Theme: Opposites Attract - the four theme entries start with a pair of antonyms:
18A. Present to a large degree : OUT IN FORCE.
23A. "Pontoon" Grammy-winning country group : LITTLE BIG TOWN. Crosses all the way, I've never heard of 'em. Was "Little Big Horn" too much of a gimme for a Thursday?
57A. City in a classic Sinatra song : OLD NEW YORK. "... I'll make a brand new start of it, in old New York ...". Frank seemed to have a lot of "favorite" cities. Chicago, Las Vegas - I guess eventually he worked his way around to this one, no harm in currying favor with the locals, sells lots of records.
50A. Digressing : OFF ON A TANGENT. A tendency of we bloggers, it's hard to resist sometimes.
Good morrow! Steve here from Nottingham, home of Robin Hood and the dastardly sheriff. There's even a street called "Maid Marian Way" - I think they might be going a little far with this. Fun place though, I'm staying a stone's throw from Nottingham Castle - should be pretty easy to shoot an arrow through the portals if I get the urge.
Enough of that tangent, let's get down to some puzzle.
There's a familiar name on the masthead today, and a tight theme with some of C.C.'s signature long downs - four in this case, stacked in pairs. I needed all the perps for 23A (never heard of 'em) but the others slipped in pretty easily once the theme emerged. I like the Thursdays where now it seems you get theme-age and no reveal entry; part of the fun for me is figuring out the theme.
Across:
1. Letters before Choice, Prime or Select : USDA. Food! The top three grades of steak as inspected by the US Department of Agriculture. You're unlikely to find Choice in your local market - almost all of it goes to specialty butchers and high-end steak houses. Choice-grade 30-day dry-aged bone-in rib-eye medium-rare? Oh, go on then, twist my arm (and I'm running out of hyphens).
5. Filter target : SPAM
9. Hockey legend Phil, to fans : ESPO. Mr. Philip Esposito on his mail.
13. Fork locale : ROAD. As the great Yogi Berra said - "When you get to a fork in the road, take it".
14. "Meet John Doe" director : CAPRA
16. Kept in the email thread : CC'ED. Can you have a CSO to yourself? Nice one, C.C!
17. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO
20. Farm kids' hangout : LEA. Goats or the farmer's offspring and friends? Works either way.
21. "Very cute!" sounds : AWS
22. Trojan who survived the fall of Troy : AENEAS. If "survived" is a euphemism for "fled before things got serious" then we're OK here. Apparently he was only following the instructions of the gods. Yeah, right.
27. Dyes : COLORS
28. Head for the hills : SCRAM. The gods' instructions to Aeneas?
29. "Same here" : AS AM I. Un-parsed, I saw ASAMI and decided that would be a great brand name for ponzu sauce.
30. Mother of the Titans : GAEA. Nailed it! Well, sorta, after I tried GIEA, GAIA, ummm, no wait, ummm ....
31. When said thrice, "and so on" : YADA
35. Sleep stage : REM. "To sleep, perchance to dream whilst in that bless'd state of slumber beknow'st as REM".
36. Civil War nickname : ABE
38. "Unbelievable" rock band : EMF. What is unbelievable is that this was released in 1990. Where did the time go?
40. Bit of advice : TIP
41. Thin nail : BRAD
43. Tiny army members : ANTS
45. Peel and Stone : EMMAS. One character, one actress. Let's go with Diana Rigg's portrayal of Ms. Peel in "The Avengers".
47. Ill-fated energy company : ENRON
49. Tough as nails, e.g. : SIMILE. Took me a little while to see this, although I'm getting more used to seeing "e.g" in a clue as a warning sign: "Do not take this literally". This whole section needed some serious attention due to the peculiar letter progressions in "ATM INSIDE". I'll talk more about that later.
53. Obnoxious type, in slang : CREEPO
54. Recycled container : CAN.
55. Blubber : SOB
60. Cellar dweller? : WINE. My favorite cave-denizens.
61. Loving murmurs : COOS
62. Flood deterrent : LEVEE
63. Birth of an invention : IDEA. Aha! Light Bulb! Eureka! Plenty of crossword-fodder around these.
64. Youngest Brontë : ANNE
65. Complimentary ticket : PASS
66. Class struggle? : TEST. Aced it!
Down:
1. River through Kazakhstan : URAL. Are there any others? I'm sure there are, not in these pages through.
2. Poor sport : SORE LOSER
3. "My religion is kindness" speaker : DALAI LAMA. I hope I'm using the right term with "stacked" regarding down answers, but C.C's pretty good at stacking, and intersecting her theme entries.
4. Rumpus : ADO
5. Displeased looks : SCOWLS
6. Short stop : PAUSE
7. Well-suited : APT
8. Sports doc's order : MRI
9. Thrifty management : ECONOMY
10. Common fastener : SCREW
11. Bakery nut : PECAN
12. Some Ben Jonson poems : ODES. Including one to himself. Seems a little ego-centric!
15. No more stars, to astronomers : ANAGRAM. Loved it. I like anagrams.
19. Greek pizza topping : FETA
21. Well-lit courts : ATRIA
24. "Bad as Me" singer Waits : TOM
25. Troop gp. : B.S.A. I always forget about this group when crosswords come up. Boy Scouts of America.
26. Frozen treats : ICEES
27. Paleo diet no-no : CARB. The diet itself is controversial (as all these diets eventually are) as the magic-cure all. There's plenty of doubt around the basis of the diet, but if it works for you, then stick with it.
30. Piazza de Ferrari city : GENOA
32. Sign appealing to short people? : ATM INSIDE. Great clue, and just from the way the crosses were falling it took me quite a while to parse this correctly. When I see "short people" and I have A*MIN*N**** I'm already seeing "MINI" and trying to fit something around that. This corner was my last and probably took as long as the rest of the puzzle.
33. Land line signals : DIAL TONES. Not heard one of these for a while. I've not had a land line for at least 10 years.
34. Church niche : APSE
37. White-faced predator : BARN OWL
39. Make a false show of : FEIGN
42. Department created during the Truman administration : DEFENSE. Wow, I was surprised it was so recent.
44. Big bang cause : TNT. Dynamite clue!
46. Fr. title : MME. Mademoiselle in Marseille.
48. "Uh-uh!" : NOPE
49. Ladders' counterparts : SNAKES. Scary board gave this three-year-old some unsettling dreams back in 1960-ahem. They weren't happy, cartoon-ey snakes, they were nasty buggers that wanted to eat small children.
50. DuPont acrylic : ORLON
51. Was nourished by : FED ON. Children to board-game snakes.
52. Lots and lots : ACRES
53. __-Cola : COCA
56. Exhausted : BEAT
58. "Uh-huh!" : YEP
59. Lab eggs : OVA
60. Clever one : WIT
That's all from me - here's the grid.
Steve
18A. Present to a large degree : OUT IN FORCE.
| May the force be out in force with you |
23A. "Pontoon" Grammy-winning country group : LITTLE BIG TOWN. Crosses all the way, I've never heard of 'em. Was "Little Big Horn" too much of a gimme for a Thursday?
57A. City in a classic Sinatra song : OLD NEW YORK. "... I'll make a brand new start of it, in old New York ...". Frank seemed to have a lot of "favorite" cities. Chicago, Las Vegas - I guess eventually he worked his way around to this one, no harm in currying favor with the locals, sells lots of records.
50A. Digressing : OFF ON A TANGENT. A tendency of we bloggers, it's hard to resist sometimes.
Good morrow! Steve here from Nottingham, home of Robin Hood and the dastardly sheriff. There's even a street called "Maid Marian Way" - I think they might be going a little far with this. Fun place though, I'm staying a stone's throw from Nottingham Castle - should be pretty easy to shoot an arrow through the portals if I get the urge.
 |
| Teaching Robin Hood some archery skills |
Enough of that tangent, let's get down to some puzzle.
There's a familiar name on the masthead today, and a tight theme with some of C.C.'s signature long downs - four in this case, stacked in pairs. I needed all the perps for 23A (never heard of 'em) but the others slipped in pretty easily once the theme emerged. I like the Thursdays where now it seems you get theme-age and no reveal entry; part of the fun for me is figuring out the theme.
Across:
1. Letters before Choice, Prime or Select : USDA. Food! The top three grades of steak as inspected by the US Department of Agriculture. You're unlikely to find Choice in your local market - almost all of it goes to specialty butchers and high-end steak houses. Choice-grade 30-day dry-aged bone-in rib-eye medium-rare? Oh, go on then, twist my arm (and I'm running out of hyphens).
5. Filter target : SPAM
9. Hockey legend Phil, to fans : ESPO. Mr. Philip Esposito on his mail.
13. Fork locale : ROAD. As the great Yogi Berra said - "When you get to a fork in the road, take it".
14. "Meet John Doe" director : CAPRA
16. Kept in the email thread : CC'ED. Can you have a CSO to yourself? Nice one, C.C!
17. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO
20. Farm kids' hangout : LEA. Goats or the farmer's offspring and friends? Works either way.
21. "Very cute!" sounds : AWS
22. Trojan who survived the fall of Troy : AENEAS. If "survived" is a euphemism for "fled before things got serious" then we're OK here. Apparently he was only following the instructions of the gods. Yeah, right.
27. Dyes : COLORS
28. Head for the hills : SCRAM. The gods' instructions to Aeneas?
29. "Same here" : AS AM I. Un-parsed, I saw ASAMI and decided that would be a great brand name for ponzu sauce.
30. Mother of the Titans : GAEA. Nailed it! Well, sorta, after I tried GIEA, GAIA, ummm, no wait, ummm ....
31. When said thrice, "and so on" : YADA
35. Sleep stage : REM. "To sleep, perchance to dream whilst in that bless'd state of slumber beknow'st as REM".
36. Civil War nickname : ABE
38. "Unbelievable" rock band : EMF. What is unbelievable is that this was released in 1990. Where did the time go?
40. Bit of advice : TIP
41. Thin nail : BRAD
43. Tiny army members : ANTS
45. Peel and Stone : EMMAS. One character, one actress. Let's go with Diana Rigg's portrayal of Ms. Peel in "The Avengers".
47. Ill-fated energy company : ENRON
49. Tough as nails, e.g. : SIMILE. Took me a little while to see this, although I'm getting more used to seeing "e.g" in a clue as a warning sign: "Do not take this literally". This whole section needed some serious attention due to the peculiar letter progressions in "ATM INSIDE". I'll talk more about that later.
53. Obnoxious type, in slang : CREEPO
54. Recycled container : CAN.
55. Blubber : SOB
60. Cellar dweller? : WINE. My favorite cave-denizens.
61. Loving murmurs : COOS
62. Flood deterrent : LEVEE
63. Birth of an invention : IDEA. Aha! Light Bulb! Eureka! Plenty of crossword-fodder around these.
64. Youngest Brontë : ANNE
65. Complimentary ticket : PASS
66. Class struggle? : TEST. Aced it!
Down:
1. River through Kazakhstan : URAL. Are there any others? I'm sure there are, not in these pages through.
2. Poor sport : SORE LOSER
3. "My religion is kindness" speaker : DALAI LAMA. I hope I'm using the right term with "stacked" regarding down answers, but C.C's pretty good at stacking, and intersecting her theme entries.
4. Rumpus : ADO
5. Displeased looks : SCOWLS
6. Short stop : PAUSE
7. Well-suited : APT
8. Sports doc's order : MRI
9. Thrifty management : ECONOMY
10. Common fastener : SCREW
11. Bakery nut : PECAN
12. Some Ben Jonson poems : ODES. Including one to himself. Seems a little ego-centric!
15. No more stars, to astronomers : ANAGRAM. Loved it. I like anagrams.
19. Greek pizza topping : FETA
21. Well-lit courts : ATRIA
24. "Bad as Me" singer Waits : TOM
25. Troop gp. : B.S.A. I always forget about this group when crosswords come up. Boy Scouts of America.
26. Frozen treats : ICEES
27. Paleo diet no-no : CARB. The diet itself is controversial (as all these diets eventually are) as the magic-cure all. There's plenty of doubt around the basis of the diet, but if it works for you, then stick with it.
30. Piazza de Ferrari city : GENOA
32. Sign appealing to short people? : ATM INSIDE. Great clue, and just from the way the crosses were falling it took me quite a while to parse this correctly. When I see "short people" and I have A*MIN*N**** I'm already seeing "MINI" and trying to fit something around that. This corner was my last and probably took as long as the rest of the puzzle.
33. Land line signals : DIAL TONES. Not heard one of these for a while. I've not had a land line for at least 10 years.
34. Church niche : APSE
37. White-faced predator : BARN OWL
39. Make a false show of : FEIGN
42. Department created during the Truman administration : DEFENSE. Wow, I was surprised it was so recent.
44. Big bang cause : TNT. Dynamite clue!
46. Fr. title : MME. Mademoiselle in Marseille.
48. "Uh-uh!" : NOPE
49. Ladders' counterparts : SNAKES. Scary board gave this three-year-old some unsettling dreams back in 1960-ahem. They weren't happy, cartoon-ey snakes, they were nasty buggers that wanted to eat small children.
50. DuPont acrylic : ORLON
51. Was nourished by : FED ON. Children to board-game snakes.
52. Lots and lots : ACRES
53. __-Cola : COCA
56. Exhausted : BEAT
58. "Uh-huh!" : YEP
59. Lab eggs : OVA
60. Clever one : WIT
That's all from me - here's the grid.
Steve
Notes from C.C.:
1) Hello, handsome archer! Yeah, I'd call those four long Downs "stacks". Thanks for being here for us today and every Thursday. What's that on your right wrist?
2) I'd also like to thank Argyle, Melissa, Ron, Gary, Lemonade, Splynter for their brilliant write-ups week after week. Dear Marti too. I'm so grateful for your time, commitment & friendship. Thank you for always being there for me off the blog as well. I'm so blessed and lucky to have you on our team.
3) And my heartfelt "Thank you" to Rich Norris, his assistant Patti Varol, his test solvers, his fact checker and all LAT constructors. Thanks for the daily entertainment. I can't tell you how many half-baked ideas I've sent to Rich. He's always so patient & gentle. Rich tightens up my themes like this TIME FRAME. It was not that orderly when I first made it. I'll never forget how Rich improved drastically this TRIATHLON puzzle I made. Look at the skeletal grid I attached at the end of Argyle's write-up. Rich also spices up my clues, today's ATM INSIDE is a good example. Rich does this for every constructor, day after day.
3) And my heartfelt "Thank you" to Rich Norris, his assistant Patti Varol, his test solvers, his fact checker and all LAT constructors. Thanks for the daily entertainment. I can't tell you how many half-baked ideas I've sent to Rich. He's always so patient & gentle. Rich tightens up my themes like this TIME FRAME. It was not that orderly when I first made it. I'll never forget how Rich improved drastically this TRIATHLON puzzle I made. Look at the skeletal grid I attached at the end of Argyle's write-up. Rich also spices up my clues, today's ATM INSIDE is a good example. Rich does this for every constructor, day after day.
4) My "Thank you" also goes to our faithful readers, esp our regulars. My life would be hard without D-Otto's guidance or Barry G's always reliable feedback. Thanks for your generous donations, comments & emails. Thanks for the hard-boiled egg tips, poems, hilarious cat/dog video clips, thanks for being part of our little community.
Happy Thanksgiving!
A Turkey Day success for the puzzle, can only hope the family get together will be the same.
ReplyDeleteNever saw the theme until reading Steve's write up. However, they were fun solves.
Needed a lot of perp help and pure guesswork today. Too many bands that I never heard of and who will soon be forgotten.
32D was favorite ....Sign appealing to short people/ATM INSIDE. Was sure GAEA would be incorrect, but did not see any alternative.
Frank belts out New York New York in the stadium after every Yankee win.
Off to Newburyport, Ma for the day to visit older son and family. Younger son is driving us. Hope I can keep my mouth shut when controversial subjects arise.
This is a significant day for the LW and me -- our 20-something anniversary (28 or 29 I think). I don't remember the date that year, but we agreed to celebrate it on Thanksgiving every year for simplicity.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle took two sittings with a nap in between, and a lot of changes before I got the ta-da. For example CLICHE before SIMILE clicked so well with CHUTES before SNAKES. The crosswordese band ELO before unknown EMF was my final correction. Even took me a bit to recognize the theme, since the wordings of OUT IN and OFF ON were so natural that they didn't register as oxymoronic.
It happened uneventfully upon a sunny night
Attested by the blind who saw the rapturous sight
When the bad and good were cleft
People who were right were left,
While those who had been wrong all filed right!
A turkey who was feeling down went off to see a goose.
ReplyDeleteHe said, "I fear that I will soon be cooked in my own juice!"
The goose, much to his credit
To the tom was sympathetic
So together they concocted quite a ruse.
Said the goose, "We'll work together
If you'll lend me some fine feathers
Then thus I will pretend
That I'm you inside your pen
And reveal myself just 'fore my head they sever!"
"For Thanksgiving they want turkey, not a goose.
So disappointed, I am sure they'll turn me loose.
Then next month in the winter
They'll want goose for Christmas dinner,
And we'll switch and put this plan again to use!"
So that year Thanksgiving dinner featured SPAM,
And Christmas time saw tuna from a can!
But then along came Easter
With a pig the feast to feature,
And the masquerading fowls were served as ham!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, CC and Steve! Great work!
No problems with anything.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Cheers!
How appropriate on this day where we give thanks that we get our entertainment from a C.C. puzzle with Steve's always fun write up.
ReplyDeleteI too did not know LITTLE BIG TOWN and while I remembered UNBELIEVABLE the name END was beyond me.
I also want to give thanks for all who work to make the Corner such a welcoming interesting place. Also thanks to all who make the puzzles and especially thanks to those who read what we write every day and bring their individual perspectives. For those like Barry G., Kazie, JD, Hahtoolah, Hondo, Tinbeni and others who have been here so long.
Those who have contributed and moved on, and those who have left us like Clear Ayes, Eddy B. and Dodo.
Thank you all.
Sorry, I still don't get the astronomer/anagram connection - could someone please elaborate? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMorning, all (and a very sincere thanks to all who make this such a wonderful place to visit every day)!
ReplyDeleteI struggled with this one, to be honest. I never did get the theme, so that didn't help. And I had a couple of key wrong answers that mucked things up. One was CHUTES instead of SNAKES. Played the former, never heard of the latter. Then, I reflexively put in ELO instead of EMF. Any three letter rock band is gonna be ELO, right? Especially when it starts with an E? Sadly, not this time. I've never heard of EMF and really had trouble removing ELO from the grid when things didn't work.
LITTLE BIG TOWN was also a complete unknown to me, so that didn't help matters any.
All of those problems eventually sorted themselves out, but what REALLY killed me was ANAGRAM. Kudos to a clever clue, but without a question mark I just couldn't see the trick for what it was. I kept thinking there was some sort of scientific term for a lack of stars and was wondering whether ADASTRAL was a thing. Except that it didn't fit, so maybe something even more obscure like ADATRAL? It didn't help that I still had ELO in place, so I "knew" the answer had to end in RAL.
Ah well, the light bulb finally (FINALLY!) went on and I managed to get the job done, but I was really confused there for awhile...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Disregard my last comment - the V8 can just hit me!
ReplyDeleteBill: The letters in the word ASTRONOMER can be rearranged to form NO MORE STARS. So "no more stars" is an example of an anagram to ASTRONOMERS. The clue is purposely vague (and perhaps even ungrammatical), but I suppose that's what makes it so tricky.
ReplyDeleteOK, disregard my answer, then... ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks to CC and all her 'helpers.'
ReplyDeleteYou've become cyberfriends over the years.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great weekend,
Montana
Hello, friends! Happy Thanksgiving!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever puzzle, C.C. At first glance it seemed daunting but then the NW corner filled quickly, the top center stumped me for a while so I slid downward and finished the bottom in very little time. Ha!
Class struggle, TEST was clever! But sign appealing to short people, ATMINSIDE really beat it.
Finally, only the top was left and suddenly CAPRA came out of the blue and the rest followed. Short stop, PAUSE, made me smile.
Thank you, C.C. for all that you do and especially for organizing this wonderful corner where cyber friends often become real friends. I'm grateful for all the bloggers who enlighten us daily with wit, wisdom and humor.
Thank you, Steve, for your analysis today and for illuminating the theme. I don't know how you do it, blogging from all corners of the globe.
Have a safe day today and enjoy your family as much as the dinner!
What a clever, fun puzzle. Thank you CC, and thanks Steve for an entertaining expo.
ReplyDeleteSteve, it has been my experience that "choice" grade beef is what is most available to the average consumer. It's the grade above, the prime cuts, that go to restaurants, etc.
Gotta go. I need to start cooking the feast.
Cya!
From Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteU.S. Prime – Highest in quality and intramuscular fat, limited supply.
U.S. Choice – High quality, widely available in foodservice industry and retail markets
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteDidn't get the theme and, once again, figured I'd missed the reveal. At least it's some comfort to know there wasn't one -- reveal, that is. Very clever theme. Cute that C.C. included her own shoutout.
Hand up for GAIA before GAEA showed up. Another hand up for Chutes before SNAKES slithered in. Didn't know they'd changed the game.
The judge doesn't like it when you show up for jury duty and answer "Yada, yada, yada" to the oath.
Our desk phone in the office is VOIP, but Vonage provides a DIALTONE. I hooked it up to the house's phone wiring, so we could add a second phone in the kitchen. That one doesn't ring. I also have a cell -- an ancient always-turned-off flip-phone that I keep in the pickup for emergencies. Sort of had one yesterday. As I was backing out of the driveway the power steering went out in my truck. For some unknown reason, the serpentine belt had jumped the track. AvgJoe thought maybe it was the work of a squirrel. Dunno. Didn't find any squished remains. Fixed now, thanks to a You-Tube video.
PECAN reminds me that I bought a couple pounds of in-the-shell pecans yesterday. They're only available late November through mid-January.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and have laid in an adequate supply of Pepto-Bismol. Special thanks to C.C. and the daily bloggers and to all the Cornerites -- even the lurkers -- for making this such a cordial, welcoming, informative and often humorous home-away-from-home.
The past tense of CC is CCD (crosswordese for "cc'd"), not CCED (just as the past tense of BCC is BCCD, not BCCED). The words ("[blind] carbon copy") are abbreviated, and therefore so should be the suffix "ed."
ReplyDeleteThe DEFENSE department was not "created in the Truman administration"; the WAR department was renamed (as the Navy department was subordinated to it and the Army and Air Force departments created under it).
Fun Turkey day puzzle and write up. Thank you CC and Steve. There were "acres" of good clues. ie, Lots and lots. :>)
ReplyDeleteClass test, sign for short people, and short stop... That last one FEIGNed me out as I first thought of baseball.
Head for the hills. SCRAM. Like that Geico commercial.
0:06 / 0:30
Let's Hide Behind the Chainsaws - Geico
"Run for the cemetary !"
ANAGRAM - had all but the ending AM but didn't see it until skipping that area for awhile. GAEA and EMF were both unknown and all perps.
Pretty much what Steve said about ATM INSIDE. Took a few secs to parse BARNOWL as well.
Never heard of Snakes and Ladders. My sister, the board game queen, had Chutes and Ladders.
Little Big Town sounds much like a Country and Western version of Crosby Stills Nash and Young. It's more about the tight harmony rather than having a single person front the group. You'd have to like Country.
What’s Your Beef – Prime, Choice or Select?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Fun puzzle, with the theme not evident until after completion. And not much "crosswordese". Never heard of LITTLE BIG TOWN, or EMF. Tried USO before BSA, and certainly would have tried GAiA before GAEA had the E not already been in place. Liked the ANAGRAM clue especially, and found ATM INSIDE the hardest to figure out.
ReplyDeleteSNAKES and Ladders was the English version; Chutes and Ladders is American. The game has an interesting history.
Steve, you're being a little hard on AENEAS, aren't you? He fled after the fall of Troy, but had fought during its defense. Despite that quibble, an excellent summary. And by mentioning Yogi Berra, you brought a baseball reference to an unusual baseball-less CC puzzle.
And since this is Thanksgiving, may I express my thanks not just to Steve, but to CC, Argyle, Splynter, Melissa, Lemonade, Jazzbumpa, HG, Marti (have I omitted anyone? sorry if I did) who put together this column each and every day. Not to mention all the commenters, regular and ir-. I've done a daily crossword (or two!) for years, but now "The Corner" is a necessary part of the daily getting-started routine.
Good morning, gang - just wanted to pop in and wish everybody the happiest of Thanksgivings (and also to aggravate C.C.); we've all got so very much to be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed the puzzle today, especially the 'ATM inside' answer, which took me forever to parse. Nicely done; clever clues.
Have an outstanding day and hopefully for everyone, a nice long weekend.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWBS. Never heard of Snakes and Ladders or a band named EMF, so that neighborhood had some real urban renewal requirements. Still, I appreciated the clever theme! Thanks for another fine project, C.C.
Morning, Steve, thanks for filling us in on Snakes and Ladders. I'm guessing that Chutes and Ladders was a later version, aimed at the American market.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
Just had to post to tell all of you how truly special C.C. is. I have been reading this blog for many years (probably since it's inception) occasionally posting my thoughts but always posting as an "anonymous." For the past week or so I have been unable to access the puzzles via cruciverb.com. Inquiries go unanswered. Not knowing where to turn and needing my puzzle fix I emailed C.C. She promptly answered my email and sent a link for the puzzle yesterday AND told me she would send the puzzle today. Sure enough, my puzzle link was emailed to me this morning and, as an added surprise, C.C. was the author! Such great attention to her followers! Just wanted all of you to know!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteSussed the wonderful theme. but a DNF for me anyway.
Never heard of SANKES and Ladders, and that's probably a good thing. [Are the SNAKES adders?]
Don't know EMF, and sadly missed FEIGN. Not a lot of - GN words to chose from. Missed the SIMILE, but got the anagram.
Despite all that, I have so much to be thankful for. That includes the amazing C. C., this blog, and all of my friends here.
Stuffing is in the crock pot, bird in the roaster. People arriving 1-sh. My daughter's fam has been sick, so we might not see them today. Haveing part 2 with my steps son et al on Sat, so there will be another chance.
Maybe the Lions can keep it going against the deeply troubles Eagles.
Have a great holiday, everyone.
Thankful regards!
JzB
Hi. I've been reading this blog daily (or nearly...), after having completed the LATimes xword daily (or nearly!), but have not contributed before now. (I'm not shy, just... lazy?)
ReplyDeleteI want to add my thanks to all the constructors, bloggers, and commenters to make this spot such an interesting and informative start to my day. I've been working xwords off and on for something like 45 years now (I just turned 60, darn it...), mostly "on" for the last year or so. Not sure I have much "new" to contribute, but definitely wanted to add my "thanks" to the pile.
Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!
Hands up for ELO never heard of EM WHO and the song in the link.
ReplyDeleteHands up for not getting ANAGRAM NO MORE STARS
This one ate my lunch ~!~!
But a very good puzzle !!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun Thursday puzzled. I chuckled at CC'ED. Good call, because I forgot to check before I started. My hand is up for ATM INSIDE! Thanks Steve for the romp through the Sherwood Forest. Have a great time. MME is the abbreviation for Madame--hence part of my email address and my license plate. Mlle is the shorthand for Mademoiselle. The French language police are trying to use Madame for both married and unmarried women. Maybe like Ms. ? Although married or unmarried women of a certain age are addressed as Madame--unless you are Coco Chanel who always used Mlle.
I am grateful to have found this special place. I always feel I have missed something when my day begins without stopping here first. I enjoy everything about the Corner. You are a grand crowd. Thanks C.C. for gathering this group. Enjoy the day!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAnother gem from CC, our prolific puzzle provider. It took me awhile to catch the theme but it eventually made sense. Lots of clever cluing, which is a CC trademark and lots of fresh, interesting fill. In short, a very enjoyable solve with just the right amount of chewiness!
Thank you, CC,for the pre-turkey treat and thanks, Steve, for your long-distance analysis. A huge thank you to Argyle, Melissa B, JazzB, Husker Gary, Steve, Lemonade, Splynter and CC for the time, effort, and dedication you all give, day after day. Thanks to CC for creating this cozy, welcoming, supportive Corner and thanks to all those who nurture this special "family."
My Thanksgiving started out auspiciously enough with an email from none other than the Director of the FBI, James Comey, informing me that I'm going to receive $5.9 million dollars as a result of some shady Nigerian scams that have been thwarted by the Cyber Fraud Division. I only have to wire $250.00 to receive an ATM (Inside, maybe?) card which would allow me to withdraw up to $15,000 a day. Is this my lucky day, or what? My first thought about how I would spend this windfall was to throw a big bash at a fancy-shamcy resort for all of the Cornerites and buy everyone a round trip ticket and add some spending money, to boot! Sound good?
Back to reality, folks. It was nice to hear from Blue Iris, Windhover, and Dennis. Hope all is well with everyone.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone. (I know I have a lot to be thankful for.)
I don't have the VW anymore. . . . My plate creates a lot of interesting stop light conversations. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWishing everyone a safe and enjoyable
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving holiday!
I'm with Hondo, if I stay quiet at the inlaws today,
the casualty rate will be low(er).
The sun will never rise on a day when I am not amazed by C.C.’s verbal facility and construction skill.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I needed Steve’s great write-up for the theme. I may need more coffee
-Salt and sand crews will be OUT IN FORCE today but we will not make it to Lincoln
-OFF ON A TANGENT? Can you see my hand in the air?
-Steve, putting that beautiful piece of meat next to SPAM? How gauche! ☺
-Famous fork in the ROAD
-Do you remember Smokey Stover and “SCRAM, gravy ain’t wavy?”
-The Goddess of Green!
-Three-letter band starting with E isn’t ELO?
-My TESTS were open-notebook as I tried to test for learning not memorization
-A SORE LOSER who got fired a year ago
-Short stop as two words is as close as C.C. got to baseball today
-The best movie line with the word ECONOMY in it (:33) spoken by the fabulous Arthur Treacher
-Fabulous ANAGRAM clue was about no more stars was “lights out”!
-My card would not work in the ATM yesterday and so I called my bank. Yup, I was using the wrong card!
-FEIGN
-Gotta run and get MIL. At least we can celebrate with her until the ice comes this afternoon.
Fun puzzle. Thanks CC, Steve, Rich and everybody else.
ReplyDeleteSteve said: "Part of the fun for me is figuring out the theme." I missed out on that part of the fun today. I never did make sense of it until reading the writeup. Now I'm embarrassed since it seems so obvious...
WEES. I know of Chutes and Ladders; no snakes.
I'm a big fan of both Emmas.
We did Thanksgiving dinner last Saturday since our son and his girlfriend are off to Mexico and Cuba today. It will be unusually quiet around here.
Dearest C.C., the thanks are all ours, not only for your wonderful dedication to this blog, but also for your brilliant puzzles and your incredible kindness to simply everyone. You are an inspiration to all of us! And my thanks too for your team and for everyone who works hard to make every morning in the corner an enjoyable pleasure for us all.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was actually a bit of a Thanksgiving toughie for me, and not only did I not get ANAGRAM, but I still didn't get it until some of you explained it just now. But I don't care, I loved working on this puzzle anyway.
Irish Miss, I loved your post this morning.
My family arrived safely and we had our first dinner together in a year last night. It was lovely to see everyone, especially my sweet 11 year old grandson.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day, everyone.
Happy TG, and thanks CC., the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood
ReplyDeleteLOVELY to see Ms. PEEL again - it feels like an age.
The clues for ANAGRAM and ATM INSIDE qualify as CRYTIC. It this a new trend? – I'm all for it of course.
Enjoyed uh-uh and uh-huh. I will try to remember the difference now - quite thematic too.
My major WHINE concerned WINE. Nice rhyming clue, but in my book, inanimate, stationary things do not DWELL. Only animals/objects with a means of self-propulsion can DWELL.
My only ROADBLOCK was, like Steve, writing in ELO, as an autonomic response to a 3-letter rock band clue. In fact, I never heard of EMF or their song - it sounds like Eurotrash. EMF to me means Electro-Motive Force. And BSA means Bovine Serum Albumin.
And I see the Greek Gods and Trojans came in very handy to solve the multiple vowel crisis.
Otherwise, nice job CC - please CC to the above-mentioned.
It's the EUROPA LEAGUE today (soccer), and my team, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, has to travel 2000 mile to a place called Qarabağ in Azerbaijan, then fly back and play CHELSEA on Sunday. Quite a work-out.
Remember to stuff the Turkey, not yourselves
HG thanks for the great line from Arthur but is said by the late Sir John Gielgud
ReplyDeleteNice writing Steve and when you travel to Switzerland find a picture of William Tell and pose with it. C.C., let's hope you're keeping track of all your puzzles so you don't duplicate a theme in the future. The opposites theme today didn't make it through my thick skull.
ReplyDeleteThis has been my week for DNFs, missing the cross of GAEA and GENOA. I should have guessed GENOA but it wasn't to be. SNAKES & ladders??? Got by the perps but had no idea what it was. SIMILE, gerund, and all those other words that you once had to learn and forgot after the test.
But we are having 16 for lunch with a total assortment of you name it, we've got it. Turkey, ham, Honey-baked ham, sweet potatoes, homemade hummus & pita (neighbor from Jerusalem), mirliton (chayote) stuffed with shrimp, mirliton casserole, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, cornbread dressing, oyster dressing, pecan pie and assorted appetizers, but I'm OFF ON A TANGENT.
Happy Turkey Day
Thanks for the gentle correction, Lemon. I've got to quit trusting my memory.
ReplyDelete-This quote came later
Someone help me. I've seen this puzzle before. Ditto with the 10/22 NYTimes puzzle, today's syndicated puzzle. I'm going crazy, like am I in a time warp?
ReplyDeletemy kids played chutes and ladders not snakes
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving All!
ReplyDeleteTime is short w/ all the prep'n to do... C.C. I loved the puzzle and almost PASS'd your TEST. But I left the D in MdE @46d. When I read Steve's write-up (fantastic!) SIMILE hit me like a ton of bricks.
Fav - 15d. I kept thinking 'entropy's end' but it didn't fit. After the deviled-eggs (CED - I followed your link - it works until you get to the 13th egg; take them out of the ice-bath b/f egg 11), I looked back and "saw" ANAGRAM. The orbs aligned in my sign.
Obligatory: WKRP and ARLO - see y'all after the feast.
Cheers, -T
I liked this puzzle a lot, and feel about it much the same as many of you have already described.
ReplyDeleteI also feel the same gratitude and affection for all you people who contribute to this blog in your various unique ways.
So, if suddenly there are NO MORE STARS, the earth would continue to circle around the non-existent sun for almost 9 minutes before shooting OFF ON A TANGENT.
We get very upset when our landline doesn't get a DIAL TONE, because it means our DSL is out, too.
I like Emma Slater, too.
We're going to have a nice cellar dweller with our roast duck today. Best wishes to you all this fine Thanksgiving day!
Thanks AnonT. I've watched that WKRP clip at least 10 times at different points in my life. I'm probably up to watching it at least 10 more times before I get tired of it. I like Arlo too. I hope he doesn't give me an ear worm...
ReplyDeleteHere's my favorite line from Arthur where he tells Hobson he is going to take a bath. ARTHUR AGAIN
I've had no problem finding Choice cuts of beef at the local markets. Several times we've even gotten Prime rib-eye steaks from Costco at about the same price as Choice from the regular market.
Irish Miss, can you please forward that e-mail to me. If you don't want to take advantage of it, I'll jump right in. It would be a shame to miss that that wonderful opportunity. :>)
I hope all of us with various aches, ailments and worse find relief and more in the coming holiday season and from now on. Best wishes to us all.
Hi Y'all! Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, C.C. & dear corner friends, for whom I am thankful.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful that I did not overeat and gain weight today. I stayed home out of the weather despite my son offering to drive 40 miles one way to pick me up and take me back after the meal. I am thankful for such a kind son. I am thankful he is not endangering his life driving in bad weather because I wouldn't let him. I am thankful that his mother-in-law and I are now good enough friends that she invited me to her home even though I couldn't go. I am thankful that I kept my tongue clamped between my teeth many times in order to accomplish that feat.
I am thankful a steady rain has fallen on my wheat fields and my grass. I am thankful that I went to the grocery store two days ago, so I am not hungry as I watch the rain fall and turn to ice.
I am thankful that my Air Force son is now retired and employed gainfully in the private sector as the world becomes more warlike. I am thankful for his hour-long phone call from another state on Wednesday so that I got the inside scoop on his life. I am thankful that he grew up with a lot of common sense and sense of doom which kept him and his men alive during his career as a military pilot who didn't take unnecessary risks.
I am thankful that I haven't seen, heard or smelled that mouse since it ran through the livingroom two nights ago. I will be outrageously joyous if I never see it again.
I am grateful for having lived on a farm where my freezer was always stocked with beef that we fed to PRIME and enjoyed to the max. Never mind my granddaughter is a vegan. (Stop rolling in your grave, farmer husband!)
Guy Lewis. God Bless and God rest his soul.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnd I am thankful that I will not hear or smell that livingroom that I had to pass through two nights ago. I'm outta there, like forever.
And I am thankful for all you constructors and daily buggers and everyone.
Let's not forget the other great 3 letter rock group, ELP.
ReplyDeleteEmerson, Lake & Palmer : From the Beginning.
I would like to tell you about how Grandma passed out before Thanksgiving
ReplyDeletedinner, & we had to call 911
Plus CC's puzzle
but I am a little busy right now...
CED, what happened? Is everything OK?
ReplyDelete----------
Seen on the Internet...
"I wish I had a twin over 21 so I could use his ID card."
"How come it's just men? How come you never hear about women having to take a DNA test to see if it's theirs?"
I'm thankful for challenges (At least the crossword variety). Yesterday and today were both a DNF, but were also DEI's (Did enjoy immensely)
ReplyDeleteTomorrow's Nebraska football game makes such an impact downtown that we have to work Saturday instead of Friday. The owner of our parking lot reserves the right to re-rent our paid-for spaces for HUGE amounts for tailgaters.
Back from the annual feast... MIL's ham was the star (and I got the bone! - bean soup!). It was a fun time.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound brown-nose-y, but really, C.C. amazes. MIL didn't notice the "opposite-day" theme (w/o that I wouldn't have broken N. Central - I kept wanting something you give a PhD (ear rings in my case :-))) and I think it's a stroke of brilliance to put 4 normal phrases that start w/ a contradiction together. Bravo.
But, to top it off, 4 9-fill down "stacks" and no groaners. CAN you do that? Not I.
OK, one groan - ENRON; it COLORs Houston badly.
WEES - Elo b/f EMF (? who) and wanted chutes w/ my ladders. I also had SORE sport for a spell and glares b/f SCOWLS (that's a fun word).
CED - I hope all is well w/ Grams. Thoughts her & your way.
C. Moe - We had the WINE tonight (Georges Du Boeuf Nouveau)... I liked it OK (Nouveaus always taste vinegary to me, but this one was mild). I think 2015 will be a good year in 5 or 6 years. You're the expert, what do you think? (others?)
Cheers, -T
Hello, all. I'm just an occasional lurker who checked in to check out (note accidental use of theme) ANAGRAM. I thought I was good at anagrams and felt like an idiot when I saw the answer. I did get the puzzle w/o cheating, and I join the multitude in congratulating CC for her excellent analysis.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I rise to CC's defense. Anonymous has it wrong. The Defense Dept was a new entity, not a renaming of the War Dept. The Navy Dept. was always separate and had its own Cabinet Secretary. Both Army and Navy had separate air forces; the Army's was called the Army Air Corps, later the Army Air Force. It eventually became a separate branch of the Defense Dept. The Navy's air force remains part of the Navy, as do the Marines. Army, Air Force, and Navy are now all parts of the Defense Dept., and their Secretaries are sub-Cabinet positions. I know all this because I was a USNR LTJG when it happened.
Glad most of you had nice Thanksgivings. My two sons and I did too; it was our first on our own, since the usual relatives were all out of town. It would also have been our 60th wedding anniversary. I give thanks for my two boys and for 56 years of a very happy marriage.
Cheers - RetFizz.
But we forgot to have a toast!
I'm bored with C.C.'s puzzles. I find them not as interesting as everyone seems to find them interesting. This oxymoron puzzle is the ultimate pits.
ReplyDelete