Theme: Vowel Progression - The first two consonants stay constant while the vowel progresses from A to U.
17. Missouri's largest metropolis: KANSAS CITY
22. First leg of racing's Triple Crown: KENTUCKY DERBY
34. 1990 comedy about a detective posing as a teacher: "KINDERGARTEN COP"{
46. Oslo attraction honoring Heyerdahl's expedition: KON TIKI MUSEUM
53. "Roots" hero from Gambia: KUNTA KINTE
Argyle here and "Really Rich". No reveal needed. Tricky construction; harder than the solving I'd say. The pool of words that would fit the grid is quite shallow. The fill for the most part is kindly.
Across:
1. Opinion piece: ESSAY
6. Resident's winter expense: HEAT
10. Formal agreement: PACT
14. Apartment agreement: LEASE
15. Waist-measuring unit: INCH
16. River through Spain: EBRO. Northern Spain.
19. Israel's Barak: EHUD. Wiki bio.
20. Costa __: RICA
 |
| Would you like to stay there? |
21. Cooking-with-garlic enticement: AROMA
26. Prepare for the gala: DRESS UP
28. Signaled on stage: CUED
29. "Sure, sure": "I BET"
30. Sagan of "Cosmos": CARL
31. Place to relax: SPA
39. Suffix with Japan or Brooklyn: ESE
40. Water conduit: MAIN
41. Greek war god: ARES
42. Entertained with a tune: SANG
43. Unfavorable reputation: BAD NAME
50. Run __ of the law: AFOUL. Run afowl of the law is funnier.
51. Old Norse explorer: ERIC
52. Ball of smoke: PUFF
59. Mil. flying branch: USAF. (United States Air Force)
60. "Say that's true ... ": "IF SO..."
61. Water from France: EVIAN
62. Vietnamese holidays: TETs
63. Haunted house sound: MOAN
64. Fix errors in, as software: DEBUG
Down:
1. Antlered grazer: ELK
2. Aegean, for one: SEA
3. __ Bernardino: SAN
4. Braying beast: ASS
5. Longs (for): YEARNS
6. Minor setback: HICCUP
7. Room-size computer introduced in 1946: ENIAC
8. Perform on stage: ACT
9. Biblical "your": THY
10. Looked intently: PEERED
11. Hate: ABHOR
12. Speck of bread: CRUMB
13. Start of the rest of your life, so it's said: TODAY. "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
18. In __: as found: SITU
21. One-named singer: ADELE
22. New Hampshire city: KEENE
23. Founded: Abbr.: ESTD. (established)
24. 1980s Chrysler line: K CAR. I had one that was a fantastic beater.
25. Mongolian tent: YURT
26. What Brinker's boy plugged with a finger: DIKE
27. Score-producing MLB stats: RBIs. (Run Batted In)
30. Is able to: CAN
31. "Get lost!": "SCRAM!"
32. Words from Wordsworth: POEM. Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher. ~ William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850
33. Church recess: APSE
35. Online message: EMAIL
36. Corporal or colonel: RANK
37. 1958 Chevalier musical: "GIGI". "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" – Sung by Maurice Chevalier
38. Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU
42. Fills with feathers, as a pillow: STUFFs
43. Richard who married Liz Taylor ... twice: BURTON. They sold a lot of tabloids in their day.
44. Cambodia's continent: ASIA
45. Knocked down: DECKED
46. Done for: KAPUT
47. Helpful: OF USE
48. Jack Sprat's diet restriction: NO FAT. His wife could eat no lean.
49. High-IQ group: MENSA
53. Actress Novak: KIM
54. Sci-fi aircraft: UFO. (unidentified flying object)
55. "__ seen worse": I'VE
56. Penpoint: NIB
57. Greek cross: TAU
58. Subj. with writing exercises: ENG. (English)
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to Tinbeni, who has been with our blog since 2009. I'll be toasting you with the Golden Milk when sun sets today, Tinbeni!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Tinbeni!
Great puzzle, Rich! Swell expo, Santa!
Only unknown was KEENE.
Restored computer from backup (time machine clone). But there is lots more to restore. Like the info in Textexpander, my favorite utility
(can't live w/o it).
Now that it has cooled down slightly, my yuccas are blooming again! 10 of them.
Cheers!
Worked the puzzle easily enough, but I'll take a Thumper on the theme. Aren't vowel progressions passé yet?
ReplyDelete{B+, B, C+.}
A boisterous Bro on the banks of the EBRO,
Said he was a Moor and not just a Negro!
It might have made sense
Were his blond hair more dense
And he wasn't an Episcopalian from OSLO!
A savvy electrician would be greatly OF USE
If the MOANS didn't scare him to SCRAM and vamoose!
He found that the groans
Were just too many ohms --
The MAIN switchbox lacked a rated O FUSE!
AFOUL of the Feds, it's brushed under the rug,
That's German cars that pollute as they chug!
They profess to ABHOR,
And even deplore --
What they needed to do was to DEBUG DE BUG!
It is awesome how Rich put together this puzzle; it just flows. It was easier than yesterday my only slowdown caused by momentary dyslexia (ERBO=EBRO) but it was fun traveling across and down.
ReplyDeleteI too will toast the Tinman at sundown
Thanks all
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNo problem on this rich breakfast pastry.
Happy birthday, Tinman! I'm in the sunshine state today, so we can share the same sunset. Time for a 3-mile march around a different hood.
Happy Birthday, Tinbeni! Enjoy your special day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lila, for a delight. I really appreciate the construction today. The K's came easy for me even as they were pretty much WAGS!
Thanks, Argyle, for another set of fine links. I didn't see the vowel progression at all.
Safe travels, Lucina!
Have a sunny day, everyone.
When I filled KANSAS CITY it was 'here I come, they got some crazy lil' women and I'm gonna get me one'. On to the puzzle- I thought it might be a geographic related puzzle after the horse race and decided to fill the theme answers- very easy long fills. Wasn't sure if the spelling of KINDERGARTEN was "T" or "D" or KUNTA KINTE was KINTE OR KENTA so I let the perps take care of it.
ReplyDeleteK-CAR- my mother had one and drove into a tree in the dentist's parking lot. She swore that it was spontaneous acceleration. My brother and I decided it was time to take her keys away from her.
I was surprised that Rich let DIKE with a finger in it make it into print. But he's the editor. So I'll SCRAM outta here. NANU! NANU!
Greetings to all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for guiding us through another Tuesday puzzle, Argyle. I, too, was thinking that there was a rather limited number of possibilities for the K_N theme answers with vowel progression. Nicely done, Rich.
Happy Birthday, Tinbeni!
Enjoy the day!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI was certainly aware of the vowel progression but completely missed the second consonant remaining the same until Argyle enlightened me. How clever! I had three spelling miscues: Ebro, Ehud, and Kunta, all of which were corrected by perps. This theme type may be passé, but I enjoyed it and agree that the construction was more difficult thank the solve.
Kudos to "Lila" and bravo, bravo to Santa.
No monetary windfalls yet today but, hey, it's only 10:00 am!
Happy Burthday, Tin, I hope it is fun-filled and _ _ _ free! 🎂🎁🎊🍾🍸🍷🍻🍹
Have a great day.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Tinbeni. Drei mal hoch!. Hope nothing goes KAPUT today.
Recognized Lila's name right away. Liked the vowel progression. Easy, though. No issues with the solve.
More Deutsch. KINDERGARTEN and KAPUT (Ger. Kaputt).
We visited the KON TIKI MUSEUM during a sojourn in Oslo. Near downtown on a peninsula near the former airport.
Sorry, than not thank.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteNice easy Tuesday puzzle from Lila. Even the long theme entries were easy today although I didn't figure out the theme.
My only two stumbling blocks were EBRO and EHUD. I always have trouble with the 4 and 5 letter European rivers. And some news broadcasts usually only refer to Israeli politicians by one name.
I have noticed a few YURTs on some of the HG network shows for different living arrangements. I guess it's hard to be cornered in one.
When I saw the KENTUCKY DERBY as the first theme clue, I thought the next ones were going to be the PREAKNESS and then the BELMONT Stakes. Wasn't so. That would have been too much of a gimme.
Nice and sunny in Central PA today with a predicted high of 76. Beautiful.
I hope it's nice where you are.
Hi Y'all! Fun & fast! I actually got the vowel progression theme on my own. First time in several days I got a theme. Woohoo! Thanks, Rich! Went through so fast I didn't see several clues until Argyle's fine expo. Thanks for the Irish Rovers.
ReplyDeleteBig Easy: Lila Cherry & DIKE with a finger in it are about as risque as Rich gets.
Never heard of EHUD Barak. He was prime minister when I had only two TV channels and no world news to speak of.
Happy Birthday, Tinbeni! Being a teetotaler, I'll wave my charred breakfast bread in the air and salut you. Best I can do.
Very quick solve today, but didn't recognize the vowel progression. Only question was D or T in YURT and KINDERGARTEN. First fill across was guessed SAINTLOUIS which also fit. Came out quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Argyle, for the review! Loved the info on the Ebro.
Argyle: Nice write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteRich, aka Lila Cherry, enjoyed your FUN Tuesday puzzle.
Thank Y'all for the birthday wishes ... I have a certain ear-worm rolling through my brain today ...
When I'm Sixty-Four ...
Well, it a beautiful, sunny, 89 degree day here in Tarpon Springs, Florida ... and ...
"It's "5 O'clock Somewhere!"
Cheers!
Hey Tin,
ReplyDeleteEnjoy tour special day. A win from the Yanks would be nice, but who the Hell knows what to expect from them these days. At least the future holds SOME promise. Today I'll hoist one for you at Sunset.
ReplyDeleteAAAH Dang Tin,
Make word two your, not tour.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Lila Cherry, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review. Well, I may have known once that Lila Cherry was Rich Norris. But, I forgot until I read the review.
ReplyDeleteWorked both Monday and Tuesday this morning in 1/2 half hour total. I think a record for me.
Puzzle was fine. I did not catch the theme until I came here and read the review. Very clever.
The only one I really had to use a lot of perps for was KUNTA KINTE.
I had a K CAR when they first came out. It was a company car which I used in California. Very useful. Not fancy. Stick shift. Pretty good mileage.
SAN Bernardino reminds me of the County I lived in while in California. City called Alta Loma (part of Rancho Cucamonga).
Happy Birthday, Tinbeni. I do not care for scotch, but I will have a brewski in your honor later tonight.
Now to the Monday puzzle.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Hondo
ReplyDeleteGal-Pal will be driving ... and we are going out for a River Bar Tour.
That is "One-Beer" at each River Bar ...
3 beers will probably take about 3, maybe 4, hours.
(I really am "The Slowest Beer Drinker" in America).
Sunset will be "Toasted" with Scotch ...
I'll probably get a CWI, Crawling While Intoxicated ticket at Villa Incognito.
(No biggie, I've been to "Remedial Crawling Classes" before).
Cheers!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteHey Tin: HB, 'BRO! 64, eh? HS Class of '70? Given it's your birthday - I think I will have this Single Malt tonight when I toast the "Tin Man"! And with the Invest 99-L building in the E Atlantic and heading toward us, the "Bring on the Storm" is sort of appropriate . . . at any rate, enjoy the day and the pub crawl . . .
Puzzle-wise, today's was sort of a "meh". Words flowed OK; clues and solves were about right for a Monday, but to me, Monday and Tuesday puzzles are always pretty easy and solvable. I honestly didn't see the vowel progression/theme until Argyle pointed it out in his recap. I ended up getting a lot of the clue/solves via perps; one or two ink blots as I had a WAFT before PUFF and NUB before NIB.
Nice theme, lame fill. Only the north-east had the merest hint of crunch.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed a LOT of fill we had seen recently with identical clues. A bit Rich that; e.g., [in] situ with the same (lousy) clue.
2 of my list of reversible words came up today though:
EVIAN <=> NAIVE
ENIAC <=> CAINE (Michael; Not a lot of people know that)
and just the other day we had E, BA GUM <=> MUGABE
Owen@5:19
ReplyDeleteIn the PC section of my ASL (American as a Second Language) book, it says that, while "Black" is still acceptable, only an African American is allowed to call himself, others, or the collective, NEGRO.
I am not being critical, just looking to tweak my vade mecum as needed.
Wow easier than yesterday
ReplyDeleteI agree with gmony, this was easier than Monday.
ReplyDeleteBut it was still a nice Tuesday puzzle, I liked the construction and the progression.
Great Tuesday puzzle--many thanks Lila (Rich?)! I loved being able to get practically all the names, and the theme, without perps--although after getting KANSAS and KENTUCKY, I first thought we might be dealing with states that start with K (are there any others?). But pretty soon I got the vowel progression, and I was on my way. Nice expo, too, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteTinbeni, I'll tip a glass of Bogle Merlot to celebrate your birthday at California sunset time!
Hope you don't go broke today, Irish Miss!
Have a great day, everybody!
Happy birthday Tinbeni...a river bar tour sounds like a good way to celebrate, something like the Duvall Crawl?
ReplyDeleteThis CW was easier for me than yesterday's, but I did need the perps to fill enacted, situ and Keene. I also filled in Kinta Kunte at first before filling UFO, a tad dyslexic.
Remembered Rich as being Lila Cherry, as CC told us about those names in the early days. Thanks Rich and Argyle.
Who can ever forget those words from Wordsworth: of splendor in the grass; of glory in the flower...Natalie Wood made that poem famous.
Have a lovely day all!
Eniac, NOT enacted....do we all despise auto correct?
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Me too Argyle!
-The KENTUCKY DERBY is all that is left of what was once a major sport
-“C’mon guys, let’s just tell ‘em we got held up. I BET no one will ever know the difference!” Ryan Lochte
-I could have worked BAD NAME and AFOUL of the law into the above sentence
-Carl and Cosmos was a big influence on my interest in science
-There are those who swear they saw PUFFS of smoke coming from here on that day
-IF SO (then) statements are very familiar in Excel
-Now SAN Bernardino will connote something very negative like Dallas
-EMAIL – Compose/Send/Response in minutes. Snail Mail – find paper and a writing instrument/write a note with probably little or no editing/get a stamp and envelope/put in mail/ response in a week or so.
-Are your airwaves also full of this PILLOW STUFFER or is he just a Midwest phenomenon?
-Happy Birthday, Andy! I hope you read this while you are still coherent! ☺ I’ll raise a very bland glass of EVIAN water in your honor tonight!
ReplyDeleteA Rusty Nail made with a good single malt will be toasted to Tin at 5:00 pm.
A well-built puzzle today. I didn't notice the vowel progression until Argyle pointed it out, and that made me appreciate Ms. Cherry's work all the more. Solving was easy, but that didn't lessen my respect for the creative labor.
ReplyDeleteGlad to be reminded of Spain's major river, the EBRO. Strange that we can always remember France's Seine and England's Thames as well as the Arno and Tiber of Italy, but Rio EBRO often eludes me.
My only misstep was to fill BAD NEWS before BAD NAME; otherwise, all was smooth, from start to stop.
HBD Tinbeni!
EBRO and ARNO make me think ERBO; or that is my excuse
ReplyDeleteA nice, easy Tuesday puzzle. Thanks, Lila, and Argyle. Of course, I didn't look for the theme but didn't need it to fill in the answers.
ReplyDeletePouF b/f PUFF and KUNTEKeNTE b/f KUNTEKINTE, otherwise no problems.
Tin: Happy Birthday! Enjoy the Pub Crawl. I will toast you with a nicely chilled Chardonnay.
Happy Tuesday!
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks "Really Rich" for a fun Tuesday puzzle; nothing to MOAN about here. Thanks Argyle for the expo.
Only one HICCUP today - flUFFED b/f STUFFED.
ESPs: EBRO & EHUD
Fav: How can a hacker pass-up ENIAC? (Wiki)
:
User: You need to DEBUG the ENIAC, I can't get EMAIL
IT: Have you tried turning it off and on again? (<-link)
User: How?
IT: Hit the MAIN - twice.
//Never mind; that joke's RANK.
{B, B+, C+}
Abejo - When I don't recognize the day's constructor I count L's & R's real-quick-like. IF there's two of each, I look to anagram Really Rich.
NC - I think you're thinking of the other N-word. I only hear Negro in old movies and none of my buddies say that (even to each other).
=====
Quick story - A buddy, and our best App developer, got a job w/ Amazon. In the final mgr meting he (developer) attended, the VP announced his career-move, thanked him for his service, and said that he's leaving a huge hole in the organization that will be hard to fill.
With out missing a beat my buddy deadpan'd: "A Black Hole? Why's it always gotta be about race?"
Everyone died laughing. Fortunately HR wasn't there...
=====
Happy Birthday Tin-Man! This IPA is for you, Salute!
Cheers, -T
Bon Fete Tin~!~!
ReplyDeleteMy only slow down was the northeast OATH or PACT so I went forward. All crosses all the way then I looked at missing space above and filled that in. No TADA ???
I scanned thru to see if I missed something cause it was a speed run. I didn't even see the downs hardly so I was here on the blog and was oh ok.
Anyway I was looking and saw YURD for YURT Since I didn't have any downs
Hands up for the D instead of T on Kindergarten ~!~!
Also I thought it is was easier than yesterday.
Hathoola how are you doing over there ??
Swamp Cat ??
Plus Tard from Cajun Country ~!~!
Happy birthday, Tinbeni. Here's a toast of Grey Goose to you.
ReplyDeleteEasy Tuesday puzzle. Thanks to Ms. Cherry for making it and thanks to Argyle for writing about it.
Best wishes to you all.
AS the sun is slowly going down in Argyle,
ReplyDeleteSo is the Craggamore going down in Argyle.
For Tinbeni, cheers!
Argyle, that is awesome!
ReplyDeleteIf you do not read the whole front page here is this LIST OF ALIASES
Lem - thanks for the link. Look's like I'll have to modify my heuristic to play spot-the-Rich :-) C, -T
ReplyDeleteA shot of Laphroaig here, Andy.
ReplyDeleteI liked Owen's 3rd best. I finished yesterday morning but never got a chance to get in here.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless I enjoyed it because of the clueing. I never even realized that ERUD was there.
Plus, I had CRUST before CRUMB. I thought the change of T to B went well but S to M was INKY(old puzzler-what's the statute of limitations on old clues and answers?)
Happy birthday to Tinbeni and happy anniversary to my wife Betsy(30)
All probably UnRead