Ellen and Mary Lou have generated a lovely Wednesday puzzle in which they have selected ten compound words or phrases wherein both words can be "CAPPED" (preceded) by the word WHITE to produce two more compound words or phrases. The effect is further enhanced by having all the theme entries appear vertically and thus the word CAP becomes even more apropos as you can see in the grid below! Wonderful!
Theme Reveal:
40. Bit of ocean chop ... or, literally, what each part of 3-, 8-, 10-, 34- and 38-Down can have : WHITECAP - Here is Tom Hanks fighting through WHITECAPS to try to get to his VB friend Wilson
Theme answers: (Yes, I know there is more than one possible answer for some entries)
3. Privy : OUTHOUSE - Rural restrooms and
WHITE OUT - Where football could still be played
8. Home builder's purchase : WALLBOARD - Wall covering or
WHITEWALL - Remember when they were stylish tires and cost more than blackwalls?
WHITEBOARD - A work space for Sheldon and Leonard
10. Equine-like fish : SEAHORSE - Marine creature where the father gives birth or
WHITE SEA - A Russian Sea unbeknownst to me near Archangel'sk
WHITE HORSE - Prince Charming's ride
34. Award for excellence in the field : GOLD GLOVE - Given to MLB player who is the best fielder at his position or
WHITE GOLD - Gold alloyed with silver or other white metals
WHITE GLOVE - Attire for Liz which I'm sure she uses to check her dusting! :-)
38. Fritos snack : CORN CHIP - Longtime nosh in a bag or
WHITE CORN - A sweet corn option
WHITE CHIP - Usually lowest value poker chip
Across
1. Physics building block : ATOM
5. Barbecue side : SLAW
9. Run-of-the-mill : USUAL
14. Track tipster : TOUT - My favorite is Nicely-Nicley Johnson (Stubby Kaye) in Guys And Dolls
15. "How's it goin'?" : HI YA
16. Grammar topic : TENSE - Piece 'o cake, right?
17. Folk story : MYTH
18. Autobahn auto : OPEL
19. British peers : EARLS - As in the EARL of Grantham
20. It may be coiled in the grass : HOSE
22. Frozen drinks : SLUSHIES - A minor side effect
24. Brownstone entrances : STOOPS - We call 'em porches here
26. Hebrew : Ben :: Arabic : __ : IBN
27. "... that golden key / That __ the palace of eternity": Milton : OPES - Liza Doolittle OPES her key OPES her door
28. "For real?" : YOU DO
29. Alias in a landmark case : ROE - v. Wade
30. Auctioned wheels : REPO
31. Unlikely replies from sycophants : NOS
32. Get dolled (up) : TOG - Merriaman-Webster: To dress especially in fine clothing —usually used with up or out
35. Atlantic and Pacific, in Monopoly: Abbr. : AVES
37. Prefix with magnetic : ELECTRO - A modern source of ELECTROMAGNETIC radiation
39. Subscriber's order : RENEWAL
43. Like some coffee tables : OVAL
44. Biological building block : DNA
45. "Veep" network : HBO - The first place I heard the "F-word" from a TV.
46. Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine : PARR - Mnemonic:
Divorced, beheaded, died
Divorced, beheaded, survived
49. Public health org. : CDC
51. Sends : MAILS
53. Chef's chamber : OVEN
54. NYC airport : LGA
55. Brahms' Opus 18, for one : SEXTET - 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos
56. Messenger bags : SATCHELS
58. Bend at a barre : PLIE - A PLIE complemented by dumbbell arm raises for your delts!
59. Nobelist Root : ELIHU
60. Kentucky border river : OHIO
62. Publisher Adolph : OCHS
65. Samurai without a master : RONIN - In modern Japan it means "between employers" or a grad student not yet admitted to a university
66. Nix : VETO
67. Wailuku's island : MAUI
68. Speaks harshly : SNAPS
69. Endor villager : EWOK
70. Design detail, for short : SPEC
Down
1. All-hrs. cash source : ATM
2. Fisher-Price product : TOY
4. Ore. skiing destination : MT HOOD - Wonder Carpet has replaced rope tow on MT HOOD's bunny slope there
5. Crocs, e.g. : SHOES - They're ugly or cool depending on your perspective
6. Guff : LIP
7. "Yes, cap'n!" : AYE SIR
9. Salt Lake City team : UTES - Not the JAZZ
11. Not ready for harvesting : UNRIPE
12. Catching some z's : ASLEEP - Kitty is fighting it!
13. To a smaller degree : LESS SO
21. Commercials on the tube, in adspeak : SPOT TV
23. In need of leveling : UNEVEN
24. Holiday song ender : SYNE
25. Level, e.g. : TOOL - I'm never without one!
33. Ancient source of prophecy : ORACLE
36. Nail polish : ENAMEL - We used Windex to get it out of our carpet successfully
41. Up to it : ABLE
42. Too far off the trail : LOST
46. Tough questions : POSERS
47. Land of Arthurian legend : AVALON
48. Eye part with rods and cones : RETINA - Ah, it's the teacher in me!
50. Kidney-shaped nut : CASHEW
52. Geometry rules : AXIOMS - Transitive AXIOM - I have two legs. George Clooney has two legs. Ergo, I am George Clooney!
55. Hobgoblin : SPOOK
57. Followers of Attila : HUNS
61. Skater Midori : ITO
63. Palette shade : HUE
64. Incite to go after, with "on" : SIC
Ah yes, at one time our state's low taxes make it this. Oh well, lets move on to comments:
45 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks, Helen, Mary Lou and Gary!
Nice puzzle. Scratched head at YOU DO. Otherwise, OK.
Not quite so hot yesterday.
Have been watching Brain Dead. Delightful.
Cheers!
Wanted AYEAYE, but wrote over and moved on.
{B+, B-, B-, C.}
The CHEF prepared some coleSLAW, but the cabbage was UNRIPE,
A few guests suffered poison, but 'twas an UNEVEN plight!
The EARLS succumbed early,
While SIR Early became surly,
But the dukes did dawdle, as the SLAW slew slow that night!
Some people prefer sushi ROE, for some it's ginger SNAPS;
CASHEW nuts and CORN CHIPS are both popular for snacks!
In WHITEHORSE they have ice cream,
Jalapeños make El Pasoans scream,
They all wash down with SLUSHIES -- that's why we burst our slacks!
There once was a knight from AVALON
Went to bed at night with his pajamas on!
A SPOOK came to screech,
He still stayed ASLEEP,
But come morn the EWOKS on his PJs were gone!
There was a young man from OHIO
Packed his SATCHEL and left with a "hi-ho!"
He climbed up MT. HOOD,
Reminisced as he stood,
"We've mountains like this, only LESS SO!"
Thank for the lovely write up Gary. I'm glad you enjoyed the puzzle. Just wanted to point out that my co-constructor was Ellen Leuscner not Helen. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!
Hi Y'all! Fast with a few trip ups! Thanks Helen & Mary Lou.
Good one, Gary. Thank goodness you aren't George Clooney! One of him is sufficient. You're nicer and probably more worthwhile. Poor Liz in that clip is going to have a heck of a crick in her neck from all that swiveling.
YOU DO was the first trip up. Is this clue "for real"? Meh!
Didn't know TOUT, RONIN, OCHS or EWOK as clued. ESP
Learning moments: WHITE SEA and WHITE CHIP. Never been around poker chips so didn't know colors. I thought of WHITE chocolate CHIPs for baking. Is WHITE SEA so named because it is always iced in?
Jazz before UTE.
LEVEL: my new washer has no LEVEL planes on which to put a LEVEL tool to LEVEL the machine. Aaargh! Everything is slightly curved or sloped. Looks stylish but a devil to get LEVEL on an unLEVEL floor.
Er... Thanks, Ellen!
Morning, all!
Start off as a speed run and then I tripped. Repeatedly. Some of it was my own clumsiness, some not so much.
Had LESSER for a long time until LESS SO finally forced itself on me and just couldn't see SPOT TV as a thing even with all the perps in place. Plus, "TOG up" always meant just to get dressed to me, whereas I always thought "dolled up" referred to putting on makeup.
Then I misspelled PARR as PAAR (Jack, anyone?) and IDO as ITO, which was just enough to make me go off the rails for a bit.
Got everything sorted out at the end, though, so no harm, no foul.
Thanks for the gentle correction Mary Lou and please accept my apology. For some reason Across Lite includes a vertical bar just to the left of your names and so what I saw was |Ellen Leuschner and my quick read gave me Hellen. Oh well, a good excuse and $4 will get you coffee at Starbucks. I went back and made the correction and, yes, I really did enjoy the puzzle!
Husker: Your write-up is amazing. Enjoyed all the links.
15-a, clue "How's it goin'?" for HI-YA was LESS-SO as a clue.
Needed ESP to get OCHS ... and a slew of WAGs (Wild-Ass-Guess's) to get ELIHU and RONIN.
So my solving experience was a slog ... as I finished in Thursday time.
Oh well ... S**T Happens!
Hope y'all have a great day ... no "frying-on-the-sidewalks" Lucina.
Cheers!
Uh, er, isn't ATOM a CHEMISTRY, not a physics, building block?
Good morning!
Of course I didn't get the theme immediately -- or at all, for that matter. Now that you've 'splained it, Husker, I can see the beauty of the construction. But CORNCHIP doesn't quite work for me -- I see WHITE as part of a distinctive thing with the other theme answers, but only as a modifier with CORN and CHIP. Am I making myself unclear? Still, it was a nice workout. Thanks Ellen and Mary Lou.
First thought was ELBOW for "bend at the bar..." Hand up for AYE AYE. There was a "TOG Shop" in the small town of my ute.
WHITE GLOVE reminds me of my first day aboard the aircraft carrier. Lieutenant Bitner marched into the Public Affairs Office in his dress whites for a compartment inspection. He removed a ventilation cover from the ceiling (okay, "overhead") and stuck his arm into it up to the elbow. When he pulled his arm out, it was covered with black hangy-downs. He harumphed and marched out of the office. I thought it was over, but no, half an hour later he returned in a fresh set of whites, removed that same vent cover, stuck in his arm up to the elbow, and removed it covered with black hangy-downs. If he'd just come back for a third swipe at it, I think he might have gotten that darned vent clean.
Husker, why do you put nail polish on the carpet?
Very clever puzzle construction, but solvable.
I'm with Fermatprime - at first I was confused by YOU DO because I was emphasizing the YOU,
but then I said it again with the emphasis on the second syllable and it made sense- You DO?
Thanks HG, Ellen, and MAry Lou!
Hi there,
Very clever puzzle! Thanks, Mary Lou and Ellen. OUTHOUSE really held me up as I wanted the other meaning of Privy (to), insider knowing something or keeping it Tudor, Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council. Once I tried the U in TOUT, I was on my way. While I didn't see it or its complexity, the theme is terrific. Nicely done!
Gary, your your tours and comments are always fun and informative, but this one is SPECtacular! Thanks so much.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Lovely puzzle. I wasn't quite on Ellen's and Mary Lou's wave length, but got it done unassisted and loved it after the solve. Gary, fabulous, as usual.
Lesser before less so.
Alan loves corn chips.
I liked "You DO?"/"for real"
Wiki: "Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus"
To me a brownstone stoop would be a very unsatisfactory porch.
brownstone stoops
There is a TV show where interviews are done on the steps of a brownstone stoop.
Good Morning:
This was a FIW due to lesser instead of less so and not noticing the across fill made no sense. Oh well, lesson learned. Mistake aside, it was an enjoyable solve. White Sea was unknown but no hiccups to speak of.
Thanks, Mary Lou and Ellen, for a fun run and thanks, HG, for the expo and visuals. Excellent job!
Have a great day.
I don't get the LA Times CW in my local newspaper anymore and my internet (Verizon DSL) has been down most of this morning, so I was getting frustrated when I couldn't get to the MENSA site for the puzzle. I turned on the Hotspot on my IPhone and used it so my computer could access the really neat puzzle by Ellen and Mary Lou. HG put a lot of effort into his morning write-up as usual.
No major errors this morning, but I did want AUDI vs OPEL, and I thought a SNAKE would be coiled in the grass, but it didn't fit. Perps also helped fill in PARR, ELIHU and OCHS. Otherwise it was a smooth Wednesday sail.
Anon@7:10 am: Chemistry and physics are branches of science that both study matter, and atoms are a basic building block of matter as described in this Wikipedia article.
Hooray, the internet is back up.
Have a great day everyone.
A nice one by Ellen and Mary Lou, thank you, both! Through most of it I was on their wave length except when I wasn't. SLURPEES appeared before SLUSHIES, PAAR/PARR, AYEAYE then AYESIR and LESSER/LESSSO. It did finally come together and I enjoyed capping it. Great theme.
WHITE SEA is a new one for me as well and RONIN I associate with Godzilla.
My first thought was also for a snake coiled in the grass but then HOSE made an appearance.
Thanks, Gary, for your fine RECAP. It's always a pleasure to read your reviews. Funny, d-o.
Sending warmest wishes from AZ and the Valley of the blazing sun.
Fun puzzle Mary Lou and Ellen, and a super review Gary. Got the reveal early around 4 AM, and after a bowl of cereal and the ibuprofen kicked in, fell back asleep for awhile and forgot all about it. My online clock shows 2:29:40.
I like doing patterns in the puzzles. So I solved SPEC up to SLAW first. After my early morning nap, I thought I'd resume in the SW block. Threw in rasps for "speaks harshly" and carriers for "messenger bags." The perps told me quickly those were wrong.
Henry didn't seem to have much down time between wives. Spent some time reading about him. Apparently six weren't enough to sate his appetite.
Family Handyman magazine starts sending me RENEWAL letters eighteen months before my subscription is due to expire.
C'MON ! I finally ingrained Phil OCHS in my solving mindset, and now you throw an Adolph at me ?
Me too Yellowrocks. STOOPS, patios, decks, and porches all bring to mind different images.
Name that tune: "Instead you lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin" ? The writer of that rock ballad knew his TENSE.
Enjoyed the puzzle..............took me a bit longer than usual............but got it!
Nice puzzle. It was so easy that I sped right through and then pulled out the eraser to change all of my wrong answers. Erased Wallpaper, (Utah) Jazz, Lesser. Slurpees wouldn't fit with the Z in Jazz. Finally got it all straightened out and finished a little slow, but without cheats.
A very strong pzl today! I couldn't manage my preferred diagonal fill (from upper left to lower right), but it was a pleasure doing it on a scattershot basis.
And what an illuminating response blog from Husker Gary! - very informative and entertaining. Fine job all around!
Had a couple of hiccups, like track tipster =tout?
& shouldn't commercials on the tube in adspeak be TV spots instead of spot TV?
Well, at least I did better than this person...
A nice peaceful, easy puzzle, that kind of reminded me of this place we used to take a boat to hang out in Miami bay...
For any Anons who didn't like the puzzle...
Sadly I know this MYTH-maker
He's a TOUT. The USUAL taker
Lend me a fiver and if YOU DO
I'll gladly pay you next Tue
HIYA good-bye ya lousy faker
Can I get a C+?
Good puzzle and outstanding write-up. Thanks to you all. Hand up for LESSER before LESSSO, AYEAYE before AYESIR, and PAAR before PARR. Loved the clue for HOSE.
Desper-otto, good story.
Best wishes to you all.
@TTP: REO Speedwagon, "Keep On Loving You"
Out here in the boondocks no one builds STOOPS. We want our stairways under the roof out of the weather. We ain't STOOPid. Out here STOOPS is bendover.
CED: the water party looks fun but that gal in the foreground has such a sunburn she'll hurt tonight.
Jayce @12:01 ~ YES on all, except PARR.
Wilbur C @11:35 ~ B/B- (I'm a prof and love to split hairs/grades...)
My hand is up for AYEAYE, I thought that the proper response, well actually "Aye aye, sir".
Also never heard of "spot tv" in any usage, always TV Spot.
Otherwise a pleasant Wednesday puzzle.
I could just echo Madame DeFarge @8:02. Thanks for the fun, Ellen and Marylou and Husker Gary.
I had Stairs before STOOP and Rope before HOSE. RONIN and OCHS were all perps. I couldn't fit Stumpers and it became POSERS. Agree with Tinbeni about Hi Ya.
Any Canadian who MAILS after July 2 may not get delivery if the threatened Canada Post occurs. Not everyone cares any more as so many things are delivered in other ways.
Lucina, I see from yesterday that Anon T thinks you should visit Canada to get cooled off. But do not expect any WHITEOUTS. We have had some warm days (up to 32C or 89.6F last week with same forecast for next week) and it is currently 25C or 77F in Niagara. You are welcome to come and enjoy!
NiagaraTourism
Great Wednesday puzzle, Ellen and Mary Lou--crunchy but doable. Took me a little while to get everything, but in the end I got the whole thing--Yay! Only I had trouble figuring out how the theme worked because I was unfamiliar with WHITE OUT, WHITE SEA, and WHITE CHIP. Guess I just don't know my whites very well. But I loved your pics, Husker Gary.
Have a great day, everybody!
CanadianEh!
Thank you for the welcome invitation. It cools me off just looking at it and recalling it! I had a lovely visit to Niagara some years ago, in 2001 actually and was in NY one month before the twin towers fell. No, the closest I'll get to Canada this summer is Burlington, VT and Bar Harbor, Me. That will be in August.
Sadly I know this MYTH-maker
He's a TOUT. The USUAL taker
Lend me a fiver and if YOU DO
I'll gladly pay you next Tue
HIYA good-bye ya lousy faker
Can I get a C+?
Canadian Eh, Alan and I are looking forward to our bus tour of Niagara Falls this summer. We will view both sides, although I hear your Canadian side is more spectacular. Alan is very excited about a repeat trip. I have never been there.
Years ago a friend and I traveled to Nova Scotia for the Canadian National Square Dance Convention during a heat wave in the NE U.S. We were eagerly expecting cooler temps. Our hosts said they ordered up the 90 degree weather just for us. Oh, thanks! We wilted. There were dancers from all over the world. The calls were in English and everyone understood them, the non-natives understood even better than we did. But most of the non-natives could not carry on even a basic conversation in English. Square dance is a universal language. it was a great multi-cultural experience.
Alan is feeling the best I have seen him in weeks. His fractured vertebrae is healed and no longer painful. Other issues are under control for now. His recent Dexa Scan and MRI showed significant problems, so today he started twice yearly Prolia injections to strengthen his back. I hear the results are promising.We are at the pinnacle of the roller coaster now.
Yellowrocks, that will be a wonderful trip. When you live near a tourist attraction, you become jaded. When I watch somebody view Niagara Falls for the first time, it renews my appreciation for the beauty and awe of the falls. Even though the surrounding area is somewhat "touristy" it is still spectacular. If you get a chance to go on the Maid of the Mist (American side) or Hornblower (Canadian side), that is an experience!
How wonderful that Alan is well enough for traveling. Enjoy this time.
Our summer weather predictions are for an old-fashioned warm summer. You may be glad of the cool mist that comes off the Falls!
Lucina, enjoy your August trip . Vermont and Maine are beautiful also.
As for SPOT TV vs. TV SPOT, we must remember that Xwds don't bother with punctuation. I am sure Mary Lou & Ellen intended a comma after SPOT.
TTP: Sneaky Snake, Tom T. Hall
WC: uh, well, it all rhymes properly.
YR, good to hear that Alan's situation has improved. Hope you enjoy your trip to the falls. As I recall, the falls were very nice, but the commercialism in the towns was not. Of course that was many years ago. The falls may be better and the commercialism may have died down by now. :)
Keith, it may be Spot TV as opposed to Pay TV (without spots) or Public TV (with spots that aren't called spots).
Not to speak of copious use of today's words. You grade yourself to hard, btw I'll keep trying😊
Hi All!
Like YR, I was not on Ellen & Mary Lou's wavelength today; pzl was not a SNAP. [YR so good to hear Alan's good news!] I got it done in the end, but WOs galore. Thanks to both of you for the POSERS.
HG - Fun expo and you confirmed every square. Thanks; you never just MAIL 'em in. I especially liked the WHITE-spot flourish at the end.
WOs: Hand-up: AYE, aye; mates b/f EARLS; ballet b/f SEXTET (don't ask). Atache?s [SIC] b/f SATCHELS. Mary? B/f PARR [ESP]. My SW is a mess.
ESPs: ELIHU, OCHS
Fav: I'll have to go w/ the Geometry and Physics on this; ATOM, ELECTRO, AXIOMS. Reason beats consulting the ORACLE for another MYTH. EWOK as clued is cute too.
{B,B,B+,A-}; WC {C+}
Lucina - Godzilla == RODAN.
TTP - Upon reading the trivia, I was going towards Tull's Bungle in the Jungle. Bzzt.
@7:10 Anon - oc4 touched on this: ATOM is physics too; C'mon, we'll go dutch; I'll split one with you.
Need more Sci & Math? Here's a POSER from two HOSE-heads in the Great WHITE North.
Cheers, -T
WC: You want to see a really bad limerick? Try my first one on this blog, 9/26/13! I'd been writing limericks and other poetry for years, but picking words from a limited list was a different type of challenge! C.Moe's were about as bad when he started out, too, but now he's almost as good as me, IMVHO! (And then there's a prodigy like O.N.Cale, who hasn't posted a clunker yet. I'm flattered at the handle s/he uses, but have to admit that's a poet who's even better than I am!)
AnonT:
Thanks. Okay, RODAN is in Godzilla, right? And RODIN is the sculptor. I have to learn to keep those separate.
YR:
That's wonderful news about Alan! I would like to think I contributed just a tad with my nightly prayers for him which I shall continue. He will love the Falls, I'm sure as will you. As Canadian EH! says, ride the boat. It seems to me I read that the Maid of the Mist was discontinued but there must be other boats sailing there. It's great fun.
STORMY WEATHER running in waves through Chicagoland and southeast of us. Wait, stormy weather was the other day so no need to capitalize it. Flash flood and tornado watches and warnings all over this area. More than enough damage, and it's still coming in... Despite the storms, TV coverage just showed people driving in the drive-thru lanes at a nearby Taco Bell. Here's your sign.
xtulmkr was correct of course. It was Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon. Yes, they named their group after the Ransom E Olds Speed Wagon. Their music might not be for everyone, but the "Instead you lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin" lyric is in the first minute. Got visuals the first time I heard that line. The piano intro that starts the song can not be mistaken. At least by my ear. I can name that song in two notes. Well, maybe three. No, two.
OwenKL, Sneaky Snake ? I haven't heard that song in years. My favorite song of his is I Like Beer. And BTW, I thought O.N.Cale was your alter ego.
Anonymous T, when I wrote the singular pop (literally) quiz question, I figured you'd nail it, especially with their Champaign beginnings and later (charity) association with Styx. I bought their "You Can Tuna Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish" when it first came out based on the title and album art alone. It had to go in the collection. It was great. Hi Infidelity was even better. But hey, Jethro Tull made sense too !
Tee time early. We'll see. Don't think our course will get the overnight attention that Oakmont got.
TTP (1) - I'll call pop in the AM to make sure all is well w/ Fam - they're downstate. Stay hunkered-down.
Lucina - D'oh! I forgot about the Thinking sculptor! OK, rock-art/ninja -> RODIN; Godzilla -> Rodan :-). Thanks for one more permutation. (Hey, more maths for everyone!)
TTP (2) - Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed in myself too. I have have Tuna Piano and Hi-Infidelity. In my defense, I hate rock-band ballads; they're usually whiny to my ear. Exceptions: Beth by KISS and Losing It from Rush. I don't know if I'm just a sucker for strings or I feel depth of lyric.
Speaking of lyric... OKL & WC, I've been working on a poem. Upon the Corner, I will soon unleash prose so unpleasant that, so far, every publisher in Alpha Centauri has rejected it; Volgons won't even return my calls.
Cheers, -T
Perry Rhodan (Perry Rodent, the mascot of the Albuquerque SF con, Bubonicon, is a take-off from Rhodan).
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