL - By winning this vote but not the popular vote, we got Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush
10. Fiesta Baked Beans maker : GOYA - I didn't know beans about this company but it is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S.
12. Extinct bird : DODO - Alas, we lost our own DODO in April
14. Gooey clump : BLOB - Your movie career has to start somewhere
18. "It's not too late to call" : I'M UP - Joann's twin is up past midnight every night
22. Waterway with locks : CANAL
24. JAMA subscribers : DRS - Journal of the American Medical Association
25. Much of Libya : SAHARA - Earth's largest "hot" desert
28. "Diary of a Madman" author : GOGOL - I didn't know beans about this Russian either
29. Hubbub : UPROAR
30. Bone-dry : SERE - 25 Down and this...
31. 26-Across materials : INKS
32. Fresh talk : SASS
33. Craig Ferguson, by birth : SCOT - Former Late Late Show host on CBS
34. Pakistani language : URDU
35. Eye-catching sign : NEON
36. Rained gently : SPRINKLED
40. City on the Ruhr : ESSEN - 90% of the town center was destroyed during WWII as the Krupp munition plant was a big target
45. Cosmetics-testing org. : FDA
48. Playground piece : SEESAW
49. Originate (from) : STEM
52. Wistful word : ALAS
53. Golden Horde member : TATAR - A TATAR horseman
55. Car named for a physicist : TESLA - Every physics teacher has used a TESLA coil
56. Wet septet : SEAS - Do you remember the song where wonderful Annie Lennox sang, "I travel the world and the SEVEN SEAS"?
57. Scratching target : ITCH
58. Attended the party : CAME - I hope they RSVP'ed
59. Big Mack : SEMI - Mack The Transporter
60. Fly like an eagle : SOAR - Steve Miller band tune
64. "It's no __!" : USE
65. "Dropped" '60s drug : LSD - Ex combo rat friend of mine was no stranger to this stuff
I CANBERRA DNF sometimes but not on this one! 3...2...1...Comment...
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan and Gary!
Nice puzzle. Cute theme. GOYA was perped.
Really hot here lately.
Castle has been disappointing. Not fond of Jeopardy lately.
Cheers!
There's a doctor from PRAGUE, says neurosis
ReplyDeleteIs a SICKNESS that's cured with hypnosis.
That psychotic cripplings
Are all due to siblings
So in trance they're convinced that they've NO SIS!
An astronaut traveled to SEOUL
Though it wasn't his intended goal.
He'd meant to become
The first man on the sun
So he told his voice-nav, "go to Sol"!
A handsome young fellow from TUNIS
Had worries of angular trueness.
If too much self-abuse
Had made things obtuse
Would his girl's inclination match his unit's?
There once was a wee lass from DUBLIN
Told her priest that some things were troublin'.
"I know it's a sin
To let a man in,
But how else can we manage our couplin'?"
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteFun romp through the park today. I love a good pun and this one had four of them, so I was a happy camper.
Amusingly, I initially went with GLOB instead of BLOB, which has me staring ah AHAG as a role for Gregory Peck. He played a witch? Really? That lasted for only a few seconds before I went D'OH! and fixed it.
Everything else was smooth sailing.
An easier puzzle today than yesterday's stumper. Mixed feelings about the theme. Fun, but inconsistent.
ReplyDelete- DUBLIN and SEOUL, the clue was for the companion word, PRAGUE it was for the full new word, and TUNIS could be read either way.
- PRAGUE & SEOUL were exact homonyms, the other two were so loose I wasn't positive I was reading them right.
- And NOSIS isn't a real word (despite my using it in a limerick), while the other three companions are.
I agree PRAGUENOSIS is an outlier but it is also a really fun pun. You cannot live in SoFla and avoid seeing Goya products everywhere. They make so many things and have expanded beyond beans. GOYA LINK
ReplyDeleteCASTLE spends way too much time with Nathan Fillion preening instead of letting the excellent cast act. I expect to see Rick explode onscreen from puffing himself up. The show is good when he is the foil not the focus. IMO.
I wonder when Steve McQueen will be forgotten?
Thanks Gary and Dan
Speed run today. I thought PRAGUENOSIS was inconsistent with the remaining two-word themes, but that's a nit.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of nits, that's a picture of a van de Graaff generator, not a TESLA coil.
Thanks for the write-up, HG! "Everybody's looking for something" is the next line.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCute theme. Even knowing that, I couldn't figure out the answers until I'd filled them. Then they made sense. Yes, Gary, hand up for TANS. Liked all your photos today. And yes, HowardW, I agree that one was a Van de Graaff generator.
I don't think there is a small Mack Truck.
I was once again awakened to the once-a-minute chirp of the smoke detector. Started at 1:06 AM. Stifled four minutes later. Got back to sleep about 2. I swear those gadgets only do that in the middle of the night. Why can't the battery run down at noon, instead?
... No time to comment. I'm off to see my CAIROPRACTOR. After which I'll watch a playoff game from my LUXORY BOX. Had to pay a DEN OF THEBES scalper prices! Afterwards I think I'll get away from it all and take OSLO BOAT TO CHINA.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'... "Kardashians" (plural), not "Kardashian's" (posessive), in the exposition. Extra or missing apostrophes drive me nuts. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this CW; I enjoyed sussing the play on words, and the difficulty level was great for me. Thanks, Dan!! Also thoroughly enjoyed the write-up, Thank You Gary! Anybody watch that Badger/Cornhusker game Saturday? What a great game THAT was. Unless you're a 'Husker fan, I guess. Thanks for the Limericks, Owen!!
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFun easy puzzle, today. Got the gimmick with DUBLIN DOWN. Actually helped me get SEOUL ……. Favorites were the clues for SEMI and BADGE.
Re: Mizzen - Gary, my ship had 60,000 horses and no mizzen. so all I know is what I read. The mizzen is the mast aft of the mainmast, so your depiction seems apt. Thanks for the good intro.
Have a great day.
Husker Gary: Excellent write-up & links. I'm glad you "drove Anon @8:23 nuts."
ReplyDeleteDan: Thank You for a FUN Wednesday puzzle with a theme that ELATEd me.
(Always like to begin the day with a smile).
CSO to our DODO.
Needed ESP to get STACCATO, a learning moment about "dotted musical notes."
A "toast-to-the-CUBS" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Fun puzzle. Enjoyed the punnishment a lot. Seoul is a bit overused, usually as Seoul Food but all the others were fresh and almost laugh out loud funny. Found no inconsistency with Prague, despite knowing how the Nebraska town is pronounced. Cairo in NE, as well as IL, is also different from the accepted pronunciation of the world capitol. And those two don't even agree in their wrongness. And don't get me started on Bolivar.....:-)
ReplyDeleteWanted to use Tan, but held off for proof. However, I did pencil in Torte where Crepe should have been, which slowed me down a lot. Finally got off that and it fell together.
Enjoyable write-up as well, Gary. Thank you.
Go Cubs!! You just gotta love it!
ReplyDeleteI got DUBLIN DOWN right away so I was able to at least figure out the first part of the other theme clues. This was not a hard puzzle and I was able to fill it in with one pass across and down. The down perps helped fill in NOSIS, which was the only non-obvious part of the "PROGNOSIS." Also BUSHS makes a Fiesta Grillin Beans, but it didn't fit the spaces, so perps gave me GOYA.
Although the Gabors were basically all about being celebrities, they could at least act somewhat. The Kardashians (with or without the apostrophe)on the other hand, have no talent whatsoever.
Lemon: CASTLE has to be looked at with a certain amount of amusement. You can't expect every episode to be a masterpiece because in reality it is supposed to be a comedy (or is it a "dramady"), and not really a great drama.
Fermatprime: I agree that Jeopardy is somewhat of a pain. The current champion is a smart guy, but a little bit arrogant and in my mind not very likable. Plus Alex seems to be pandering to him.
Enough of my spouting off.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Thank you Dan and Gary. What a nice start to the day.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many of you, this was no walk in the park for this DODO. Many initial thoughts were wrong leading to a big day for the eraser. 44A Free/ROOF, 18D Im in/IM UP, 25D Desert/SAHARA & 24D was a Wag that I was sure was wrong. Familiar with Tesla the inventor, but not the car.
Upstairs renovation work completed today, hopefully painting begins no later then the coming Monday. Bathrooms look terrific and the added closet space was an absolute necessity.
Nice to see the Cubs advance, Mets, Rangers, & Astros all need to beat the home team to advance. Tough order for all three, but I'll be rooting for them.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteA very enjoyable offering which I found easier than yesterday's. Fav clue was Western movie star=Badge. We have a Cairo in NY state but it's pronounced Kay-ro. Funny how different regions differ in pronunciations. Another example, all the Canandians I knew pronounced Albany as Al-bany as opposed to All-bany. One of my sisters pronounces it Aw-bany. A rose is a rose, I guess.🌹
Thanks, Dan, for the "Capital" journey and thanks, Gary, for being such a gracious guide!🌍
Because I can't drive, my hairdresser was going to make a house call today to cut my hair, but she just called to cancel due to a health problem. No big deal, though, I'm not going anywhere soon. 😕
Have a great day.
"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDeleteHG, nice write-up, and yes, I did have TANS before SUNS; my only write-over. I really enjoyed the "theme"; well-clued and clever.
Good job w the limericks today, Owen. This one has nothing to do with the puzzle other than its pun:
We just heard that our good friend, the farrier,
Noticed his davenport was much hairier.
Seems that his Yorkie, Spot,
Tends to sleep there a lot.
The couch suffers from much wear and "terrier"
Morning all -
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle today! Favorite was ACME - I was stumped on exploding tennis balls and when the perps filled in I laughed out loud! Hands up for TANS.
I have decided that Missouri does not have any original town names: Mexico, Lebanon (pronounced LEbanin), Cuba, Bourbon, Bois D'Arc (pronounced bo-dark).
Big day yesterday - the Cubs won, the Dodgers hung on to play one more game at home, and I got my acceptance letter into Nursing School! The program starts in January and I will graduate in May, 2017 with another BS. Super excited!
Have a wonderful day! I will be studying, of course :)
tawnya
Oh I don't know Tawnya. Tightwad and Nob Noster are pretty original :-)
ReplyDeleteTawnya, congrats on acceptance to Nursing School. Good luck. How 'bout Climax Springs and Conception?
ReplyDeleteVery nice puzzle, Dan. Loved the word play! Really smooth solve.
ReplyDeleteNice write-up, HG. Thanks for helping out on Wednesdays!
The nice thing about the Corner is that there are people who something about everything.
ReplyDeleteYou made me look and I saw this LINK .
Now maybe someone will explain the differences.
ReplyDeleteHello, friends!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dan! This was fun and punful, a straight sashay for me. DUBLIN DOWN led me to the theme and I had SUNS right off since URDU appeared in my mind's eye. And I have heard of GOGOL but had GOGON instead until the SALAD course appeared in TUNIS.
GOYA products are totally unfamiliar to me; they must be regional.
Thank you, Gary, for reviewing it nicely.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Lemon - I tried to open your link and my virus protector blocked the page. What up??
ReplyDeleteGreat Wednesday puzzle--challenging but doable--and I actually found it easier than yesterday's Tuesday bear. So, many thanks, Dan, and I loved the pics, Gary.
ReplyDeleteFun limerick, Moe.
Congratulations, Tawnya!
How nice that your hairdresser will come to the house, Irish Miss. We were lucky that a neighborhood barber used to be willing to bring his large black bag to our house and give Rowland a haircut and beard trim for many years. I'm still thankful for that.
Have a great day, everybody!
Congratulations Tawnya nursing is a noble profession.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jeopardy, many of the players seem to ignore the fact that the daily double clues are based on their placement on the grid, so when you have DD in the 600/1200 box, it is going to be only medium as opposed to the 1000/2000 clues. This man understands and wins by the luck of getting them and betting them
Hi everybody. I really appreciated and enjoyed this clever theme. Lots of fun. Thanks Dan and Gary.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Tanya!
Back when I was a undergraduate at Cornell, there was a secretary in the electrical engineering building whose name was Ann DeGraf. She was gorgeous in a sexy way with short blond hair, nice eye makeup and a figure right out of Playboy. I would spend many hours just watching her walk back and forth down the halls. I thought I was pretty damned clever when I thought of calling her an Ann DeGraf generator.
This was a fun, fast fill today. After the first pass through the across clues, only the fills PRAGUENOSIS and SICKNESS were blank. Perps to the rescue and TADA! Like most, my first thought was for taNS, but a peek at the perps straightened that out. Thank you, Mr. Margolis, for a fun puzzle with puns that made me smile. And thank you, Husker Gary, for an excellent expo with more puns that elicited the most positive of reactions to a pun: simultaneous chuckles and groans. Well done.
ReplyDeleteCya!
PS. I'm glad the "Golden Horde" answer was 100% filled in by perps or I'd still be racking my brain for a five letter football team.
ReplyDeleteLemonade -
ReplyDeleteThe short version is, DC vs. AC.
The van de Graaf generator works on direct current (DC). It builds up a large static charge on the globe at top. When the young gentleman touches the globe, the charge spreads out, notably to his hair, and the charged hairs repel each other with the observed effect.
A Tesla coil uses alternating current (AC).
Congratulations, Tawnya!
ReplyDeleteNot only is the current Jeopardy champion an ace at finding the daily doubles, his range of knowledge is impressive! He can answer questions on books, music, sports, math and many other categories which explains his amassing of over $400,000. And he's only 23 years old. I don't see it, but if he appears smug, he has good reason. I see him as serious and thoughtful.
As for Castle, I gave up on it after the first episode this season.
Bill:
You have such a good sense of humor.
Was the Golden Horde a TATAR source?
ReplyDeleteI think Matt Jackson is a great champ..... I find him to be very intense but very charming in his own way. I can only wish I were as smart and well rounded as he. I hope he wins millions!! Just sayin.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Tawnya, you have chosen one of my most admired and meaningful professions, the other being teaching. Best wishes with your studies.
ReplyDeleteBill G, your sense of humor is appreciated as much as your delightful descriptions of your dining-out menu choices. 🍴 🍷 🍵 🍞 🍤 🍰 ☕️ 😇
I agree with Lucina @11:56 and ANON @12:23, Matt Jackson is a great champion and I like his personality.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for the current Jeopardy champ when he was first on. But I've warmed up to him quite a bit. He's got a very harsh "Let's get on with it!" attitude when the game is on, but he's not a jerk when they're just yakking it up on the breaks. He is also very knowledgeable. I like him a lot better than that fellow who was on about a year ago. I thought he really was a jerk.
ReplyDeleteI agree this was fun and not too challenging for a Wednesday (the HUMP after the STUMP)
ReplyDeleteI had to really stretch my Brit imitation of Southern drawl to make PROG sound like PRAGUE , but that's MAH PRAABL'M, AAH REKUN.
I agree that 27A was off-theme. An easy fix would have been to make it plural - [PROG]NOSES - now the second part is at least a stand-alone word, albeit with an altered pronunciation. Changing LARKS to LARDS would give ENDS in place of INKS and complete the block.
53D. "TATAR" is not strictly correct. The "Golden Horde" of the 13th/14th centuries were called "TARTARS". It is only their modern descendants who are called TATARS.
63A. Of course, only Westerners pronounce SEOUL like "SOLE"
Hands up for Tans first. Badge was my most liked.
ReplyDeleteThe Blob remake was filmed in hometown of Abbeville La. I was an extra in the movie !!
Musings 2
ReplyDelete-Back home after 18 holes. If this is not a perfect weather day, it’ll do until one comes along!
-This Van de Graff picture you see here, generates (excuse the pun) a very similar “hair effect” as with the Tesla and the machines have a similar appearance. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! ☺
-Thanks for the gentle reminder gentlemen. Snarky Anon must be out sick today or has a lack of science knowledge that rivals his paucity of manners.
-I meant the ‘s for Kardashian’s as I think of them like ET’s or UFO’s. ☺
-The Royals will be a tough out in Kaufman Stadium tonight. They are averaging 31,000/game in a stadium that holds 34,000. There will be over 40,000 there tonight with SRO.
-Congrats Tawnya! My hospital stint this winter saw me spending lots of time with fine nurses and very little with M.D.’s (notice pluralization!).
-Wonderful puns Jerome! I wish could you get some our rains here out in wine country like we are getting here in corn country.
Puzzle was fairly straight forward and easy today. The wrap up by H. G. was really informative with great links. That song by Annie Lennox would be "Sweet Dreams", one of her best.
ReplyDeleteCubs were amazing yesterday. They hit the jackpot when Joe MADDON became the manager. He's a winner. Hoping the Stros can someway win one away today, and the Jays can win at home tonight.
Matt Jackson is no Ken Jennings personality wise, but is one outstanding contestant. His strategy of finding the Daily doubles, then betting big has worked out handsomely for him so far. OTOH, that could end up being his downfall. I like his fearlessness and that his reflexes and instant ability of mental recall are remarkable. Anyway,
$411K and still playing works for him.
I did not care for Ken. He seemed smug and smart alecky. Matt is just serious and intense while competing, not smug.
ReplyDeleteHigh Puzzle Pals,
ReplyDeleteThank you Dan for a very punny pzl. Thank you HG for a fantastic write-up to match.
Enjoying my day in Denver as I wait for my flight (I hope I can catch an earlier one).
I too found this easier than yesterday, but then I got more sleep than Monday night. My only real hangup was PRAUGENO_Ip (I had pASS for 32d - wrong fresh I guess). I still don't get SERE for arid, but I'll look it up later.
Other w/os - post b/f ITCH @57d and ESSEx at 40d. And, of course, hands up for needing to turn a T into an S at 33a. (50% right, right? Splynter :-))
So it's not Ozzy (Osbourne) @ 28d? EGAD, too many squares. I couldn't find a good link for Ozzy's Diary of a Madman live, so here's the The Eurythmics.
GOYA - great garbanzo beans for hummus. They also make mango and other syrupy fruit drinks the kids like.
Fav - ACME; Wile E.'s source for exploding anything (usually in his face)
Anon @8:23 - you's must hates my postin's
Way to go tawnya!
Go 'Stros!
Cheers, -T
NiceCuppa:
ReplyDeleteHow do you and others pronounce SEOUL? I didn't realize another pronunciation existed.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Dan Margolis, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteAs someone else said, this puzzle seemed easier than yesterday's. Got through it in fine fashion. Not one inkblot.
Theme was clever. Fun to suss out.
UHURA was slow in coming.
GABOR was easy.
My old favorite, NEWT. That was also my great grandfather's name. Newton Lincoln, Newt for short.
SEESAWs can be dangerous.
Almost wrote in DESERT for 25D, but held off for a crossword. SAHARA became obvious. Saved me a big inkblot.
Got to run. Garden Club meeting tonight and I have lots to do.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Lucina:
ReplyDeleteI pronounce it like SOUL.
Abejo
( )
Definitely a Friday worthy headscratcher! I had a lot of inkblots. It did not help that I accidentally penned the answer to 43A in the 42A slot, combine that with 30D arid b/4 sere & that whole section became very difficult to read...
ReplyDelete2 WAGs that turned out correct, I am definitely pleased with myself...
Wait a sec!
Hmm, normally I enjoy Chairman Moe's posts, but not today...
He mentioned Tans b/4 Suns... (I had tans...)
(why did I think I completed the puzzle correctly?)
Ack! After much Seoul searching, I must declare an FIW/DNF.
Apparently doing the puzzle early in the morning, then waiting till
late afternoon is hazardous to the brain cells. I knew I had some WAGs,
one of which was spelling Urdu. Somehow in reading the Blog I skipped over
33D in a rush to find 34D. Urdu! yes that's the correct spelling, I got it right!
Bzzt!
Thanks a lot Chairman Moe, if I had not read your post I would be in ignorant bliss.
Now I have to go back to being just plain miserable... (rats!)
(Cont...)
Yes, as a matter of fact, that IS me at 12:23p. And 12:39p. And 1:59p.
ReplyDeleteI might be violating a few disclosures here, but let's just say you'll be seeing a lot more of me.
Hmm, I apologize if this post seems a little grumpy, (especially to Chairman Moe.)
ReplyDeleteBut I was impressed with all the visual representations in the write up.
Yet at the same time, I feel Husker Gary is going to put me out of a
job/hobby... (The search is on! The game is afoot! I must find some visuals!)
(Hopefully without too many cats!...)
In the meantime, Desperotto@6:42, yes! it is a conspiracy! Those dang smoke
detectors only run out of battery in the middle of the night!
Even worse, every once in a while, like an intermittent electrical short, the damn
(not darn or dang but damn!) detectors in my house would announce that I was on fire in the middle of the night! But only for about 30 seconds & they would stop!
(just enough to wake you, but let you fall asleep again b/4 doing it again!)
What is worse is that all these dang thingies are connected together, so you cannot
possibly tell which one is faulty.
What is worser(!) is DW screaming at me to fix the dang thingie in the middle of the night!
(I don't see her getting up on a ladder at 3AM...Why is she yelling at me?)
Oh dear,,, I seem to be venting instead of posting...
Maybe finding some funny links might cheer me up...
To the Matt Jackson impersonator @ 2:45. You merit opprobrium rather than approbation. Boo hiss.
ReplyDeleteWell, I tried to find some Dublin Down, but the Irish seem to be a lucky bunch!
ReplyDeleteHmm,I hope that Czech Doctor was not a Proctologist...
North African diet, Hmm, I am going to need some cats for this one...
Because...
Uh Oh, I think were headed back to grumpy again...
HEY, MR. GOOGLE! Ya failed me!
These are not S. Korean Sailors!
I know what would cheer me up, if I could get a glimpse at Wile E. Coyote's Acme catalog!
Face it CED - with perhaps the exception of Marti, the GROOM is instanly responsible for any bumps , ODORS, WIRED messes, or ROOF repairs in the middle of the night. Go to the SHED get the tools (ship'd from ACME of course) and fix it.
ReplyDeleteHey, you EYED her and married on a LARK...
Since we are so entrusted, I wear it as a BADGE of honor in both SICKNESS and in health.
So MATE, are we just going to SAIL away (Styx) or just get LESS sleep? :-)
Hope you're back to yourself soon.
Cheers, -T
Anon @2:45 and other times you claim as yourself, you can't fool us. We know you are really either ARTHUR or COLBY, two of the most arrogant and smug players ever. I'll take KEN or BRAD Any day and JULIA and MATT are tops too. LOL!
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle, Thank you Dan, and a good job blogging, Husker Gary, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Tesla coils, if they work on AC current, I wonder if can store enough DC ionic energy like a van Degraaf generator. Since AC current reverses polarity at 50 (USA protocol - ) or 60 cps (other countries' protocol) - cycles per second, a person touching a Tesla coil could never have that 'hair raising' effect - there wouldn't be enough ionic energy to cause that. Actually, per Wiki, the voltages are so high, over a million eVolts, to cause a lightning effect, that a child stupid enough to touch a Tesla secondary coil, while in operation, would be fried immediately like a Yum Brands, KFC - Kentucky fried childen.
BTW, the salutation, 'hello' - Salaam aleikum - is not Urdu, but Arabic - though your cartoon link is cute. All islamic words, like the Koran/Quran itself, have to be in the Arabic. Period. Though it is also spoken ( as borrowed) in the Urdu language. According to the OED, and Wiki, Urdu is a language based on Sanskrit, thus mutually intelligible with hindi, although it is written in a modified arabic script, with additional arabic vocabulary. However, Urdu is not mutually intelligible with Arabic - and the speaker of one cannot or will not be able to understand the other. Except for some common vocabulary.
Since I'm one of the earliest viewers of Jeapordy, I'll post this before today's show is over. Those of you following this run will not want to miss today.
ReplyDeleteMusings 3
ReplyDelete-Dang, I love this site! We’ve got experts all over the place.
-Tactful corrections, alternate takes and additional info are always welcome.
-Anon @ 4:10, very interesting info. My search of the web gave me that Urdu cartoon as the first image. In script, it gave me ہیلو.
-I see your point about Van de Graff’s (appropriate apostrophe) and Tesla’s devices. I’ve made many a coif stand straight out with my Van de Graff.
-Dr. Frankenstein’s lab and other early horror movies always had electric sparks flying around.
-This Jacob’s Ladder was the star of my physics electric demos and Frankenstein Movies
-Anon, be like Georgie Girl – “Shed your downy feathers and fly!” by shedding anonymity and become a public member of our little electronic family.
Another Anon- is KFC chicken really fried? Makes me wonder. As for the puzzle, I found it very easy for a Wednesday. GOYA was the only unknown and my only other question was on the correct spelling of STACCATO; were there two 'Cs' or two 'Ts'?
ReplyDeleteAs far as pronunciations, why is it 'LEEMA, Ohio but 'LYMA'; Peru, KARO, Illinois but KYRO, Egypt; DELI, India by DELL-HI, LA; 'HOWSTON' street in NYC but 'HUES-TON, TX. Your celllphone and the second half of EXXON are 'MOBIL' but not in MOBILE, AL. Say-la-vee. But PRAYG is a new one for me.
ESSEN- 'to eat' by humans that is; Menschen 'essen' aber hunde 'fressen'. I never bothered to research why a city was named 'eat'.
And what's the problem with Matt Jackson's disposition. He knows his trivia and after I qualified to be on ' You can Win Ben Stein's Money' I can personally say that hitting the buzzer exactly after the host finishes is a huge determining factor; Jackson has a quick trigger finger. One millisecond too early lets another contestant get to answer and your only hope is that he/she gets it wrong. Matt is just trying to win money. I don't think 'likable' was what he had in mind when got on the show. TESLA was not very likable, but I certainly like what he did. If you lose any type of competition, don't complain if the opposition is better, faster, or smarter than you. Just try to improve yourself and maybe you won't be looking at their rear-end for so long.
HG- I agree with you. These people should be running NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Fermi Lab. My last English class was in 1969 and I certainly don't remember every little thing that is supposed to be 'correct' English.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThank you Dan and Husker Gary.
Yes, the puzzle was quite quick today.
Got tied up with other stuff all day, so just now reading the comments. And that reminded me...
What is a "combo rat ?"
This was shown on WGN early this morning. Have you seen it ?KMTV Skunk Prank
In case you baseball fans hadn't heard yet, that homerun that Kyle Schwarber launched did in fact land way up on top of that video scoreboard. It was spotted there by the helicopter crew of one of the news stations last night, and then a few stations filmed it there this morning. The ball has since been authenticated by representatives of MLB. The ball was put back in the position where it was found, but it is now being protected from the elements as the CUBS had a Plexiglas box built to cover it. CBS2 Chicago had a great 5PM News story on it that I wanted to link, but their website is absolutely dreadful.
Chairman Moe, from last night and previously... Yes, I would prefer a best of three series for the wild card teams. I went to some games in Cleveland. One time to see the Brewers.
Tawnya - Congratulations on being accepted to Nursing School. Great news.
ReplyDeleteAnother Anon @ 1610 - The US and Canada standard is 60 Hz. Europe is 50 Hz alternating current.
Re: Thanks, HuskerGary, for "I meant the ‘s for Kardashian’s as I think of them like ET’s or UFO’s"... and my laugh of the day. Now I understand. And, completely agree. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteChairman Moe - Seems like your limerick is the solution to today's Jumble puzzle. Is that just a coincidence?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteYes, congratulations Tawnya.
ReplyDeletePatient squirrel, tolerant dog. I don't even know what to say about that.
CEDave...Argyle is expositioning Monday AND Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThrow your hat in the ring and volunteer for one of those days! Don't get depressed because someone out-linked you...show 'em what you got! And don't worry about the time factor...the LATimes Crossword is available earlier than you think. In fact, I can write a limerick based on the 10/25/15 Sunday grid right now...
Even if you don't want the gig full-time, try it once. I know both CC and Argyle would love to have you, even as a one-time shot. I certainly know I would, and I think I speak for the Corner in saying you are much appreciated.
It's easier than creating a 🍕...and much more rewarding!
Ahh, finally back in HOU. SWA has just enough free WiFi that I could stream the game. HG - Your great write-up was awarded with a KC win tonight. In case an Astro is reading this, thanks Houston's boys of summer for a season beyond any expectations. Good baseball all year. Congrats to KC.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone done the NYT this week. Odd-ball fun puzzles are the "theme" (I picked up one at the airport). I still haven't sussed it (there was a game on), but will try again later.
CED - Right Fred is right. We'd love you doing a write up once a month or more; if not for the links, your sense of humour.
Cheers, -T