18. Add to the language : COIN A PHRASE. Coin collection. Nine most valuable U.S. coins.
23. Unusually high temperatures, often : RECORD HEAT. Record collection. One man, 30,000 records.
58. What the starts of 18-, 23-, 38- and 50-Across can be part of : COLLECTIONS
Good morning all, Melissa here. Mostly smooth sailing, except for a few spots - last to fall was the crossing of 4A PONTE and 7D TUN. What? Simple, straightforward theme, once it appeared.
Across
1. Mud wrap venue : SPA
4. Bridge, to Botticelli : PONTE. Italian for bridge.
9. On a cruise : AT SEA
14. Knock gently : TAP
15. Unalaska inhabitant : ALEUT. Had never heard of this city before, so pretty.
16. With 27-Down, striped holiday treat : CANDY
17. Tycoon Onassis : ARI
20. North Atlantic hazard : ICEBERG
22. Perching on : ATOP
26. Letters used in old dates : BCE. Before the Common Era.
29. Beirut's country: Abbr. : LEB
30. __-Cat: winter vehicle : SNO
31. Skin-and-bones sort : SCRAG
33. Fish and chips option : COD
36. Wonton, e.g. : DUMPLING
41. Felix Unger et al. : NEATNIKS
42. "Atlas Shrugged" author Rand : AYN
43. Many opera villains : BASSI.
44. Grassland : LEA
46. Uncertainties : IFS
49. Braying beast : ASS
54. Canyon feedback : ECHO
57. Ice-T or Jay Z : RAP STAR
62. "Who am __ judge?" : I TO
63. German river, to Germans : RHEIN
64. Adult insect : IMAGO. According to Wikipedia, "Imago is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphasis.
65. Not quite lge. : MED
66. Chore list entries : TO DO'S
67. Web surfing tool : MODEM
68. Beverage suffix : ADE
Down
1. Step between landings : STAIR
2. Part of UPS : PARCEL
3. Unit-pricing word : APIECE
4. Hoosier hoopster : PACER
5. Grace opening : O LORD
6. Sounds from a stable : NEIGHS
7. Vineyard vat : TUN. A large cask.
9. Vier und vier : ACHT. German, four and four are eight.
10. Hawaiian root : TARO
11. Feature of most fedoras : SNAP BRIM. A snap brim can be turned up and down at opposite ends.
12. Newspaper hires, briefly : EDS
13. Vote for : AYE
19. __ on the back : PAT
21. Spotted members of the lynx family : BOB CATS
24. Laptop buyer, for one : END USER
25. Month after juillet : AOUT. Another unknown to me, July and August in French.
27. See 16-Across : CANE
28. Urge (on) : EGG
31. Energetic : SPRY
32. Outpatient treatment sites : CLINICS
34. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI
35. Printer resolution spec. : DPI. Dots per inch.
37. __ Nashville: country label : MCA
38. Bering and North : SEAS
39. Like graduation caps : TASSELED
40. St. with a panhandle : OKLA
41. Steph Curry's org. : NBA
45. In Europe, say : ABROAD
47. Daughter of Muhammad : FATIMA. Youngest daughter of Islamic daughter Muhammad. Too many letters for Laila.
48. Enjoyed the ice : SKATED
50. Comfy slip-on : MOC
51. "Tootsie" actress Jessica : LANGE
52. Word with Downs or salts : EPSOM
53. Slowly eat into : ERODE
55. Ad writer's award : CLIO
56. Feathered brooders : HENS
58. Dated PC hookup : CRT
59. "So that's it!" : OHO
60. Bob Cratchit's boy : TIM
61. I believe, in texts : IMO. In my opinion.
46 comments:
In God We Trust, our motto says
We use it in all sorts of ways
On seals and plaques
And on greenbacks,
And our mints will even COIN A PHRASE!
But not all coins are so sublime,
Counterfeiters will do their time.
They synthesize
With bogus dies,
And thus commit a STAMP-OUT CRIME!
Artwork, too, make no mistake,
May be a forger's sculpted fake.
Not carved by hand
But poured with sand
To a mold, and baked to a MARBLE CAKE!
Finally recovering from the creeping crud (even tho I had my flu shot) to plunge into an ongoing bout of depression. Haven't even been reading the blog, and in my muddled state did horridly on last weeks puzzle. And next they're predicting a long and heavy pollen season this year. Oh, glory. :(
Morning, all!
Mostly a walk in the park today. A few minor missteps (PONTI before PONTE, RAP before TAP) and one total unknown (MCA), but nothing serious. I've been wearing fedoras most of my life at this point and never knew they had SNAP BRIMS. Well, I knew the brims could be turned up and down at opposite ends, I just never knew there was a special term for that sort of thing...
Glad you're over your creeping crud, Owen, and welcome back to the blog!
Good morning!
This was easy-peasy for a Tuesday. Not a smudge in sight. Thanks, Mark and Melissa Bee. I do believe that's a photo of Avg Joe's record collection.
Unalaska -- Alternative spelling of "cabin fever."
SNAP BRIM -- Was trying to remember what type of hat Snap wore, and if it was different from those worn by Crackle and Pop.
Owen -- Pollen season is already here. I'm on Kleenex box #2 since the great flowage began yesterday morning.
Anon-T (from last night) -- Form 1095-C is issued by companies with 50+ employees to indicate who was covered under the company-supplied health insurance policy. The form is optional this year. If you, your wife and kids all had health insurance for all of last year, you can just check the appropriate box(es) in the ACA section of your tax return. No need to wait for that 1095-C to arrive. It's my understanding that next year Forms 1095-A (marketplace), 1095-B (individual and small-company), and 1095-C will be mandatory. The IRS is gonna know who's been naughty and nice. That reminds me, today's a taxing day. Gotta run...
To be AT SEA is to be addled. When you're on an ocean cruise, you're ASEA.
HURRAY, Owen's back!! Love your limericks, Owen! Well, big thunderstorm rolled through here in FLL and knocked out the power half way through the CW!! Power still out, Florida Flicker and Flash says they "are aware of it and hope to have power restored in three hours or so." In the meantime had to finish the CW by the light on my iPhone. Got 'er done, though, a bit more time than usual. Fun CW, thanx, Mark! Terrific write-up, thanks, Melissa.
Very nice Tuesday puzzle.
Well this puzzle and the write up by mb are keepers to add to our puzzle collection.
While I am not well traveled, my son sent many pictures of PONTE VECCHIO on his digging trips to Italy.
Appreciate the mini CSO at 68 across. Thanks m and m.
I found this one pretty crunchy for a Tuesday. Made errors with Postal/Parcel, Rap/Tap, RCA/MCA then penciled in AM I instead of I To. Had to rely heavily on comps from Tennessee to the Carolinas, but it all worked out.
HA! D-O, I'll take that as a compliment, but I think my collection is between 500 and 600 in the CDs and not much over 100 for LPs. I'd guess you have me beat with your industrial strength iPod.
Nice to see you, MellissaB. Thanks for the write up.
This was no breeze for me today. The mid-section was the major cause of my angst.
Finished it up, literally- one letter at a time. AOUT, DPI, BASSI, were all "not too sure of" fills, but I lucked out.
Like Melissa, I too wanted Laila for 47D.
Monsoons heading arriving today into our quickly warming climate, so on my way to create a path for the water to flow. Temps are going into the 50's today. This is the screwiest winter I remember.
Nice puzzle. Even faster than yesterday. Those collections were awesome, Melissa. The stamp article was especially interesting.
Last night and this morning we had snow, followed by freezing rain, followed by rain. The neighbors' cars were thickly coated with ice before dawn, but it all melted off by 7:30 AM. I agree, Hondo. Wacky weather, from a low of 5 below zero to a high of 55+ in 3 days.
Anon, you can look it up. At sea is to be on the ocean as well as to be perplexed or uncertain.
In its most usual sense, asea is to be on the ocean, although I have occasionally seen it used as perplexed.
Melissa B.: Nice write-up with interesting links.
Mark: Thank You for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.
Only needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get AOUT, otherwise an easy solve.
No booze in the grid, so only 3 stars ... lol
Happy 1st Birthday to Casey.
Cheers!
Good morning all,
Happy to see you back, Owen.
Nice write up Melissa.Thanks for the chart. I have been to many wineries, but do not recall hearing the word tun used in lieu of vat. I wagged that T. The Twisty Tale was interesting. I have yet to find a way to unload my stamp collection locally.im not ready to get on the eBay track.
Smooth and crunchy for me today.scrag,achy,snap brim, and end user needed mostly perps.changed neat nick to neatniks, and rappers to rap star...my problem for not using the singular/plural clues staring me in the face.
It's been beach weather the last few days , and of course it is lovely, but we are still praying for some much needed rain.The few storms we had did replenish some ground water, but all our local dams and reservoirs are still very low.
Happy Presidents week...it's a grandma week at our house.😊
Fun run today. Thanks Mark and melissa bee.
I got held up a little in the SW.. I had Cleo instead of CLIO and CSt instead of CRT gave me a new German river of SHEEN!
I do know French and filled in AOUT but my German numbers required ESP.
I wanted Vat or Keg before TUN was forced on me. I was misreading Wanton instead of WONTON and dumpling was not making sense either.
Some RAPSTARs at the Grammy Awards last night. I need to really concentrate to understand the lyrics. Is that a generational thing? Are some lyrics better left not heard?
Good to see OwenKL back. Belated HBD to Marti from the weekend. I was just lurking because we had Family Day holiday and lots of activities. Snowing now!
Good morning everyone.
Just a couple scrunches like Barry G said, but mostly easy. Made more so by inclusion of a few words from languages with which I'm familiar.
AT SEA - Clue is apt. We never spoke of ourselves as 'asea'. Away from port we were AT SEA.
Bering and North SEAS - Interesting, that parts of both were exposed land during the last glaciation.
Hello Puzzlers -
Pretty much a speed run. Recalled Aout from grade school French (a class which was forced on us. I griped and groaned at the time, but it has come in handy...) Hand up for Ponti before Ponte. Never had to study Italian.
Morning, MBee, enjoyed your links - particularly the stamp tale! Thanks for 'splaining today.
Re: TUN. Ask a Marine. Birth place of the Corps was Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.
Thanks, Argyle for the new clue for TUN (sorely needed). My first Tuesday with LAT. Glad y'all like it. More to come!
Crunchy but doable as a Tuesday should be. Thanks Mark and Melissa.
Glad you're back, Owen!!
Hi Y'all! Good one, Mark! Very interesting, melissa bee!
Forgot to check the theme at midnight after finishing. Might even have understood this one.
I knew Unalaska native was Aleut from reading Dana Stabenow who was recommended by FermatPrime. Also knew TUN but was third try. Guessed juillet must be Frawnch for July and just waited for perps.
Vier & Vier weren't two competitors. ACHT per himmel! (or something.)
NBA was a gimmee. Steph Curry is the reigning MVP and current phenom. However, I haven't been watching much basketball this year. Can't stay awake for the games.
OwenKL, I'm happy to see you back after the crud. Good verses today. Hang in there, we miss you.
D-O: very witty today.
SIL took me to ORTHO yesterday. Good news: graduated from wheel chair to crutches with three metatarsal breaks well healed. Bad news: one break not healed and causing some burning sensations. Bound for rehab for full-body analysis on Friday. No pain in foot, plenty in shoulders. Nice to be upright again, but after six weeks, a little scary to leave the wheel chair "cocoon." Still in the chair for kitchen activities because I can't carry my TV dinner to table on crutches. If I could just break that nasty eating habit...
Went to a medical supply store in wheel chair and handed the counter clerk my prescription for compression socks. About 6 people standing around waiting. The elderly male clerk took the scrip and "read" from it: "This is a stickup. Give me all your money. Do not call the police." Much laughter, including mine. I decided to play along and added my own perpetrator banter. More laughter. Glad there was no trigger-happy off-duty cop in the crowd to shoot at me. Brightened my day.
Good Morning:
This was a fun solve with a surprising reveal, to me, anyway. I had no clue what the theme was until the end. No problems but I, too, wanted Laila. Learning moment was Unalaska.
Thanks, Mark, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, melissa b, for the Tuesday tour.
Welcome back, Owen, today's offerings are tip-top! Hope you feel better!
I don't watch the Grammys but I did read Taylor Swift's speech giving Kenye West his comeuppance, without even mentioning his name. (I'll bet he isn't in Avg Joe's record collection! 💽)
As Hondo and YR mentioned, our wacky weather continues. Lots of rain expected later today.
Have a great day.
I guess that theme works better than trying to connect PHRASE, HEAT, CRIME and CAKE!
Musings
-Melissa’s lovely write-up was as welcome as the 60˚F temps (not RECORD HEAT) we’re due to get this week
-How far would you drive to see this COLLECTION?
-The oldest Venetian bridge across the Grand Canal is the PONTE di Rialto but we didn’t get over to it but “gondolaed” under it
-A Cruise Ship (1:12) that should NOT have been AT SEA last week
-My lovely Catholic wife forgot and had bacon and then beef last Friday. We had a good laugh!
-Schuyler, NE has a ranch that raises miniature Braying Beasts
-RAP music is here to stay, so Who am I TO judge its worthiness?
-Our daughter signed us up for UPS to deliver one of these per month to our Lily
-Walk-in CLINICS are popping up all over Omaha in their very competitive hospital market
-On top of those TASSELED caps
-My golfing partner has found a lovely woman who wants to travel and so he sold all his HENS
A typical Tuesday with the right amount of unknowns that were filled in with perps. No need for Google look-ups today. Nice write-up MellisaB.
Mark: keep up the good work. How about a "reverse almond" or a "backward cashew" for a TUN.
I have a cousin in up-state New York who is opening up the Adirondak Barrel Cooperage where he will make a "TUN" (or is it TON) of barrels for the craft distillery industry. Most barrels are made on the West Coast so there is a need for an eastern cooperage.
Definitely not beach weather in central PA. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are hitting us today. It was supposed to slow down this morning, but the NOAA Weather Radio just went off and extended the period of messiness. I hope it's beach weather where you all are.
Hello, friends!
Nice going, Mark and Melissa, thank you! It's great to see you, MB. Those are some impressive COLLECTIONS!
Owen, it's so good to see you back, welcome!
I finished this much earlier today but then returned to bed. It was a breeze and even gave a CSO to our current RECORDHEAT. Unbelievably it's supposed to be 89 or 90 tomorrow.
Since I don't know French or German had to rely completely on perps for AUT and ACHT though RHEIN is familiar to me. At first I also confused wanton and wonton then realized wonton soup is one of my favorite dishes. BASSO before BASSI and RAPSTER then RAPSTAR were my other erasures.
Thank you, again, Mark. This was fun.
I hope all are having a wonderful day!
oc4beach @ 1006; Remsen is just 12 miles north of me as the crow flies. Hope their cooperage does well.
Nice to see ADE clued as a suffix. It bothers me when it is treated like a word because I've tried to play it in my words with friends games and it is not accepted. Also not listed as a word at dictionary.com. So, thank you for that!
Thank you Mark McClain and Melissa. COLLECTIVEly and individually, you made for a great start to the day !
Handup for reading wonton as wanton, as I am wont to do, but do not want to do.
No problems with RHEIN for Rhine. Spent the better part of three years along the Rhine at two different locations. The first was just north of the confluence of the Rhein and Neckar rivers. The other was south on the Rhine and was once known as Rhein Kaserne.
UNALASKA and ATTU as Aleutian islands. The prior always reminds me of Onalaska WI and Onalaska TX. Onalaska WI is where I-90 crosses the Mississippi at LaCrosse. Very scenic when driving along and then down into the river valley to cross from Minnesota into Wisconsin and east to Tomah. Onalaska TX is on man made Lake Livingston just north of Houston.
PK, that would have been hilarious. Too funny.
Argyle, I read about the Tun Tavern, and that sent me off into history again. Also, I noticed that today is denoted as Feb 15th.
My three inch thick Webster's unabridged print dictionary lists ade as a separate word and does not include the suffix -ade. Most online dictionaries list only the suffix, although I did find one that used it as a word. Neither Spellcheck not my old Scrabble Dictionary accepts it, so I can understand your reservation about it. I can take it or leave it.
PK, funny story. Glad to see you are up and about now. I hope you continue healing well. Owen, nice to see you are feeling better.
Good Tuesday fun. Thanks Mark and Melissa. More unknowns that usual for a Tuesday but still doable. TUN? AOUT?
Here's some great dancing. Reminds me of me in my youth. Yeah. Hah! I wish...
SHAG dancing
The Random House Unabridged (which most editors use for reference) does not have ADE as a word, and I never clue it as such, as it's never spoken as a standalone word (at least never has been in my hearing).
Hello Everyone, Except for some of the foreign words--Bassi, Ponte, and Rhein (which were all perps) the rest of the puzzle was pretty straight forward today.
Scrag was not on my radar, but again was perped. This isn't a word I usually use!
Really busy today, as we are having a tree taken down and that means the deck around and near the tree has to be razed. Today is the day the demolition crew is coming to do that. Always something to do when you own a home.
Have a great day everyone.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Mark McClain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.
OC4beach: Where are you in central PA. I have a place there as well. Johnsonburg.
Got through this quite easily, except for one spot. DUMPLING and AOUT. I read WONTON as WANTON and had no idea of the foreign month. Perped it. Turned out it is French. Bad for me.
Liked the theme.
Tried AHA for 59D. OHO won that battle.
FATIMA was easy. I have read some about that family.
Just had BASSI recently in a puzzle.
NEATNIKS was easy with the Unger clue. That was a funny movie and TV show.
Lots to do today. Heading to Waukegan this afternoon for a meeting tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I loved this Tuesday puzzle, even if the foreign words made it a bit crunchy, Italian (PONTE), French (AOUT),and German (ACHT, RHEIN). Lots of food including two desserts (MARBLECAKE, CANDY CANE) and DUMPLINGS and COD. And I really liked having ICEBERG right above RECORD HEAT. So, many thanks, Mark, and thank you, Melissa, for the fun expo.
Hope you feel better soon, Owen.
Have a great Tuesday, everybody!
Spitz, I didn't realize you lived that close to Remsen. Do you know of any good historians in the area, knowledgeable about the 1790-1840 era? I've been trying to track down a shirt-tail relative who lived in Remsen around 1810.
Cool, Mark we puzzle junkies appreciate it when constructors give us feedback
we will be ready
PK:
That is a funny story and you're right about no policeman being around. It could have turned out differently.
D-O @ 1401. RE: Do you know of any good historians in the area, knowledgeable about the 1790-1840 era?
No I don't but here might be a place to start:
Remsen Steuben Historical Society
Stone Meeting House
PO Box 254
9793 Prospect Street
Remsen, NY 13438
Phone: 315.831.8481
There's also an Oneida county historical society which you could google.
Thanx, Spitz. I'll try to contact them.
Spitz @ 10:16: Thank you. I hope they do well also. I think they will because my cousin is a gifted carpenter and a smart businessman in addition to being a truly nice person.
Abejo @ 1:37: I'm on the outskirts of State College, PA right next to Penn State University overlooking the football stadium and Bryce Jordon Center. I was in Johnsonburg last fall when we went looking for elk around Benezette and the surrounding area. It's pretty country up there (about 85 miles from here)
Bill G @ noon: Shag dancing would wear a person out. Another one that is not as intense, but one I find interesting with fancy footwork is Zydeco
Again I hope everyone is having a good day.
The neighbors' cars were thickly coated with ice before dawn, but it all melted off by 7:30 AM.
Yah, we had a bit of an ice storm late last night and I awoke to 1/2 inch of ice on my car. After I spent 30 minutes or so scraping it off and liberally salting the steps, driveway and sidewalk, I went back in to have breakfast. 30 minutes later I went back out to take my wife to work and was depressed to see that it was now pouring rain. Or was it?
As we left the driveway and hit the street, the rain suddenly stopped. It was then that we realized the sun was hitting the ice-coated tree in front of our house and was causing all the ice to melt at a prodigious rate. Within a few hours, the temperature was in the 50s. And yes, tonight we are expecting some sort of monsoon.
Wacky weather, indeed!
Hi All!
Fun puzzle w/ a bit of crunch for a guy that doesn't know another natural language (heck, I have difficulty w/ English :-)). Thanks Mark and thanks for stopping by.
Milissa B. - Thanks for the writeup and COLLECTIONS pix. Fortunately, we had no remit requests...
WO: CLeO b/f CLIO & rCA b/f MCA. Hand up for wonton/wanton confusion. The 'r' @37d didn't help... [BTW TTP, your turn of PHRASE was LOL].
ESPs: 4, 43, 63a. Natnik: ESPs 64a xing 51d. I got all but the 'G' as my alphabet run continued to 'n.' FIW.
Fav: Sub-theme w/ computers - END USER, DPI, CRT, MODEM, and the ASS in the C-Suite that expects them all to work at once :-)
I mentioned last night I SKATED by to get TASSELED.
D-O: Thanks for the response on 1095-C. I was afraid it was the "cadillac-plan" tax form. We're all insured so no prob. My tax-man will be glad he's got >15 days.
Welcome back OKL! Fun limericks today. Thanks.
Misty - I missed the juxtaposition of ICEBERG over RECORD HEAT. Thanks.
CEh! - I think most RAP STAR lyrics are best left unheard - IM(h)O
PK - Glad your back on your feet (kinda). Script story was LOL.
Time to feed the family.
Cheers, -T
Bill G at noon -
Wowza! We watched that three times...and then we had to rest! FAN-tastic. Thanks for linking.
Those dancers, Stephen and Chandrae, have quite a few videos out in the Interwebs. Their speciality is the Jazz couples dance styles of the 20's through 50's. They make make it look so easy.
Dudley, I'm glad you liked the video. I always enjoy it when somebody likes the same things I do. Since you mentioned their other routines, I explored around. Right you are. They are really good and make it look so effortless. Barbara and I used to enjoy Country dancing; the Texas Two Step, Waltzes, line dances, etc. But we had to practice a lot so that any of it would stick from week-to-week. I wish I had more talent in those areas. I enjoy it but have very little talent.
Life is very satisfying this evening, in simple-minded little ways. I tackled tomorrow's puzzle on Mensa and I enjoyed it very much; especially because I finished it with no help at all. I was tempted to look up a couple of things on Google but I persevered instead and felt pleased when things began to fall into place. All this while Leon Redbone was warbling along on Pandora accompanying me.
I am very happy with movies or TV shows, new or old, that are about characters I come to care about; not special effects. I was watching an especially good episode of a favorite old series, Friday Night Lights. The acting, characters and story brought moisture to my eyes. Then I had much the same reaction to the episode of Downton Abbey from a couple of weeks back. (I'm a little behind...) The new episode of Major Crimes seems good so far. Foyle's War is excellent as usual. I love that show.
As I said, some simple pleasures are adding up to a pleasant evening.
Well, BillG, I am too enjoying life's simple pleasures. Like these:
Early Lou Reed
or
Later Lou Reed
Which do you prefer?
I'm no expert but with a quick listen, I'd say later.
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