Theme: Where there's smoke... - The reveal word is split open and bookends the theme entries.
17A. *Motorist's headache : FLAT TIRE
23A. *Enjoy, with "in" : FIND PLEASURE
30A. *Recap on a sports crawl line : FINAL SCORE
42A. *Kids' introduction to a full school day : FIRST GRADE
46A. *Red-carpet movie event : FILM PREMIERE
60A. "Chestnuts roasting" spot ... and a hint to a divided word found in the answers to starred clues : OPEN FIRE
Argyle here. 1 F-IRE, 3 FI-RE, and 1 FIR-E. A clean looking grid. Easy-peasy but not condescending. A good fit for a Tuesday.
Across:
1. Succotash bean : LIMA. Fresh corn, lima beans and other shelled beans of your choosing.
5. Make a decision : OPT
8. Within reach : AT HAND
14. Tree of Life garden : EDEN
15. Like much sushi : RAW
16. Set of lines on personal stationery : HEADER
19. DNA sample source : SALIVA
20. Vietnamese New Year : TET. Tết Nguyên Đán
21. Dutch South African : BOER. (Dutch: “husbandman,” or “farmer”)
22. Censor's cover-up : [BLEEP!]
26. Counting everything : IN ALL
29. Part of DJIA: Abbr. : AVG. (Dow Jones Industrial Average)
34. Phi __ Kappa : BETA
38. Took wing : FLEW
39. Toward the back of the boat : AREAR
40. Physics class subject : ATOM
41. Evergreen shrubs : YEWS. Ireland's oldest tree, the Silken Thomas Yew, is 700–800 years old.
44. Religious sch. : SEM. (seminary)
45. Wrinkle-resistant synthetic : ORLON
53. TV studio sign : [ON AIR]
54. Either of two Henry VIII wives : ANNE. Anne Boleyn or Anne of Cleves.
55. Lacking light : DIM
58. Victimized lieutenant in "Othello" : CASSIO. Iago(bad guy) insinuates that Cassio(young stud) is having an affair with Othello's wife(untrue).
62. Election surprises : UPSETS
63. 1921 robot play : R.U.R. [Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)]
64. Pennsylvania port : ERIE
65. Mall directory listings : STORES
66. "What was __ do?" : I TO
67. Lemon peel : ZEST
Down:
1. It's not right : LEFT
2. Just hanging around : IDLE
3. Vegan no-no : MEAT. 57D. Swimming event : MEET
4. Wee hill builder : ANT. The builder may be wee but the hill, not so much.
5. Hunter constellation : ORION
6. Peeled with a knife : PARED
7. Punk : TWERP
8. Massage responses : AHs
9. Lipton packet : TEA BAG
10. Concert auditoriums : HALLS
11. Bordeaux bye : ADIEU
12. Not even once : NEVER
13. Hang loosely, as on a clothesline : DRAPE
18. Govt. security : T-BILL
23. Character weaknesses : FLAWS
24. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" song : LARA'S
25. Three-time Wimbledon champ Chris : EVERT. Three-time married, now single, living in Florida.
26. Up in the air : IFFY
27. Aswan High Dam river : NILE
28. Once again : ANEW
31. Less dangerous : SAFER
32. Burglary, for one : CRIME
33. "The Star-Spangled Banner" contraction : O'ER
34. Ballerina's rail : BARRE
35. List-ending abbr. : ET AL.
36. __ list: chores : TO DO
37. "I'm with you!" : "AMEN!"
43. "The Elements of Bridge" author Charles : GOREN
44. 7UP rival : SPRITE
46. Sharpen the image in the viewfinder : FOCUS
47. Ill-suited : INAPT. Better than UNAPT, eh?
48. Rodeo rope : LASSO
49. Penny pincher : MISER
50. New Zealand native : MAORI
51. Data to be entered : INPUT
52. January, to José : ENERO. March, to José : MARZO
55. Desperate : DIRE
56. Commonly purple bloom : IRIS
59. '40s spy org. : OSS. (Office of Strategic Services)
61. Shriner's hat : FEZ
Argyle
34 comments:
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth ride today. Things got a bit bumpy down in the GOREN/ORLON and CASSIO/OSS sections, but the crossing letters for each were basically the only options possible.
If I never see AREAR again it will be too soon, but everything else was pleasant enough.
A solid Tuesday a fun write up and spring is on the way. Watching Charles Goren explain bidding in late, 50s was compelling TV.
I also remember watching Chris Evert play while she was in high school and thinking how talented she was. There were tennis courts right by the law school in Gainesville.
I did learn that BOER means farmer.
Thanks CW and Argyle
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This was a fun Tuesday puzzle.
The puzzle started out with a nice mislead with It Isn't Right = LEFT.
My only misstep was to want T-bond instead of T-BILL. Charles Goren was a complete unknown, but the perps came through for me.
A double shout-out to Abejo today with FEZ and ERIE.
Whenever I see OSS, I think of Julia Child.
QOD: A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Mar. 8, 1841 ~ Mar. 6, 1835)
Good morning!
When it came time to enter the reveal, what did d-o write? ON AN OPEN. D'oh! Otherwise, it was a quick solve.
ANT hills are my bane. Ortho (and others) will wipe out an active hill, but the fire ants just move a few feet away. I'm deathly allergic to those little critters.
I remember when GOREN had a daily bridge column in the newspaper. Didn't read it, just remember seeing it. LARA'S Theme from Dr. Zhivago reminds me of Omar Sharif, another bridge expert.
Supposed to get real wet here later today. I hope it holds off until I'm finished with my out-and-about chores. The TV scare-mongers are talking about rain amounts in excess of 10 inches. I'll bet we don't get anywhere near that amount. We do need rain, though.
Hello Puzzlers -
What Hatoolah said.
Morning, Argyle, the meaning of Boer is a revelation to me too.
AT first, I thought the puzzle too easy because you knew the themes
started with F and ended in E. Figuring out where to put the I & R
made the theme answers a gimme.
Arear might have been a problem, except we made such a fuss about it last time
I will never forget it. Actually it did still rub me the wrong way, but when
I looked up the dictionary definition, "Arear = to raise up," suddenly the clue
toward the back of the boat doesn't seem so uncomfortable anymore...
Did I say the puzzle was too easy?
Hmm, I see I had 58 A Cessio, how 47D inept of me...
(FIW)
Oh well, The puzzle did give me a warm feeling...
Keep Harvey Updyke away from that yew at Sr Patrick's college !
I too dislike AREAR. I'm not a sailor, but I bet aft is more common in seamen lingo. Be interested on hearing Spitz,s (SPELLING?) take on it.
I'd be in big time dietary trouble if I had to rely on succotash or sushi to keep me nourished. Struggled with 47D. Is it INAPT or inept? My wag was correct.
Chris EVERT was a terrific tennis player and she did it (or did not get caught) without illegal substances. Sharapova a big disappointment to me. Not sure I believe her "I didn't know"plea.
Time to start the yard work. Ugh!
Musings
-My last FLAT TIRE was out on the Platte River after watching 200,000 Sandhill Cranes land in central Nebraska.It was pitch black when we got to the car and luckily a mechanic parked nearby helped.
-All the stats in the world mean nothing, it’s the FINAL SCORE
-I am going to OPT for golf on a beautiful day today
-Kids know the lyrics in Rap Music no matter how much they are BLEEPED
-My sister was walking away and going to tell on me but I had the BB gun. What as I TO do?
-Auto FOCUS can be maddening if you are shooting through a window
-INAPT/INEPT as clued – tomayto/tomahto to me
-Kindergartens are all ALL DAY around here
-FORE!!
I chuckled over LEFT and not right. Then I got to AREAR. and groaned.
Yes, we've torn it apart before. But as many boats (not ships). as I've been on I have never heard this used! " Aft." "Astern". Even " back of the boat!" Ah well.
Fun puzzle, nevertheless. Thanks, CW. And great expo, Argyle, as usual.
Hola y Buenos dias!
Argyle, your translations and interpretations as well as your review are impressive.
This was a rapid romp through the grid and strangely done mostly downwards. I caught the theme but not as thoroughly as Argyle explained it.
INAPT makes me cringe as I prefer inept, but that's just me.
When I subbed in kindergarten and FIRST GRADE I realized it takes a special type of person to teach those little ones. I'm not, but one of my sisters taught K for 35 years.
Ditto on learning the meaning of BOER. ENERO strikes again and we have CASSIO not Iago today.
ADIEU for now and have a lovely day, everyone!
Good morning everyone.
Another easy one. Did have bond before BILL Theme helped the solve. Starting to remember RUR.
BOER - Was gonna say that it means 'farmer' in Dutch but Argyle beat me to it. Plural: boeren. Low German Buur. (pronounced the same - long U sound.) (Heard much about Buur in family conversation.)
AREAR - I never heard it used. It doesn't show up in my nautical references. Might be a regionalism.
60º 's here tomorrow.
Nice easy Tuesday puzzle with only a few nits. I didn't get the theme until I saw Argyle's great expo, but it wasn't necessary to fill it in.
Apparently I missed an earlier discussion about AREAR, but I'm not thrilled with the word either. I couldn't find it in any of the on-line dictionaries and the closest word is ARREARS which doesn't mean what the clue stated. ABAFT would fit and is an old time nautical term that means "in the direction of the stern." ASTERN could possibly have been more appropriate also. I don't use the A words in my daily conversation like ASEA, ALEE, etc. so it doesn't compute. Not a big deal, just a nit.
When it came to the synthetic material it had to end in ON so I just waited for the down clues to fill in the ORL. Also, when BLOOD didn't fit for DNA sample, the down clues filled in SALIVA. Perps to the rescue.
Tinbeni from yeaterday: Congrats on your new job. I found when I retired 10 years ago that the main thing I missed was the interpersonal contact that you usually get from work. To fill this need I started out by volunteering with the local university engineering department as a mentor to students getting ready to join the work force. I also joined SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) as a mentor to entrepreneurs trying to start new businesses. I can pretty much set my own schedule so there's no having to get up before the crack of dawn. There isn't any pay for this, but the rewards are more than adequate. Enjoy the work.
I agree with Lucina on INAPT.
Have to go to a viewing today and funeral tomorrow. No fun.
I hope everyone has a great day.
D-O great catch on the Goren/Sharif connection.
"The Goren syndicated column now has an international flavor: It carries the bylines of the movie star Omar Sharif, an Egyptian who lives in Paris, and an entrepreneur, Tannah Hirsch, a South African who came to the United States via Israel."
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.W. Stewart, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Hahtoolah, thanks for the shout out for ERIE and FEZ. My home town and one of my favorite hats.
This puzzle went easier than Monday, IMHO.
One inkblot was writing in TBOND instead of TBILL. OK.
The other was I wrote EVERT in the wrong column. Covered it up with LARA'S.
TEA BAG caught my eye. I always have a box of them for when I am out. Always put a few bags in my pocket. My wife calls me a Tea Snob because I only drink Earl Grey. So be it!
Saturday I got me indoor seeds planted. 338 of them. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and celery.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Inapt and inept have different definitions and are not normally directly interchangeable.
The inept (unskilled) accountant drew unwanted attention of market investors as a result of the inapt (inappropriate) use of both GAAP and non-GAAP financial reporting.
If memory serves, GOREN and Sharif collaborated on a bridge column for a period.
Just the right amount of crunch for a Tuesday. Thanks C.W. and Argyle.
Hand up for TBond before TBILL, waiting for perps to decide between Inept or INAPT, and cringing at AREAR.
We had Vegan NoNo recently; ITO was not clued with the Judge today; DJIA was all perps; 55A DIRE rhymes with Fire theme.
Parents here can now send their child to school for the whole day (JK) at age 4. Cheaper than daycare if you are working but tiring for the little ones.
Lipton TEABAGS today and not Tazo, Earl Grey or Red Rose.
Canadian election last fall was an UPSET. New Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and wife to have state dinner with President Obama this Thursday (first since 1997).
WhiteHouseStateDinner
Happy International Women's Day
Good Morning:
A typical easy Tuesday speed run. Saw the theme long before the reveal but it was still fun, anyway. Can't see Erie without thinking of Abejo.
Thanks, C. W. and Argyle, for entertaing and explaining!
Tin, from yesterday: Good luck on the new job; hope you enjoy it!
Have a great day.
Sorry-Entertaining.
Thanks Mr. Stewart and Argyle. An easy and fun Tuesday.
I used to think LASSO would be a gimme for rodeo rope but riata and noose show up too.
Put AREAR in the same box with Elhi; seldom used except in CW puzzles.
Abejo, no need to apologize for only drinking Earl Grey. It's my favorite too. I don't know if I can taste the difference but I love the aroma.
Bridge is not what I think about when Omar Sharif is mentioned. I believe he was one of the sexiest men on film. Perhaps in real life, too, though of course I don't know that.
Anonymous@10;02
Thank you for the INAPT/INEPT example.
Earlier I believe I forgot to thank C.W. Stewart for his effort in this entertaining puzzle. Hmm, I wonder what CW stands for? How appropriate for a CrossWord puzzle constructor!
Tin:
I also wish you best of luck in your job. It's understandable to want to fill your time in a worthwhile way.
Anonymous @10:02, I have always used inept and inapt in the way you describe and was quite sure about it. Today in reading more I find that inept can have both meanings and so can inapt. Live and learn. Sometimes our definitions can be too narrow.
A nice puzzle, stuffed with FIlling and pleasuRE. Laughed heartily at the clue for LEFT, and groaned at AREAR. I guess if those are the letters that the construction is stuck with, I don't know how else one could clue it. Perhaps somehow parsing it as Area R, whatever that may be.
Enjoyed learning what BOER means, and about that National Seminary.
HEADER makes me think of a connector. Then my thought turned to concussions (headers in futbol). Then, oddly, that led to thoughts about hangovers. Ah,the amazement of thought processes.
Those balalaikas are strange looking, aren't they? I didn't realize there were so many sizes. Like saxophones.
Glad to see a new way to clue ITO.
I taught some fifth and sixth graders once, for one day, and I was exhausted but exhilarated.
Gonna make lasagna for tonight, as a treat to my lovely wife. Nope, no special occasion; just for the heck of it.
Best wishes to you all.
Yay! A Tuesday speed run, and one I actually found easier than yesterday's Monday puzzle. Thank you, C. W., for giving us a fun morning. And your pics and explanations were great, Santa. I've never had an explanation for R.U.R. before.
Have a great day, everybody!
Hi everyone. Terrific Tuesday puzzle. I don't have any comments to add, but I wanted to post this link to an article my daughter sent to me. It's quite an interestingread on crossword puzzle plagiarism. I had never thought about it. Take a look, it's quite lengthy, but eye opening. (For me, anyway.)
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-plagiarism-scandal-is-unfolding-in-the-crossword-world/
I have never figured out how to link-a-link, so just copy and paste.
Crossword puzzle scandal? My word!!
A nice Tuesday treat. Simple, but no pushover. Experience armed me against hasty answers, so I knew to pause at 18D when I'd entered TB-- aware that I should use perps before going with either T BOND or T BILL-- and this time I remembered the correct French spelling for BARRE.
But I should make more effort to look for a theme before I plunge ahead. I finished the whole shebang w/o realizing there even was a theme. It might have made things go even faster.
RUR shows up with some frequency in cruciverbal land. It's a gimme for me because of my undergrad theater training. Karel Čapek's play, the first in which robots evolve to the level where they're more humane than the humans who made them, started a whole series of imitators. I had never seen a production of the original drama until a few years back when one of my students chose to direct it. The old script holds up pretty well.
Geez-Louise ... this was SOOOOOO easy, I almost thought it was Monday!
Argyle: Nice recap.
C.W. Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle with an enjoyable theme.
Husker @8:29 Thanks to you also for the Sandhill Crane lands link.
oc4beach, THAT interpersonal contact is already a huge plus at my new part-time job.
Kinda nice having intelligent new people to get to know.
OK, my "nit-to-pick" (or did I miss it?) ... Where is the booze in the grid?
OTOH, in my earlier days I did enjoy a Lemon peel ZEST with my Scotch.
(This was "back-in-the-day" when I had Scotch-On-The-Rocks ... no longer allowed at Villa Incognito.
Cheers!
Hi Y'all! Forsythia are blooming, one daffodil is nodding its bloomin' head, and a gentle rain is falling! Can spring really be here? So I'm all FIREd up about the cw, CW. Great music & expo, Argyle.
My friend and I once took in a concert by a traveling Russian balalaika orchestra -- at least two dozen instruments. Magical! "Lara's Theme" was included along with more traditional Russian music and costumed dancers. PLEASURable afternoon.
T-BILL not T-men. I was thinking more of a security force than money.
GOREm before GOREN. Gorem is a town where I have friends. I don't do bridge. CASSIs before CASSIO. Minor blips. I went through so fast, I missed at least five clues. Didn't need 'em.
Tinbeni @ 3:16 PM: I definitely agree.
Hi all!
Arggg!!!!!.... What CED said; an INePT finish for me too! [BLEEP]itty [BLEEP] [BLEEP] [BLEEP]!!! Ok, with that out of the way... :-)
Thanks C.W. for a 'FIRE-y' puzzle and Argyle for the hot writeup.
WO: EVreT at 1st. ESPs: 43d (good thing I didn't look down at the Aces on Bridge's by-line, I'da had Wolff), 50d, and 58a (except for the A, obviously).
1d LEFT me w/ a smile, TWERP is a fun word, MEET & MEAT was fun, but Fav: FAT TIRE - I'm sipping one now.
Wait, What? FLAT TIRE? Oh, I FIND no PLEASURE in that.
New Fav: INPUT xing RUR. Made me think of Number 5. "INPUT, more INPUT."
GarlicGal - Good to see you! Someone linked that article the other day. Nuts, eh? I'll just say - we don't need no BLEEPin' IFFY crossword-constructors!
D-O: I've always had good luck w/ Amdro (<--LINK) - it kills the queen - mound is gone in 24h. I'll be using plenty after these rains when the FIRE ANTs build condos in the yard.
Cheers, -T
Oops, I forgot to put (<-- LINK) next to Number 5 above. C, -T
Greetings!
Thanks, CW and Santa!
Fun puzzle!
Anyone else watching Blindspot? Intriguing.
Crossword article was interesting. Read yesterday. Don't wan to spend more time on USA and Universal puzzles. Is something going to be done to prevent future constructor cheating?
Cheers!
D-O: The winds are starting to kick up-down here in Sugar Land. How're things up north?
BTW - did anyone see this BMW Concept car?. It looks like it comes w/ FLAT TIRES.
Seriously though - who'd think putting that kind of body around a tire that will need changing a good idea. Oh, yeah, the folks who charge $$$ for an oil-change. Love my Honda :-)
Cheers, -T
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