Theme: Four Letter Jumble - The word is FATE.
17. Noir film temptress: FEMME FATALE
28. Football-like sport played with a disc: ULTIMATE FRISBEE
43. Close kin: IMMEDIATE FAMILY
56. Ironic change in destiny ... and, literally, what happens in this puzzle's circles: TWIST OF FATE
Argyle here. We have a lot to like here. No stretching of the 'in language' themes to make them fit even though two are grid spanners. Many six letter fill and a good mix overall.
These two partnered before on a BuzzFeed crossword last year. Food-themed Star Wars puns. LINK
Across:
1. Solidifies: GELS
5. Extends, as a building: ADDS TO
11. Triple __: liqueur: SEC. An orange flavored clear liqueur.
14. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. Isao Aoki, crossword regular.
15. Unfortunate event: MISHAP
16. Thurman of "Kill Bill": UMA. Also a regular.
19. Writing implement: PEN
20. Therapeutic ointment: BALM. I swear by it.
21. Tenants: RENTERs
23. Engineer Nikola: TESLA. A former regular.
25. "__F!": pre-weekend cry: TGI. A bit early for Thank God It's Friday.
27. Homer Simpson's wife: MARGE. She of the blue hair.
31. Falsehood: LIE
32. __ Angeles: LOS
33. '50s prez: IKE. DDE, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President.
34. Kareem's former name: LEW. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was Lew Alcindor. (Basketball)
35. Dangerous current: RIPTIDE. I know you should swim perpendicular to one if caught in it. Don't try to swim straight back to shore. Today's PSA.
37. Female pronoun: SHE
40. Cupid's mo.: FEB. Valentine's Day, Tuesday, February 14, 2017.
41. Year, in Spain: ANO. 6-Down. Day, in Spain: DIA
42. Ate: HAD
49. "__ Rae": NORMA. Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film.
50. "__ who?!": SEZ "Sez IMDb, that's who!"
51. Execs, or outfits hanging in their closets: SUITS
52. Goes on the offensive: ATTACKS
54. Gentle: SOFT
55. Life story, briefly: BIO. (biography)
61. Egg cells: OVA
62. Transition slowly: EASE IN
63. __ out a living: EKEs
64. Crossed (out): Xed
65. Same-as-above marks: DITTOs. "
66. Fender damage: DENT
Down:
1. Animated Internet file suffix: GIF. (Graphics Interchange Format)
2. Suffix with Siam: ESE
3. Meaty dish that would make Mary sad?: LAMB STEW
4. Mogadishu native: SOMALI
5. Radio band-switching switch: AM/FM
7. Hrs. that begin when we "spring forward": DST. Daylight Saving Time 2016 began at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 13 and ends at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 6. Another Public Service Announcement.
8. "Doctor Zhivago" actor Omar: SHARIF
9. "Tall" story: TALE
10. Amateur night at a comedy club, e.g.: OPEN MIKE
11. Exquisite: SUPERB
12. Come into view: EMERGE
13. As far as the eye __: CAN SEE
18. Jack of old Westerns: ELAM. Just one of his many deaths.
22. Stun with a gun: TASE. Jack was being shot long before tasers.
23. Rock's Jethro __: TULL
24. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE
25. Sporty sunroof: T-TOP
26. Develop in the womb: GESTATE
29. "I was with my girlfriend all night," say: ALIBI
30. No longer encumbered by: RID OF
35. Edited: REDACTED
36. "Mockingbird" singer Foxx: INEZ. A different video for Splynter here.
37. Asian mushroom with an odd spelling: SHIITAKE
38. "Freeze!": "HALT!"
39. Breyers competitor: EDY'S Ice cream.
40. Storm relief org.: FEMA. (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
43. Packed up for shipping: IN A BOX
44. Whodunit reason: MOTIVE
45. "The Wind in the Willows" croaker: MR. TOAD
46. Help out: ASSIST
47. Dating from: AS OF
48. Bungled: MUFFED
53. "The Bridge on the River __": KWAI. 1957 British-American epic war film.
54. Daughters' brothers: SONS
57. Part of a tennis match: SET
58. Padre's hermano: TIO. father's brother/uncle
59. On a scale of one to __: TEN
60. Approx. figure: ESTimate.
Argyle
42 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to Carolyn, Mary Lou and Santa!
Very fast puzzle. No problems.
It's trying to rain, though doing a pretty poor job of it, after umpteen months.
Have a great day!
{B+, B+, A-.}
NORMA tried to get RID OF her ache.
BALMS and GELS and potions SHE'd take!
But she'd still get ATTACKS
To her sacroiliac --
Every twist to her back was a TWIST OF FATE!
LEW went for a drive in his hybrid TESLA.
Went to the DÍA de LOS muertos fiesta!
A MISHAP on his ride,
As his battery died!
The skeleton staff for a charge charged extra!
It's time, it's said, for ghosts to EMERGE,
For one night to haunt each village and berg!
They tell a TALE
Of a FEMME FATALE
Who on xylophone bones will play a dirge!
Thanks for the nice write-up Argyle. I was pleased to co-construct this one with my sister. Hope everyone enjoys. Thanks to Rich Norris and Patti Varol for accepting and editing it.
Perfect Monday puzzle. Feels fresh. Clean. Not gimmicky like we get on Friday.
Thanks Ladies.
Argyle, you crack me up. You captured the essence of Jack Elam's roles in just a few words.
Good morning!
Wow, REDACTED on a Monday! Though I think of it more as "Censored" than "Edited." I even managed to get the theme before the reveal. Yay, me. Thanks, Carolyn and Mary Lou.
This song from Bridge Over The River Kwai was a major hit for Mitch Miller in 1957. It's on my music server.
Thanks for the March, D-O. That is the one I was looking for. It was the best at summing up the movie.
Kind of you to visit, MaryLou.
Man!! Keep posting then finding errors! Third try:
Terrific Monday CW, thanx, CF & MLG!! About my usual Monday time: 13 minutes. I'm always amazed when someone comments they did a CW in 5 minutes. I couldn't read each clue and write the answer if I IMMEDIATELY knew each answer!! Terrific write-up, too, Argyle, thanx!! Owen, thanx for the grins with your witty limericks: B, B, B, IMHO.
Third time the charm?
Fun Monday morning starter, but I was saved by the perps. Erased Lou for LEW Alcindor, ADDS on for ADDS TO, and Evolve for EASE IN. Didn't know ULTIMATE FRISBEE, INEZ Foxx or SHIITAKE mushrooms. I wonder if beefstake tomatoes would still be popular if they were called shiitake tomatoes. They might grow large due to extra fertilizer.
I didn't use the theme except as a check before coming here for the reveal. Favorite clue - "Execs or outfits hanging in their closets." Would have been even better if we hadn't seen the execs --> suits cluing several times recently. Least favorite was TGI f. I know it's Monday, and sumthin's gotta go there, but it seemed more like King Syndicate than LAT. Still a pretty small quibble for a fine effort.
Thanks Carolyn and Mary Lou for a fun morning, and to argyle for an interesting write-up.
Easy puzzle. Thanks Carolyn and Mary Lou. Thanks, Argyle for your always interesting review.
By the way, SHI-I-TA-KE has 4 syllables, the I's are pronounced separately. The first syllable is pronounced SHE, long E and the second is pronounced with a short I as in IT. (Approximating the Japanese sounds,of course.)
Gotta run.
Thanks Carolyn and Mary Lou. A perfect start to a busy week. I, too, stalled on REDACTED. It should be more familiar since that's the condition of most docs released to the public. Lots of Monday fun!
Thanks, Argyle, for the walk through. Love the Jack Elam link. I wonder if he ever played a "good" guy?
Jayce, thanks for the comment the other night.
I hope the Bears' virus isn't contagious! Go Cubs!
Have a fine day and a better week!
Good morning everyone.
Good intro, Argyle. Agree with your sentiments and especially your ruminations about the theme.
No problems solving. Nice to see our friend TESLA again.
BALM - Liked the link. The stuff teat dilators were packaged in was pretty good, too. Maybe made by Bag Balm? Also Dr. Naylor, as I recall.
Good day to all!
Wow! Grid spanners on a Monday, and a very enjoyable puzzle. Didn't see the circles 'til the unifier. Many thanks MaryLou and Carolyn.
Thanks for the expo, Argyle. Great links.
Enjoy the day!
Musings
-I only failed to get the verb for the gimmick until the reveal. This song rattled around in my brain box (3:09)
-Argyle’s summative paragraph complemented his always fine write-up
-My brother fought diesel fuel GELLING in cold weather in his semi tractor
-ADDS ON made/makes more sense to me than ADDS TO as clued
-Patton showed IKE had both military and political issues in the ETO
-When I’ve had kids at Cocoa Beach, there were usually RIP TIDES and jellyfish
-A hilarious Valentine’s Day for The Golden Girls (1:59)
-Joann’s and my parents well remembered EKEING out a living in the “Dirty 30’s”
-Like Marty Feldman, Jack’s face may have limited his roles
-Lily is the latest of three SIAMESE residents we’ve had at our house over the years
- AM/FM and another _M modern radio alternative
-Was OJ’s ALIBI as strong as his MOTIVE?
-Round figure yesterday was CIR not EST but today it’s approx. and EST
@Husker: XM?
Loved this morning's puzzle. So many fills gave me a smile. Sez who was my downfall. Could have looked Inez up, but didn't. Misspelling Kwai got me in trouble as I could not make out what the ironic change was until I fixed it.
We had a full day of gentle rain which was lovely, but I guess some areas got too much . Hopefully the south will see some moisture today.we are back to clear skies with temps on the rise again.
Husker, that McIntosh tuner retails for $4500 (no, I didn't miss a decimal point). Do you think McIntosh might be owned by the same people who make Epi-Pen?
desper-otto, the big difference is that some people need Epi-Pen to live, while some egocentric folks think they will just die if they can't get a McIntosh tuner.
Musings
-Thanks for stopping by Mary Lou. I can’t imagine my sisters getting along, let alone producing such a fine puzzle! ☹
-Wow, Otto! I am subbing in math today and still can’t get my head around that number! I am an audio neophyte and so McIntosh means nothing to me.
-Maybe the people that need that machine also need these!
I do not like mushrooms; not one bit!
If they get in my mouth I just spit.
Which is why I've no mood
To eat Chinese Food;
Might one say I just don't give a SHIIT? (AKE)
Nice Monday puzzle even though I didn't have the circles. I used Mensa and when I found out that there were circles, I tried to open the LA Times web site, but I got the dreaded 404 and couldn't open it. Didn't need them to solve the puzzle, but it would have been more interesting with them.
Thanks Carolyn and Mary Lou for a fun run. Argyle adds the spice to the expo with his commentary and links. I especially liked Lara's Theme today.
Having dealt with FOI requests I've seen many documents that have been REDACTED. Basically most info is blacked out which is a lot more than edited.
I've seen the "Bridge on the River Kwai" many times and the first time was in the local movie theater when I was a teenager. I worked at the theater then and watched it at least a dozen times during it's run. I still enjoy it.
In 17A I tried to put in names of Film Noir Temptresses from the '40's and 50's like Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, and newer ones like Sharon Stone, Sean Young and others. Perps showed it wasn't a proper name.
I tried PHASES before EASEIN, and I always have trouble with the Simpsons characters because I never watched the show. Both of these were solved by perps.
Have a great day everyone.
Thank you, Mary Lou and Carolyn for the SUPERB puzzle! Interesting that you are sisters.
Initially I thought the scramble would be FEAT then the reveal informed me of FATE. All filled easily and quickly with not a single erasure.
Thanks, also, to Argyle for untwisting today's mysteries.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Argyle: Excellent write-up & links.
Carolyn & Mary Lou: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle.
Enjoyed the TWIST-OF-FATE theme.
Fave today, of course, was ALIBI ... a "90 Proof Whiskey" I recently discovered.
Cheers!
Not (Triple) SEC?! 😜🍸🍾
I enjoyed reviewing the Sunday blog and took comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one mystified by the theme.
Had 90 percent of the puzzle complete before the satisfying 'oh duh!' moment. Enjoyed the misdirection.
Hi all!
A bit of crunch to this wonderful Monday offering from Mary Lou & SIB [my 1st whack at 54d]. Thanks to the both of you for fresh cluing and fun fill (and for stopping by). Thanks Argyle for the great writeup and tunes - I love me some TULL.
WOs: SibS b/f SONS. I don't know why, but I tossed a Z in FRISBEE. Dumb mistake, but don't TASE me Bro!
ESP: ISAO & LEW
Fav - Toss-up: I love REDACTED [many of my reports are need-to-know - and you don't! :-)] and "SEZ you" -- made me think of the POL that questioned the polls - 'Sez who?' And the reporter replied "All of them(?)... All of them." I won't link - too political and I don't need the ATTACKS :-)
Other great fill that ADDS TO pzl fun: FEMME FETALE, MUFFED, ULTIMATE FRISBEE, and LAMB STEW as c/a'd.
{B+, B, A-}
Mr L. @10:29 - LOL!
HG - $1k for jeans that look like they're on backwards? At least it looks as if his butt is on backwards [or his head is up there :-)]. Insult to injury, the model suffers the same disease as all men in my family... Grams called it no-ass-a-t'all.
I do have an XM/Sirius radio but didn't pay that price! [pocket radio that feeds into the amp.] I love mine - when NPR (122) gets boring there's always Classic Rewind on 25. Best part is TiVo-like pause & rewind.
Unclefred - DITTO, I don't get it either... Just finding the crossing-clue for confirmation takes 4 seconds. How you anyone could ink a grid in <5 min is beyond me.
More TULL. If I could find the right clip, you'd see Lennon & Jagger in the crowd. Enjoy anyway...
Cheers, -T
Hi Everyone:
Late to the dance due to doctor's appointment and errands. (Got my flu shot so that's behind me.). Noticed gas prices are all over the place, from $2.13 to &2.29. I think I paid $2.09 two weeks ago.
The puzzle was a typical Monday easy breezy one. Took me 8 minutes which is maybe a minute or two below normal. Two grid spanners are impressive and I enjoyed the "Femme Fatale, as well. Any puzzle with Omar Sharif (handsome devil!) and Alec Guiness (actor extraordinaire) plus the beautiful "Lara's Theme" and the March from The River Kwai is fine by me.
Great job, Sissies, and fun expo, Argyle.
Misty, thank you for bringing "The Durrells of Corfu" to my attention; I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing how it develops. One little nit but I could be wrong: I'm not sure if "bikini" was in the language in 1935 but I intend to verify that.
Have a great day.
IM - re: gas prices... Are you sure you're not filling up with Pumkin Spiced petrol? C, -T
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Carolyn Farmer and Mary Lou Guizzo, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Got through this easily. Enjoyed it and the construction of the theme. Very clever.
Husker Gary, I had a diesel car many years ago and when it was 27 below zero in NE Illinois, I was on the Turnpike and my car would not keep thirty miles per hour. I pulled off and got a motel for the night. Next day I called a garage and they informed me that my fuel had gelled and told me to put a can of air line antifreeze in the gas tank, which I did. The car ran like a hotrod all the way back to Chicago.
My friend UMA again. She is a regular.
Never played ULTIMATE FRISBEE, but it sounds like fun.
I bet FEMA has been busy with the weather these past few years.
Have to run. See you tomorrow. I am still working on Sunday's puzzle. Might get it done later.
Abejo
( )
Yay! Hurray! I really worried whether ISAO/GIF was going to be correct, and would have hated not finishing this great puzzle perfectly on a Monday. But it worked--Yay! And then we got the lovely treat of having Mary Lou check in with us and tell us she and Carolyn are sisters! How neat to learn this--many thanks, Mary Lou!
Great expo and pics, Argyle, thanks.
Irish Miss, so glad you liked "The Durrells." I had a busy day yesterday and so will watch it tonight--now really looking forward to it.
Have a great week, everybody!
We are paying $1.85 a for gas just now. Starting Nov.1 we will pay $2.08 due to an added $0.23 a gallon for remediating our sadly neglected roads and bridges. I can only dream that NJ will use the extra funds for its intended purpose. They hardly ever do so.
Nice Monday puzzle, well clued and constructed, no issues at all.
I very much enjoyed and admired this puzzle. So well made! I have nothing to add to all of your terrific comments.
Approximately 15 or so propositions on the ballot to vote on this year. LW and I have been studying them in order to decide whether to vote yes or no. Big job. It seems the legislature should be doing this stuff instead of foisting so much work off onto the people. The more we read what the propositions really say the more we can see how poorly many of them are written and how so many of them explicitly allocate the monies to special interests instead of to whom the advertisements claim will benefit. Most of them are getting our NO vote.
Misty, how was the Iliad yesterday? How does one perform that monster anyway?
Best wishes to you all.
Madame Defarge yes Jack played the good guy many times. I don't remember all of them but Cannon Ball run one and two he plays comedy roles.
Nice monday puzzle finished with no hang ups.
A WAG for ISAO because of the I in his name.
Plus Tard from Cajun Country ~!~~!
Hello Puzzlers -
A bit late, due to Ladybug Roundup. On the right warm fall day we get ten or twenty thousand of the pesky insects in and on the house. They are probably the result of a misguided ecology project - the insects were brought in by the thousands and let loose in the countryside by school kids, to combat an aphid problem a few years back. It didn't work. Now we have a ladybug problem.
WEES about the puzzle. Impressive grid for a Monday.
Irish Miss and Misty:
Thank you for mentioning the Durrells of Corfu which I really liked! It surprised me that shorts would be worn in 1935. It seems to me that they came into fashion after WWII though I could be mistaken. Research.
I don't know why any of you would be interested but gas prices locally are around $2.80 per gallon. It's always higher here than most anywhere else except the San Francisco area.
Jayce, I completely agree regarding propositions. They used to seem like a good idea to benefit the common folk but now they all seem to be put forth by special interest groups who never seem to have my special interest at heart. Unless I know something important to the contrary, I tend to vote no to thwart the lobbies.
Anon T @1:26
It's becoming a Major Problem
And congrats to Mary Lou on tomorrow's NYT. Bookending the country seems to be a new constructor/setter pastime?
i enjoyed the CW quite a bit but the hardest part was the misspelling if mic. I finally begrudgingly gave up and put the "k" in to finish it.
dgrjazz - welcome to the corner! Either spelling is fine - have you seen the chalk-boards at most of joints?
CED - still trying to get that video card installed? That has to be a beast of a GPU to need 600 watts. Dang...
I'm done chasing down hackers for the day (+2 for me!)... Time for bed.
And, Manac - That was the LOL I needed before rest. Thanks - the link has been shared w/ DW who frequents fourbucks...
Since Tawnya isn't here, I'll just leave you w/ my fav TULL - Thick as a Brick (extended). Cheers, -T
I just never got the five minutes to knock off this XW(I prefer the X to the C). And I'm kidding. Time is not of the essence for me.
Right off the bat I too wondered if it would actually be REDACTED not REVIEWED. And, all the old chestnuts: ISAO, UMA etc
Gas prices? Don't get me started. I don't want the black helicopters hovering
However, the Mathew evacuees probably put a dint (or is it dent) in the supply. Generally, predicted demand governs price
I actually don't see why the .23 tax should affect the price of Jersey gas in the long run. Maybe ten cents of it.
The cartel has exercised a periodic gas gauging exercise here in greater Tampa every six weeks or so seemingly dependent on the jobs reports.
They simply tack on an extra quarter, every single station has to sell at that price, big oil pockets the diff, and then the market is allowed to operate.
So, that quarter could go for road and bridge repair.
I just couldn't help myself.
WC, formerly known as The Great UnRead
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