Bruce is back and he tops JW's 4 grid spanners last week with 5, including the reveal. We see that the end of the 4 phrases are measures (each four letters) which wonderfully appear in order from INCH to MILE. With 75 squares accounted for, there was not much room for more, but we do get ENID O.K. (which was a bear to parse) AS IT IS and the lovely SWEAR WORD (how cools to sneak a swear word in the puzzle) and the entertaining BAT SIGNAL. Bruce is becoming a regular here, so I hope you get on his wavelength. Let's look more closely... here
We will begin with the end...
57A. Finishes a task, and a hint to hidden words in this puzzle's four other longest answers : GOES THE DISTANCE (15).
17A. Strapped : FEELING THE PINCH (15). Maybe in ITALY?
23A. "Carefree Highway" singer : GORDON LIGHTFOOT (15). Listen.
37A. Island on which much of "Jaws" was filmed : MARTHA'S VINEYARD (15). I grew up not far from this ISLAND.
Well, take your pick, we must go to work to solve the rest....
Across:
1. Read the riot act : BASTE. This was a very hard place to start, as I had no idea of this definition and resisted the perps.
6. Like tightrope walkers : AGILE. Did you all watch the AGT where the man was struck by the flaming arrow?
11. D-backs, on scoreboards : ARIzona.
14. Physics Nobelist Schrödinger : ERWIN. He and Neils Bohr are very popular in crosswords. Here is a great discussion of his CAT.
15. Attendance count : NOSES.
16. Soft slip-on : MOC. Like ALUM last week a word that may have gone beyond being an abbreviation.
20. Baja bear : OSA. Spanish.
21. Two piece? : DUET. Nicely clued.
22. Paycheck abbr. : FICA. Federal Insurance Contributions Act - though contribution seems a bit out of place.
28. Seasoned cookers : WOKS. Does the clue WOK for you?
29. Golfer McIlroy : RORY. Another 0 for major year...two in a row.
30. Eastern noodle : UDON. More Asian influence.
32. Clued in : AWARE.
34. What might make a ewe turn? : BAA. I LOVE, LOVE this clue.
41. Many a prof : PHD.
42. In base eight : OCTAL. Straight Latin.
43. First name in jazz : ETTA. James, not ELLA.
44. Con : ANTI.
45. Free ride : PASS.
54. "Do or do not. There is no try" speaker : YODA.
55. Hyatt competitor : OMNI. They have lots of golf courses including LA Costa in Carlsbad, California which I had the pleasure of playing many times. The caddies really helped.
56. Informal British address : GUV. Is this LINK accurate Steve? NC?
62. SEALs' org. : USN.
63. Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist : BORAT. Ali G., Borat or Bruno? ALL you need to know.
64. "... bombs bursting __" : IN AIR.
65. High pts. : MTS.
66. Bends with the breeze : SWAYS.
67. __ pitch : SALES.
Down:
1. Obscure : BEFOG.
2. Playground comeback : ARE SO. Same number of letters as AM NOT.
3. Censor's target : SWEAR WORD. Simple.
4. Up to, in ads : TIL.
5. City SSW of Wichita, KS : ENID OK.
6. Source of opera financing : ANGEL. In the earlier years they were called patrons.
7. "The Teflon Don" : GOTTI. The late mob boss, died in prison in 2002 at 62.
8. "More or less" equivalent : ISH. Ir-ish? Swed-ish? Jew-ish?
9. Casual wear biggie : LEE. I never can tell Lee from Wrangler, now I know why. Major players in US jeans include jeans companies such as Levi Strauss & Co (which owns brands like Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co and Denizen) and VF Corp (which owns Wrangler, Lee and Rustler brands), apparel brands such as Gap, American Eagle, Zara and H&M, and private label brands by major retailers like Wal-Mart Stores and JC Penny. Jeans world.
10. Debatable power : ESP.
11. Test that examines fetal DNA, briefly : AMNIOcentesis. The needle is enough to convince me women are stronger. My wife went through this.
12. "Fidelio" jailer : ROCCO. Beethoven's only OPERA.
13. Phased-out Apple messaging software : I CHAT. I never had any Apple products until recently and by now they switched to messenger.
18. They have their orders : NUNS. These constructors are making a habit of punny clues for nuns.
19. Questionable : IFFY.
24. "Cut that out!" : DON'T.
25. Holy __ : GRAIL. How could I resist this LINK.
26. 38-Down source : HORN. 38D. 26-Down sound : HONK. This seems a bit lazy.
27. Back into a corner, in a way : TREE.
30. One with a stay-at-home job? : UMP. Nice clue; JW and I used UMP as our fan friendly 1 across.
31. Code word : DAH. Morse code; not created by Inspector Morse.
32. Sean of "Rudy" : ASTIN. And Samwise Gamgee.
33. Penn. neighbor : W.VA.
34. Device that debuted in Detective Comics in 1942 : BAT SIGNAL. The signal first appears in Detective Comics #60, for any collectors out there.
35. Knack : ART. This is a tough way to clue this three letter fill.
36. Org. concerned with securing crowns : ADA. American Dental Association.
39. Dramatic start : ACT I. A really nicely put together clue.
40. Respectful rural response : YES'M.
44. Small power sources : AAAS.
45. Discouraging words : PANS.
46. "Given the circumstances ... " : AS IT IS. Ans so it goes.
47. Quaint words of resolve : BY GUM. By golly has never been used, by gum.
48. Place to rule : ROOST.
49. Paradises : EDENS.
50. "No more procrastinating!" : TODAY.
51. Passes over : OMITS.
52. Florida's Port St. __ : LUCIE. This may be a challenge for those who do not live or visit SoFla., as it is a CITY of about 180,000 people not known for much except being perhaps the most devastated by the real estate collapse.
53. '50s-'60s civil rights activist : EVERS. Hard to talk about this MAN and not be political, but then maybe human rights are not political?
58. "Angie Tribeca" airer : TBS. I have never watched this series from Steve Carrell, but it looks...
60. Period : ERA.
61. Santa __, California : ANA.
Is everyone adapting to Bruce's cluing? Of course since Rich edits....did any of you read the flap over at the Fiend about a NYT puzzle where after being criticized by the posters, a constructor called out Will Shortz for changing the fill and clues in that corner? And I thought the NYT was supposed to be the staid civilized place. Ah well I love this Corner, and thanks again Bruce and all of you. Lemonade out. Go USA; Michael Phelps is amazing. This is his 5th Olympics!!!!!!
51 comments:
Finished it. Lack of a ta-da warned me something was wrong, but all I needed to do was change GoV' > GUV'. The theme took me a little bit because "HIDDEN words IN..." had me searching for imbeds, and ignoring the extreme ends.
{B, B+, A-.}
In war, a miss may be as good as a MILE,
But when a soldier's been away for a while
Then he comes home to find
The girl he left behind --
In love, a Miss may be as good as her SMILE!
Benny would take a FOOT if you gave him an INCH,
But he once watched a sunset without any flinch!
Temporarily blind
He still could unwind
Once his whisky he found by FEELING THE PINCH!
ROCCO Rococo was a virtuoso with a HORN;
The way Rory played, to the piano he'd been born!
With the keyboard plink plonk
And the brassy hink HONK
-- Hold on there! Hink honk?! What stupid horn goes hink honk?! Horns do not go hink honk!
-- I was just trying for a parallel...
-- Well CUT THAT OUT! Just DON'T, okay? Now take it from there.
With the keyboard plink plonk
And the brassy HORN'S HONK
They played a DUET so hot it nuked their popcorn!
Morning, all!
All right, I got through this one unscathed and even figured out the theme on my own (albeit after completing the puzzle and going back to look). Plus, it was nice to see MARTHAS VINYARD in the grid.
But BASTE at 1A (as clued) was just cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, that entire NW corner should have been tossed out and redone (or, at least, reclued), what with ENIDOK, ERWIN and BEFOG. But seriously, BASTE? That's almost as bad as yesterday's SOIDO, except for the fact that it's the clue that makes it ridiculous and not the word itself.
And yes, Michael Phelps is truly an amazing athlete!
According to the CBC(Canadian Broadcast Corp) Phelps didn't win the 200m IM, Ryan Lochte did! Oh, and yeah, it's OK to compare 14 year old Chinese swimmers to performing like a pig. Tough day for the CBC. I'd link both videos but the CBC is in a mad dash to scrub the internet of all evidence.
*see what I did right there? Dash? Olympics? I'm almost as funny as those CBC guys.
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. This seemed like an easier Friday than usual, however the B in BASTE and BEFOG was my last fill.
How nice to see ERWIN Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (1887~1961) in today's puzzle because today would be his 129th birthday. I hate to think about his poor cat, though.
My favorite clues were: (1) Seasoned Cookers = WOKS; and (2) One with a Stay-at-Home Job = UMP.
I never used iCHAT, so wasn't sorry to see it go by the wayside.
Sean ASTIN's mom was Patty Duke.
Angie Tribeca is filled with visual puns.
I was thinking of Holy Moley instead of Holy GRAIL.
QOD: Sometimes you're the windshield; sometimes you're the bug. ~ Mark Knopfler (b. Aug. 12, 1949)
Good morning!
BASTE? At 1a? Really? Yeah, that definition is in my dictionary after sewing, moistening and severely beating. I never did manage to parse ENID OK -- thanks, Lemon. Since I (once again) failed to get the theme, I tried to make the final spanner GOES ON THE ATTACK -- worked with the perps I had in place, but soon didn't work at all. Everything finally fell into place, so I didn't Haight this one.
See ya tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel.
I wasn't on Bruce's wavelength and it took 20 minutes to finish. NW took the longest and my last fill was the same as Hahtoolah, LAMBASTE yes; BASTE- isn't that to lightly stitch? And I was trying to think of another town in Kansas, not Oklahoma. ENID, OK was slow in coming. I had ____ING THE PINCH but FEELING THE PINCH is a new one for me; never heard it before.
Changed ELLA to ETTA, OSO to OSA, STOP to DONT, LUV to GOV, misread 34A clue as 'where' instead of 'what' and filled LEA before BAA eventually took it's place. ROCCO and I-CHAT were unknowns in the NE but the crosses were solid. TRIBECA-I stayed at a hotel there but never saw ANGIE (or heard of the show either). A BAT SIGNAl couldn't be seen around here lately because it won't quit raining.
Port St. LUCIE- I've heard of it. I smell a new real estate bubble building. Stock markets at all time highs- Dow, NASDAQ, S&P- and interest rates at all time lows. Real estate prices are rising but wages are not. People bite off more than they can chew.
Hi Y'all! BEFOG took ESP and describes my brain while trying to decipher some of the fill in this puzzle. The theme entries filled with fewer perps, BY GUM (one of my daddy's sayings).Thanks, Bruce, for an interesting puzzle even if I wanted to use a stronger SWEAR WORD in some places. I studied the theme entries after the reveal and nothing was revealed. The FOG was lifted by Lemon's explanation. Thanks, Lemony.
Being familiar with Kansas geography didn't help the misleading clue for ENID, OK. When the K perped in, I started looking further south. My son took his USAF pilot training while living at ENID.
Holy Ghost before GRAIL.
BigEasy: I am so impressed that you did the puzzle in 20 minutes. I took 28:22 min. with red-letters blazing all the way. But I filled it all in the end and went back to sleep happy.
How can "methodology" have a word when there is no such word as "methodology"?
methodology
noun meth·od·ol·o·gy \ˌme-thə-ˈdä-lə-jē\
: a set of methods, rules, or ideas that are important in a science or art : a particular procedure or set of procedures
From the Merriam Webster online dictionary.
I took 20 minutes to figure out I had no idea for most of this. How anyone would finish it in that time, I don't know.
Living in a Midwest backwater I didn't even know Martha's Vineyard was an island.
I only did a decent job in the SW corner of this grid, with a lot of what I filled elsewhere being incorrect, so I gave up. Well it is Friday!
To those who work, remember it's POETS day--Piss Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday!
Good Morning:
This was quite an impressive feat with 5 straight-forward grid spanners. Had a few w/os: Ella/Etta, Pro's/Woks, Oso/Osa, etc. Never heard of Angie Tribeca, didn't know Schrodinger's first name, and what, pray tell, is a Bat Signal? Only fingers-on-the-blackboard (for me) is baste, as clued. Guess who I thought of at Feeling The Pinch? If methodology is not a word, then I have been been in error the many times I've used it and heard it; where are the Word Pokice when you need them?
Thanks, Bruce, for a delightful Friday foray and thanks, Lemony, for duty above and beyond the call!
Our sauna-like, pea-soupy weather continues. ACK! Looking forward to Fall.
Have a great day.
Thanks Lemon, Bruce and Rich
We have had stronger themes, but imagine trying that with the metric system. The U.S. is now the last remaining bastion of the British Imperial System of weights and measures. Long may she reign!!
A bit light on "clever" cluing, but still enjoyable.
• Lemon, your link to "GUV" sounds about right. It is used in the Police force to address a superior (at least on TV...). In more general use it tends to be working (or not "upper") class - provider-to-client - where "sir" would be inappropriate. You may also hear "The Gaffer" - meaning the Coach - should you ever listen to interviews with Professional soccer players in the U.K., which apparently is a contraction of "Godfather". "Sir" as a general form of address to an "elder", which is often used in the U.S. is rarely heard in the U.K., and still sounds strange to my ear. It is probably due to our hang-up with (avoiding) the old British class system.
Another advantage of "Guv" in the forces is that is is a gender-neutral term to a superior, which avoids calling a woman "Sir" or the dreaded "Ma'am" (the latter might be appropriate for Royalty, but not your boss). Likewise, we do not say YES'M [which I associate with movies about the ante-bellum South, used by slaves to their mistresses].
• I seem to recall we had "Read the riot act" as a clue not so long ago, with a similar answer (i.e., no suggestion of being shot if the order was not obeyed).
• GUM is of course another euphemism for GOD. EGAD, COR BLIMEY - all of the same ilk. I wonder how many there are. There is a Northern English Expression "E BA GUM" = YES, BY GOD. It is well established in Britain, as some wit pointed out that written backward it spelled MUGABE, the Zimbabwe dictator who makes Donald Trump seem like a level-headed chap.
• We had "TREE" some time ago used as a verb in this sense, so I got it. It's chiefly N. Amer., presumably because you do more hunting and have a lot more trees than in Britland (since the great Oak forests were cut down to build the British Navy ships in the late medieval period).
Lemon: Nice write-up & informative links.
Bruce: Thank You for aFUN Friday puzzle.
Fave today, of course, was FEELING THE PINCH, though at Villa Incognito I drink it not feel it.
Well the Sun is over the yardarm ...
Cheers!
P.S. I did not have time to post yesterday, but wanted to remark that I have rarely heard "SETTER" as a Brit equivalent of "CONSTRUCTOR". The standard equivalent is "COMPILER", which has the added advantage that it is not the name of a DOG.
I enjoyed this puzzle, but I did have "paste" for "baste" right up until the end. This puzzle didn't have a lot of obscure proper names, and had lots of clever cluing. Thank you, Mr. Haight! And thank you too, Mr. (Ms?) Lemonade.
Musings
-A fun and helpful theme on a day where 3” of rain negated golf
-My ewe turned for a RAM first and that use of BASTE is new to me
-I remember when FICA was used only for Social Security but when Congress sees a large pile of money…
-Golf thought (and needed) RORY would be the next Tiger
-You have really lost a lot of hair!
-As most of us can avow/aver/adduce that many PhD’s can’t teach anyone anything
-I will be soon be 106 in OCTAL or Base 8 numbering
-Censors are still working? I thought they went the way of yesterday’s buggy whip
-Hmm… Would Rich allow “Purple Martin capital of Oklahoma” cluing for ENID? ☺
-His special skill was finding elderly ANGELS for his lousy plays
-I’ve told Joann, “I’ll be home around NOONISH”
-The Carmelite NUNS have a pretty nice view in Carmel, CA
-Red herrings here: Home = baseball, Capital = money, Nice = French city. Others?
-Husker legendary coach Tom Osborne used DadGUMmit and not SWEAR WORDS
-Do you know the movie that used today’s theme?
A clever and well-executed theme, and appropriately challenging for a Friday, I thought. Enjoyed seeing SWEARWORD, BATSIGNAL, and BYGUM. Loved the clues for DUET, UMP and ACTI! Some clues may have reached a bit too far in the attempt to be cute (lookin' at you, ADA!), but I'm OK with the occasional groaner.
Have to agree with those who raised an eyebrow at the clue for BASTE, however. As everyone who has looked it up knows by now, that is an archaic, or at least very dated, definition, as demonstrated by how few of us have ever heard the word used in that sense. The word we use is "lambaste." That was an unfortunate lead-off for an otherwise entertaining puzzle.
I'm guessing that the CBC swimming commentator has now had personal experience of being (lam)BASTEd. He had Lochte in the lead all the way, right up until the moment when the video feed flashed Phelps as the gold medalist. Oops.
This was a challenge from start to finish, but got it done! Figuring out the theme early on was a huge help. Thanks, Bruce, for a nice challenge!
Nice review, Lemonade. Thanks for the explanations.
Thank you NC for the detailed explanation, and like you I mostly know GUV from British police procedurals, though I have read the children of the landed gentry refer to their pater as gov'nor. And as far as euphemisms, GOLLY is another and I am amazed it has never been used in a puzzle.
Overall, you are all so entertaining. The LAMBASTE-Baste connection was certainly not anything I knew but should n't we learn one thing on Friday?
Entertaining and challenging puzzle, I would say. Thank you, Bruce. I found his wave length down south and worked my way up, not in 20 minutes, but under 30 which is really good for a Friday. A big advantage of those long spanners is that once there, the perps can be sussed more easily.
LUCIE was nice fill and I'll take that and ARIzona as CSOs. ACTI, UMP, and NUNS were cleverly clued. I've used _ISH as seven-ish, ten-ish to indicate approximate time.
After questioning myself about BASTE I looked it up and found it in my Random House dictionary: 2. to denounce or scold vigorously. Many education courses teach methodology as part of their curriculum.
Lemonade, as always, you illuminate with your wise words. Thank you.
Gary:
It's too bad you feel that way about PHD professors; we have some right here on the Blog who I am certain are excellent teachers and have imparted their knowledge to hundreds of students. Misty and Keith come to mind.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
You're right Lucina and I beg forgiveness for my hyperbole. I should amend that to some PhD's
Lucina and HG - Thank you for the lesson (much needed in today's world) in civil discourse.
Yes, desper-otto and others, the word appears in dictionaries. But most people find that, in most cases, the word "method" will suffice. It would have in this clue, in particular. "Methodology," in most of its usages, is a "wonk" word.
You didn't say it was a lousy word; you said "no such word." There's quite a difference.
It took me quite a while to get to BAT SIGNAL. I kept trying to make it into a "Wrist Radio" or something else in Dick Tracy's gadgetry. GUV slowed me down in that corner because I had MUM for the longest time-- and would still prefer it, out of some long dormant respect for her majesty, QEII.
That's OK, HuskerGary, my doctorate is a DFA anyway. I don't agree that PhDs are in any respect handicapped, but I always appreciate the touch of satire at someone else's expense.
Irish Miss, a BAT SIGNAL is a searchlight with a gobo in the shape of a bat. In a crisis, the mayor or police chief of Gotham summons Batman by shining this into the heavens for Mr. Wayne to see and respond. Not as fast as a phone call, but more spectacular. (Obviously, no crime may be permitted in daylight hours.)
Oh, yes, and I must agree with others regarding BASTE. I believe I have seen the word used in this way many, many moons ago, and maybe it was in some obscure Elizabethan text. But Big Easy points correctly to LAMBASTE as the current usage. We reserve BASTE to what my wife does periodically to our holiday turkey.
This is for all the duffers in Corner land. Amazingly enough, Bruce has the names of six current and former pro golfers in the grid. Care to take a shot at who they are?
OMK @ 12:53 - Thank you for explaining Bat Signal. It's quite evident that I'm "in the dark" when it comes to Comic's and Action Heroes.
The new LA Times format prominently displays the time after you solve the puzzle. I had never given it any thought before, but now it's so prominent I almost can't help but notice it. Anyway, apparently it took me over 35 minutes. That includes a short break I took to walk away and top off my mug of coffee. Walking away can be helpful, as many of you have observed; when I returned to the puzzle I was amazed at how many (well, three) answers suddenly came to me.
Many write-overs, including SCOLD to BASTE (I sorta recall we've had that one before), LUV to GUV, OSO to OSA, RAM to BAA (RAT SIGNAL?), and MARTHAS VINYARD (Hello, Barry G) to MARTHAS VINEYARD.
A TV show that LW and I like is Inspector George Gently (which is on tonight, yay) in which Sergeant John Bacchus often refers to his partner and boss as Guv. By the way, just as I was writing that sentence, I noticed that we pronounce "Sergeant" as "Sargent." Yet we don't pronounce "clerk" as "clark." Just an interesting little tidbit. I'm easily amused.
Best wishes to you all.
On the other hand, Inspector Robbie Lewis calls his female boss "Mum." Kevin Whatley is a good enough actor that it sounds completely natural. It would be weird if he called her, or anybody, "Guv."
For those of you who have an hour or so to spend, I offer the following two links to what I found to be fascinating reading about certain behind-the-scenes goings-on in the field of earthquake research, which is my profession. Don't worry; it's not technical.
This opinion piece in the Oregonian and this.article by Mark Harris in Nautilus magazine. Actually, I found the comments more interesting than the articles themselves.
Anon@12:12 'But most people find that...'
Some people are saying that. I don't know. You tell me.
I know Bill Clinton does crosswords (from the documentary, WordPlay) But is the Rumor-monger-in-chief also a crossword blogger?
Once again a nice surprise that what looked like an impossible puzzle at first turned out to be fun and not impossible after all. It helped that I got the bottom grid spanners early on, as well as YARD and FOOT. Along with MILE that let me fill in INCH, and so crazy as it seemed, I had the theme before I had more than a quarter of the puzzle done. Luckily things filled in, as they often do. Hey, Gary, I even got PHD all on my own without having to look it up (thanks, Lucina). And I guessed GORDON LIGHTFOOT even though I know nothing about his music. But I did have to look up ERWIN and even YODA, I'm embarrassed to say.
Still, lots of fun--many thanks, Bruce, and you too, Lemonade.
Hahtoolah, interesting note about Patty Duke.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody!
Musings 2
-Back from shopping and want to expand on my mea culpa: I had too many memories of PhD’s talking for an hour from yellowing notes while we took notes and it was called teaching. I did have others that were fabulous, especially my semantics prof.
-This was my first thought of comic book crime fighting devices
-Jerome, I gleaned Hale ERWIN, RORY McIlroy, LEE Trevino, ROCCO Mediate, ART Wall and ANGEL Cabrera.
Back from 5 days in the wilds of PA, no cell service, no WIFI, except in a town 20 minutes away where my sister lives. It was fun to spend time with her. No wonder the park is called World's End. By Sat evening after 5 days sick in bed Alan was well enough for us to go there on Sunday morning. We both really enjoyed it. Our cabin overlooked a burbling stream. I love the woods and mountains.
I enjoyed this puzzle. No 20 minute solve for me, but once I got a leg up and sussed the theme, it moved along quickly.
Methodology is quite common in academic circles,it has a different nuance than just plain method.
Jewish and Irish can be 100% pure or close to it, not necessarily more or less. Lucina's example of tenish is apt, or oldish or pinkish, a somewhat informal usage.
I needed -AST- to get BASTE, but had no objection to it. I suppose it is old-fashioned and is commonly replaced by lambaste, but no worries.
I missed you all.
YR, welcome back.
Jayce, velly intellesting articles. Gotta ask, do your friends greet you with, "Hey Jayce, what's shakin'?"
Husker- I made a bad error. There's five golfers, not six. You got them all. Hale's last name starts with I, not E.
My first crime-fighting device try was BATmobile. This would be more useful than the SIGNAL. I was a bit annoyed when the mobile turned red.
YR, I was hoping you were camping in the woods and not in a hospital waiting room somewhere. Welcome back. I missed you.
No love today. BASTE definition does not include reading the riot act, at least not anywhere I looked.
Still a toughie, congrats to those who got it.
Happy Friday All!
Hahtoolah said it and you 20 min. solvers confirmed -- it was an easy Friday. That's why I got it right! Disclosure - it took all day on and off while working, talking to contractors, etc. I can only do Mondays in one sitting <10min.
Thanks Bruce for a fun puzzle. The theme helped me w/ 47a and 57a (SMILE went in 'cuz you had all the metrics at the end and I backfilled BREAKING INTO A). AnyHOW, fun theme. Thanks.
Lem - thanks for the expo and parsing ACTI-Dramatic... V8 moment. I'll finish the BORAT interview after my Friday nap. My fav Baron Cohen character is Ali-G.
WOs - TRap b/f TREE, hand up for EllA and I had CBS b/f TBS.
Can't pick a fav today - too many good c/as. UMP, MTS, WOKS, MOC (tricked me anyway - I was thinking those soft MICs you slip on your button-down before a presentation) and fun sparkle - SWEARWORDS, BAT SIGNAL (OMK & HG - Detective in the clue made think Dick Tracy too), and YODA - words wise they are.
I even liked the x-ref HONK HORN [probably 'cuz it helped me (w/ the HOs in place) to break up everything else]
I also enjoy'd ERWIN Schrodinger. Hahtoolah, don't fret, think of the cat as 50% AWARE / alive - probably. [Anyone else have PhDs 'spain Schrodinger's eq.s to yous? Solving 'em was the best my maths ever were; now I can only do OCTAL / decimal conversions... Yes, HG I know your age :-)].
{A++*, B- (why not TIN for the Gold?), A--}
@1:48 - LOL
Welcome back YR. I remembered you were on a trip so I didn't worry. I should have thought of Alan; sorry to hear he wasn't well.
TIN - I'm sure you FEEL THE PINCH just before nap time :-)
D-O: I loved your "bye"-line today. Well done.
I'll be back tonight to taunt you a second time - you know I can't let Holy GRAIL go.
Cheers, -T
*touch'd a (good) nerve, I never left state-side nor saw combat but her SMILE was there & waiting for me after Desert Storm. Thanks OKL.
BASTE
Well, this is what The Merriam Webster Thesaurus has to say about it, (cut and pasted)
Baste: V
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings, a tyrannical father who used the dinner hour to baste his children for their many perceived shortcomings.
D'AH - I had my notes and still forgot - Wilbur: I always read FLN b/f TODAY's expo.
FLN - Picard - I doubt servers are in the position to command... HAVE ONE? perhaps... considering there's no punctuation in the pzl.
Cheers, -T
Greetings!
Nobody here at this late hour?
Lucina: I'm Crushed!!!
Had the usual errors and BASTE took awhile.
Cheers!
Fermatprime - I'm still here, er, not dead yet. :-). -T
Lemonade, Thank you for a wonderful report on the puzzle answers. I simply loved your answer introductions, and all the diversions and links - and it took the major part of my free time today - and I really enjoyed it. Also I was fascinated. Many thanks.
The puzzle was difficult. By the time I found out 1A was 'baste', I lost all interest.
On the matter of Guv, its probably very british. On the other hand, - as for the use of the word, 'Sir' it very common all around the world. Just a term of respect to a customer, superior or even a stranger. I am surprised at Nice Cuppa's statement that 'Maam' is reserved for the Queen. Really ? Who or whom does the Queen talk to anyway ? Its not as if she has to stand for re-election or declare new government policy. She probably tells her minions over at the palace about what she wants prepared for supper. The formal word 'madam' is very common in all other english speaking countries.
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Husker Gary, your statement on PhD's is uncalled for, despite any personal experience you may have had. Making blanket statements like that seriously undermines the respect that others, reading the blog, may have of you. You are a respected member of the blog, and have a reputation to preserve. Write, in the future, with that thought in mind.
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
Did most of this while traveling down to Mt. Vernon, IL, today. Finished in the motel room Judy now.
Puzzle was tough. It is a Friday, however.
Got through most of it fairly well. The NW corner was my last to fill. Once I had OK for 5D, I guessed ENID preceded that. Turns out I was right. BASTE was slow in coming, but I had 5 perps, so I stuck with it. Tried EDWIN for14A. Got no where. Then tried ERWIN. That worked.
BORAT was also unknown. Perps.
Remembered Medgar EVERS.
GOTTI came to mind after some deep thinking.
Erie, PA, is where Donald Trump is today at a rally. My home town.
See you tomorrow from Mt. Vernon, IL.
Abejo
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PM (GUV?)@10:32 - HG mea-culpa'd earlier when Lucina mentioned it. IM congratulated both on civility. Grace all around... My $0.02? PhD DW taught me well-ISH.
Abejo - I knew GOTTI right away thanks to The Fun Lovin' Criminals' song that reenforced the name in the news... I think it's the penultimate track on the album with Scooby Snacks [MA] (their most play'd song) on it.
OTHH - no idea about EVERS until ESP :-)
Cheers, -T
Fermatprime:
I'm sorry. At the time I was typing I could only think of Misty and Keith though I knew we had other PHD bloggers in the Corner. Had I given it more thought I'm sure your name would have occurred to me. I was just so shocked at Gary's blanket statement about professors I felt the need to protest it. We know you have been a well respected and effective educator.
One of the great lessons some of my professors instilled in me is to not make those kinds of generalizations such as a certain politician does constantly.
Lucina & HG - no worries. I think HG was making a jest (and I've had those useless profs too!). IM had it right.
BY GUM, My side links sent me down a rabbit hole. I'm trying to find something puzzle-propos... but this is gratuitous - The Refreshments. The '90s brought back rhythm & lead guitars, bass & pounding drums. Such a respite from the '80s pre-programmed electronic disco (first 0:59 - if you DON'T got nothin' to do, listen to it all). Maybe Splynter will enjoy as he preps tomorrow's expo.
Since now one else did The Distance (Cake). Was that the seed Bruce?
Cheers, -T
Well, I'm finally here. I worked from the south to the north. ENID,OK got me. I'm the best case exhibit A that you don't have to be smart to do these xwords. Just dogged. I Just looked at _ NIDOK and finally came up with SNIDOK, Kansas.
That is, I refused to give it up and go to the blog. DUET finally cashed and there was GOTTI,ANGEL etc.
Meanwhile, I had the impossible Saturday still with white. I posted earlier that I was slogging through it. I'll go over there and post.
I think we have teachers in here at every level. I taught French at the age of 21 at a technical school. Then came the Marine corps and 'Nam. Nothing, was ever as tough and challenging as teaching. Thumbs up, all of you.
Thanks T, now someone is reading my late stuff. Look for a post on that bear of a Saturday.
As a physics person, I was happy to see Erwin Schrodinger honored.
So much coverage of sports and sports "heroes". So little coverage of the people who really have changed the world in lasting ways for the better. This was a nice change!
I also enjoyed the DISTANCE theme.
And a learning moment that GORDON LIGHTFOOT is his given name.
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