Theme: No No (71A. Taboo that hints at this puzzle's theme) - No is deleted from each theme entry.
20A. "Am I clear, George?"? : CAN YOU HEAR ME, W? Can you hear me now? George W. Bush.
28A. "Okay, so it's THAT dictionary"? : AH, WEBSTER. Noah Webster.
48A. Former space sports group? : MIR LEAGUE. Minor league.
58A. Little Spanish range? : POCO MOUNTAINS. Pocono Mountains.
C.C. here. Saw no draft from Lemonade when I got up. Let's hope all's well with him.
I'll just outline clue/answers. Will work on the content immediately.
(Updated now. Thanks for the patience)
This seems to be the debut puzzle for Francesca Goldston. Congratulations!
We
don't always have a reveal entry in addition/deletion puzzle. I like
when there is, since it provides a solid rational for the change.
Across:
1. "It's not easy to __": Five for Fighting lyric : BE ME. Unfamiliar with the singer or the song.
5. Sun, for one : G STAR. Guilt of using this entry myself. Quite a few ? STAR options.
10. Omegas, in the electrical world : OHMS
14. Field beasts : OXEN
15. Manual : HOW TO
16. Central points : FOCI. Another I-ending plural 23. Incitements : STIMULI
17. Jack Blum's "Meatballs" character : SPAZ. Unknown to me. Despite its clue, a bit surprised to see SPAZ in a LAT grid.
18. House work? : OPERA. Opera house.
19. Work meas. : FT LB (Foot-Pound)
24. Wonderstruck : IN AWE
27. Manuscript mark : STET
32. 9, often: Abbr. : SEP. What's your favorite month? I associate Sept with romance due to Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes. Persimmons. Pomegranates.
34. Have something : AIL. Not EAT.
35. Symbols of elusiveness : EELS
36. Govt. stipend provider : SSI
39. "The Ten Commandments" (1956) director : DEMILLE. This year's Cecil B. DeMille Award honored Meryl Streep.
42. AAA offering : RTE
43. It's near the funny bone : ULNA
45. Reaction to a 71-Across : TSK
46. Embarrassing marks : EFs
51. Nursery buy : LOAM
54. Roosevelt feature partially carved on Rushmore : SPECS. Oh, eyeglasses.
55. Jordan River outlet : DEAD SEA
62. "Oops!" : OH OH
64. Sneeze, say : REACT
65. Tilted position : CAN'T. Why "Tilted?" (Correction: CANT as a titled angle is new to me. Thanks, TTP/Argyle.)
66. Mexican bread : PESO
67. Early anesthetic : ETHER
68. New __ : AGER
69. Winter Olympics jump : AXEL
70. Loud : GAUDY. I bought this pink bag at our flea market over 10 years ago. Boomer
said it's too loud. But the design, the leather & the feel are just
perfect.(Lucina, sorry for the typo!)
 |
| C.C. & Lucia, 2012 |
Down:
1. Certain pears : BOSCs
2. Americans in Paris, maybe : EXPATS. I guess you can't call me a Chinese expat, since I'm an American citizen now. Congrats to your son-in-law, JD!
3. Be dead serious : MEAN IT
4. Biology subjects : ENZYMES
5. Halloween costume : GHOUL
6. Cary's love interest in "Houseboat" : SOPHIA (Loren). Gimme for Irish Miss. Cary Grant is her crush.
7. Too precious, in Portsmouth : TWEE. Wiki says "Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England". Also "the birthplace of author Charles Dicken".
8. Quattro competitor : ATRA
9. Ocean output : ROAR
10. Cause of hurt feelings : OFFENSE.
11. Sticky spot : HOT WATER. Great fill.
12. Ligament commonly injured in football : MCL. OK, Medial Collateral Ligament.
13. Ted, to Bobby : SIB. The Kennedys.
21. Exposed : OUTED
22. Sci-fi pic series : MIB (Man in Black)
25. Temporary skin damage : WELT
26. Gaelic tongue : ERSE
29. Narrowly defined verse : HAIKU
30. Wheaton who played Wesley on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : WIL
31. Women's issue : ELLE. D'oh, magazine issue.
33. Org. that opened a Bob Barker building in 2012 : PETA. New trivia to me.
36. Tidy amounts : SUMS
37. Tongue problem? : SLIP. Slip of the tongue.
38. At peace : IN REPOSE
40. Stir-fry sprinkle : MSG. Debunked that it causes headache.
41. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E FLAT. Always have to wait.
44. "The anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life": Shaw : ALCOHOL. Got via crosses.
47. Recycle item : SODA CAN
49. User's way out : ESC
50. Brought out : EDUCED
52. Panini cheese : ASIAGO. Jayce, can you give us your yam apple cinnamon recipe? I never tried yam & apple combo before.
53. Skin Bracer maker : MENNEN
56. Contest form : ENTRY
57. The Jetsons' dog : ASTRO
59. The Snake R. forms part of its eastern border : OREG. I thought Snake River is in Colorado.
60. Prefix with physics : META
61. Kalanikupule's kingdom : OAHU
62. German grandpa : OPA. Grandma is Oma.
63. Evil eye : HEX
C.C.
- Not quite FIR, but not quite FIW either. Maybe FIBTA [Finished It By Ta-Da!]? Filled it all in, but no ta-da, so before going to red I reviewed all answers, and one WAG caught my eye. Changed mESO to PESO and got my fanfare!
ReplyDelete- Most interesting w/o: TEXANS > EXPATS.
- Nit: 65a tilted position should be CANTED, not CANT. You da man would be thieves CANT for SODA CAN.
- The theme mystified me until I looked at the reveal, and even then took a while to sink in.
{A-, B+, A-, C+.}
HAIKU: seventeen
syllables in a sequence --
This is so META!
In 1806 we'll find the earliest surfer,
A "spelling nazi" prescriptive "NOAH AGER"!
He developed his ways
In pre-Internet days,
But he's still the first as World Wide WEB-STER!
Poor little kitten, CAN YOU HEAR MEW?
I have a little bowl of milk for you.
Yes that was your mother
Who sang for our supper --
When PETA's not looking, she makes a fine stew!
Soon the Olympics will go into space,
Skylab and MIR LEAGUES will be in place!
Any ENTRY in zero G's
Will do AXELS with ease --
But curling will be TWEE when stones have no weight!
Good morning all. Thank you Francesca and CC.
ReplyDeleteThese types of puzzles are difficult for me. After filling POCO MOUNTAINS, I kept thinking about Spain and its topography. As in, it doesn't even sound vaguely familiar to me.
My online clock shows it. 3x yesterday's time. And then some. But I finally got it. The other theme answers fell pretty quickly after understanding (with the hint) that there wouldn't be any NOs in the answer.
In the SW, tried to work in OH ME, then OH NO, then finally got OH OH for "Oops."
Top center was toughest for me. Don't know why I put in Globe across after GHOUL down. I was think BENZ for Quattro competitor, but the latter is a model, and the former is the maker,so that wouldn't work. Also was thinking Billy Ocean. Finally G STAR dawned on me. Then ROAR and HOW TO.
Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson said of Terry Bradshaw before Super Bowl XIII, "He [Bradshaw] is so dumb, he couldn't spell cat if you spotted him a C and an A." *
That's how I felt when I had the SE- across and -E-A going down. Then realized the P for the ninth month. Then PETA and it was done.
BTW, Bradshaw responded by leading the Steelers to the victory and was named game MVP. He then repeated as Super Bowl MVP the following year.
CC, in this case, CANT is not the contraction of cannot. Cant can mean the tilt, or to tilt. Cant can be both a noun and a verb form.
Could morning!
ReplyDeleteELEVES morphed into EXILES into EXPATS this morning. EDUCED because TROTTED was too long. Finally got the theme at MIR LEAGUE and that helped with the Spanish range. If this is a debut, I'm impressed! Well done, Francesca Goldston.
WIL Wheaton should be a gimme for the TBBT crowd; he plays himself.
C.C., if you told me that bag was gray, I'd believe you. I notice that Lucina's name got a haircut.
Happy Black Friday to the shopaholics in the crowd. As for me, I'm enforcing my end of the year protocol -- to visit no retailer that doesn't sell beer.
This was a crazy theme that I couldn't catch even after staring at MIR LEAGUE and POCO MOUNTAINS. I originally filled OH WEBSTER, as is never saw "Houseboat'. I've never heard of an ATRA automobile or the word TWEE. It took me longer to finish the G-STAR, HOW TO, OPERA, TWEE, ATRA section than the rest of the puzzle. The 'Sci-Fi pic series'- MIB had me scratching my head after I filled it until I realize it was Men In Black.
ReplyDeleteUH OH, I don't want to call a foul on the constructor but nobody says OH OH for 'oops'. My UPA for OPA made it a DNF.
WIL Wheaton, SPAZ, BE ME- I had never heard of them or the song.
TTP- as a person who has personally known Terry Bradshaw since I was in the 5th grade, I have to agree with Hollywood. My brother was on the same baseball team in the 6th& 7th grade and played college football with him at LA Tech. Why did Terry play at Tech? He originally signed to play at LSU but wasn't allowed- his ACT score was a 12.
Oh, I had to compete against him throwing the javelin at track meets. Let's just say that he consistently threw it 30 to 40 feet beyond whoever placed second. I personally witnessed the tape measurement at my school's track meet where his best throw was 245'10" and second place was about 190'.
I'm glad somebody explained CANT because even though the crosses were solid it didn't make sense to me.
Big Easy, ATRA are Gillette's razor blades, QUATTRO are Schick's
ReplyDeleteThanks to for forcing me to finally look up why I always saw foot-pounds abbreviated as LB-FT - (foot-pound is linear force, pound-foot is a measure of torque)
Hello everyone; I am sorry I was unable to finish and upload my write up but my wife was ill and that took precedence. Thank you C.C.; my apologies for the extra work for you.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the puzzle from an apparent newbie- the Use of No No was very clever and she also squeezed in OH OH for balance.
Hope you all had a great holiday and Oo is sleeping now and already better. I guess we just overdid it on a quick family vacation to Asheville to celebrate my son's 30th.
Again, thank you C.C.
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteThanks, Francesca and C.C. I had to work hard here. I wasn't coming up with much, so it was a bit of a slog. Thanks for all the explanations, not only C.C. but you early birds who are not out "doorbusting."
I'm staying here also. Not that it's all that safe with this computer in front of me, but I'll start bringing up some Christmas stuff. Time for a little Andy Williams....
Have a pleasant turkey and stuffing recovery day.
Good Morning!
ReplyDeleteHope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I wanted to drop in yesterday, but between the cleaning and helping DH with dinner - there wasn't a second to spare. I am thankful for all of you - I have learned so much about crosswords and languages over the years. I appreciate all the time and effort everyone puts into their posts. And I love seeing how strangers connect and become friends.
Got stuck in a few places, but typical run for a Friday. Great job Francesca! And thank you, C.C., for the impromptu write up. Hoping Lemon is OK.
I don't venture out on Black Friday - never have, never will. Especially since I can get great deals online if I really want something. I always feel bad for the people that have to work - retail is no fun this time of year.
Didn't know the Five for Fighting song, but recognized it once I found the video. I like Kermit better.
Happy Friday!
t.
PS - @owen groan and LOL to putting a kitty in a stew!
(Before anon complains, sneezing is technically a reflex but could also be termed a reaction to a stimuli.)
Meant to thank Francesca in my post above.
ReplyDeleteOne other point: The Jordan River is the outlet for the Sea of Galilee, and its mouth is the inflow to the DEAD Sea, which has no outlet.
Nice debut, Francesca! Took me a little while to get really moving until I tumbled the theme. I was also surprised at seeing SPAZ.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to why Wiki has Hampshire as a "ceremonial" county. It's a real place. I went to school in Winchester, the county town, and I still visit when I go back to the UK. Portsmouth is probably best known for the Royal Navy base there, and for Admiral Nelson's flagship HMS Victory which is preserved in dry dock.
Nice pinch-hitting job, C.C. Hope your wife is getting better, Lemon.
Musings
ReplyDelete-The puzzle was a challenge but it took C.C. to show me the gimmick. DOH!
-If you can’t find your MANUAL…
-A line from Meatballs (:32) I have used frequently
-My birth month is 9 and the month/day is 9/11
-I didn’t AIL but after yesterday’s feast, I didn’t eat until this morning
-I thought SSA was the provider and SSI is the stipend itself. ANON will be all over this
-The RTE from my house to my golf club. Also why AAA isn’t used much any more.
-PINCE NEZ? Too many letters for Teddy’s optics
-I thought the CARY co-star was FRANCE (Nguyen) in Father Goose but that was Leslie Caron
-Adjustable CANT
-OFFENSE – I avoided a political discussion with SIL yesterday by just saying, “Let’s no go there today”
-PETA not SPCA
I greatly enjoyed this puzzle, even after several Google searches. Thanks for so expertly filling in for Lemon at the last minute, CC. I'm glad to hear Oo is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteAs kids we said OH OH for oops.
The outlet of the Jordon River is where it flows OUT into the Dead Sea, The Dead Sea receives an inflow FROM the Jordan River. It depends on where your point of reference is. The same idea as with emigrant and immigrant. The Jordan River flow into and out of the Sea of Galilee. The Jordan River actually flows through it. It is both north and south of the Sea of Galilee.
Tawnya, I thought of that ANON at Sneeze too.
No Black Friday for me. I do more and more of my shopping on the Internet as years go by. I dislike crowds.I don't feel I am missing any sales, but then I am not searching for HOT HOT HOT items.
"Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security ...)" The program could be considered the provider of the stipends IMHO.
ReplyDeleteSteve, your comment made me curious. This was unknown to me: Ceremonial counties of England
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteWell, this led me on a merry goose chase (is that the right expression? It sounds funny). Anyway, I was completely oblivious to the theme until the reveal. I just thought it was random word play, as Poco Mountains, being "little" mountains. When I filled-in the reveal, it was a double AHA! Very clever theme with lots of fun cluing and fill. I had Soup before Soda and Loci before Foci.
Thanks, Francesca, for an enjoyable solve and impressive debut and thanks, CC, for filling in so smoothly. Thanks for the CSO, as well, with my favorite leading man, the incomparable Mr. Grant. [sigh, swoon!]
I wouldn't go anywhere today, even to the stores that sell beer. (I don't drink beer!) Scotch is the name of the game, right Tin?
I wasn't familiar with Wil Wheaton until I saw him on TBBT. I hope he isn't as boorish in real life as he was in a couple of those episodes. I don't know what "Hollywood" Henderson is doing these days but Terry Bradshaw has had great success in movies and commercials. I find him funny and likable.
Owen, you may have gotten CED in a "stew" with your third limerick.
It just dawned on me that the expression is "wild goose chase." I like merry better, for this time of the year! 😇
Lemon, hope Oo feels better soon.
Have a great day.
Hi everybody. Things seem more settled down today and back to a dull normal. We had a pleasant dinner. Lemon, I'm glad things are more OK now.
ReplyDeleteI've heard CANTED for tilted often. CANT, not so much.
For me, Oops would be Uh oh, not Oh oh.
I enjoyed the theme though I didn't tumble to it until the reveal. Even then it took some thinking.
This was a Black Friday DNF for me. I did get the theme eventually and smiled at NoAH WEBSTER!. Thanks Francesca, and C.C. for pinch-hitting. (Glad Oo is feeling better already, Lemonade)
ReplyDeleteI was misdirected to tires not blades with Quattro and started with SAUB; also thought of babies not gardening and had Crib before LOAM.
Hand up for Eat before AIL. I had ACL before MCL and Ingrid before SOPHIA.
I resisted the GS combination until GSTAR filled in. FTLB was a new one for me. I managed to remember the American spelling for OFFENSE although it looks terrible to these Canadian eyes LOL!
Some cluing seemed obscure to me. Ocean output lead me to Tide before ROAR; New ____ could have been Deal, Year (AGER was meh!), I didn't get MIB until I came here.
Roosevelt feature gave no indication of a short form SPECS (I Googled a photo to see the pince nez! as it has been years since I visited Mt. Rushmore).
But it is Friday and clued to that level.
I did some Black Friday shopping on Wednesday. The sales start early here and last all weekend. But I am not going near a mall today.
OH,OH a Friday morning toughie! Thank you, Francesca Goldston and congratulations if this is your debut puzzle. Well done!
ReplyDeleteOn first pass only DEMILLE started my slow solve then PETA was obvious because Bob Barker was so adamantly against fur. From there, it was a downward drift with EFLAT, POCOMOUNTAINS, etc. I liked seeing GAUDY for loud.
Soon the entire southern border bloomed. Upwards, I knew the sun as a STAR but had to wait then HOWTO suggested GHOUL. Had to erase BARED for OUTED and Z in SPAZ was my last fill. No, I didn't see the theme even with the reveal.
Thank you, C.C. for again subbing and guiding us onward. That pic reminds me of what a good time we had in Minnesota and prowling around the Mall of America. I'm sure it's a busy place today, especially. Not I, never on Black Friday, perhaps online later.
Lemonade, I'm sorry to hear about your wife and hope she is healing.
Have a peaceful day, everyone!
32 Across is a lousy clue. It reads "9, often, Abbr.," and the answer is supposedly "SEP. The explanation on the blog is that "SEP" refers to September, which is the ninth month of the year. However, "SEP" is a prefix denoting seven, not nine. The "SEP" in September refers to the fact that it was originally the seventh month of the year; it became the ninth month when the Romans added July and August to the calendar around 153 B.C.
ReplyDeleteSep.as well as Sept. is an accepted abbreviation for September. The argument you use against Sep. could just as well apply to Sept. or even September itself. Regardless of its original meaning Sep Sept and September all refer to what is now the 9th month.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Great Job Pinch Hitting the write-up.
ReplyDeleteFrancesca: Thank You for a FUN Friday puzzle.
(My head is still hurting from the V-8 Can smack at the NO-NO reveal).
Irish Miss: Well I have enough Scotch for the Holiday's ... but I must go to the store to get banana's.
And the stores that sell beer are called Bars at Villa Incognito.
Cheers!
Well I had exiles for 2 down and ghost for 5 down, which then doomed in the NW, from which I could not recover.
ReplyDeleteAny farm boys and girls that saw "New __ "and thought NEW IDEA? If so and you're interested, here is the history behind New Idea farm machinery. Farm Collector site
ReplyDeleteI didn't need to Google anything, but did require red letters. Solved the whole thing but didn't understand some of the answers even after filling them, such as MIB. (What the heck is a mib?) Having DEMILLE already made EFLAT easy to get, but -STAR took longer to get the correct first letter. Overall a pretty good puzzle; congratulations and thanks to Ms. Goldston.
ReplyDeleteLW is out shopping with her friend. I told then they are crazy, but they said, "No. We'd be crazy if we went at 5:00 AM." We don't need anything, but my wife goes with her because she (her friend) likes having the company.
I don't really have a recipe for the yam-apple dish; I just kinda made it up. I'll write it down and email it to you, C.C., and anybody else who wants it.
Lemonade, glad Oo is feeling better. Best wishes to you all.
TTP: thanks for the reference on 'ceremonial counties.' Simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteWho would ever dream up such a system? And these titles! Lord Lieutenant of Doorknobs, anyone?
Pft. The first month of the calendar, until Pope Gregory messed with it, was the Spring equinox in March. Counting from March=1, you'll find September through December are properly numbered. British colonies didn't adopt the new fangled Papal plot for the start of the new year to January (hence Anno Domini -- now known as Common Era, especially if you're not a Christian ) until 1752.
ReplyDeleteYou can find gravestones of chldren born in April of a given year who died n February of the same year in early American cemeteries. Wikipedia will explain old style dates for the curious. BTW, it was common practice to double date documents for America's founders since thr Catholic countries had made the switch in 1584, more or less.
Grumble Grumble
ReplyDelete(no no, it's not my stomach, it's my reaction to parts of this puzzle...)
Actually, No no as a theme was quite clever, went right over my head.
But I must take exception with some clues that could have been done better,
especially since they are in my area of expertise...
22d Sci-fi pic series = Men In Black
This has to be one of the most obscure clues I have ever seen...
(but then, I cannot find another clue at all for the initials M.I.B...)
but the clues for:
Poco Mtns,
MIR league,
Ah Webster,
were all very good.
However,
20a "am I clear George?"? = Can you hear me W
???
I'm sorry, but I don't get it, No, I don't get it so badly I will add another No!
This clue has me in a stew...
My reaction?
I will remember this puzzle for a long time...
The clue should have been in reference to Can you hear Mew?
&, in rebuttal, allowing for equal time....
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI can't claim much victory on the puzzle 'cuz I inadvertently cheated. See, I got on a roll w/ a paper I'm writing [work] and came to a stopping point about 4:30a. I thought, "I'll check the blog b/f turning in." Well, C.C. Posted and I saw CAN YOU HEAR b/f I realized it was the new puzzle. OH OH! Not that I could claim a win anyway, I had to Google Kalanikupule to finally "see" REACT / OREG / GAUDY [love that word!]
Thanks Francesca Goldstone (if that's your real name... Anagrams to Cognacs Draft Noels - is that how Rich shops on Black Friday? :-)) for a fun outing. Thanks C.C. for stepping in and then up (I still had your original draft on my iPad and reloaded to get the whole sh'bang). Lem, hope Oo is feeling better.
WO: ATRA went in, thought "but isn't Quattro an Audi and ATRA a razor?", ink'd out, and finally back in.
ESP: CANT
Fav: SPAZ. I'm not sure I ever saw Meatballs HG but I nailed it w/ SP in place. That & 440* was what my Scoutmaster called me.
Runners-up: 44d c/a for life's elixir and 37d's SLIP of the tongue.
{A, A-, A+, A}. I also laughed at Paris. Texas, that is... :-)
Tawnya: I too thought of Kermit @1a.
BigE - MIL went to HS w/ Bradshaw in W. Monroe.
Wesley is Dr. Crusher's son, AKA the character we all loved to hate. For TNG fans.
IM - Wil is fairly nice guy (<-his site). BTW, I love merry goose chase! It nearly describes my day today trying to rescue a package from FedEx that has the crypto fobs for our EX PATS in Cairo. Time to go.
Cheers, -T
*His expo: "An outlet is 110v, a dryer runs on 220v, and, son, you run on 440v." I was an enthusiastic little camper.
I would like to thank Husker Gary for that web site for all the manuals in the world, er, USA. For someone who loses the manuals of every applicance, the moment it is unpacked, it is a godsend ! I shall never be at a loss, again, to change my lawnmover blades every 5 years ....
ReplyDeleteAlso thanks to Husker, for the mapquest to his home - I shall plan to go there day after Christmas. Also please blog and let us know, under which rock do you keep the keys to the front door, your ADT security code, and a list of inventory of valuables you keep under your mattress. Plus, in addition to your killer cat, do you also have a guard dog ? Husker, there is a reason some of us keep anonymity - infact I saw an ISIS sympathizer, at the library reading your blog comment with great interest.
Thanks to CC for special subbing to keep the blog going, nodoubt Lemony called you, well ahead of time, and told you of his predicament. ( you do have each other's phone numbers, don't you.) Lemonade, we are all very happy, that the problem is somewhat resolved. So are we to understand that Oo who was temporarily Oow has now been upgraded to Ooh ? Meant respectfully.
Happy holidays, all.
I loved this puzzle! I thought it was rather zany, perfect for my post-holiday brain fog. Well done, Ms. Goldston!
ReplyDeleteAnon T-
ReplyDelete"MIL went to HS w/ Bradshaw in W. Monroe"
No way. Terry went to Oak Terrace Junior High School on 70th St and Woodlawn High School on Wyngate Blvd. BOTH schools are in South Shreveport. Terry lived in the Southern Hills section and attended Brookwood Baptist Church ( so did Joe Fergueson). How do I know? My mother was the church organist.
Greetings to all!
ReplyDeleteAm very late to the party today as yesterday was our youngest son's birthday, so we celebrated him today. He was actually born on Thanksgiving Day thirty-three years ago. That year we were hosting the family dinner so that we wouldn't have to travel with a new baby. The hitch was, however, he was three weeks late in arriving. He was born in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning, after which DH came home, put the turkey in the smoker, and my mother, who had come the night before, pulled the rest of the meal together. After the feast, the whole family came to the hospital to meet our new little guy.
As to the puzzle, I needed Google help to finish today. Had the greatest difficulty in the NE. Even when I finally finished, I had no clue what MIB or MCL meant. Thanks for explaining, C.C., and for pinch blogging today. Favorite theme answer was MIR LEAGUE.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Oh, No.
ReplyDeleteGrumble Grumble indeed.
ReplyDeleteNot my cuppa. Too clever by half. I got just about everything, with only one cheat (10-D, after I was left hanging by the crazy cross at 20-A), but I still didn't appreciate being jerked by a nearly indecipherable theme--the sort that, even after you've solved it, you didn't happen to notice it.
It was not w/o some pleasures, and I must credit Ms. Goldston for them. I'm talking about the Shavian definition of ALCOHOL and the lovely word TWEE for whatever's too lovely. But I have to say my initial answer for 36-D ("Tidy amounts") was more amusing by far than hers. I had SUDS until forced to change to SUMS. SUMS is ho-hum okay, while SUDS is the fine adjectival result of our home's preferred detergent, Tide.
OK, venting complete! Happy post-Thanksgiving all!
Lemonade: Glad all is okay. Both of you, stay well.
ReplyDeleteMJ: Great memory!
Everyone, enjoy a quiet weekend. I think I am looking forward to a Spynter tour tomorrow.
Oh, yes. Thank you Big E. Why, yes, yes, this crow is delicious...
ReplyDeleteI just talked to MIL and she said "No, I went to Neville. He was across the bridge at W. Monroe." Then I told her what you said and we looked it up. Indignantly, she said, "Well that's what I was told." I'll take that defense too :-). I guess I CAN'T tell that story again. Thanks Big E.
However, that got me curious - did I go to HS w/ anyone now famous? Short answer, no. But I learned about C.E. Byrd's history.
Manac: LOL!
EE humor: OHMS.
Cheers, -T
Solved it late. Wish I hadn't at all. Unfortunately, I didn't find the theme entries either particularly funny or particularly clever. Maybe it's just me. It's hard to believe there aren't some better phrases out there missing the letters NO somewhere...
ReplyDeleteOh, well. At least it wasn't unfairly hard in addition to unfairly nonsensical.
Always good to see new blood. Keep it up!
Madame Defarge--Yes, it is a very special memory. Our family sometimes jokes that "He's our extra turkey" since my mother also cooked an oven turkey that year in addition to the one DH did in the smoker.
ReplyDeleteNO-NO Not THAT @4:23: I missed your post (I sometimes scroll past non-blues (except PK & Big E) but what you said was my 1st thought at HG's map to the golf course. Let's hope he put in a fake address to throw us, thieves, and ISIS off his scent. BTW, you seem like fun - go blue. I'm still Anon too :-)
ReplyDeleteNOone mentioned Florence Henderson's passing. I grew up on Brady Bunch and, well, she was one hot MAMMA. I recall her admitting to something going on w/ "Greg" on WWDTM but Berry (Greg) didn't cop to that on All Things Considered today. RIP Lovely Lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls...
FedEx seems to have become more Fed [bureaucracy] and less Ex. After they didn't deliver (assumed we were closed, so I'm told), being assured that the pkg was ready, I drove to the HOU depot (after 5+ calls) to get the goods. The counter folk reminded me of "Flash" from Zootopia. Nope. ++calls. After dealing w/ them since 9:30a, they finally called and said I could get it - 15 min b/f they close. I'm 40 min away even at 70+ mph! Wanks. Mind you we paid for 10:30a "guaranteed" delivery. The OPERA continues :-)
This is probably just for Tawnya: PESO (@1:31) Bandidos from the Refreshments. Bonus - TNG'S Jean Luc Picard is mentioned :-)
Cheers, -T
Hmm, Husker Gary, you're just outside the path of next August 's total eclipse!
ReplyDeleteI imagine the NASA educator in you has already planned to get those kids into the path of totality (even though it will be their holidays in late August!) for this rare spectacle. Don't forget the solar eclipse glasses!
Good advice, and a currently discounted price, can be found in Astronomy Magazine editor Michael Bakich's Kindle book, Your Guide to the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)
Like Y'all I did the alphabet thing with _IB and got Nada. I recalled something about a theme involving NONO. V8 time.
ReplyDeleteI finally got here and presto, I'm out of battery. And asleep until now. I was running around all day. I was trying to drum up answers at the stop lights. We have some long ones around Tampa, right Tin?
Thx to the pinch-hitters, CC and Ms Goldstone, the latter surely from the NY times Sunday team. The NO-NO Clue is right up their alley. I needed CC for the 'W' even though my mil married a George W
And thinking I'd finally got it all I come upon OHOH! And OPA. We say uhoh for slips, ohHO for something someone else does. Boring.
Not boring was my young, afternoon customer who told me about a videogame BIOSHOCK. TBCont.
WC
So, after I'd de-anagrammed STRIDER and Hari Selden, he gave me Andrew Ryan to figure out. Fortunately, he'd given me another character, Atlas and I finally figured it out.
ReplyDeleteI think I've decoded the First two in here before but come see me here in the ETHER and I'll post the three answers.
The great unread one
Ps. Then I ended my night with a math teacher and I gave her my wading pool riddle: it's 8:35 and the pool closes at nine; sign says 13 laps = 1/4 mile.
Can I get a mile in? Okay my pace is 40 sec/lap. How far or how long?
Ps. I promise to get that profile updated
PPS. My E-mail is wilburc44@gmail.com. I'll go there now and wait for you
Pps2. Can you tell I put a little regular in my decaf yesterday
Got the theme and enjoyed the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBut I had no idea about CAN YOU HEAR MEW until CC's explanation!
Never heard of BE ME group or song. Never heard of Jack Blum or Meatballs, hence SPAZ a total unknown.
WIL Wheaton a gimme. I think Star Trek: The Next Generation was the most positive, visionary view of the future that we have had in the past half century. WIL was not my favorite character (obviously Picard was my favorite character!) but he was part of what made it all work.
The clue for 13 down "Ligament commonly injured in football" is wrong on two accounts.
ReplyDelete1. No indication that the MCL (abbreviation) is wanted by using abbreviation in clue.
2. The answer (ligament) is already in the question. Absolute crossword no-no.
No-no for nit picking is to make a mistake in one's nit. It was 12-Down.
ReplyDelete