Theme: Wealth well within the dreams of avarice. Phrases representing large sums of money are clued in such a way that the phrase relates to a person's occupation or avocation.
17. Tidy sum, to a coin collector? : PRETTY PENNY. This phrase is known to go back to the 1760's. In this instance, PENNY is a synecdoche for money in general, as contrasted to its usual indication of an insignificant amount, so the phrase incorporates a modicum of sardonic humor. A coin collector would have above average appreciation for a literal PRETTY PENNY, if it were of sufficient rarity. Alternatively, one may consider . . .
28. Tidy sum, to a chairmaker? : AN ARM AND A LEG. This phrase is not known to go back any further than 1949. It may be derived from 19th century phrases like "I'd give my right arm for . . ." which seems familiar and " . . . even if it takes a leg," which does not. In any event, it's more in-the-language than A SEAT AND A BACK, which the chairmaker must also consider.
43. Tidy sum, to a soothsayer? : SMALL FORTUNE. This phrase is more literal, and I can't find any information on where it came from. It indicates a sum beyond what is reasonable in some circumstance, but certainly less than a large fortune. A soothsayer can presumably use some occult mechanism to predict your future. But - can you afford it?
56. Tidy sum, to a chess player? : KING’S RANSOM. Now we're talking real money. The phrase is only known to go back to the 13th Century. In 1260, during the 7th Crusade, King Louis IX of France was captured in Egypt by Turks, who demanded a large amount of money to secure his release. However, during the 3rd Crusade, Richard I Plantagenet of England was captured in December, 1192 by Duke Leopold of Austria who had a real or imagined grudge. The amount demanded for his release was more than twice the annual income of the English crown. Taxes were raised, the churches were looted of their treasures, and eventually the money was delivered. Richard was released on Feb. 4, 1194. As a side note, Richard's brother John offered a tidy sum if Richard would be detained until Michaelmas - Sept 29th. This offer was rejected. It's highly unlikely that any chess piece, even the King, would demand such a quantity.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here - sadly, no richer than the last time we met. We were shopping that day, and today we can consider if we perhaps paid too much.
Onward, then, to the rest of the puzzle.
Down
1. Musical with the song "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" : EVITA.
6. Petty distinctions, metaphorically : HAIRS. As in splitting them.
11. Midriff punch reaction : OOF. Onomatopoeia for the sound of air thus forcibly expelled.
14. Noble gas : XENON. Along with helium, neon, argon, krypton and radon. These gases are chemically inert and considered noble due to their non-reactivity.
15. Former Illinois senator : OBAMA. Whatever happened to that guy?
16. "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" network : National Public Radio.
19. Golf prop : TEE. Little wooden peg that slightly elevates the ball for the first shot on any hole. It's considered gauche to use it on the second shot.
20. "Most Excellent" U.K. award : OBE.
21. Emcee : HOST. Master of Ceremonies initials, phonetically spelt.
22. Gooey treat : S'MORE. Contraction of "some more" because that's what you are expected to want after a taste of this marshmallow cum chocolate cum graham cracker confection. I am not a fan.
26. Places for rejuvenation : DAY SPAS.
31. Clobbers : BONKS.
32. Regrets : RUES.
33. Rain-__: gum brand : BLO. Classic gum ball since 1940, coming in a variety of color coded flavors.
36. Financial pros : Certified Public AcountantS.
37. Tries : STABS. Has a go at.
39. Many millennia : AEON.
40. Fall mo. : SEPtember.
41. Only person to win both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize : SHAW. George Bernard won the Nobel prize for literature in 1925 "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty". The Academy Award came in 1938 for his film adaptation of Pygmalion.
42. Clock button : ALARM. I really wanted SNOOZE. [I know it doesn't fit, but still . . .]
46. Alleviate : ASSUAGE. The word came into Middle English via Old French, and ultimately traces back to Latin ad + suavis, hence to sweeten.
49. Baggage carousel aid : ID TAG.
50. Color in une cave à vin : BLANC. A wine cellar might contain some whites, as indicated here.
51. Angers : IRES.
52. Kin of org : EDU. URL extensions.
55. Japanese capital : YEN. Money, not the seat of government.
60. Ready, or ready follower : SET. Nicely formed clue, illustrating two different senses of the target word.
61. Theme park with a geodesic sphere : EPCOT. Part of Disney World.
62. Slacken : LET UP. Reduce the amount of applied force or effort.
63. Calypso cousin : SKA. Jamaican music from the 50's.
64. They may be Dutch : DOORS. This is a two part door divided horizontally, roughly in the middle, designed so that the top half can be open and the bottom half left closed. This allows fresh air into the room while keeping animals out and small children in.
65. Potters' pitchers : EWERS. Large wide-mouthed jugs for carrying water. The clue suggests they are made from ceramic, but this is not necessary.
Down
1. Big show : EXPO. An exposition or trade fair and convention venue.
2. Beg, borrow or steal : VERB. A self-referential clue relating to examples of a part of speech. Meh!
3. "My bed is calling me" : I NEED A NAP. As occasionally does happen.
4. Kid : TOT. Child.
5. Country music? : ANTHEMS. Songs of loyalty or devotion associated with particular countries, groups or causes.
6. Climbs aboard : HOPS ON.
7. Distract the security guards for, say : ABET. Assist the perp in his criminal endeavor.
9. LBJ successor : RMN. Richard Milhous Nixon.
10. Agrees : SAYS YES.
11. Winning : ON TOP. But it ain't over 'till it's over.
12. Art form with buffa and seria styles : OPERA. If you say so.
13. Emancipates : FREES. Especially from legal, social or political restrictions.
18. Meditative practice : YOGA. Distinct from but associated with Hatha YOGA.
23. Flavor intensifier : Mono Sodium Glutamate.
25. Bugs a lot : IRKS.
26. Smear : DAUB. Apply something in an irregular manner.
27. Some Full Sail brews : ALES. Full Sail is an independent employee-owned brewery in Hood River, Oregon.
28. Basics : ABC's.
29. "Forget it" : NOPE.
30. Country inflection : DRAWL. Y'all tahk lahk this, ya see - and dawg is a three syllable word.
33. Noble act, in Nantes : BEAU GESTE. French, but easy enough guess with a little perp help. the fact that there are an English language novel and movies of the same name also helps.
34. Forsaken : LORN. The same as forlorn. The German cognate, verloren, means lost.
35. "My treat" : ON ME. Now we're back to buying.
37. Thick carpet : SHAG. Deep pile. Very 70's.
38. Grimm story : TALE. Kinder- und Hausmärchen [Children's and Household Tales], their collection of German fairy tales, was published in 1812. Many of the tales are indeed grim, disturbing, and unsuitable for children
39. Ski resort near Salt Lake City : ALTA. Where's Marti when you need her?
41. Kissed noisily : SMACKED.
42. Gallery event : ART SALE.
43. Day light : SUN. Often obscured by clouds.
44. They haven't been done before : FIRSTS.
45. Frankfurt's river : ODER. The other Frankfurt is on the Main River.
46. Hardly a miniature gulf : ABYSS. Deep chasm, and a nice word play in the clue.
48. Blitzen's boss : SANTA. Sled-pulling reindeer and his driver.
51. "Young Frankenstein" role : IGOR.
53. Ill-humored : DOUR. Gloomy and stern. Is that a good match?
54. World Series field sextet : UMPS. Regular season games have 4 UMPires - one behind the plate and one at each base. Major league post season games add two in the outfield.
57. Wall St. debut : Initial Public Offering. First general opportunity to acquire equity in the corporation.
58. Sgt. or cpl. : Non Commissioned Officer.
59. Fresh : NEW.
Well, that's all for today. Nice puzzle with a bit of sparkle and couple of outstanding clues. Hope you got your money's worth.
Cool regards!
JzB
57 comments:
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth solve today with a cute theme. I had ART SHOW instead of ART SALE down in the SE, which slowed me down a bit, but that was about it. I always think of a DRAWL being more of a southern inflection than a country one, since even folks living in big cities like Dallas or Houston speak with one, but whatever. Loved the clue for ANTHEMS, though.
I would never have gotten IAN but it was filled by perps and does anybody recall ever hearing LORN used alone? The puzzle was fun with the monies growing a nice touch.
Nice picture of Teresa,Palmer JzB, I only know her from WARM BODIES Thanks for the write up and thank you Bruce now a regular here.
Hi Y'all! Good interesting puzzle, Bruce! Informative & interesting, JzB.
The lyrics from EVITA weren't familiar -- all perps. The entire NW stayed white until last. The rest of the puzzle was filled so finally WAGd "I NEE from DANAP". Then the rest started to fill in with TOT right beside I NEED A NAP. (This describes me most of the time. So maddening when the NAP creeps up on me during the only TV programs I've wanted to see for three days. A consequence of enforced inactivity, I guess.)
SHAW was all perps. Not OP ART but OPERA. Okay, makes some sense.
Good morning!
Couldn't see NAP for the world; I was needing REST. Wite-Out, please. Needed second application at my ART SHOW. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln liked the play.
I can spell SMALL FORTUNE in four letters -- IMAC.
Nice shoutout to SANTA Argyle.
Barry, very few people in Houston speak with a drawl, probably because so few of them were born here. You'll hear it more often in Dallas, and certainly in Foat Wuth.
Doesn't ASSUAGE sound like something you could get at a DAY SPA?
For some reason I thought of TWANG. Drawl makes me think of Atlanta, not a rural area.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Thanks to Bruce for the puzzle but an even greater SO to JzB for the informative recap. I had a couple write-overs; forgot how to spell EVITA, and forgot that the letter B can make a word when added to VER ...
Having another rainy day here in the "Sunshine" state ... our seasons have officially flipped
I think I got my money's worth this morning. Enjoyed the puzzle and the cluing. Only had a new hitches along the way.
Like Hungry Mother I wanted TWANG. Had ARGON instead of XENON. (I can never understand why X-words are pronounced ZEE.) I tried SMOOCHED but it didn't fit. Like JzB I wanted SNOOZE instead of ALARM.
Nice puzzle Bruce and great write-up JzB. Keep up the good work.
The snow is melting and there are flurries in the air. I hope that all of you who were dumped on by the recent storm have been plowed out and can get back to normal.
I swear I didn't see this puzzle when I posted re: SLEEK (Teslas), NPR, or ABCs yesterday. 'Cuz had I, I'd not have FIW w/ a D instead of a B xing 2d and 20a. OK, maybe I still may have.
Challenging Bruce. It could be that I only slept 2 hours. That, or you're just evil :-). Thanks for the puzzle to get the tiny grey cells going. JzB, as always, icing on the post-puzzle cake. Great write-up and clip of how we know it's pronounced; I-GOR
WOs: ocean for 46d (I'm so clever (not!) and ART Show b/f they had a SALE. I also had IRE 2x (25d & 51a) b/f the V-8 BONK.
ESPs - 8d, 41a & 33d. Even after JzB's EXPO, I'm not sure I get 33d.
Carvey w/ the President (6min - the longer version of JzB's clip I think).
Cheers, -T
41 across. al gore won both in 2007
Being unfamiliar with much here meant a lot of WAGS for me: EVITA, DIEGO, BLO, IAN. Also, going the wrong direction at first for GALA/EXPO, ARGON/XENON, MAIN/ODER, CFOS/CPAS slowed me down in those areas. Eventually though, perps to the rescue, starting in the south--always a good method I've found, and it all fell into place.
I often wonder if cluing is trickier in the north and then the constructor gets tired and the last things become easier.
Fun puzzle today and a brilliant expo that took longer to get through than the puzzle. Great job Bruce and JazzBumpa. Once through across and down and "TADA". All of the theme answers needed ESP, but fortunately the perps were there. I like puzzles like that, where you can suss your own learning moments.
Re: 42A - Did anyone read the comic strip Baldo yesterday? Echoes my sentiments exactly.
Re: 30D - I live on the left coast and most of the locals think that I am from the South when we first meet. I am not. I grew up on a farm in central Illinois in the heart of the Corn Belt. I do not have a Southern drawl or twang. I do have a country drawl. I drag out vowels and I speak slowly (maybe because I think slowly!?). So, yes there certainly is a country drawl.
Re: - 37A What OJ said about getting remarried. "I think I may have another stab at it."
Streets are clear, snow is melting. Life is good at the Bluehen Ponderosa.
Cya!
Good morning everyone.
Got PRETTY PENNY early on, and then the solve advanced easily enough top-to-bottom. Favorite fill was for ANTHEMS and VERB. WAGs included DIEGO and SKA. Agree with JzB's take on the theme fill. Well done.
Ken Baudoin, I looked it up. Gore did win a Nobel Prize in 2007. An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary, won two Oscars in 2007: Best Documentary Feature (to Davis Guggenheim, director) and Best Original Song (to Melissa Etheridge, songwriter). So, although the documentary was about his ecological crusade, Al Gore didn't win an Oscar.
Good Morning:
Loved the theme and found the solve easy and fun. Hand up for art show and also had Edo before yen and rouge before blanc. Otherwise, smooth sailing. Nice CSO to our Santa, even if Christmas is just a memory.
Very nice work, Bruce, and JzB, you outdid yourself, as usual.
I just learned that a niece is getting married on September 11. I can't believe that anyone would want to celebrate such a happy and memorable event on a date that represents such grief and pain and horror. And it's the 15 th anniversary, to boot. I may be over-reacting, but I just can't stop thinking about it. Any thoughts?
Have a great day.
Bluehen - where in Illinois? I grew up in SPI and have folk in Nakomis and as far south Spoon River (Galesberg); they do have a DRAWL to my ear but are sharp as a tack. I've gained more of a DRAWL living in LA, OK, & HOU o'er the last 30 years. C, -T
Bluehen @ 9:21 - I thought you were in Delaware. If so, when did it move to the left coast? 😈
I grew up in a little railroad and farm town called Clinton, on a farm in the heart of the Corn Belt. Clinton is halfway between Champaign/Urbana and Springfield (East and West) and Bloomington/Normal and Decatur (North and South). We competed in basketball against teams from all of those towns, assuming SPI means Springfield. My sis was a longtime bookkeeper for the Springfield newspaper, the name of which escapes me now. I hate getting old, but . . . when you consider the alternative!
Cya.
IM You are so right. Oops and mea culpa. I have always had trouble distinguishing right from left. Something about how my brain is wired, I suppose. When I was in basic training, the Drill Sergeant finally resorted to making me carry a roll of pennies cupped in my right hand so that I didn't have to stop and think about it on the parade grounds. I'm pretty sure he thought I was a dimwit, but I'm not. I just talk like one.
Cya!
Irish Miss: IMO with respect to 9/11 we have to go on and use it like any other day. We had the funeral for my Mother on 9/11/2004. We could have waited a day or two, but my siblings and I decided that if we avoided the day, then the terrorists win. No Way!
Irish Miss @ 0936
I might not have picked that date either, but there are only 365 choices and only 52 Sundays if that is your preferred date of the week. Factor in birthdays, dates of death for other past family members, national holidays, dates available for time off, and the choices begin to narrow. September is a "shoulder" month for travel and many better deals on airfare, hotels, and maybe honeymoon destinations, so it probably makes sense to consider it.
We also don't have no weddings on Dec 7, June 6, Jul 3, Apr 6 (Shiloh), and many other days when many Americans were killed.
Our daughter died on a Jan 17, other than a special remembrance, we try to do "normal" things. When these things happen, we, as individuals and as a Nation have to soldier on.
Musings
-What great fun we have here for SMALL CHANGE
-PRETTY PENNY’s marriage lasted far less than the run of TBBT
-If you’ve got 5 min., read/reread this wonderful story of the RANSOM of a Chief not a KING
-Should Steve Harvey’s days as an EMCEE over? Ask Miss Columbia.
-The RANSOM demanders above RUED the day they kidnapped that boy
-Before Pygmalion became My Fair Lady it was this 1938 non-musical movie and this wonderful, familiar scene (7:15) occurred in a parlor rather than at the Ascot Races
-I have a pink suitcase belt that trumps the ID TAG in a sea of black suitcases
-Lincoln’s Proclamation only Emancipated slaves in states that had seceded
-My Nebraska born and raised friend now lives in Tuscaloosa, AL and pilots the BAMA recruiting airplane. His acquired DRAWL is a source of great amusement when I talk to him now
-Advice to the LOVELORN columns started in 18th century magazines and newspapers before they became fodder for these twin sisters from Sioux City, Iowa
-10 wrongly attributed FIRSTS
-Irish, the planes flew into the Trade Center towers on my 55th birthday. It seems hard to believe I now teach kids who weren’t even born on that day.
IM - re: 9/11... To me, a day is a day is a day. I know what you mean by the stigma of a date but if it is a convenient Sunday, then so be. Better to make good remembrances of the date than to let it stand in infamy. For what it's worth, my mom's Bday is Pearl Harbor Day (8 years removed).
Bluehen - I know where Clinton is... Stopped for gas there once on my way from Asheville, NC to Pop's house in SPI. The Springfield news papers were The Journal (am) and The Register (pm). Eventually they merged into the State Journal-Register. I threw 'em morning & afternoon in my teens and made enough of a FORTUNE to buy a stereo (this was '79-'85 when a boy's gotta have 3' speakers).
Don't feel bad about L-R symmetry; I screw that up all the time too. If I really hafta know, I hold up both hands, palms out, thumbs pointed at each other, and the hand that makes an L is left.
C, -T
Fun puzzle. Caught the theme early and it was helpful knowing what to be looking for. No major hangups anywhere. The biggest learning moment was while reading the lively write-up and discovering that Millhous has no E. Knew the name, didn't know the spelling. Thanks Jazz.
BlueHen. Me too. I actually have to look at my hands each time someone says right or left. But if you tell me north, east, south or west, I'm on it without a thought (assuming I'm in familiar territory or it's daylight). Just different wiring, I guess.
Hi gang -
Fun times today.
Kazie - I doubt that constructors get fatigued that way when cluing. That's certainly not how I work. And lot's of time I find the bottom of a puzzle more challenging than the top half. You're at the mercy of the fill. Some are amenable to clever or tricky treatment, and some aren't.
Gary - visited with my 81-year-old cousin over the week end. She share's your birth day.
Mine is the day after Pearl Harbor day, and I share it with Jean Sibelius. In 1980 John Lennon wis killed.
Good and bad things happen every day. Life goes on.
Speaking of Milhous - my sister is big into genealogy and discovered we have a common Quaker ancestor.
Cool regards!
JzB
Good day, friends!
I liked Bruce's witty puzzle.
Immediately EVITA came to mind. I love that movie and the music from it. HAIRS was the last to fill mostly because of IAN whom I'd never heard of.
Though Edo briefly came to mind there was no "old" or "former" reference so I capitalized on YEN. EPIC held up EXPO for a long while until XENON occurred to me and PRETTYPENNY emerged.
Fun and fulfilling puzzle to solve. Thank you, Bruce for that and special thanks to JZB who explains it all so clearly.
Have a splendiferous day, everyone!
One of my granddaughters was born on 9/11/96, the other on 12/7/09. We just carry on.
Greetings,
Great CW day today, including a terrific tour with JzB. I really enjoyed this one, but didn't get to the theme until nearly the end. I liked the variety of fill. Nicely done, Bruce.
On acquiring a drawl: My daughter lives in Texas, and she has taken on a lot of new sounds beyond "Y'all," which is of course grammatically plural. We acquire our oral language aurally, hence the success of language immersion programs. Because she hears the newer sounds all the time, her brain learns them. When I was in Paris, my French pronunciation improved a hundred fold in only a week. My ears ameliorated my speech.
Some of the most fun I have had in recent years has been watching and listening to my grand kids' language acquisition. I guess I didn't have the time to notice as much with my own kids.
Enjoy the day!
Jazz, Thank You for another outstanding write-up. Very informative.
Bruce: Nice, FUN, Wednesday puzzle with a great theme. Good Job!
Irish Miss ... I would advise them to elope and Honeymoon in Jamaica.
geez, ALE(s) is in puzzles so often it should be banned like a certain other "3-letter-word."
(Ed.Note ... it is hereby banned from being a days Favorite answer).
As for DRAWL being a Country inflection ... I never used the term "Y'all" until a 4-week Audit in Birmingham, Alabama.
That's where I learned that Southern Girls are the best.
Ya see ... Northern Girls say: "You may" ...
But ... Southern Girls say: "Y'all may ..."
Cheers!
A bit chewy in places, (Rain-Blo?)
but the theme helped immensely. My last fill was anthems for country music?
I must have sat there & stared at "anthems" for a full minute b/4
that most enjoyable V8 can came sailing at my head...
Speaking of sailing, don't we all know the myriad clues invented for "ales."
I must take exception with the obscurity of the clue "some full sail brews."
On the other hand, I must thank Mr Haight for enlightening me
to an ale I have not yet tried....
1A gave me fits, trying to fit "There's no business like show business" into 5 spaces...
Yay, I got some French! I got BeauGeste! (but I was only missing the "B.")
38D Grimm, hmm, where did I hear just yesterday that in the original
Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off their toes to fit in the glass slipper?
Pygmalion! TxU HG! Another movie for my bucket list!
Anon-T, Most excellent tip!
I wish I knew that when I was trying to explain dinner place settings to DW.
She always used to put the knife on the left, & I tried to help by explaining
that fork & left have four letters, & Knife & right have five letters.
(didn't help at all...)
I must show her your technique...
(P.S. don't get me wrong, She is an absolute Wiz at math
while I can't add three numbers and get the same answer twice....)
Irish Miss,
It took twenty years, & reading the Blog to discover that our wedding anniversary
was also the anniversary of JFKs assassination.
When I look back at that horrible memory, I see a child that had no idea
the same date would bring him such joy & happiness...
I started slowly not knowing whether it was RADON, ARGON, or XENON, had EPIC for EXPO, and didn't know the song; so I moved on and after PENNY was filled by perps the NW fell into place. The PRETTY PENNY basically gave away the rest of the puzzle and made it much easier, with my only write over was correcting the spelling from ASSAUGE to ASSUAGE.
BEAU GESTE was already filled by the crosses before I read the clue and I'm glad because 'Noble act, in Nantes' only let on that it was French. I didn't think 'Full Sail' was a type or brand of TEA, WITCHES wouldn't fit, so ALES it was. IAN- Fleming maybe but Somerhalter didn't give me any help. Nobel & Academy winner- I thought GORE but he doesn't deserve either but he did fool a bunch of Arab royalty and get them to buy his network for $500 million.
JaB- I NEED A NAP after reading your write up but we are going to the gym on this cold afternoon. See you guys tomorrow.
Thanks, Bruce, for a very enjoyable puzzle. Loved the theme, and word fill.
Thanks, JzB, for such a wonderful write-up of the theme entries and their background. Nice job!
Some crunch today but very enjoyable. Thanks Bruce and JazzB.
SE was the last to fall.
I had Argon before XENON, EONS before AEON; like Lucina I toyed with EDO for Japanese capital; I am not familiar with Rain-Blo gum. Waited for perps to decide whether the wine was BLANC or Rouge. I had Gets on before HOPS ON and still think that "jumps aboard" would have been a better clue then "climbs aboard".
We have no Canadian PENNY whether PRETTY or not but we have a wonderful Canadian ANTHEM (although there are requests to make it gender neutral by using "in all of us command" instead of "in all thy sons command"!)
GB SHAW is well known in this area with Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake but I was not aware of his unique award status. Even the Shaw Festival website lists only his Nobel Prize.
ShawBio
Pygmalion was a big hit in 2013 season.
Bound to over post today says...
I'm such a bad son... Mom's Bday is 12/6. For what little it's worth, I usually don't call her until the 7th //shrinks in shame.
L-R: The right-hand rule for Lorentz force is to make a fist and stick your thumb to the sky. Fingers are the magnetic field direction and thumb is the direction of the current/force. If you're right handed, writing a test as fast as you can and use your left hand - you'll get all the answers backwards. Ask me how I know this... (EE 203).
Then there's Front Hand/Back Hand - It's like Hertz Donut :-).
I had a buddy in HS that stopped playing Chess w/ me after (>100 games) I finally beat him 3x in a row. Yeah dawg, I gots this game... And ur KING.*
I failed to mention today's fav: XENON. I got buckets of points for it after a challenge in Scrabble - but I've told that story.
Thanks again Bruce & JzB (and all the posters for keeping me up... I NEED A NAP!)
Cheers, -T
*If you didn't click the Key & Peele link, it ain't funny
No issues, solved, but I still don't understand the clue/ answer for 43A. What does "small fortune" have to do with a soothsayer?
Fortune tellers are also known as soothsayers.
I have some friends in the South who insist that Y'all is singular and All Y'all is plural. LOL
The top of this puzzle was pretty much blank (also BLANC) when I started, but I loved the way it filled in and thought it was pretty brilliant in the end. Many thanks, Bruce, and JazzB, I love your photos and commentary.
I noticed a couple interesting things in this puzzle, for example, that it had a bit of violence in it (OOF, BONKS, STABS, SMACKED, BLO[w]).
Also, a surprising number of references to art: ART SALE, DIEGO Rivera, EVITA, OPERA, George Bernard SHAW (had no idea he had won an Oscar).
Finally, my least brilliant moment: the last answer I filled in, thanks to perps, was EDU. Guess, what? I'm a former university professor so my e-mail address ends in EDU. Duh.
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Slow and steady wins the race. I kept chipping away and finally got it done! When I didn't have an answer until 16a, I thought it was going to be a major DNF. Needed quite a few perps today. Thanks, Bruce H. for the challenge, and many thanks to JzB for the EXPO.
I've had up to 6 deer today grazing at the top of the hill in my back yard and avatar hates them. She has an invisible fence but I don't trust her not to go through it to chase deer so she can't go out. Besides, I don't like the barking, so I'm sure none of my neighbors want to hear her. I just want to deer to go away.
Pat
Good afternoon, folks.Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
Bluehen: I have been to Clinton, IL, many times. I have several friends from there. Two are Elwood Adams (R.I.P.) and Jesse Johns.
Puzzle was a little tricky. Theme was clever and I got them all easily.
Could not remember OBE, but VERB fixed that. Clever clue for VERB. That one took me a while.
Someone else commented on LORN. I have never seen that used, either. However it does make sense if you think of FORLORN.
Tries SOUR before EDU gave me DOUR. Similar.
ANTHEMS was clever. A little misdirection.
That bottle of Full Sail Amber looked good.
Lots to do for the rest of today. Heading to Pennsylvania tomorrow evening. Gun Raffle.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
One of my sisters who has lived in Charlotte, NC, for almost 40 years has a distinct southern accent which we find amusing since she was born here but left at age 20. More entertaining still are the colorful expressions she has acquired. None come to mind at the moment but I'll think about it for a bit.
This one took me longer than usual but effort was fun and successful in the end. Loved the theme!
C E D, I too wanted "There's no business like show business." Or at least "Another opening of another show." Alas, five spaces wouldn't stretch.
For 47 D, Smooth and Stylish, I wanted SLICK, but YEN and SET wouldn't let me. Loved all three of those clues.
I also struggled with BONKS. I wanted decks until ABCS appeared . Good mental workout. Thanks, Bruce!
JzB you worked overtime on the write-up! Wonderful links. Thanks!
Hello Puzzlers -
Brain was slow to engage at first, then the coffee kicked in and made for a quick romp. Hand up for Argon before Xenon.
TTP from yesterday - I haven't heard about that overrun, so far. The new deceleration mats are a good idea in places where there's not much grass before the fence. Speaking of which, the airport in Marlborough MA has a fence right smack dab at the west end of the runway, with a tongue-in-cheek stop sign fastened to it. As if one needed reminding...
Irish Miss: One reason your niece chose 9/11 might be that was the only date she could get the venue for the wedding or reception, dinner or whatever. I remember when my elder daughter was getting married she came up with Oct. 13 because it was the only date she could get her venues. No one else wanted the 13th. City venues are particularly hard to nail down. Her best friend got engaged in Sept. and wanted to marry as soon as possible. She ended up with Oct. 7 of the same year, the only time she could get her chosen venue on a weekend for over a year. Her venue was also available on Oct. 13, but since both girls wanted to be in each other's wedding and the cities were three hours apart, she picked Oct. 7 and had to shorten her honeymoon to stand up with our daughter. That was a wild two weeks for us. I had to fit & finish sewing three fancy dresses.
I am never forLORN. I am always against it.
We were taken to a brew pub to eat when we visited our daughter in Portland, Oregon. It was a little way up Mt. Hood by a river, so I'm wondering if it was where this ALE came from.
Memory is funny. I remembered (wrongly) that Al Gore won the Oscar/Nobel double, and for some reason that blocked my older (and accurate) memory of GB SHAW's coup. I got the grand Irishman in the end, but why should one have co-opted the other's rightful place?
And of all irksome things, why was 1A my toughest --and last-- fill? I'm pretty familiar with American musicals, so why should EVITA have been so elusive? Granted, the song title is one of the show's lesser numbers, but I remembered it as soon as the perps solved the show title.
Well, this is why we do Xwds, isn't it? They're one of the gentler ways we have of getting to know the quirks of our brains. Today's lesson was a reminder that memory requires associations and certainly doesn't favor truth.
B/4 I forget,
missing OwenKLs poetry
Dudley, I went looking for a pic of that stop sign,
but could not find it.
Wait a sec, this guy found it!
Famous Dutch Doors...
Did you know that the original golf tee was just a pile of sand? see hist./Wiki
Hmm, there must be something funny in this. (or did Robin Williams already heap that pile...)
Greetings!
Thanks, Bruce and JzB!
Nice theme!
The following were perped: BLO, ALTA, EVITA. Otherwise OK.
Off to the dentist to have major work done. Can expect a horrible backache later on, lasting through tomorrow.
My ex's birthday is 9/11.
Cheers!
Now that's a pretty penny...
Hmm, arm and a leg. In looking for funny pics, I have become to appreciate the Editors job.
For instance This is just bad...
& this upholstery job was even worse...
Small fortune? How true...
Hmm, I found this under Kings ransom.
Before I attempt to solve this puzzle, I feel more research is needed.
Somehow I feel watching Monty Python & the Holy Grail will not yield the answers I seek...
Good afternoon all,
Fun theme, and seemed pretty smooth, although I had plenty of 2nd guesses too.Liked the clue: they may be Dutch. It might be old, but I hadn't seen it before.Beg, borrow or steal kept my head buzzing for awhile, and I didn't know obe. Silly me, I went thru the ABC's to fill the simple B for verb.
Am seeing with one eye at the moment..had a laser treatment for my blurry vision this morning. Dry eye drops weren't helping.
Enjoy your day.
CED 2:37 - yep, that's the place! You can see the back of the stop sign attached to the fence.
As I said, the sign is just for amusement. The runway is really short by today's standards at just 1,600 feet, and it ends right at the fence. There is little margin for error, and if the pilot fails to keep speed exactly, there is an expensive embarrassment waiting at the end - as this pilot found out.
I've landed there perhaps a dozen times over the years, and don't much enjoy it. With regular practice it becomes routine, but few of us have the need or opportunity.
JzB, I didn't know about Teresa Palmer before today. Thanks! She's good for quite a few milliHelens.
Has anybody heard from Owen lately? I miss him!
Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today. Slapped (gently!) myself on the forehead after getting VERB. Didn't know Rain-BLO or IAN Somerhalder, but did know OPERA buffa and DIEGO Rivera. Agree that bottle of Full Sail ALE looks good; gonna check around and see if it is sold around here.
Thank for your write-up, Jazzb. It is clear you put a lot of time into it.
JD, please let us know how your laser treatment worked.
Best wishes to you all.
I believe Al Gore also won an academy award and a Nobel prize.
Al Gore never was awarded an Oscar but he walked up on stage like he won one ala Cosmo Kramer at the Tonys.
Anonymous@6:13P.M.
See desper-otto's comment at 9:32 A.M.
That was a good NAP. Youngest has been ill for two days and I'm way out of sync w/ the SUN.
Oc4 re: 12:54 post - I think you unwittingly addressed and solved Sigmund's Q from yesterday. Y'all is singular and gender neutral.
Lucina - I'm still waiting on colorful NC sayings. Here's one from S. Louisiana...
Call: "You can't get blood from a turnip."
Response: "You can get the turnip though."
While visiting a friend's (same HS buddy re: chess) river-camp, two of his elder-folk must'a said that about 10 times one night. I found it funny.
HG - I simply use blue painter's tape on the handle. Cheap way to spot my black bag w/ out the ID TAG. Sure it looks silly for someone in a suit & tie to have such, but I'll never see those folks again anyway (YMMV in a SMALLer town).
CED - I'm honored to join you in your quest to extend AN ARM AND A LEG in the passing of the Black Knight.
Cheers, -T
Geez, I remember that black knight sequence from Monty Python so well... Brilliant stuff! Thanks for the redux.
Tomorrow's puzzle has circles. I was very pleased with myself for solving the puzzle and the theme even though I didn't go to Cruciverb to find the location of the circles. Yay me!
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