Theme:"Repossessed" - Theme entries are all in the pattern of A's B + B's C, but each B's C now belongs to A.
22A. Cheap metal lacking an owner? : NOBODY'S FOOL'S GOLD. Nobody's Fool. Fool's gold.
38A. Victims of a physicist's scam? : SCHRODINGER'S CAT'S PAWS. Schrodinger's cat. Cat's paws.
54A. Rich kind of cake baked by a newspaper employee? : PRINTER'S DEVIL'S FOOD. Printer's devil is a new term to me. See here. Devil's food.
79A. Easy jobs that are meant to be? : DESTINY'S CHILD'S PLAY. Destiny's Child. Child's play.
95A. Singer Clooney's delicate flowers? : ROSEMARY'S BABY'S BREATH. Rosemary's Baby. Baby's breath. I grokked the theme when this answer emerged. My solving is always very jumpy.
116A. Aristocrat's sunrise-to-sundown trip? : LORD'S DAY'S JOURNEY. Lord's Day. Day's journey.
Only 6 entries, but they occupy a total of 108 theme squares. I'll definitely need 144 words for anything over 100.
This grid is solidly made. Look at the lower right corner. So smooth and clean.
Across:
1. Highlander : GAEL
5. Nile dangers : ASPS
9. Cold __ : CALL. Not CASE.
13. Muslim dignitary : EMIR
17. Peak west of the Ionian Sea : ETNA
18. Hoops : B-BALL. My dad loved NBA games and could name those top players easily. Those two characters are Chinese for Jordon.
19. Like kiwifruit : OVOID
21. Tiny arachnid : MITE
25. How many modern TV shows may be seen : IN HD
26. "Maybe" : I'LL SEE. I could not parse my own answer.
27. Swinging time? : AT BAT. Nailed it.
28. "Twittering Machine" artist : KLEE
30. "I'll throw your dagger __ the house": "Twelfth Night" : O'ER
31. "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" gp. : ELO
32. Power dept. : ENER
34. Home of Lihue Airport : KAUAI. Got via crosses.
36. Private student : TUTEE
43. Topiary trees : YEWS
44. Organ to lend or bend : EAR
45. 82-Down's river : ARNO. And 82. European city whose university was officially established in 1343 : PISA Also 61. 2006 World Cup champion : ITALY
46. Drags to court : SUES
47. Enjoyed the lake : SWAM. Also 11. Gaze over, as a lake : LOOK ACROSS
50. Sushi option : EEL
51. "True Detective" network : HBO
52. Classic Ford : T-BIRD
60. Spanish article : LAS. And 106. Apennines article : UNA
62. Playground retort : ARE SO
63. Big rigs : SEMIS
67. Subject of Odysseus : ITHACAN
69. Fangorn Forest denizen : ENT. The Lord of the Rings.
70. Most intimate : CLOSEST
72. Show gratitude to : THANK
73. "Step __!" : ASIDE
76. State as fact : CLAIM
78. Like : A LA
83. "Same here" : DITTO. Not ME TOO.
85. Some smartphones : LGs
86. Lift or squat : REP Also 5. Crunched muscles : ABs
87. Belief systems : ISMs. Funny to look back on all the Marxism, Leninism, Maoism I was taught in school.
88. Dance in a pit : MOSH
89. Arrange in a cabinet : FILE
91. Chat : JAW
92. Major Pa. and N.J. routes : TPKs
101. Conductor Walter : BRUNO. Got via crosses.
102. Blender brand : OSTER
103. Land east of the Urals : ASIA
104. Symbol of strength : OAK
107. Hit the road : WENT. Tricky tense.
109. On edge : TESTY. Oh, TTP, my Google is back. I was on edge for two days. Changing Google Instant predictions to "Never" solved my blank page problem. But the Adobe Flash continues to crash for my Firefox, even if I have the updated version. OK with Boomer's Explorer.
112. Loser's fatal mistake? : SNOOZE. You snooze, you lose. I thought it might be diet-related.
114. Airman or seaman : RANK
119. "Good one!" : NICE!
120. Daft : INANE
121. Bad lighting? : ARSON. Nailed it.
122. Ire : BILE
123. Heap : SLEW
124. What leaders hold : SWAY. Easy in retrospect.
125. Nincompoop : BOOB
126. One may start with the striking of a gavel: Abbr. : SESS (Session)
Down:
1. Spirit in a bottle : GENIE
2. Chain components, perhaps : ATOLLS. Island chain.
3. As a whole : EN BLOC
4. China neighbor : LAOS. Lots of people speak French there.
6. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" setting : SAFARI. I wanted SAHARA.
7. Garden area : PLOT
8. Housekeeper's bete noire : SLOB
9. Bill sharer : CO-STAR. Movies.
10. Part of ERA: Abbr. : AVG
12. Dramatist Hellman : LILLIAN
13. Longtime Brit. music label : EMI
14. Mythical creature in Dante's "Inferno" : MINOTAUR
15. Words that have a ring to them? : I THEE WED. Nailed it.
16. Right : REDRESS
18. "Toodle-oo!" : BYE NOW
20. NASA was formed during his admin. : DDE. I thought it was established in JFK era.
23. Company excelling in many fields? : DEERE. Nice clue.
24. L.A. athlete : LAKER
29. Reputed UFO fliers : ETs
33. Magazine VIPs : EDs
35. In working order : USABLE. Not STABLE.
37. Advantages : UPSIDES
39. Choir selection : HYMN
40. Far from flush : NEEDY
41. It's quite a blow : GALE. Another great clue.
42. "Africa" band : TOTO
47. Divide into shares : SPLIT. I wanted ALLOT.
48. Ire : WRATH
49. Tyler who voices Lana on "Archer" : AISHA. Co-host of CBS's morning show "The Talk". Nice bouncy hair.
50. Bilingual subj. : ESL. Clue & answer dupe partly.
51. "Java" jazzman : HIRT
53. Upper garment parts : BOSOMS
55. Traveler's purchase : TICKET. 56. 55-Down datum: Abbr. : ETA
57. Charged, infantry-style : RAN AT
58. Wind farm features : VANES
59. __ point : FOCAL
64. They often have multiple courses : MEALS.
Reminds me of the traditional Chinese wedding in countryside & the
sumptuous meals. My youngest aunt was carried in a Jiao like this on her
wedding day.
65. Imam's faith : ISLAM
66. Goes nowhere : STAYS
68. "What happened next?" : AND THEN
69. Nestlé dessert brand : EDY'S
71. Tupperware topper : LID
74. Novelty item with an eyeglasses variety : SILLY STRAW. Total stranger to me.
75. Drink, e.g. : INGEST
76. Like Bit-O-Honey candy bars : CHEWY
77. Impudence : LIP
80. Talk show furniture : SOFA
81. Dungeness delicacy : CRAB
83. Epitome of deadness : DOORNAIL
84. Distribution : ISSUANCE
88. Homer Simpson's boss : MR. BURNS. I just love this corner.
90. Some decals : IRON-ONS
91. Two-time NFL sacks leader __ Allen : JARED. He was a Viking before? No idea.
92. "Conan" channel : TBS
93. Pen : PRISON
94. He played Klaatu in "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (2008) : KEANU
96. Shorten, in a way : MOW
97. Designer Johnson : BETSEY. Drew a blank as well. Nice straight hair. The power of flat iron.
98. States as fact : SAYS SO
99. Multimetallic Canadian coin : TOONIE
100. Nut trees : HAZELS
105. "Flowers for Algernon" author Daniel : KEYES
108. Nutmeg State collegian : ELI
110. "Born From Jets" sloganeer : SAAB
111. Newbie : TYRO
113. Solar system components : ORBS
115. Garden district on the Thames : KEW
117. Forensic ID : DNA
118. Snow or nose follower : JOB.
This type of "what or what follower" clue & fill-in-blank with
multiple answers like "Cold ___" are not as easy as they seem.
Below is more detailed information on Crossword LA tournament. Go there and get those fantastic puzzles.
I'd like to thank Barry G, D-Otto and Splynter for test-solving my puzzle and giving me constructive feedback. Also for the unsung hero Todd McClary for helping me shape the puzzle. Todd came up with the smooth upper left corner.
C.C.
Message from Alex Boisver/Elissa Grossman:
"Hi all.
The
Crosswords LA tournament was just held (October 24), at the Fowler
Museum at UCLA, and featured new puzzles from some top constructors.
Just as we do every year, we are selling the puzzles from the
tournament, with some proceeds going to support the local Reading To
Kids charity. In addition, we're selling what we're calling a "mega
pack" -- all the crosswords from the tournament, plus some bonus
puzzles. It's $6 for the basic pack, $8 for the mega pack, and full
details are below. If you're interested, head over to http://crosswordnexus.com/
The basic pack includes (all puzzles in PUZ and PDF format):
- Warm-up puzzle (Andrea Carla Michaels and Joel Elkins)
- Puzzle 1 (C.C. Burnikel)
- Puzzle 2 (Jeffrey Harris)
- Puzzle 3 (Sam Donaldson)
- Puzzle 4 (Patti Varol)
- Puzzle 5 (Trip Payne)
- Finals Puzzle (easy and hard versions -- Doug Peterson)
- Tie-breaker puzzle (Ronald Allen)
The mega pack includes all the above, plus:
- Team puzzle race (John Doppler Schiff)
- Bonus crossword (Erik Agard)
- *Outside The Box Preview Rows Garden Puzzle (Joon Pahk)
- *Diagramless Kickstarter Preview (Brendan Emmett Quigley)
- Kaidoku (Alex Boisvert)
*These two puzzles have previously been published at joonpahk.com and Brendan's diagramless kickstarter, respectively. All others have never before been published.
Thanks!"
C.C., Thanks for your writeup of @Jacob Stulberg's puzzle, and for the information about the LA Crossword Tournament -- I am looking forward to try those puzzles. However, you were too modest to point out that today's puzzle at the other major newspaper, called "Frame Job" is by you ... it was excellent! Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteDelightful puzzle today. Not only did I get the theme early on and have a blast discovering each new theme answer, knowing the theme actually helped immensely while trying to get those theme answers. I love it when that happens!
A few minor nits and missteps here and there, but nothing worth mentioning. BETSEY was a complete unknown and looked just plain wrong, but the perps were solid. I didn't get the *TADA* at the end and thought maybe BETSEY was to blame, but it turned out to be the fact that I went with UNE/ISSUENCE instead of UNA/ISSUANCE. Oops. Missed it by that much...
And yes, congrats to our glorious leader for her wonderful Sunday puzzle over at the NYT!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteOops! Failed to fall back this morning, and so did my "infallible" atomic wristwatch. It failed to phone home. As a result, I got up at the usual time.
I thought this puzzle was tough. Started right off with SCOT above OSSA, and that set the tone for the rest of the solve. It all came together in the end, but it was slower than usual. Hand up for SAHARA, C.C. And I stared at IT HE EWED for quite some time. Pass the coffee, please.
Off to try C.C.'s NYT offering...
Solved the whole puzzle but couldn't understand how ERA and AVG went together. Of course I was thinking of the Equal Rights Amendment. Had to do research to get Earned Run Average. I hate sports clues.
ReplyDeleteRabbit Rabbit
ReplyDeleteRabbit Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteA very nice challenge with lots of fun fill. The painting by KLEE is really seen all over. I normally have trouble with Jacob's
Also, I have long enjoyed AISHA since she replaced Greg Kinnear on TALK SOUP especially her turns on CSI and FRIENDS
I also love the NYT by C.C. it really underscores how much her mind works in puzzle mode
Thanks for all the entertainment
"Theme entries are all in the pattern of A's B + B's C, but each B's C now belongs to A."
ReplyDeleteSomebody please explain what the above phrase means. I have no idea.
I thought my answer of "proposal" for a clever clue for 15d was good, but the actual answer was much better!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Schrodinger, but got it from perps, though, like C.C., Sahara instead of safari held me up for a while.
I'm an NYT syndie, so I'll have to wait until next week to see C.C.'s puzzle.
Thanks for a lovely start to the day, C.C. and Jacob.
This 'REPOSSESED' puzzle was D.O.A. from the start for me because of the theme entries. And the perps didn't help because I unfamiliar with :
ReplyDeleteSCHRODINGER
SCHRODINDER'S CAT
CAT'S PAW
PRINTER'S DEVIL
DESTINY'S CHILD
LORD'S DAY
I can honestly say that I have never heard of any of those terms. or Lihue Airport, JARED Allen, KEYES, AISHA Tyler, Walter BRUNO, TOONIE (I filled LOONIE).
But for the ones i did solve, ther was some clever cluing for the answers I THEE WED, PRISON, REDRESS, ARSON, BOOB. And some NICE long fills- ISSUANCE, LOOK ACROSS, MINOTAUR, ITHACAN, SILLY STRAW.
I gave up after 40 minutes; just wasn't in my sphere of knowledge to complete today's puzzle.
We have had clues about Schrodinger' s cat before as well.as many references in posts including one joke from Bill G. last Sunday and a reference by Husker Gary in defense of TBBT last year. Physics has always been my worst subject, I won't bohr You with the detail, but I have learned much from puzzles, tv and books. Martha Grimes also wrote about this cat in her Inpector Jury novels. Anyway, here IT is.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI had some trouble gaining a foothold to suss the theme, but getting Rosemary's Baby's Breath did the trick. I did have several w/o's: Scot/Gael, Lanai/Kaual, power point/focal point, bye bye/bye now and tense/testy.. Misread choir selection as section and had to wag Keyes and Mr. Burns. Aisha Tyler is a very attractive lady who, I believe, is 6'2" tall. She towers over her View colleagues.
Thanks, Jacob, for a challenging but enjoyable start to November and thanks, CC, for a concise and informative write-up. I'm about half way through your NYT puzzle. Congrats, once again!
If the weatherman is correct, we're in for a week of Indian Summer temps and sunshine, probably the last hurrah before the cold and gloomy days leading to winter set in,
Have a great day.
"President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science." -Wikipedia. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy made the commitment to land an American on the moon "in the decade of the sixties".
ReplyDeleteA fun Sunday romp with learning (PRINTER’S DEVIL) and wit. FOOL’S GOLD got me the gimmick and then it was off to the races!
ReplyDeleteMusings
-Yes I did Lemon and here it is again: Relationship advice to Penny using SCHRODINGER’S CAT (2:18)
-SCOT not GAEL was an initial impediment
-I used to sell and a COLD CALL is terrifying!
-We may have sprayed too late to save our locust from spider MITES
-I can’t see the NFL HDTV score graphic on my old 4:3 set
-KAUAI is home to our Chef Wendy who blogs too infrequently!
-My neighbor’s dad owns this T-BIRD classic
-Of our 250 trick-or-treaters last night, most said THANK you
-Met’s fatal mistake was an error by Murphy which gave the Royals more AT BATS in their win last night
-Unless you’re a Baptist, those HYMNS can really drag
-AND THEN, AND THEN, AND THEN… (2:54)
-The ISSUANCE of licenses at our DMV is pretty quick here
-Of whom was it sang, “If you see me comin’, better step ASIDE”?
ReplyDeleteThank you Jacob Stulberg and thank you CC.
Entire before EN BLOC. Now that's a word more likely to be seen in crosswords rather than elsewhere. BYE bye before BYE NOW. Dead as a DOOR Knob? before NAIL.
Liked Right = REDRESS. Correct wrongs. What's the word for incorrect rights ? Liked how OAK and HAZEL crossed. Of course I nailed TOTO. I remember Canadian Eh commenting on the Loonie and Toonie.
SCHRODINGERS CATS PAWS was my first theme fill, working back from CATS PAWS. Then NOBODYS FOOLS GOLD fell. The rest were easy, except for PRINTERS DEVILS. That is a new term to me as well. Thanks for the link.
JARED Allen. Started with the KC Chiefs. Was a big time player with the Vikings. A leader on the Bears last year, and traded to the 1st place Carolina Panthers this year.
OK, CC good. Glad your Google search is working for you. I wanted to first determine if other search engines worked for you, or if it was specific to Google search.
As for Flash, I have been having frequent crashes as well. It crashed 3/4th of the way through this puzzle. Someday there will be enough migration and conversion to HTML5 that we will no longer need Adobe Flash, but unfortunately it is moving at a snails pace. Kind of like how so many companies and industries like retail are so slow in moving off of Windows XP based solutions.
DEERE will be excelling at mulching leaves in my yard later today. But soon I have to get ready to go to the local sports bar to watch the Steelers host the Bengals. Also, 6 large unopened bags of candy have to be taken back to the store.
SIXTEEN TONS - song sung by a coal miner
ReplyDeleteTennessee Ernie Ford and Johnny Cash versions are notable.
"If you see me coming better step aside
A lot of men didn't a lot of men died
One fist of iron the other of steel
If the right one don't get you then the left one will."
Enjoyed the theme today - the long theme answers seemed easier then the fill - so it made it easy to get a foothold up and down the puzzle and then work on the fill.
ReplyDeleteThanks HG for the BBT link on Schrodinger's cat - I hadn't seen that episode, though I get a chuckle out of the series.
Gorgeous day here - so hopefully will get out to enjoy it before flipping between Royals/Mets and Packers/Broncos this evening. Torn between wanting the Royals to finish it off vs winning the last game at home!
Thanks, CC and Jacob! I'll have to track a NYT puzzle somewhere to see CCs puzzle.
I liked this puzzle very much. Had the same experiences with it that many of you did. For example, SCOT before GAEL (which GENIE fixed), SAHARA before SAFARI (which SCHRODINGER eventually fixed), and learning what a PRINTER'S DEVIL is. Although I don't know much about modern pop music, it was DESTINY'S CHILD that broke open the theme for me. Very clever indeed (the theme, not me).
ReplyDeleteBill G, I like your jokes and your updates on your bike rides and lunches.
Aisha Tyler sure looks different on Criminal Minds, what with her hair so short and that serious expression on her face. By the way, Irish Miss, she's 6 feet tall; I looked it up. And man oh man is she a busy person who knows how to make things happen!
Best wishes to you all this fine first day of November.
Jayce, thanks for the exact height of Aisha. I saw her dressed up for their Halloween episode and whatever shoes she was wearing made her look 7' tall!
ReplyDeleteTTP - You haven't said much about your retirement transition. I do hope it has been positive. 💤
Sunday is (the) lord's day
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! Satisfying and amusing puzzle, Jacob! Great as always, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteROSEMARY' etc. was my dawning moment for the theme too. Then the rest of the theme's came easier. I had SCHRODINGERS from perps & WAG for the longest time before the CAT pounced out of the mist of memory. I filled the bottom tier and worked back up. Hand up for "scot".
BETSEY was on Dancing With The Stars but who she had an extra "E" in her name?
KIWI wasn't green or brown or hairy. OVOID was all perps.
Bill sharer wasn't "go dutch" (I had the "O"). Last fill.
Cold CALL, not CAsh
I like swinging time = AT BAT. I never watch baseball, but decided to last night at the 7th inning. That old adage about the watched pot is true. I sat through that inning and nothing was going on. Score: Mets 3, Royals 2. Left the room during a commercial. When I came back it was Mets 3, Royals 5. WHAT? How'd I miss the most important happenings? So the rest of the game was anti-climactic, but caught myself holding my breath several times. Yay, Royals! Not exactly a home team for us, but next-door.
Jayce, have you seen that video of the new big crack opening up in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming? It is accompanied by text that claims it is no sign that Yellowstone is going to erupt. Interesting! What do you think?
ReplyDeleteCorrection: who KNEW she had an extra "E"?
Where was the "in short" in the clue for T-BIRD? That's short for THUNDERBIRD.
ReplyDeleteWhat's REP about "lift or squat"?
What are LGS?
"Like" = A LA is pretty weak.
"Blow" coulda been part of the clue for 118A. It was in the clue for 41A.
PK - the beauty of being dyslexic is the brain fills in all the missing words (side-effect - one leaves out words and/or misspells shtuff). KNEW was there all along until you pointed it out and I went back; how'd I not not see it?
ReplyDeleteIf Yellowstone blows like the "crazy people" on the radio at 2a say it may, we won't have time to kiss our happy a***s goodBYE.
Looking fwd to a Mets win tonight to keep Baseball on for another day. Tin - we need another lucky shirt (sorry HG, I just want a game).
TTP - Flash will take a long time to die, but the writing is on the wall; HTML5 can't come soon enough. FWIW - I still have 2 XP VMs I use for certain tasks (believe it or don't, but one is banking - I can shut down the VM as soon as I've paid the bills and nothing resides (nor abides)). And yes, how is retirement? I just read that Leon Hale (H. Chon commentator) can't stand it and re-wrote one of his books...
C.C. - Looking forward to your NYT in next Sunday's paper.
Cheers, -lurker (-T)
Jayce: Thank you. I read and enjoy your input everyday also. That goes for everybody else too. Limericks, musings, family updates, crossword puzzle questions and nits; what's not to like.
ReplyDeleteI'm off for a short bike ride and espresso.
Irish Miss and Anon-t, now that you have asked, retirement feels largely unchallenged and consequentially insignificant. I feel like I should be chasing something. It's not like there aren't things to do, and as Chickie said, it's surprising how your day can be so fulfilled. That's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, retirement seems to be overrated. We'll see.
Of course, as I'm sure as so many have you have been before me, it could simply be akin to the transition from going 60 to 0 in no time flat.
Finished the puzzle, but just seemed to take forever, like I was trying to run in molasses. Wasn't in sync with Stulberg.
ReplyDeleteI have a question for any or all of you computer savvy people out there... :) would it be beneficial for me to upgrade my mac to OSX El Capitan ? I did their offer to upgrade to Yosemite and wasn't pleased... now I have no idea what to think... any help would be appreciated...
ReplyDeletethanx
thelma :)
Finished the puzzle, but just seemed to take forever, like I was trying to run in molasses. Wasn't in sync with Stulberg.
ReplyDeletePK, I have not looked at that video of the new big crack opening up in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, but I will look at it now.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle. Got the theme early when enough of SCHRODINGER showed up to identify him as the physicist, and that helped a lot going through the grid. A few unknowns, such as BETSEY Johnson, AISHA Tyler, and JARED Allen, but finished in about average time. Favorite clue was "Loser's fatal mistake?"=SNOOZE -- didn't get it at all, filled in with perps, and only realized its cleverness when reading the post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacob for an excellent puzzle, and CC for an equally excellent writeup.
Daylight Saving Time is over. Wouldn't it be great if we could *really* save daylight during the summer, and use it to lengthen the short winter days? DST has extended to the point when we spend more months on DST than Standard Time -- perhaps we should rename the summer time to be Standard, and in winter be on Daylight Wasting Time.
P.S. Anonymous at 5:08 PM: "What are LGS?" Some phones, such as mine, are made by the LG Electronics company.
I'm not a big fan of music videos but this one really caught my attention. Good song, good vocals, good dancing and great editing. CANDY MAN
ReplyDeleteQuick post while watching Mets and Royals BBall (base ot basket). Zobrist is AT BAT.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was a workout but I got it done with a little Google help for some of the unknown names. I solved on paper and needed Barry G's comment to realize my mistake with ISSUENCE/UNE.
I wanted Allot before SPLIT, tense before TESTY, entire before ENBLOC.
I saw Kilimanjaro from the Kenya side on our SAFARI. The snow cap is getting smaller every year and may be gone within a few years apparently.
This Canadian started to enter Loonie before TOONIE but corrected myself. There was some talk when the Toonie was first issued that the centre might be removeable if you froze the coin and hammered the centre. But they seem to be very sturdy. Also it is illegal to tamper with them so I haven't seen anyone making necklaces out of them!
C, Eh! I love the names of your currency. It's funny and accurate at the same time. Now if we can only have a twoonie. Lord knows a dollar ain't goinna get you 'nutin' 'cept a funny look.
ReplyDeleteBill G. I've heard of Aguilera before, but never listened to her music (not my cup o' tea), but I enjoyed the video. Kinda Bob Hope USOish.
Aka Thelma - Upgrade. Yeah it's a PITA, but ya' gotta. It's for your own good and it builds character :-) //seiously update...
Cheers, -T
Really late comment but I wanted to let CC know I ordered the LA puzzle packet yesterday and have been enjoying them. The "easy clues" v "hard clues" puzzle was a real eye opener.
ReplyDeleteBut my favorite was the homage to Merl Reagle. Boy I miss his Sunday puzzles. It had me chortling more than once.
Now my moral dilemma is whether to wait until next Sunday when your puzzle will be published in the San Jose Mercury or go online and do it tonight! Oh my....
GG - The pleasure is in the anticipation... That's my story and I still have my $5 I'd a' spent on the NYT today :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the Royals. I'm on one hand sad there will be no baseball until Spring-training games. On the other hand I don't have to listen to the color commentator telling me stuff that I already know. Every time I heard him talk about something (he came inside to send a message; as a hitter that sends a message...) I kept thinking of the Nostradamus of the End Zone routine. Hush damn it, I'm watching the game...
Way to go KC! Look out next year - the 'Stros are comin' for ya'.
Cheers, -T
I watched the Royals win! Pretty exciting! Either the loyal fans here were celebrating with fireworks all over the city or we had a helluva gang shooting war somewhere. Startled me. I'm sure the sports bars were full tonight so I shouldn't be surprised.
ReplyDeleteGood Monday morning, folks. Thank you, Jacob Stulberg, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteStarted this late Saturday night. Worked on it off and on Sunday, and finished it this morning. It was a little tough.
Took a while for the theme to fall. ROSEMARY'S BABY BREATH was first.
Took me forever to get the SW corner.
13A Muslim dignitary seemed odd as a clue for EMIR. I think of an EMIR as a political leader, i.e.: President, Prince, King, etc. Not a religious leader.
Liked DEERE for23D. Clever.
No idea who AISHA is. Same for BETSEY.
I also wanted SAHARA in stead of SAFARI. SAFARI won that battle, after FOOL.
Not familiar with SILLY STRAWS. Maybe because I do not have young children anymore.
I am done. See you on Tuesday.
Abejo
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