Theme: VII - Four sevens.
16. *Mozart and Robin, in their own way : BOY WONDERS. Seven Wonders of the World.
39. Number associated with the ends of answers to the starred clues : SEVEN
59. *Windy day ocean condition : CHOPPY SEAS. The Seven Seas.
10. *Earth-sized collapsed stars : WHITE DWARFS. Seven Dwarfs
23. *Best female friends : SOUL SISTERS. The Seven Sisters. The Pleiades star cluster.
Argyle here. Tidy little pin wheel from C.C. today. I'm sure we all can come up with other 'sevens' so have at it. I'll start with "Seven Samurai" but I have no idea how to clue it so 'samurai' is the last part of the answer.
Across:
1. Pure joy : BLISS
6. Fairy tale bear : MAMA. One of three bears.
10. Athletic org. founded by Billie Jean King : WTA. (Women's Tennis Association)
13. Sports channel summary : RECAP
14. Apple's shuffle or touch : iPOD
15. Melville captain : AHAB
18. Fancy airport ride : LIMO
19. Poker declaration : "I RAISE"
20. Last word of many fairy tales : AFTER
21. Fundamentals : BASICS
24. Recliner feature : LEG REST
26. "Xanadu" rock gp. : ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)
27. Not on time : LATE
30. Bird feeder supply : SEED
31. Like the accent in cliché : ACUTE
33. Loading dock access : RAMP
35. Graceful bird : SWAN
38. Echoic first name of Olympic hurdler Jones : LOLO. Lori "Lolo" Jones
40. Pet gerbil's home : CAGE
41. Simple : EASY
42. Rounded hammer end : PEEN
43. "Casablanca" actor Peter : LORRE
44. Land surrounded by water : ISLE
46. "Star Trek" helmsman : SULU. George Takei is on Facebook.
48. Gave grub to : FED
49. Fiesta food : TOSTADA
52. Irish playwright Sean : O'CASEY. (1880 – 1964)
54. Threepio's pal : ARTOO. No arguments.
55. Swindlers : CROOKS
58. Fortuneteller : SEER
63. Canadian Conservative : TORY
64. Gravy vessel : BOAT
65. Craze : MANIA
66. Supergirl's symbol : ESS
67. Repairs with turf, as a lawn : SODS
68. Nail file material : EMERY
Musical Interlude.
Down:
1. Texter's "Gimme a sec" : BRB. (Be Right Back)
2. Lion in the night sky : LEO
3. Far from friendly : ICY
4. 2005 horror sequel : SAW II
5. Website with timed trivia quizzes : SPORCLE. LINK
6. Calf-length dress : MIDI
7. Zoo primates : APEs
8. Gourmet mushroom : MOREL
9. YouTube annoyances : ADs
11. Makes less unruly : TAMEs
12. Scrub, as a launch : ABORT
15. Outdoor, as cafes : AL FRESCO. "in the open air"
17. Curiosity-launching gp. : NASA
20. __ of Reason : AGE
21. Memphis music festival street : BEALE. The Beale Street Sheiks ~Beale Town Bound(2:54)(can not be embedded)
22. Metal wrap giant : ALCOA
25. "Around the Horn" channel : ESPN. A debate about the hottest sport issues.
28. Lemon or lime : TREE
29. Roof edges : EAVES
32. Film that introduced Buzz Lightyear : "TOY STORY"
34. List of dishes : MENU
36. Think alike : AGREE
37. Emotionally demanding : NEEDY
39. Made haste : SPED
43. "I'm just so fortunate!" : "LUCKY ME!"
45. Poet __-tzu : LAO
47. Script "L" feature : LOOP
49. Tentative bite : TASTE
50. Twistable cookies : OREOs
51. "Bless you" prompter : [ACHOO!]
53. Tea region of India : ASSAM
56. __ hog : ROAD
57. Chooses, with "for" : OPTs
59. "Madam Secretary" network : CBS
60. Opposite of WSW : ENE. 67.5°
61. Put on television : AIR
62. For example : SAY...
Finale
Argyle
He sailed across the SEVEN SEAS,
ReplyDeleteClimbed Everest and K2 and 3.
These he'll relate
Till very late --
Provided there's some Earl Grey tea!
The SEVEN WONDERS of the world
Are ruins now, which time has hurled
As bricks for peasant huts.
Yet wise men still discuss
What new WONDERS are daily now unfurled!
The SEVEN DWARFS were ill at ease,
Snow White no longer served to please.
So they groomed their whiskers
And sought SEVEN SISTERS
Intending marriages to plea o'these!
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteSchool's delayed for 2 hours today due to the snow, but that's OK -- Joshua is home sick with the flu anyway (despite having had the vaccine back in the fall). According to the doctor, he somehow managed to get both the A and the B strain...
The puzzle was pretty crunchy for a Monday, what with stuff like LOLO and SPORCLE. The perps were all solid, but it was a slower than average solve for me as a result. I had no idea what was going on with the theme until I got to the reveal, but at least I could figure out what it was all about at that point (no reliance on circles, thank heavens).
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice Monday romp from our Commenter in Chief. Not an overwrite on the horizon.
SWANs may be graceful on the water, but you don't want an angry SWAN chasing you on land. Meanest birds I've ever seen.
Used to go MOREL hunting in the spring in Iowa. They're easy to identify by their unique shape (No, I'm not going to link it.) We decided they must burst out of the ground fully grown. We'd find a nice-sized MOREL right beside a cut stalk we'd harvested not an hour earlier. They seemed to grow best near fallen trees in the woods. Deep fried in beer-batter -- mmmmmmm.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I found this to be a bit of a challenge this Monday morning. BLISS was the last section of the puzzle to come to me. It's never a good sign when I don't get 1-Across/1-Down on the first pass.
ReplyDeleteI did easily get the Lucky SEVEN theme, however.
LOLO Jones (b. 1982) is an LSU graduate and currently lives in Baton Rouge.
My favorite clue was Like the accent in cliché = ACUTE.
Now that it is spring, the weather has turned cold. I had to turn the heat back on!
QOD: Those wearing tolerance for a label call other views intolerable. ~ Phyllis McGinley (Mar. 21, 1905 ~ Feb. 22, 1978)
ReplyDeleteThank you CC and Argyle.
FIW. When no TADA, looked directly at SPORCLE.
LUCKY ME spelled it BEELE ST for some reason and never looked at the crossing clue. eCUTE ? Oh well.
MOREL season is soon upon us.
The Magnificent Seven. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Seven Years in Tibet. The Seven Faces of Dr Lao. Seven Mules for Sister Sara.
Hey! Leave some sevens for the others.
ReplyDeleteSeven Year Itch.
ReplyDeleteGood Monday Morning,
ReplyDeleteI see that snow out East. It's a(n official) Spring storm so it should melt quickly and let those buds continue to bloom.
WBS: A bit crunchy for me too, but not a problem--just a little more Monday fun than usual.
Thanks C.C. Another great tour, Argyle! Thanks.
Have a good day!
Nice to be back to a Monday puzzle after slogging through Saturday and Sunday. Very creative theme. Argyle asked for other options - Seven deadly sins, seven hills of Rome. Also SISTERS could also have been for the Seven Sisters colleges e.g. Smith, Wellesley, Mt Holyoke....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the CSO for SPORCLE - where my daughter is a product manager out at their headquarters in Seattle. I texted her this morning to let her know (she gets up early for work) and she was thrilled! I have learned a lot of crossword answers by playing the quizzes.
Thanks Argyle and CC!
ReplyDeleteI messed this one up from the beginning. BLISS never came to mind and I don't text so don't know the lingo. Can't remember ever knowing there was a movie Saw I much less SAW II. SPORCLE, a web site I've never visited. LOLO Jones not in my sports world book of names. TOY STORY and Buzz Lightyear.... ok if you say so.
Other then the above, a typical EASY Monday.
I'll chalk it up to an arduous weekend....work wise. I am beat. I'll spend the day recharging my batteries.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteSeemed more like a Tuesday puzzle to me. But, that is OK.
I also wrote in BLISS near the end of the puzzle. Writing it in helped me with SAW II and SPORCLE.
I love TOSTADAs. But not as much as Chili Rellenos.
WHITE DWARFS was slow in coming.
ASSAM was easy.
25 degrees here when I got up.
Only two meetings today. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Argyle: Outstanding write-up. Especially enjoyed the LOLO Jones 50M Hurdles link.
ReplyDelete(Had to laugh-out-loud since the link was 1:16 long and the race about 6 seconds).
C.C. Thank You for a FUN Monday puzzle with an nice SEVEN theme.
OK, I admit I needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get O'CASEY and SPORCLE (Argyle, thanks for that link also).
Geez, the "First" Full-Day-of-Spring (since it started yesterday at 12:30 am) and it is 53 degrees ... dang, that's only 2 degrees above "Florida-Freezing."
The 'High' will get to 63 degrees ... and, of course, I will be wearing Shorts when I head to the Library later.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week, and I will be "Toastin ya'all" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAs others have mentioned, there was a bit of a crunch for a Monday but that's to be expected from our CC; she always adds a bit of bite!
I'm not familiar with Sporcle but perps solved that and a couple of other iffy areas. Needed the reveal to catch the theme which was cute and clever.
Thanks, CC, for a fun romp and thanks, Argyle, for the guided tour.
Have a great day.
Forgot to mention the CSO to my favorite Science-Teacher, Husker Gary.
ReplyDelete17-d, Curiosity-launching gp, NASA ... clever cluing!
and 12-d. Scrub, as a launch, ABORT.
Hahtoolah, that 1-across (BLISS) and 1-d, 'Texter's "Gimme a sec," BRB were my last fills.
jeez, 1-a & 1-d, on a Monday, should be "Instant Gimme's." But I prevailed. lol
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteA little crunchy but very doable. Liked the (mostly) pinwheel pattern with the long downs. Clever theme.
No searches of strikethroughs were needed.
SEVEN - The seven sisters include: Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Radcliffe College, Smith College, Vassar College, and Wellesley College.
Our destroyer squadron (DESRON 28) consisted of SEVEN ships. They were USS's Waller, Cony, Conway, Eaton, Murray, Bache, and BEALE.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A fun way to star the week! Both ends of my pencil were needed and ACUTE and ASSAM required crosses to avoid the bus to Natickville.
-This group of SEVEN leapt to my mind: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. The last is all mine.
-I watched Amadeus recently on Netflix and it portrayed him as giggling BOY WONDER all through his life
-All my i[insert name]’s now reside on my iPhone
-The eight BASIC rules of crossword construction
-We’ve both got phones – Let me know if you’re going to be LATE
-Our sunflower chips are going fast on our feeders this spring but the Niger SEEDS, not so much
-LORRE’s poor character never did get do use those letters of transit
-Swindler CROOKS feed on ignorance and greed
-What fun to hear the Seventh Son that Johnny Rivers obviously covered and Seven Bridges Road is a personal favorite!
-Easy way to find LEO
-7th graders got me into this fun SPORCLE quiz about famous cartoon ears
-At Cheesecake Factory yesterday, I ordered off Page 18 of their fabulous MENU
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteI see Spitz got there first with the Seven Sisters, of which two are nearby. Additionally there is a mountain ridge nearby which has, apparently, seven distinct peaks known as the Seven Sisters. Two of them are prominent - Mount Holyoke, after which that college is named, and Mount Tom - but the rest are kind of vague. I only know Goat Peak in the lesser group.
Thanks for an easy speed run today, C.C.! Only Sporcle tripped me up, never knew it existed.
ReplyDeleteCC and Argyle: Thanks for today's 96.2% Monday puzzle. Only SPORCLE, ASSAM and OCASEY were non-Monday stumbling blocks for me. Perps, as usual, filled them in.
Argyle: Thanks for the link to the SPORCLE site. My daughter and I are always trying to stump each other with trivia and inane facts. SPORCLE should give me some ammunition.
At first I put in MAZE instead of CAGE for the Gerbil's home. Kids had gerbils that ran through the plastic tubes that they'd assemble into a maze.
Hopefully the light dusting of snow overnight is the last of the season. It's time for spring to assert itself.
Since the Vernal Equinox was at 12:30 AM yesterday in the Eastern Time zone, today is the first full day of spring, but only in the East. In the rest of the country, today is the second full day of spring.
Have a great spring day everyone, whether it's your first or second one this year.
PURE JOY today! Thanks C.C. and Argyle. WES about being just a little crunchy for a Monday. I saw the theme early although it was not necessary for the solve.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the CSO at Canadian TORY (although we don't use the term that much).
The Irish playwright was all perps; I had Cheats before CROOKS. Never heard of SPORCLE but it looks like an interesting site. Nice to hear of the Corner connection with inanehiker's daughter.
New clue for MAMA; I was toying with Papa and Baby first. Lemon or lime clue was meh for me; TREE could be for anything. But they can't all be BLISS.
Woke up to snowflakes this morning but sunny now. No AL FRESCO dining today.
Happy Spring to all.
As others have noted, this had some non-Monday fill, but it all worked out. Bliss came slowly, but with 3 perps, it fell. Needed ESP for Sporcle and acute. Only erasure was changing Isla to Isla (don't judge). Couldn't avoid the reveal before all theme answers were filled, as is my wont, but I wouldn't have figured out the theme without it. Thank you C.C. and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteBelated HBD to Spitz and John28 from yesterday!!
Hola y Buenos dias!
ReplyDeleteI AGREE, this was crunchy. It's disconcerting to not fill the NW corner on a Monday, however the rest was mostly a breeze especially Sean O'CASEY whose most famous play was Juno and the Paycock. He was a confirmed socialist. Quote, "All the world's a stage and most of us are unrehearsed."
Thank you, C.C. and Argyle.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
D-O: Your memory of morel hunting reminds me of my brother and his family who live in Decorah, IA. It is a spring ritual for him, and they'd freeze them somehow to enjoy the whole year. They served the mushrooms one time when we visited, and they're absolutely delish!
ReplyDeleteOh, I did finish the NW corner once RECAP emerged and I could suss the rest. SPORCLE was a complete unknown and I'm sorry to say I've heard of SAW I & II.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteFirst, belated Birthday wishes to Spitz and John28!
DW is home from 2 weeks in Italy; good to feel whole again. We're taking the day together(ish), she's at the Apple Store now to get her phone fixed.
Fun puzzle, thanks C.C. You almost got me in the NW; I wanted BRB, @1d but elate @1a. Never saw SAW and 5d is right out of my wheel-house. Thanks Argyle for the writeup and music. LOL'd at Laverne pic. Nice choice.
WO - MaxI @6d. It wasn't until I really focused on NW that I realized there's no aPOD.
Fav: EAVES xing SEVEN evoking The House of SEVEN Gables.
Cheers, -T
Note to Argyle - oops, I reloaded your RECAP & then saw the Eagles; originally it was Mabon's link 2x... Weird.
Hi Y'all! C.C. to start the week provided a challenge, thanks. Her puzzles never have trite material. BLISS is not available in my current life, so that was hard to come by. I don't speak "text" so had to wait on perps. Whole NW corner was tricky.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, thanks for your work. The Eagles to start the week are always welcome.
SPORCLE is new to me too. How nice of C.C. to introduce us to a new word game, knowing we all like these types of things.
No snow here, lots of sunshine, but cold breeze. Don't see any spoiled flowers, shrubs or trees. Yay! Surroundings of flowers is about as close to BLISS as I come now that my grandchildren are no longer cuddly babies.
DW is keeping me busy,but I did manage to do today's puzzle. Tx CC!
ReplyDeleteBelated HBD to Spitzboov & John 28man.
The 7 wonders of the world...
Hello Everyone, Hands up for a bit crunchy today. The whole northwest corner went begging until I spun around the pinwheel from right to left and filled in everything except that pesky upper corner.
ReplyDeleteI don't text, so BRB was unknown, as was Saw II and Sporcle. I was thinking super heroes for boy wonders and couldn't think of a super hero named Mozart--Duh! Of course he was a boy wonder but from another age and bliss was completely off the radar.
We're hoping for a start to our deck--again. Roots from the redwood tree "stumped" our builders and we had to once again call the tree company with their grinder. That redwood tree just seems to keep on giving. Not always in a good way this time.
Have a great day everyone.
PK,
ReplyDeleteFWIW ICYC... texting definitions
TTYL
Neato puzzle. Nifty theme; so many ramifications from a single simple word. Like Beethoven. He could take a simple theme of just a few notes (for example the Fifth Symphony opening da da da dum) and build a magnificent, complex, multi-faceted edifice out of it. Somehow I can imagine C.C.'s mind latching upon "seven" (read it in the newspaper recently maybe?) and extrapolating that into the several theme entries. Neato indeed.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have learned about SPORCLE.
ASSAM produces some of the finest tea in the world, equalled or surpassed only by Fujian province in China and the mountains of Taiwan. Yesterday's OOLONG (Black Dragon) tea comes from there.
Best wishes to you all.
Last night we watched a documentary about the evolution of the opposable thumb.
ReplyDeleteIt was gripping.
I agree this had a bit of (welcome) crunch for a Monday but no complaints.
ReplyDeleteSeven Brides for Seven Brothers.
There's also the 7 Virtues.
ReplyDeleteSS@1:14p - I wouldn't know about those. HG nailed me w/ his dirty-SEVEN :-). C, -T
ReplyDeleteWell, like Chickie and others, I had a problems with the NW corner and had to cheat and look up SPORCLE and SAW II. But still found the puzzle a delight--many thanks, C.C. and you too, Argyle, especially for that great photo of Laverne! What was the actress's name--Penny something, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteCanadian Eh, I've been thinking about you because I just love the "Murdoch Mysteries," a murder mystery series set in Canada in the early 20th century. It's simply superb and has become my absolute favorite TV show. Hope you've seen it and liked it. It's a long series with 8 sections available for DVD, but ABC airs it in the middle of the night on Saturdays.
Have a great week, everybody!
Misty - yes, Penny Marshall, the 1st woman to direct a "Big" movie... C, -T
ReplyDeleteBINGO CALL = LEGS ELEVEN (SEVEN ELEVEN - Store)
ReplyDeleteTHE END IS NIGH = NUMBERS UP (SEVEN UP - Snow White's favorite….)
THREE = ROOT OF NINE (SEVEN OF NINE- later Star Trek)
My cable for the iPad Mini came a day early and, as suspected, solved the dead battery problem. Just in time, too, because the ancient iPad was giving me fits the last two days; I think it's on its last legs, so to speak. Anyway, I'm a happy camper! 😎
ReplyDeleteMisty@1:21 Yes I have watched Murdoch Mysteries and loved the Toronto historical setting. We have it on the CBC and they have announced that there will be a 10th season. Glad you are enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteSeven Ounces ... A "short-pour" of Scotch (Neat, of course) at Villa Incognito.
ReplyDeleteBut ... the "Proper-pour" to Toast the Sunset
Cheers!
Possibly known to Steve - The Seven Sisters are also chalk cliffs along the South Coast of England, to the east of Brighton and stretching towards Dover.
ReplyDeleteSeven mile bridge is in the Florida Keys and Seven Springs Resort is outside of Pittsburgh near Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water.
ReplyDeleteThe Magnificent Seven
ReplyDeleteI heard on the radio that it's Bach's birthday today.
Oops. Forgot it had been mentioned above. Way above.
ReplyDeleteAll I've got in this Seven-fest is an extension of DO's offering as a CW clue: Jock ____:
ReplyDeleteI know. Prolly doesn't meet the breakfast test. Unregard.
But....it can only get better. Re The boy wonder: A note seen in a cafe restroom where the toilet had a tendency to run too long. The hand printed sign said: "Please wiggle handel." Someone then printed below that: "If I do, will it wiggle Bach?"
It's been a slow day.....
ReplyDeleteSeven. The movie. SE7EN. Intense. Not for the gentle or faint of heart. Morgan Freeman was his brilliant self. The only reason I stuck with it.
Anon @ 4:06, In 1979 I skied down a black run at Seven Springs. Thought I was ready for it. I wasn't.
That southwestern PA area of the Laurel Highlands is beautiful and full of history. Among that, British colonial militia led by Lieutenant Colonel George Washington built Fort Necessity in ~ 1754, but was forced to surrender to the superior French forces from Fort Duquesne during the Seven Years War.
Also from that area, Rolling Rock beer in the SEVEN ounce pony bottles. Latrobe, PA. Arnie Palmer was also from Latrobe.
Nearby small Donora, PA is the hometown of three Baseball Hall of Fame players. Stan the Man Musial, and Ken Griffey Sr, and Jr. They didn't wear number 7, but I thought I would throw it out there for you baseball and trivia folks.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, CC and Santa!
Happy belated birthdays to Splynter and John28.
Very crunchy Monday. SPARKLE and LOLO were perped. Also, BRB
I am missing the last period above because something weird happened.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the staph infection on my arm is finally healing. (I had a shot and have been chocking down horse pills twice daily.)
Cheers!
The 1964 political thriller "Seven Days in May"
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that such a literate group would not have noted...
ReplyDeletethe Seven Days of Creation.
SEVEN Habits of Highly Effective People - Covey... I suppose I should read that :-)
ReplyDeleteFermatP - So glad to hear you're responding to the antibodies and getting better.
Ave Joe - funny.
From our over-parenting parents conversation - today's Baby Blues.
Cheers, -T
I saw C C as our Monday composer and knew I would be in for a tougher than usual Monday lite.
ReplyDeleteNever came across SPORCLE before today.MOREL, OCASEY, and BEALE eluded me until perps happened.
Thanks for reminding me of Penny Marshall, Anonymous T. And how exciting that there will be a 10th season of the "Murdoch Mysteries," Canadian Eh. That's great news!
ReplyDelete