Words: 69 (pangram)
Blocks: 38
I
was glad when this one was over. The quad stack was not the problem -
everything else was. Too bad, really. Just some way-too-obscure fill -
if you don't know it, it makes no difference how the clue reads. A bit
of a choppy grid, with 16 rows and the standard 15 columns. Two
11-letter climbers, and the big 6; the quad stack and other two;
16. "A London Symphony" composer : VAUGHAN WILLIAMS - mostly perps and WAG
28. Minimal complications : LEAST RESISTANCE - the clue is a bet "eh"
36. Landscape brighteners : ORNAMENTAL TREES - my idea of ornamental;
36. Landscape brighteners : ORNAMENTAL TREES - my idea of ornamental;
Or how about this~?
37. "West Side Story" duet : ONE HAND, ONE HEART - I had one LOVE - can you tell I have no interest in musicals~?
38. Failed big-time : MET ONE'S WATERLOO - like this puzzle
54. Publication known for rankings : FORTUNE MAGAZINE - CONSUMER REPORTS fit, and that just did me in
ONWARD~
ACROSS:
1. Actor in four "Planet of the Apes" films : McDOWALL - did not help that I spelled his name with an "E", not an "A"
9. Antenna support : MAST
13. Traffic report source : CAR RADIO - I no longer listen to the "radio" of my car radio; I run Pandora on my phone thru the MP3 jack
14. Farm report? : BAA-BAA - I figured this was where we were headed....Moo-moo, etc.
18. Dutch banking giant : ING - their US portion was bought out by Capital One, and my retirement was there - and I despise Capital One. The ING Wiki
19. It may be deviated : SEPTUM - There's a line in a Megadeth song that includes this phrase
20. London-born miler : COE - filled via perps, but I recall the name from crosswords
21. "That's a riot" : HA-HA-HA - I almost filled this in, but waited on perps
23. __ Werner, Best Actor nominee for "Ship of Fools" : OSKAR - a WAG on the "S", the rest was perps
25. Tokyo-based carrier : JAL - the "L" was not happening for me
26. Struggle with assessments? : LISP - cute
39. Whimper : MEWL - I was just not going to get this because of my LOVE over HAND; all the Down crossings were making no sense to me, and the domino effect....
40. __ de veau: sweetbread : RIS - eeeew~! Not what I thought it was, and this marks the return of Frawnche after a very long absence....c'est la vie
41. Turning points : AXLES - meh. period. meh. Axles are shafts, not points
44. Stein's "The Autobiography of __ Toklas" : ALICE B. - her Wiki
48. Word that sounds like its last letter : WHY - I C Y, D U?
49. Saudi neighbor : QATARI - the "Q" was a WAG, and that helped
51. Remove : LOP - think ornamental trees
58. Early online forum : USENET
59. Turkey, mostly : ANATOLIA - and I gotta link the "Istanbul (not Constantinople)" song
9. Antenna support : MAST
13. Traffic report source : CAR RADIO - I no longer listen to the "radio" of my car radio; I run Pandora on my phone thru the MP3 jack
14. Farm report? : BAA-BAA - I figured this was where we were headed....Moo-moo, etc.
18. Dutch banking giant : ING - their US portion was bought out by Capital One, and my retirement was there - and I despise Capital One. The ING Wiki
19. It may be deviated : SEPTUM - There's a line in a Megadeth song that includes this phrase
20. London-born miler : COE - filled via perps, but I recall the name from crosswords
21. "That's a riot" : HA-HA-HA - I almost filled this in, but waited on perps
23. __ Werner, Best Actor nominee for "Ship of Fools" : OSKAR - a WAG on the "S", the rest was perps
25. Tokyo-based carrier : JAL - the "L" was not happening for me
26. Struggle with assessments? : LISP - cute
39. Whimper : MEWL - I was just not going to get this because of my LOVE over HAND; all the Down crossings were making no sense to me, and the domino effect....
40. __ de veau: sweetbread : RIS - eeeew~! Not what I thought it was, and this marks the return of Frawnche after a very long absence....c'est la vie
41. Turning points : AXLES - meh. period. meh. Axles are shafts, not points
44. Stein's "The Autobiography of __ Toklas" : ALICE B. - her Wiki
48. Word that sounds like its last letter : WHY - I C Y, D U?
49. Saudi neighbor : QATARI - the "Q" was a WAG, and that helped
51. Remove : LOP - think ornamental trees
58. Early online forum : USENET
59. Turkey, mostly : ANATOLIA - and I gotta link the "Istanbul (not Constantinople)" song
60. Wear well : LAST - this was like my first, and only, across fill on pass #1
61. Cuts from the back : SIRLOINS - ah. I was thinking someone who "cuts" in line
61. Cuts from the back : SIRLOINS - ah. I was thinking someone who "cuts" in line
DOWN:
1. Year in the reign of England's Henry I : MCVI - we had an English history lesson last week
2. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0" : CAAN - I like his acting style, so I liked this version of "Five-O" as much as the original; he plays Turk in the Ocean's movies, too
1. Year in the reign of England's Henry I : MCVI - we had an English history lesson last week
2. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0" : CAAN - I like his acting style, so I liked this version of "Five-O" as much as the original; he plays Turk in the Ocean's movies, too
3. Tranquilize : DRUG
4. URL ending : .org
5. Distressed cry : WAH - pretty cool guitar effect, too
6. Recipe phrase : A DASH - "A" clue
7. Form opener : LINE A - clue "A"
8. Acidic : LOW pH - nice
9. Printemps period : MAI - more Frawnche
10. Taken __ : ABACK - tsszzz - one too many "A" answers~?
11. Its capital is Apia : SAMOA - HA~! Nailed it
12. Law enforcement tool : TASER
14. __-ray Disc : BLU
15. "It won't be long now" : ALMOST THERE
17. Repubblica __: European country : ITALIANA - um, OK. Perps.
21. Lives : HAS A HOME - gee, I think I liked the original version - see the interview
22. In the style of the 1975 film "Nashville," say : ALTMANESQUE - never heard the phrase, and in the 'down', was not going to fill for me - but a learning experience after the fact - his Wiki
24. Barbecue fare : SPARE RIB - PORK RIBS~? SHORT RIB~? I tried too many, and missed the obvious
25. One of the Jacksons : JANET
27. Minor key? : ISLET - since I got burned a few weeks ago, I did not fall for this again
28. Device with shuttles and treadles : LOOM
29. Shore raptor : ERNE
30. Freshen : RENEW
31. Runs over : ENDS LATE - my landlord is in Florida, and we're expecting to get hammered with a blizzard today. High winds combined with the high tide/full moon, he's worried the property will flood - it's on Peconic Bay; that's the kind of "runs over" that was on my mind....
32. Put away : STOW
33. Actress Patricia and drummer Jeff : NEALS - I knew neither person - and I know a few drummers, as I play myself; she was before my time. His Wiki / Her Wiki
34. Dos minus dos : CERO
35. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO
4. URL ending : .org
5. Distressed cry : WAH - pretty cool guitar effect, too
6. Recipe phrase : A DASH - "A" clue
7. Form opener : LINE A - clue "A"
8. Acidic : LOW pH - nice
9. Printemps period : MAI - more Frawnche
10. Taken __ : ABACK - tsszzz - one too many "A" answers~?
11. Its capital is Apia : SAMOA - HA~! Nailed it
12. Law enforcement tool : TASER
14. __-ray Disc : BLU
15. "It won't be long now" : ALMOST THERE
17. Repubblica __: European country : ITALIANA - um, OK. Perps.
21. Lives : HAS A HOME - gee, I think I liked the original version - see the interview
22. In the style of the 1975 film "Nashville," say : ALTMANESQUE - never heard the phrase, and in the 'down', was not going to fill for me - but a learning experience after the fact - his Wiki
24. Barbecue fare : SPARE RIB - PORK RIBS~? SHORT RIB~? I tried too many, and missed the obvious
25. One of the Jacksons : JANET
27. Minor key? : ISLET - since I got burned a few weeks ago, I did not fall for this again
28. Device with shuttles and treadles : LOOM
29. Shore raptor : ERNE
30. Freshen : RENEW
31. Runs over : ENDS LATE - my landlord is in Florida, and we're expecting to get hammered with a blizzard today. High winds combined with the high tide/full moon, he's worried the property will flood - it's on Peconic Bay; that's the kind of "runs over" that was on my mind....
32. Put away : STOW
33. Actress Patricia and drummer Jeff : NEALS - I knew neither person - and I know a few drummers, as I play myself; she was before my time. His Wiki / Her Wiki
34. Dos minus dos : CERO
35. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO
41. Very bad : AWFUL - like the next clue/answer
42. Bantu language : XHOSA
43. Strummed instruments : LYRES
45. Dharma teachers : LAMAS
46. Mashhad native : IRANI
47. Symbol of victory for immortal Celtics coach Red Auerbach : CIGAR
50. Formic acid source : ANT
51. Actress Taylor : LILI
52. From here __: henceforth : ON IN - 'round here, it's "on OUT", so I tried "UP". Bzzzt
53. Mendel research subject : PEAS - at first, I didn't understand, but then I realized I had this man confused with this man, so I had tried "ATOM"
42. Bantu language : XHOSA
43. Strummed instruments : LYRES
45. Dharma teachers : LAMAS
46. Mashhad native : IRANI
47. Symbol of victory for immortal Celtics coach Red Auerbach : CIGAR
50. Formic acid source : ANT
51. Actress Taylor : LILI
52. From here __: henceforth : ON IN - 'round here, it's "on OUT", so I tried "UP". Bzzzt
53. Mendel research subject : PEAS - at first, I didn't understand, but then I realized I had this man confused with this man, so I had tried "ATOM"
55. It may be activated by a plunger : TNT
56. View from Kennebunkport, Me. : ATLantic - I tried PEI - Prince Edward Island, but Nova Scotia is in the way....
56. View from Kennebunkport, Me. : ATLantic - I tried PEI - Prince Edward Island, but Nova Scotia is in the way....
57. Confusing scene : ZOO
Splynter
47 comments:
Yay! Very cool and fun puzzle, which unfolded very nicely, especially after I ran through the entire West Side Story soundtrack in my head!
Tough one, missed the L in ANATOLIA.
Morning, all!
Challenging, but ultimately doable. And that quad stack in the middle, while initially daunting, turned out to be an absolute delight with no junk fill whatsoever (a really challenge to pull off, I'd imagine). Of course, it helped that I know Spanish (to get CERO) and lived in Idaho for a couple of years (to get ESTO). Took awhile to come up with ENDS LATE (I had GOES LATE at first) and HAS A HOME, but those were the only things that held me up in that section.
Elsewhere, VAUGHN WILLIMAS was a gimme, and I was proud of myself for knowing XHOSA (although I needed a perp or two to nudge my memory). I was sad to see Roddy MACDOWALL in the grid, only because it reminded me how much I loved watching him and how sorry I was when he died. Got held up a bit due to going with OH HAHA instead of HAHAHA, but I fixed that once I finally realized that 21D was going to be ALTMANESQUE
Sadly, I MET my WATERLOO down in the SE where I confidently threw in GENE at 53D, despite the fact that I couldn't figure out how LOG could mean "remove" and didn't even notice it left me with SIRLOINE. ANATOLIN didn't look too bad, but that's because I was thinking ANATOLIAN as an adjective and didn't notice the missing I. Oops. When I didn't get the *TADA* at the end, though, I knew exactly where to look. Once I took out LOP I immediately noticed SIRLOINE and took out GENE as well. After rereading the clue, I was then able to plop down PEAS, et voilà!
Fun, fun Saturday puzzle. Thanks, guys!
Good morning!
My very first entry was MCDOWELL (me, too, Splynter), and it got the full Wite-Out treatment before MCDOWALL showed up. That NW corner was the last to fall. The bugaboo was __WPH. Knowing George was involved, I should've guessed it would be chemistry-related. XHOSA was just cruel; no other way to put it.
ENDS LATE -- I absolutely hate it when the golf/football/baseball/tennis/soccer matches run late on the weekend, which they a-l-w-a-y-s do, and all of the scheduled programs get bumped back. I often forget to add an extra hour for each one on the DVR. Arrrrgh!
Sweetbreads -- ain't sweet and ain't bread, thus the name.
Good Morning.
Thanks Martin and George for a nice Saturday run. The long entries started to work on the second pass. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, ONE HAND ONE HEART and ITALIANA fell pretty easily. FORTUNE MAGAZINE worked when US News and World Report wouldn't. Although I gave some thought to Princeton Review. Lots of ranking and listing opportunities. I forgot about Mendel's PEAS as I wanted genes. XHOSA provides great CW letters.
Thanks for the Saturday tour, Splynter.
Hope all of you left coasters are safe and warm. Stay cozy!
At first this was a sea of white, but once I got enough in the NE to get the WILLIAMS then the VAUGHANWILLIAMS fell into place. I'm a big musical fan, so ONE HAND, ONE HEART was a gimme after TONIGHT wouldn't fit. And sometimes you just happened to hear about something a few weeks earlier that helps with a crossword - I was taking a Sporcle quiz about first languages of famous people and XHOSA was the first language of Nelson Mandela - who knew?
http://www.sporcle.com/games/zeppelinoid/famous_peoples_first_language
Hope all in the East affected by the storms are snug in their homes.
Thanks Splynter , Martin & George!
This took a looong time, but I succeeded without look-ups.
There was only one word I have never heard of, ALTMANESQUE. I accepted it from perps, knowing that he was a film director. But if he directed "Nashville" himself, is it ALTMANESQUE, in the style of Altman, or is it pure Altman?
Many other words took a lot of thought to dredge up. Every time I thought I MET my WATERLOO, another answer popped up and I kept trying.
I kept hearing the music from West Side Story, but only the words, one----, one heart. Finally HAND dawned on me.
I was nowhere near the meat market for cuts from the back. It was next to the last to fall.
MC DOWALL was hard for me to spell.
OWPH had me stymied for a while until I spelled MCDOWALL with 2 L's..
GENE before PEAS.
FORM OPENER = ME. I opened so many forms about Alan to fill out in this weeks mail. I hate forms. But, at least they contained phone numbers. I called around and found that there is a different type of MEDICAID that Alan can apply for in person within the next ten days. Dodged that bullet!
Good morning all.
Got it done. It was tough.
I appreciated the kind comments. I think it was as Anonymous T said, "it depends on how you interpret the tone."
It obviously offended at least Lemonade.
I still can't make the connection from my statement that "One person can't know everything" to any assertion that I thought or implied there should be a trophy or that I suggested that I should be "surprised" that there would be others who would know more on a wider variety of subjects than I do. I never said or implied either, so I don't know why they were ascribed to me.
Husker Gary, I got a real kick out of "TTP, I tried my best to be offended by your remarks and failed." Made me laugh, which I needed.
Thanks all. See all y'all later n'at !
I love ornamental trees. They grow well in this climate.
Link lovely
We already have as much snow as the predicted total for 7 AM tomorrow and we haven’t reached the storm’s peak period as yet.
YR, great to hear that there's a light at the end of that Medicaid tunnel. On ALTMANESQUE: The clue does say "in the style of." So, if somebody else made a movie in that style, it'd be ALMTANESQUE. I did enjoy his final movie, A Prairie Home Companion -- appropriate for a Saturday.
MeSew..., good to see you back today. It's been quite some time. Why don't you drop in more often?
XHOSA as a language was made (I thought) famous, since in was Nelson Mandela's native language. Hey, that the reason I knew it! Sorry, if it was out if some people's proverbial wheelhouse (I mean that sincerely!).
-Martin Ashwood-Smith
That's "of" not "if": sheesh! I should learn to proofread!
-MAS
I found a lot of ways to complicate this, and it really slowed things down. First pass yielded little, but one I was SURE of was 53d. I mistook Mendel for Mengele, and confidently entered TWIN. Having Nada for Cero was equally damaging. Lots of long shot wags and many erasures finally got most of it. Even accepted Axles and the resultant Xhosa, despite serious misgivings, as clued.
But in the end, I had to do two Goog's for Caan and McDowall. I had A Dash, but wouldn't buy the A in Roddy's name....it HAD to be an E! And I hadn't yet figured out Low PH (great clue). So, a fail. But it was pretty interesting trying to suss it all out.
Stay warm and dry, all in the path of the storm.
Martin, I think I'm the only one who carped about XHOSA. I would never say it was unfair. It wasn't. It was cruel, though.
Oops. Forgot the musical link. I never saw Nashville, but it had a great tune from a one hit wonder in the soundtrack: I'm Easy
TTP, please don't worry about Lemonade714's reaction. I have witnessed his odd opinions for years. Trust me, he will soon write how he was not offended and how YOU misunderstood HIM. Classic lemony.
D/O @ 9:01 Yer right!
Good Morning:
This was a real bear for me. I started it last night, with little success, picked it back up this morning and ever so slowly chipped away and, eventually, completed it. No tada though, as those rascally Roman Numerals did me in. I never thought of V so I filled in Caughan Williams and thought, "Well, that's a strange name," but it looked sort of Irish, so I left it. Classic example of not seeing the forest for the trees. ACK! Had nada before cero and E before A in Mc Dowall.
Great challenge, MAS and GB, and sassy synopsis, Splynter, stay safe! Thanks to the three of you.
From yesterday: YR, such good news about Alan's health, may it continue. Good luck with the insurance issues. Blue Iris, so nice to hear from you.
I hope for the best for all those affected by the storm.
Have a great day.
Sorry about that Desper... I can assure you that was not our intention. It's a fascinating word because of its spelling, but I thought was better-known because of its association with Nelson Mandela.
Regards,
-MAS
Hi Y'all! You'd think George was giving us a hard time today as payback for the negative remark someone made the other day. HAHAHA! However, once the puzzle was filled it seemed very interesting. A real learning piece. You did okay, Martin.
Lots of names I wasn't sure of. Others took some ruminating. BAABAA! Like ALICE B. Toklas. But I lucked out and got JANET on first try.
Lots of geography I wasn't sure of. I looked SAMOA up so I had an ISLET in the great NE white sea.
Haven't talked to many Bantus lately. XHOSA may be why. Didn't know what Mandella ever spoke. I thought he orated in English.
Hey, I knew right away that Mendel did PEAS! I'm so proud of me. One of about six things I got in the first pass. No MEWL for me there.
Cuts from the back stayed unfilled for a long time. I just read a mystery where the detective deduced that the victim had his throat cut from behind him by a left-handed person. That screwed with any logical answer to the puzzle clue.
YR: is that really you saying "Yer right"? "Yer". Oh my soul! The storm has had a negative effect on yer correctness. (Love ya', Gal)
Yup, I mostly got the very impressive (to me) quad, grid-spanning stack first and worked out from there. The NW corner had a lot of options but FINALLY fell. Getting CAR RADIO, MCDOWALL, ING and VAUGHAN were greatly facilitated by Roman numeral options. What a wonderful puzzle Martin and George!
Musings
-I also have had some fun exchanges with George and am always smarter afterwards
-I sang that West Side song at a wedding
-ING Ad and PATH OF LEAST OF LEAST RESISTANCE
-The AXLES are the black rods in the upper right hand corner of this fabulous LEGO kit I used for years
-Joann thought our ORNAMENTAL TREE was sick but I may have waited 6 weeks too long for spider mite treatment. We’ll see what happens this Printemps.
-Yeah, JANET, that was a wardrobe malfunction and not intentional!
-Grandson just called and requested that we accompany on a shopping trip in Omaha. We’re outta here!
Saturday puzzles are never my cup of tea but I did OK on this one and enjoyed my limited success. I never used any red letters but did have to Google a couple of obscure clues. Pretty good for me. Thank you Martin, George and Splynter. (BTW, if I never see the word "midrash" again, it'll be about right for me.)
About 50 years ago, Barbara and I went to an expensive LA restaurant with another couple. We decided to give sweetbreads a try. They were delicious! I've never had the opportunity to try them since. (I'm guessing a good chef can made something delicious even out of a stale bagel.)
YR, good news about/for Alan and you.
Good luck to all of you blanketed with snow. Growing up in northern Virginia and going to college in Ithaca, New York, I don't remember any snowfall of this magnitude. At least you had a good warning of what was coming. Stay safe and warm I hope.
Aloha, friends!
It's good to be home but I love and miss those aloha breezes!
Well, thank you MAS and GB for my first challenge on returning home. In the NE corner I was deceived into thinking this might be easy. Not! However, since I've seen JAL at the airport many times, that helped with JANET and one cell at a time the center stack filled.
ALICEB and PEAS as well as CERO immediately filled although I started with ZERO noting that I had not spoken Spanish in a very long time. Hand up for spelling Roddy's surname with an A and I was not convinced that Henry I lived that early; I thought 1500 at least. So that was one incorrect cell but then XHOSA! Whew! I don't believe I ever knew that was Mandela's language.
And since I've been there twice, ANATOLIA fell easily so even though it was a DNF it was fun.
I hope you have all had a wonderful week and you east coasters stay warm and safe!
Well, no dead tree version today. (10inches at ten AM with 9 hours to go.)
Which is a real shame because I had to do this on my PC.
(I just can't keep myself from that dang solve button!)
Not only did this puzzle break my solve button, I spilled my drink
on the keyboard. Tinbeni may be horrified at this, but I am thinking
of pouring Scotch on my keyboard to unstick all these sticky keys...
Splynter, enjoyed your write up &all those extra links!
However, I must link One hand, one heart.
I had forgotten this beautiful duet in the frenzy that follows.
Thank you, as well, Splynter!
And YR, it's good to know that you are having some good come out of all that ordeal you have been through.
Finished in longer time than desired, but got a TADA after the last fill. Thanks Martin and George for a challenging Saturday am.
Nice write-up, Splynter. Thanks for all your links and input!
I love how some clues always bring up distant memories. Today, 53d: Mendel research subject dredged up my freshman year biology lab experiment where we used fruit flies to examine Mendel's findings. Y'all ever use this blue stuff in a test tube to keep the flies fed?
Scent has such a strong memory trigger that I can still can smell the ether(I think) we would put on a swab and insert into the tube to anesthetize those bugs so we could examine and sort them with a microscope. I recall several students getting light headed or even passing out during the length of the study. It wasn't a big deal and barely even raised the eyebrows of the teacher/nurse. I guess we were of tougher stock back then as an incident such as this now would make the 5 o'clock news! But, boy, I can clearly still remember that stench!!
Downfall was putting "Douglas" instead of "Vaughn". 5 down "wal" made no sense.
I made the same starting error, using an "e" instead of an "a" as the 2nd vowel in McDOWALL. That blocked me for about five minutes and kept me from finishing in record time for a Saturday.
Oh, that, plus a couple of cheats, one for ESTO and the other to confirm ERNE. It was in that middle block that I required help to get going. (I had only LOOM and SPARE RIB on my own.)
Nice interview. Serves to remind me how challenging a process puzzle-making is. The few times I have tried my hand at construction ended in dismay, in frustration for running dry so early on and in sheer wonder at the multiplicity of connections a puzzle master's brain can make! I salute Mssrs. Ashwood-Smith and Barany--and their creative colleagues.
Dang! Sat puzzles are still way over my pay-grade. I got some in the NE (14d, 9a, 12d, 14a - in that order) b/f I had to cheat and consult the Google. Mind you, that was after 3 passes.
Google gave me 16a (mmm, 3d = stun is wrong) but filled in MCVI. Oh, ING (I had IBS, but I though that's the Scotts), I didn't know I have my IRA w/ the Dutch. I hope they're not still into tulips.
53d irks me 'cuz my 1st thought was PEA, but then there's 4 squares and no mention of plural. Gene when in... :-(
MAS - so that's how you spell XHOSA (caasA is how I tried), the language w/ clicks (Trever Noah @:40).
Thanks to Marin & George (congrats on LAT) for the sinking feeling :-). Thanks Splynter for stopping what certainly would be hours of Googles.
MIL just texted - she says there's two villages missing their idiots today. She failed too, but less spectacular than I.
TTP - Yep, I remember RFC 1855 section 2.1.1. Tone is hard to convey via text w/o a :-). W/o body language to convey meaning people will read their feelings into the dribble one shares (like this statement :-)).
Good news YR! You should get a special CED cake for being such a good caregiver. [sorry CED, but w/ your DW out, you need a mission ;-)]
I hope y'all on the E.Coast are safe, warm, and have plenty of provisions. To stave off boredom, you can read the entire RFC linked above; then even cleaning the oven will be fun :-).
Cheers, -T
P.S. Thanks for the interview!
Whoo, this was hard, quite a struggle but ultimately fun and satisfying. I'm so impressed with those stacks. Had many erasures, of course; I won't list them. At least I knew Vaughan Williams, Oskar, and Alice B right away. Wanted YOU at 48A, but it turned out to be WHY. I totally understand the clue, but I pronounce the word as "Hwai" not the letter Y, so it threw me for a loop around the AXLE. It was exacerbated by my wanting HAUSA (modified to HOUSA to accommodate my YOU). After finishing the puzzle I looked it up; sure enough, Hausa is not a Bantu language; it is a Chadic language.
When Splynter said "Just some way-too-obscure fill" I sucked in my breath between my teeth, half expecting him to be excoriated for "copping out." Didn't happen.
Welcome back, Lucina; I trust your stay in Hawaii was lovely.
Yeah, ether sure does smell bad.
Best wishes to you all.
I knew MCDOWeLL and VAUGH_N WILLIAMS but the wrong spelling had me stumped in the NW until the end. MCVI- yeah, I knew that. It took some serious WAGS to get this thing started. I knew ALTMAN from the BCCI bank fraud trial and remembered the movie with Ron Howard as the attempted assassin, but the ESQUE took a while. But in the end I blew it at the cross of three unknowns- ONE HAND ONE HEAR-S instead of HEART and luckily got CERO and others- RIS, ITALIANA, USENET, ALICE B. XHOSA- i knew but not how to spell correctly.
I completed ( with one mistake) the puzzle early this morning but had to run see my grandson play in a tennis match ( 40 degree weather) that lasted two hours for two sets. But there' NO SNOW in New Orleans.
My only write overs were PEAS for GENE and CERO for NADA- I do know DOS EQUIS. I wonder if the chemist knows if it is acidic with a LOW PH- I've only taste-tested it.
Anon T-
Mission accomplished...
Yes Yellowrocks, you do deserve a cake...
Hello Puzzlers -
That quad stack looked intimidating, but Ornamental Trees came quickly and made for a solid anchor.
The NW corner began as obstinate white, not even reasonable guesses at first. When I read the "acidic" clue for 8d, my first thought was "it can't be low pH, that's just too specific..." but then I noticed Dr. Barany's name up top, and reasoned otherwise. Professor of Chemistry, y'know. Thanks, fellows, for an impressive grid and a fun challenge!
Howdy, Splynter, hope you are spared the really deep snow.
For all you snowbound...
something to make you smile!
CED - You Nailed the cake!* Now, for your next mission, if you choose to accept it... :-)
The Shutup and Dance clip is cute (and a good ditty). Since you play guitar; How easy is it to get the cheater-bar (I think that's what it's called) on & off during a tune? I saw it there and then not. I'm sure it's edited/produced and well done at that. Do you know the artist? I noticed only 174 "views" when I clicked.
Also, do you think it is a 4 track or 8 track tape he was putting this down on to get the mix? Oh, wait, I said tape - his digital recording device. Playing music is another thing I want to know...
Thanks for sharing the tune - I enjoyed it. Stay un-bored during the storm.
Cheers, -T
*IMHO; YR should be the one to thumb up/down.
Hi again~!
I can see from the comments that this was clearly a 'generational' puzzle, and that I must be too young to appreciate what was in the grid. Oh well.
Anon T - it's a "capo", and mine is spring loaded, like a binder clip, so it's relatively easy to get off in a song - but I think we're listening to two guitars minimum, perhaps three; add a drum track, a vocal track, and a kazoo track, and we're up to 6. I have digital recording software on my computer, and it might have as many as 16 'tracks' - not quite as expensive as actual tape, from back in the day, mind you....
Splynter
Start off a crossword with a proper name...Instant dislike.
Add more names... Threw it in the trash.
10 minutes later... Digging my laptop out of the trash.
Almost becoming a Saturday ritual.
No, no, you guys can have this storm, we'll just take the next one.
To get your minds off the snow..
Depends on where you live
The aftermath
Just because
Problem
Solution
Meanwhile at CED's house
Hey Manac,
You forgot this one: The aftermath Trick or Treat!(just in time for Halloween)
AnonymousT,
Cheater Bar?
WTF r you talking about
(explain pls)...
Manac, welcome back!
loved the links,'(except the last one)
WTF?
CED - I didn't know what it was really called - I heard that 20 year or so ago (maybe in a different context?). Splynter filled me in - it's a capo that goes over the strings.
Manac - links were LOL. My fav w/ North v. South re: snow day.
FYI puzzle pals - I was flippin' through the channels & landed on Ferris Bueller's Day Off but that's not important right now. You may want to know that ABC Family is now called FreeForm. I'm sure some constructor will use it one day.
Cheers, -T
Coming out from under says...
CED - I thought the guy & his kid did Shutup + Dance so I looked for more of his tunes only to find girl + dad did a cover of Walk The Moon from a few years back (never heard of 'em). I'll go back under my rock now that I've leaned 2 things today. Thanks again for sharing. C, -T
Finished this one on the plane OVER THE ATLANTIC. I hope that doesn't produce "yawns" and "derision".
I'm not a fan of proper names crossing - I couldn't see MCDOWALL nor CAAN (having "BAH" didn't help).
This was a two eraser puzzle. I had a lot of iffy entries and knew some were wrong. Not being sure was a blessing today. Took a long time to figure out which were off. The long fills gave me more trouble than they should have. As they slowly fell, I could correct the bad guesses. Did not like LINEA. Stared at it a long time after finishing, trying to figure out what a lineaform was. Fill that one in with green paint, I say.
I'm thinking of all those on harms way. Electric? Flooding? Snowed in? Internet?
God speed
On or in, it doesn't matter to autocorrect!
Wow, so many wonderful comments. Thanks, @Splynter ... and I learned a new acronym (WAG). This is a very friendly, welcoming community, led by my friend @C.C., and I hope that some of the harder answer words in our puzzle were instructive. I particularly would like to refer you to my own favorite piece by VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS.
On another front, I repeat a paragraph that I posted last night over at the "interview" -- We're pleased to announce to the regular visitors to C.C.'s LAT Crossword Corner that we have a new contest, called Eliminating the Competition. I hope that many of you give it a try, and have a chance to win any number of fun prizes.
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