Theme: "Rough Diehl"
Words: 66 (missing J,K,Q,W,Z)
Blocks: 22
Phew~!
I solved it. Did not look good. Admit to one "post-fill Google", and
two red-letter cheats. Ran over my personal allotted time in less than
two minutes. I am calling this one a win. The fateful double whammy of
chunky corners tied into two double stacks of 15-letter spanners, and
this one was going to be a total blank, or at best a slog, as far as I
could tell - and the only reason I was able to get through this brutally brilliant construction was due to the fact that I had a streak of proper names that I knew were definitively correct; I put "*"s
next to those clues. The lowest block count I have ever seen in a
15x15 grid, with 26 being the next closest; add to that the fact that in
my opinion, there was no 'meh' fill, and I have to admire this one from
Mr. Diehl. The four spanners, and the bonus 13-letter central climber;
15. Loaded : AS RICH AS CROESUS - my Google; I had the name part via crossings, and I checked to see if there was a "financial" connection to this person - the Wiki
17. Side dish in a sauce : CREAMED POTATOES - my small family decided on ordering Thankgiving dinner, and we got creamed potatoes instead of mashed - I liked them, but mom and bro did not
17. Side dish in a sauce : CREAMED POTATOES - my small family decided on ordering Thankgiving dinner, and we got creamed potatoes instead of mashed - I liked them, but mom and bro did not
50. Cub, for one : NATIONAL LEAGUER - and World Series winner after 108 years
53. Saint-Exupéry classic : THE LITTLE PRINCE - asteroids are involved - the Wiki
53. Saint-Exupéry classic : THE LITTLE PRINCE - asteroids are involved - the Wiki
16. Sushi bar selection : SPICY TUNA ROLL - not a fan of uncooked fish, but I am familiar with the selections being some type of "roll", which helped
ACROSS:
1. Renewable fuel source : BIOMASS
8. Licorice-flavored liqueur : SAMBUCA - I had "FIRST DOG" for 8d., which made this hard to see, but I am rather "familiar" with this cordial
18. Rashness : HASTE
19. Came across by chance : LIT ON - I had HIT ON
20. Sch. that moved from the Mountain West Conf. to the Big 12 in 2012 : TCU - all perps
21. Prefix with analysis : META - meta-analysis, but in this case, a hyphenated prefix
22. Odd page, normally : RECTO - nailed it; I also know what the frontispiece is
23. Critter with tusks : BOAR
24. Barley wine, e.g. : ALE - argh~! How did I not get this~!? I had no clue
25. First child of Henry VIII to survive to adulthood : MARY I
26. Rummy : SOUSE - the second definition of the word is "drunkard"
27. Leaf producer : NISSAN - oh so clever misdirection; the ECO-friendly car
29. Like stucco : TEXTURED
31. Lavish supply : PROFUSION
33*. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN
36*. Author Huxley : ALDOUS
40*. "The Empire Strikes Back" director Kershner : IRVIN - seen here to the right of Geroge Lucas on the "Dagobah" set
41*. "Tell It to My Heart" singer Taylor __ : DAYNE
43. One abroad : UNE - oh, the number one, missed the misdirection
44. Béchamel base : LAIT - Frawnche for milk
45. Easing of govt. control : DEREGulation
46. Bingo call : B TEN - oops, I tried "TWO B" and "B TWO" first
47. Nature-nurturing org. : EPA
48. State of Österreich : TIROL
49. California's __ Bay : MORRO - perps, and a Natick with Marv at 59d.
54. Caustic solution : SODA LYE
55. Sells off : DIVESTS
DOWN:
1*. King pen name : BACHMAN - this is the name that appears on the novel "Thinner", the first one I ever read from "him"
2. Beersheba native : ISRAELI
3. Euripides tragedy : ORESTES
4. Japanese two-seater : MIATA - another car
5. Top : ACME
6. Miss : SHE - Dah~! I had "ERR", that kind of "miss"
7. British potter James known for Brown Betty teapots : SADLER
8. FDR's Fala et al. : SCOTTIES - not FIRST DOG; took a while to realize we needed a breed here
9. Film beeper, familiarly : ARTOO - Detoo, R2-D2, also a part of the Empire Strikes Back - and other films....
10. Complaint : MOAN
11. Jump in the pool? : BET - my poker game moved up one day this week
12. Bob Hope venue : USO TOUR - I figured it was "USO-", but 'venue' threw me
13. Mark of a shark : CUE CASE - a hustler, a pool hall billiards shark; I have two cases myself
14. Guaranteed : ASSURED
22. Didn't stop talking : RAN ON
23. Destined : BOUND - I suppose I was destined to finally find a new vehicle - here I am at the restaurant with my new old Dodge Caravan
25. Muir Woods' county : MARIN
26. It's a wrap : STOLE
28. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT
30. Yangtze tributary : XIANG
32. Form a political union : FEDERATE
33. Solo pianists often provided music for them : SILENTS - my new old Dodge Caravan came with a cassette player, and I have been listening to myself and friends who've made and sent me audio tapes, and this piece was on one of them;
34. Cheyenne allies : ARAPAHO - half filled via perps
35. Worked with props? : AVIATED - har-har~!
37. Beats to the finish line : OUTRUNS
38. Stoop-shouldered, say : UNERECT - OK, a little "meh"
39. Many in España : SEÑORES
42. Raised the roof : YELLED
45*. __ Moore: Hormel brand : DINTY
46*. '30s-'50s filmdom nickname : BOGIE - Humphrey Bogart - and featured in the song Key Largo, a song that got a lot of "muzak" air time, and I did not know who the singer was
49. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Levy : MARV
51. Waterfront gp. : ILA - International Longshoreman Assoc.
52. Prefix with Pen : EPI
8. Licorice-flavored liqueur : SAMBUCA - I had "FIRST DOG" for 8d., which made this hard to see, but I am rather "familiar" with this cordial
18. Rashness : HASTE
19. Came across by chance : LIT ON - I had HIT ON
20. Sch. that moved from the Mountain West Conf. to the Big 12 in 2012 : TCU - all perps
21. Prefix with analysis : META - meta-analysis, but in this case, a hyphenated prefix
22. Odd page, normally : RECTO - nailed it; I also know what the frontispiece is
23. Critter with tusks : BOAR
25. First child of Henry VIII to survive to adulthood : MARY I
26. Rummy : SOUSE - the second definition of the word is "drunkard"
27. Leaf producer : NISSAN - oh so clever misdirection; the ECO-friendly car
and a romper image, too~!
29. Like stucco : TEXTURED
31. Lavish supply : PROFUSION
33*. Gateway Arch designer : SAARINEN
36*. Author Huxley : ALDOUS
40*. "The Empire Strikes Back" director Kershner : IRVIN - seen here to the right of Geroge Lucas on the "Dagobah" set
41*. "Tell It to My Heart" singer Taylor __ : DAYNE
43. One abroad : UNE - oh, the number one, missed the misdirection
44. Béchamel base : LAIT - Frawnche for milk
45. Easing of govt. control : DEREGulation
46. Bingo call : B TEN - oops, I tried "TWO B" and "B TWO" first
47. Nature-nurturing org. : EPA
48. State of Österreich : TIROL
49. California's __ Bay : MORRO - perps, and a Natick with Marv at 59d.
54. Caustic solution : SODA LYE
55. Sells off : DIVESTS
DOWN:
1*. King pen name : BACHMAN - this is the name that appears on the novel "Thinner", the first one I ever read from "him"
2. Beersheba native : ISRAELI
3. Euripides tragedy : ORESTES
4. Japanese two-seater : MIATA - another car
5. Top : ACME
6. Miss : SHE - Dah~! I had "ERR", that kind of "miss"
I won't miss this kind of miss
8. FDR's Fala et al. : SCOTTIES - not FIRST DOG; took a while to realize we needed a breed here
9. Film beeper, familiarly : ARTOO - Detoo, R2-D2, also a part of the Empire Strikes Back - and other films....
10. Complaint : MOAN
11. Jump in the pool? : BET - my poker game moved up one day this week
12. Bob Hope venue : USO TOUR - I figured it was "USO-", but 'venue' threw me
13. Mark of a shark : CUE CASE - a hustler, a pool hall billiards shark; I have two cases myself
14. Guaranteed : ASSURED
22. Didn't stop talking : RAN ON
23. Destined : BOUND - I suppose I was destined to finally find a new vehicle - here I am at the restaurant with my new old Dodge Caravan
26. It's a wrap : STOLE
28. Sail-extending pole : SPRIT
30. Yangtze tributary : XIANG
32. Form a political union : FEDERATE
33. Solo pianists often provided music for them : SILENTS - my new old Dodge Caravan came with a cassette player, and I have been listening to myself and friends who've made and sent me audio tapes, and this piece was on one of them;
the dexterity really starts at the 5:00 mark
35. Worked with props? : AVIATED - har-har~!
37. Beats to the finish line : OUTRUNS
38. Stoop-shouldered, say : UNERECT - OK, a little "meh"
39. Many in España : SEÑORES
42. Raised the roof : YELLED
45*. __ Moore: Hormel brand : DINTY
46*. '30s-'50s filmdom nickname : BOGIE - Humphrey Bogart - and featured in the song Key Largo, a song that got a lot of "muzak" air time, and I did not know who the singer was
oh, so tacky
48. Hard labor : TOIL49. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Levy : MARV
51. Waterfront gp. : ILA - International Longshoreman Assoc.
52. Prefix with Pen : EPI
Splynter
Notes from C.C.:
1) Cool picture, Splynter, Nice to see you again.
2) Here are a couple great photos from Lemonade's Asheville Family Vacation. You can see more here.
3) Here is Jayce's Yam/Apple recipe. I already tried last night. I used two medium-sized Asian sweet potatoes like below. Very dense & sweet. One big Honeycrisp & one medium Fuji. Coconut butter instead of regular button. It was fantastic. The kitchen smelled amazing.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Cool picture, Splynter, Nice to see you again.
2) Here are a couple great photos from Lemonade's Asheville Family Vacation. You can see more here.
3) Here is Jayce's Yam/Apple recipe. I already tried last night. I used two medium-sized Asian sweet potatoes like below. Very dense & sweet. One big Honeycrisp & one medium Fuji. Coconut butter instead of regular button. It was fantastic. The kitchen smelled amazing.
46 comments:
I almost quit at UNERECT. Not a happy camper. A real bear even with help turned on.
I'm sorry, someone seems to have replaced today's LAT puzzle with one from the NYT. One from Nixday -- that's the day before Sunday, but two days past Saturday on the difficulty scale!
{C.}
A gauche young fellow, AS RICH AS CROESUS
Inherited most while only a fetus.
Wealth in such PROFUSION
Caused degree confusion --
Should he buy a university or just write a thesis?
Morning...but not a particularly good one.
I've noticed a loss of upper body strength, so I decided to drag the old "Total Gym SupraPro" out of the closet. Then I couldn't remember how to set it up. Found the manual on-line (thanks, Husker) and was following the instructions. Suddenly, it dropped onto my big toe. Then I read the next line of the instructions: Be sure to support the frame in the center to avoid having the product drop suddenly onto the floor... D'oh! No 3-mile march today.
Oh yeah, there was a puzzle...
Tough going up top, so I started from the bottom. Got stuck, and had to resort to Mr. G for DAYNE (I knew the Y was correct, and SWIFT was wrong).
That sea of white up top was totally defeating me. Hand up for ERR (hi, Splynter), and then SRA before SHE appeared. Finally, "AS RICH..."showed up, and I immediately thought of Beggars At The Feast from the final act of Les Miserables. That broke the top open. The L in LIT ON was my final entry. Thanks for the brain workout, Mark.
Took a little more than my allotted time (lots more than Splynter, who it seems goes into overtime after just two minutes). Even so, I had to cheat in order to finish, so I call it a DNF.
{B+, B, A-.}
He used to play the cards at the ACME bingo den,
But he lost every time they called out B-TEN.
Column or row,
He lost all his dough,
So he quit the game -- he knows when he's beaten!
THE NATIONAL PRINCE was really eager
To join a team as a LITTLE LEAGUER!
But the bags were refashioned
From canvas to satins --
No royal should be a base base stealer!
Some people revel in the Sound of Silence,
The air unTEXTURED with the sounds of violins.
Others like boogies
Timed to old movies --
Pianos pervading the sounds of SILENTS!
Good Morning, all.
Well, Mark, this was quite a workout. First entries were TSU and MARY I. Then NATIONAL LEAGUER and THE LITTLE PRINCE. Without those I would have been running across and down all day. Thanks. Nice to see the Cubs today. As Tom Ricketts asked at the Rally: How many years as has it been since the Cubs won the World Series? The crowd automatically shouted 108. He said: Ah, no. Zero! Apparently there was 108 years worth of trash after the celebration. ;-)
Splynter, thanks for another fine tour and collection of links. You're looking good in front of your new wheels.
Have a fine weekend. It's Christmas here! Nicely done, Madame, if I do say so myself.
PS- D-O: Great story! Just like knitting: read the directions first. I hope you didn't do too much damage.
Nope. And nope. Couldn't even cheat my way to a fill. This was a beast. Far, far, beyond my meager capability. No fun. I'm going back to bed.
This was about three levels above my pay grade. And it took my lunch money for the next month. In the South, I filled everything below LAIT, DEREG, & B-TEN. Above that I had MARY I, ALE, RECTO, BOAR, MIATA and POTATOES. That was all.
ABSINTHE and ANISETTE wouldn't fit and I have never heard of SAMBUCA.
BIOMASS is about as renewable as petroleum. One just takes longer to form. I was fishing for AIR MILL because WINDMILL was one letter too many. Given enough time everything is renewable.
I've never heard the term AS RICH AS CROESUS; Jay Gould was the one I was told that somebody was as rich as.
I tried THE ROAD for Bob Hope and was thinking USO something but couldn't come up with it.
SADLER and Brown Betty Teapots are complete unknowns.
BACHMAN- Turner Overdrive- yes; as a pen name for Steven King I never knew.
I've LANDED ON, HAPPEN ON, RUN ACROSS and HIT ON things by chance; maybe LIT ON comes from 'alighted' but I've never heard it. So the North was a total washout for me.
SODA LYE- never heard that term for sodium hydroxide before and my chemistry degree didn't help.
Slynter- After listening to the Hungarian Rhapsody,it reminds me that my mother had the sheet music and I decided to see how far I could go. I did okay for about 45 seconds.
Nice pic Splynter. My experience was opposite yours, had trouble dredging SAMBUCA from my many meals with my Italian friends, but SCOTTIES popped right out. MARV Levy was a gimme, as he lost 4 super bowls in Buffalo! Taylor DAYNE was coincidental as she is appearing at the Dania Beach casino next week and they are promoting the hell out of it. Blood Sweat and Tears soon to follow.
Anyway, lots of mistakes that got fixed TYROL? and HIT ON seemed more natural, but it was a really well done challenge. Thanks Mark and Splynter
Good morning all.
WUFS. Nope.
Gave up with about 70 % done, and changed the game to regular solver. Thought I would see red all over, but no. I knew Huxley, but not how to spell his first name. I had entered Adolus. Had mAYNE where DAYNE belonged. I must have been thinking of Natalie Maines from Dixie Chicks. KOA where EPA belonged was the other red letter mishap.
Got three of the four grid spanners, but not the first one.
Thanks Mark. Thanks Splynter.
Will have to make the recipe Jayce. Sounds like I would like it. I'm still working on the sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving.
This puzzle beat me up and took my lunch money. Many, many reasonable, easily knowable answers did not occur to me.
I have heard of RICH AS CROESUS often, but missed it.
I like CREAMED POTATOES, a fast and easy dish to which I add cheese. Our family's middle name is Cheese. I like scalloped potatoes even better, but they take long to bake.
BIOMASS is one of the oldest fuels, think wood. It also includes garbage, agricultural waste, corn used in ethanol. etc. Trees take a while to grow. but not as long as petroleum takes to form. Other types of biomass are easily renewable.
I know SAMBUCA, but was lost in the weeds of Amaretto and Anisette and missed it.
I thought I knew TAYLOR SWIFT, never heard of DAYNE.
Alan and I love SPICY TUNA ROLL, our most frequent order, but I missed it.
I knew USO but couldn't come up with TOUR.
I think the puzzles are not getting harder. The problem is that some days my memory and my patience let me down. I should have solved much more today without red letters or look ups. Other days I solve some puzzles easily that others find difficult.
My Walter Mitty choice of auto is MIATA. I love its look, but as the sole family car it is too small and not good in the snow.
But,Amaretto is almond flavored and I enjoy it poured over strawberries or ice cream . Duh!
I was surprised to find that most found this difficult,
(he said as he cheated his way thru another Saturday Stumper...)
(Oh well, it was just a diversion to interrupt hanging these &*%$#@ Lights!)
(Ooh! Bonus! Extra 10 minute diversion with the piano rhapsody!)
Hmm, 2 seater, Miata
No brainer, I have often imagined how I would possibly get 2 in the dang thingie
to avoid the drivers side bottoming out without the whole dang thingie
dragging sparks...
(Got to lose some weight...)
I was not aware of The Little Prince
until recently, with the Netflix remake.
Even though is a modern retelling of an old story,
I found it quite endearing.
Good Morning:
This was a bear of a bear but I stuck with it until the bitter end. The bottom wasn't too bad as The Little Prince and National Leaguer were the easy toeholds but, the top? What can I say about the top, other than it was brutal. But, finally, after much hair-pulling, I filled all the squares but the tada never came! The culprit was Hit instead of Lit, so a FIW after all that effort. ACK. Wasn't fond of unerect; auto correct doesn't like it either. Never heard of Taylor Dayne and Swift overstayed her welcome. I thought Sambuca had two C's but now know better.
Also held onto Setters too long until perps led to Scotties. I knew Bachman as I had read "Thinner" but it took ages to drag it out of the memory bank.
Thanks, (I think!) Mark, for a Saturday stumper and thanks, Splynter, for your usual informative and entertaining review. Nice photo, good luck with your new wheels.
Jayce, your recipe sounds just like what my sister makes except I'm not sure if she uses allspice. I've never eaten it because I don't like sweet potatoes but it always looked appetizing.
Lemony, nice pictures. Judging by how everyone is dressed, you had pretty mild weather.
DO, sorry to hear of your mishap. 😔 Did you call a tow truck? 😇
Have a great day.
WEES. This seemed like two puzzles. The lower half filled without trouble when THELITTLEPRINCE slid in place. From there I worked my way upward. ARAPAHO is well known as one of the western tribes. Didn't know MARV but knew MORRO Bay then erased Taylor SWIFT for DAYNE of whom I've heard.
Sushi rolls are a mystery to me as is Mr. King's pen name which I didn't know about. CALIFORNIA fit but not ROLL and that was erased. Couldn't remember what breed Fala was and tried TERRIERS then SPANIELS. Oh, SCOTTIES.
Huxley was on my Lit Course reading list but I first spelled it ALDUOS then corrected it.
Finally I realized the top was a brick wall for me so went to Google. SAMBUCA! Of course I know that, just didn't come to me.
I hate having to look up so many but my hour was up.
Thank you for the extreme challenge Mark Diehl and thank you, Splynter, for the enlightenment you provide.
Have a splendid Saturday, everyone!
Jayce:
Your recipe looks good. I'll try it soon. Like TTP I'm still working on Thursday's dish.
A "tour" is not a venue. That is all.
Musings
-Wow, what a wonderful slog that filled bottom up as usual. I got CROESUS after I accepted MOAN as a complaint. Double Spanish crossing of senOres/morrO and HIT/LIT gave me two bad cells.
-Fala’s not being a TERRIER really slowed that section. RECTO and TEXTURED helped there
-TUNA ROLL filled fast but I was looking for a type of TUNA not an adjective
-Our guide told us that the Coastal Redwoods have 7X the BIOMASS of a rainforest
-A hilarious SOUSE’ (1:51)
-Huxley – “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored”
-Taylor Swift, Hicks, DAYNE (the one I didn’t know)
-Results of a famous DEREG
-Results of a famous DIVESTITURE
-SILENTS and ARAPAHO were my first thoughts and turned out to be correct
John Hanson was the first president of the United States under the Articles of ConFEDERATION
-How they made BOGIE taller in Casablanca
-Just for you D-O!
No joy, at least for me. It seemed that most of the clues were either first timers or completely off the wall.
So NOW, in addition to having to know French and German, we are expected to know Chinese tributaries. Nice.
I suppose I could have tried harder ( i.e. wasted even more time) but part of doing this is gaining the knowledge that some constructors try to put together a puzzle that nearly no one will be able to solve.
So congrats, mission accomplished, I guess Mr. Diehl won't need the Cialis tonight.
Thanx, Husker. I needed that!
Yesterday I drove past a restaurant that had burned to the ground. Somebody had installed a professionally painted sign out front: Smoking section now open. Well, I thought it was funny.
Greetings to all!
Like others, I found the lower portion of the puzzle relatively easy to fill, with help from "THE LITTLE PRINCE." Needed Google help for BACHMAN, Taylor DAYNE, James SADLER, ORESTES, XIANG, and IRVIN Kershner. Have never heard the expression "AS RICH AS CROESUS", but with all the help just mentioned, it appeared.
Thanks for the expo and links, Splynter. That Hungarian Rhapsody was utterly amazing.
Enjoy the day!
I'm glad this blog exists, otherwise I wouldn't have the reassurance that others found it difficult too! My weak spot is anything to do with sports, but at least I knew THE LITTLE PRINCE for the bottom sector. UNERECT still doesn't look right :), and I agree with Big Easy that BIOMASS doesn't usually get included as a renewable energy source since it's basically decomposition. (A humorous aside: that reminds me of the old London gas street lamps that used methane from the sewers. The ultimate renewable?) Thanks to Splynter for explaining everything and to Mark Diehl for the excuse to procrastinate.
This article from Columbia U and many other articles like it say that biomass is renewable energy.
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/08/18/is-biomass-really-renewable/
A great puzzle for a holiday weekend. A little over 30 minutes to finish, and I while I didn't need red letters, I did need to run through the alphabet before getting "lait" to work out. Counting this as a win. Entered and removed Arapaho and dereg a couple times each before getting perps to work out.
In other news did Silk and Norris have a falling out or something? I haven't seen a puzzle from Barry in a long time.
"35. Worked with props? : AVIATED - 'har-har~!'"
No, not "har-har."
Foul.
Anon 12:31 here. Thank you, Yellowrock - that was a very informative article. It also shows the impact such a designation can make when it comes to tax credits and the like.
Whew, this was tough. The only toeholds (answers I knew right away) were SAMBUCA (I used to drink it a lot, with a couple of coffee beans in it), RECTO, ALDOUS, MIATA, MARIN, THE LITTLE PRINCE, and believe it or not, DINTY (we ate a lot of Dinty Moore as a kid). Looking back on that sentence I realize that is actually pretty many toeholds and big ole foothold. Even so, the rest of the puzzle was full of stuff I knew nothing of. A tributary of the Yangtze River? No way. There are so many bays in California, it took the OR to narrow it down to MORRO Bay, which we have visited and enjoyed often. WEES on UNERECT.
Lemonade, a lovely outing you all had. Thanks for sharing the photos.
Splynter, thanks for the Hungarian Rhapsody video. Valentine Lisitsa has been in the top 5 of my favorite pianists for a long time. She does, unfortunately, have a tendency to "hammer" away sometimes, which makes her playing choppy. For pieces like that rhapsody, and many others, pounding can work well.
Madame Defarge, my wife loves to knit, but often finds the instructions to be incomprehensible. Sometimes she asks me to help her interpret them, but I have less success at decoding them than she does.
As for a 2-seater car, I lust for the Mercedes Benz E-Class Cabriolet. The big downsides for me are: it's a gas hog, and it requires supreme (92 octane) gas. My wife wants a Lexus RX350, which is a nice pedestrian car, but it has the same downsides.
Best wishes to you all.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
WEES - this puzzle outpaced my pay grade
Way too many googles and mini cheats; more proper nouns (people's names) than I care to remember. If I never see or hear Croeseus again it'll be too soon
Ok - I will bite at the chance to use one of the crossword clue answers in a limerick. A bit sophomoric but what the hey:
To be "un-anatomically" correct,
Our descriptors we must now redirect;
So when we're in Lake Placid,
Freezing cold, and I'm flaccid,
Should I just now say that I'm UNERECT?
Just for fun, compare this Rachmaninoff piano piece as played by Valentina Lisitsa and played by Sergei Prokofiev.
Yellowrocks- any way you want to state it or cite any reference, it's still burning HYDROCARBONS. BIOMASS- peat, wood, grass, coal, petroleum, tar, and the methane from the London sewers (and not the tailors, the other type of 'sewers'). They are combinations of Carbon and Hydrogen.
HG- Taylor HICKS- my son called him the American dork when he won American Idol years ago.
UNERECT- that just sounds bad. A new medical condition? UD?
Bottom heavy, got most of the lower half little of the upper. Agree that "unerect" is a stretch but perps filled it in. I knew Mary was Henry VIII oldest survivor but didnt realize she was considered "Mary the first."
If anyone mentioned Splynter's very punny "Theme", I missed it. However, I personally had to call it a raw Diehl considering my solving experience.
Big Easy, the clue with its answer was about biomass fuels being renewable. Yes, they are. It was not about hydrocarbons as a group. They are not germane here, because they were not part of the puzzle. Peat, natural gas and petroleum, while being hydrocarbons are classified as fossil fuels, not as biomass fuels, and are considered nonrenewable because they take so long to form. These facts were in our intermediate grades curriculum.
I am glad to see that I was not the only one who found this puzzle difficult.
Jayce @ 1:42, Knitting instructions, I do imagine as in D-O's case, often go unread in full. It would be nice if the language were universal. I like my knitting to be relaxing. Sometimes, the free patterns are less comprehensible and more error prone because the author has not spent the money or time for tech editing. Has your wife found Ravelry? Tee Hee. . . .
Thanks, Splynter!
~ for admitting how hard this one was for you. Same here, although I finally managed to reach my Ta-DA! moment, although Mr. Diehl (bless his name) made this a truly serious Saturday challenge. You know it's tough when he uses names/words that have optional spellings, like CRISSUS, CREESIS, etc. before you can get around to CROESUS.
This one required some lookups, which I do not count the same as cheating. Still, to salve my conscience, I must share/confess to you my secret for reaching victory with zero cheats. When a pzl turns out to be this difficult, I flip a mental switch over to my private option 2.
"Option 2," for anyone who's interested, is the key I employ whenever I can make no progress beyond one or two fills after a few total scans of the pzl. Like desper-otto I made some connections in the bottom of the grid, but not enough to ensure success. Option 2 allows me to look up answers I should have known if my memory were sound and I had paid attention to that particular field. Thus, if I had a specific interest in sequel directors, I should have already known IRVIN Kushner as the director of The Empire Strikes Back. It is merely happenstance that his name wasn't already stored in my memory. The same applies to the Taylor who is not Taylor SWIFT. but Taylor DAYNE. These are public names that I'd bet some of my blog colleagues knew (good fellows all, who wouldn't begrudge my also knowing; I mean I don't mind if others knew MARY I, who lurks in my brain from my fondness for English history, or Euripides' ORESTES, a title that falls squarely in my field).
I guess we all have our ways of rationalizing our way to victory. I count this as a total Ta-DA! Finish, Option 2, as I refused to look up anything requiring an imaginative leap (17-A) or the cracking of a cuing misdirection (13-D).
Anyway, it's over, and that's my story, and I'm sticking.... etc. etc.
After the forth clue in a row for a proper name
I TIITT in disgust. Sucked all the fun out of solving for me.
HG, Looks like Bogie may have started
a Fashion Trend
Wow, Manac, those are triple Bogies!
Madame Defarge, my wife is not familiar with Ravelry, but she did used to belong to a local group called the Knit Wits.
Jayce,
Tried to contact you with info for Mrs. Jayce. It failed. PM me. Knitting, doncha know!
Madame D
Madame Defarge, my attempt to email you failed, too. I think Yahoo and Google mail are not friendly to each other. I'll use another account to contact you tomorrow.
Hi All!
Late, late today. FedEx had new, more efficient, staff this morning and I got the goods. My buddies and I got everything setup for our 1a CST meeting w/ Egypt tonight. Whew.
Not quite WEES - I got off to a good start w/ BACHMAN (Ex-Step Mom was a huge King fan), SAMBUCA, MIATA, HASTE, BIOMASS, ACME, USO TOUR, T[c|s]U, ASSURED, CREAMED?, META, ALE, NISSAN, BET and then whack! Brick wall. Hand-up Lucina w/ Spaniels which lead to @19a 'ran in.' I started so well and, suddenly, I was fateD (my 23d) for fail. [anyone else think a FOAR was an animal for a bit? :-)]
Other smatterings about but not much to ponder (except ALDOUS, nailed it!). I was still in World Series Champ mode for 50a and it didn't give way until copious cheats [OMK - anything between pen & grid for me is a "cheat". I used to accept flipping the page to Horoscopes ok to find a sign - not anymore. I want to know how dumb I really am :-)] to set me straight.
Thanks Mark for the effort but the pzl was beyond me. Thanks Splynter for letting me finally crib after my chunking in the towel.
Fav: SAMBUCA. Like Jayce said - 3 coffee beans and you're good. Perfect for whatever ALEs, er, ails you.
{C | A-, A-, B} { :-) C.Moe}
D-O: Re: Smoking section
I've heard "AS RICH AS " but never CROESUS (who? Thanks Splynter). If we want to say someone's rich, like really rich, they're Oprah rich. As in, "Oh, yeah, he's rich. Well, not Oprah rich, but he's set."
Well, I've Takin' Care of Business until 1a (some BACHMAN Turner Overdrive for Big E.)...
Cheers, -T
D-O oops - I typed <snicker> (literally) and Blogger removed it. I thought the smoking sign you mentioned was funny - thanks for sharing... -T
IM, I was thinking of you as I watched all those gorgeous dogs at the National Dog Show held in Philadelphia. Did you see it? I loved Springer spaniel in the f final nest in show set.
Leaf - Don't see what is particularly eco friendly here. The total efficiency of a normal gasoline car compared to a fuel burning to electric generation to transmission to transforming up and then later, down, to charging and battery cycling car is about the same ~ 45 to 50%. Only advantage would be in night charging and would require time of day metering and an appropriate tariff from your electric company.
Agree with others about the difficulty of this puzzle.
Why can I not find the Sunday puzzle on the last page of the Arts& Books section?
I'm so frustrated & disappointed!
The puzzle is now in the Comics section. It's been there since Nov 6th, 2016.
Anonymous T @7:17,
Thanks for the feedback and for your def of "cheat." I agree that I always want the finish to clarify how smart (or dumb) I am. That's why I take care to distinguish my options. "Option 2" lets me know it wasn't a pure finish--without resorting to name calling. We prefer to avoid crude labels like "loser" and "cheater." Reminds us too much of recent political communication, and we respect the "no politics" policy of the Corner.
Amazed that I got the nearly impossible bits mostly with WAGS and perp help:
CROESUS, SAMBUCA, SADLER, LIT ON, DAYNE, XIANG
Never heard of any of these words, names or expressions.
But I FIW with TyROL/DyNTY
I have never heard of DINTY MOORE. I am guessing this is another cursed regional product name? To me, those are the foulest of foul puzzle words.
I did get MORRO Bay only because it is about 100 miles from where I live and I get there maybe once a year. Remember this is a Los Angeles Times puzzle.
Thank you, Yellowrocks, for the link explaining why BIOMASS is renewable. "Biomass is considered a renewable energy source because its inherent energy comes from the sun and because it can regrow in a relatively short time." The article notes that biomass is not necessarily carbon neutral, though.
Yes, petroleum is still being formed. But it fails the "relatively short time" part of the definition.
Post a Comment