Theme: Naming Names. Five names-as-nouns entries identified by similarities in the cluing.
17A. Nerd's moniker : POINDEXTER. From "Felix the Cat", and later a character in "The Revenge of the Nerds".
25A. Detective's moniker : SHERLOCK.
39A. Traitor's moniker : JUDAS. Thirty pieces of silver was his price, according to some.
47A. Genius' moniker : EINSTEIN.
60A. Old-timer's moniker : METHUSELAH. Also a wine bottle containing 8 standard bottles, or six liters. The bottle on the floor, second from the right, is one.
Greetings! No, you haven't blinked and missed Wednesday, Jazzbumpa and I traded blogging days this week so you'll see him tomorrow. This puzzle certainly felt like a Thursday though - it took me quite some time to get going, not helped by being unfamiliar with POINDEXTER and unable to get off the WEED WACKER idea. Nice theme, some solid longer non-theme entries too, especially TATTLETALES and ARMED ESCORT in the downs.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. New England NFLers : PATS. The Patriots. And the only franchise not geographically aligned to a city or a state, but a region.
5. Workforce : STAFF
10. __ salad : TACO
14. Cornell who founded Cornell : EZRA. Who are Better than Ezra? These guys.
15. Actress Tierney : MAURA. Thank you, crosses.
16. Passionate god : AMOR. This one threw me for a loop, being neither Eros nor Cupid.
19. Unexciting : TAME
20. Actress Gabor : EVA. Along with sisters Magda and Zsa Zsa.
21. Blends : OLIOS
22. Destination for the last flight? : ATTIC. Enjoyed unraveling this one. Clever clue.
23. In the cellar : LAST. Bottom of a league table. From the attic to the cellar in one fell clue.
27. Speak to : ADDRESS
30. Michelle who was the youngest female to play in a PGA Tour event : WIE. She was the youngest person at 10 years old to play in the US Amateur, and she never wanted to stop testing herself against better and better competition. She won the US Women's Open in 2014, having graduated from Stanford while still finding time to play professional golf. Quite a role model.
31. Bubbles up : FOAMS
32. Didn't like leaving : HATED TO GO
38. Ending for marion : -ETTE
40. Gung-ho : AVID
41. Lawn-trimming tool : WEED EATER. The inventor's grandson, Mark Ballas, is a professional ballroom dancer on "Dancing with the Stars".
43. Anti-inflammatory brand : ALEVE
44. Sixth sense, initially : E.S.P.
45. Coming to a point : TAPERED
52. Bonny one : LASS
53. Captain Kirk's "final frontier" : SPACE
54. Young zebras : FOALS
56. "Gross!" : EWW
59. __ avail: fruitless : TO NO
62. Skunk cabbage feature : ODOR. Even the latin name sounds unpleasant: Symplocarpus foetidus.
63. More flimsy, as an excuse : LAMER
64. Ballet move : PLIÉ.
65. Attention getter : PSST! Checho with 55D
66. Krispy __ : KREME
67. Man, but not woman : ISLE. Lies between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea. Nigel Mansell, who won both the Formula 1 world motor racing championship and the Indy Car World Series, was a volunteer policeman on the island while he was still a racing driver and reportedly enjoyed writing speeding tickets with the comment "Who do you think you are, Me?".
Down:
1. First name in skunks : PEPE
2. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV. Tried ARAL first which slowed me down.
3. Court calendar entry : TRIAL DATE
4. __ Diego : SAN
5. Silvery food fish : SMELTS. I thought "smelt" was the plural but Webster's has both.
6. Airport waiter : TAXI
7. Dealership lot array : AUTOS
8. At risk of being slapped : FRESH
9. A long way : FAR
10. Rats : TATTLETALES
11. Former New York senator Al D'__ : AMATO
12. Word with book or opera : COMIC
13. "Clean Made Easy" vacuum brand : ORECK
18. Pill amounts : DOSES
22. Like Death Valley : ARID
24. Bodyguard, typically : ARMED ESCORT. I had a bodyguard once on a business trip to Mexico City back in the '90s when kidnapping was becoming a serious problem. The guy was armed to the teeth.
26. Lambs' moms : EWES
27. Not many : A FEW
28. Indulge, with "on" : DOTE
29. Sealed tight : SHUT
33. Summer cooler : ADE
34. Bakery offering : TART
35. Presents too aggressively : OVERSELLS
36. Cave in : GIVE
37. Pigged out (on), briefly : O.D.'ED. I'm not a big fan of this word, I don't even know how to punctuate it.
39. Taunting remark : JAPE. Leaning moment. I know jape as a prank, I didn't know it as a taunt.
42. Italian noble family : ESTE. Thank you, crosses. Not familiar with this family, although they date back to 996 so they've been around for long enough.
43. Take __: decline to participate : A PASS
46. Enticement : ALLURE
47. Prevent, in legalese : ESTOP. Yuk. Thumper and move on.
48. Apple players : IPODS
49. Compact 48-Down : NANOS. My first iPod was a Shuttle - even more compact, it didn't even have a display.
50. "My concern is ... " : I FEAR
51. "You've got the wrong person!" : NOT ME!
55. Attention getter : AHEM
57. Cry out loud : WAIL
58. "Look ma, no hands!" : WHEE. Followed by "Look ma, no teeth".
60. March on Washington monogram : M.L.K.
61. Prefix with gram : EPI-
17A. Nerd's moniker : POINDEXTER. From "Felix the Cat", and later a character in "The Revenge of the Nerds".
25A. Detective's moniker : SHERLOCK.
"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library where he can get it if he wants."
The Five Orange Pips
39A. Traitor's moniker : JUDAS. Thirty pieces of silver was his price, according to some.
47A. Genius' moniker : EINSTEIN.
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits".
60A. Old-timer's moniker : METHUSELAH. Also a wine bottle containing 8 standard bottles, or six liters. The bottle on the floor, second from the right, is one.
Greetings! No, you haven't blinked and missed Wednesday, Jazzbumpa and I traded blogging days this week so you'll see him tomorrow. This puzzle certainly felt like a Thursday though - it took me quite some time to get going, not helped by being unfamiliar with POINDEXTER and unable to get off the WEED WACKER idea. Nice theme, some solid longer non-theme entries too, especially TATTLETALES and ARMED ESCORT in the downs.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. New England NFLers : PATS. The Patriots. And the only franchise not geographically aligned to a city or a state, but a region.
5. Workforce : STAFF
10. __ salad : TACO
14. Cornell who founded Cornell : EZRA. Who are Better than Ezra? These guys.
15. Actress Tierney : MAURA. Thank you, crosses.
16. Passionate god : AMOR. This one threw me for a loop, being neither Eros nor Cupid.
19. Unexciting : TAME
20. Actress Gabor : EVA. Along with sisters Magda and Zsa Zsa.
21. Blends : OLIOS
22. Destination for the last flight? : ATTIC. Enjoyed unraveling this one. Clever clue.
23. In the cellar : LAST. Bottom of a league table. From the attic to the cellar in one fell clue.
27. Speak to : ADDRESS
30. Michelle who was the youngest female to play in a PGA Tour event : WIE. She was the youngest person at 10 years old to play in the US Amateur, and she never wanted to stop testing herself against better and better competition. She won the US Women's Open in 2014, having graduated from Stanford while still finding time to play professional golf. Quite a role model.
31. Bubbles up : FOAMS
32. Didn't like leaving : HATED TO GO
38. Ending for marion : -ETTE
40. Gung-ho : AVID
41. Lawn-trimming tool : WEED EATER. The inventor's grandson, Mark Ballas, is a professional ballroom dancer on "Dancing with the Stars".
43. Anti-inflammatory brand : ALEVE
44. Sixth sense, initially : E.S.P.
45. Coming to a point : TAPERED
52. Bonny one : LASS
53. Captain Kirk's "final frontier" : SPACE
54. Young zebras : FOALS
56. "Gross!" : EWW
59. __ avail: fruitless : TO NO
62. Skunk cabbage feature : ODOR. Even the latin name sounds unpleasant: Symplocarpus foetidus.
63. More flimsy, as an excuse : LAMER
64. Ballet move : PLIÉ.
65. Attention getter : PSST! Checho with 55D
66. Krispy __ : KREME
67. Man, but not woman : ISLE. Lies between England and Ireland in the Irish Sea. Nigel Mansell, who won both the Formula 1 world motor racing championship and the Indy Car World Series, was a volunteer policeman on the island while he was still a racing driver and reportedly enjoyed writing speeding tickets with the comment "Who do you think you are, Me?".
Down:
1. First name in skunks : PEPE
2. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV. Tried ARAL first which slowed me down.
3. Court calendar entry : TRIAL DATE
4. __ Diego : SAN
5. Silvery food fish : SMELTS. I thought "smelt" was the plural but Webster's has both.
6. Airport waiter : TAXI
7. Dealership lot array : AUTOS
8. At risk of being slapped : FRESH
9. A long way : FAR
10. Rats : TATTLETALES
11. Former New York senator Al D'__ : AMATO
12. Word with book or opera : COMIC
13. "Clean Made Easy" vacuum brand : ORECK
18. Pill amounts : DOSES
22. Like Death Valley : ARID
24. Bodyguard, typically : ARMED ESCORT. I had a bodyguard once on a business trip to Mexico City back in the '90s when kidnapping was becoming a serious problem. The guy was armed to the teeth.
26. Lambs' moms : EWES
27. Not many : A FEW
28. Indulge, with "on" : DOTE
29. Sealed tight : SHUT
33. Summer cooler : ADE
34. Bakery offering : TART
35. Presents too aggressively : OVERSELLS
36. Cave in : GIVE
37. Pigged out (on), briefly : O.D.'ED. I'm not a big fan of this word, I don't even know how to punctuate it.
39. Taunting remark : JAPE. Leaning moment. I know jape as a prank, I didn't know it as a taunt.
42. Italian noble family : ESTE. Thank you, crosses. Not familiar with this family, although they date back to 996 so they've been around for long enough.
43. Take __: decline to participate : A PASS
46. Enticement : ALLURE
47. Prevent, in legalese : ESTOP. Yuk. Thumper and move on.
48. Apple players : IPODS
49. Compact 48-Down : NANOS. My first iPod was a Shuttle - even more compact, it didn't even have a display.
50. "My concern is ... " : I FEAR
51. "You've got the wrong person!" : NOT ME!
55. Attention getter : AHEM
57. Cry out loud : WAIL
58. "Look ma, no hands!" : WHEE. Followed by "Look ma, no teeth".
60. March on Washington monogram : M.L.K.
61. Prefix with gram : EPI-
"I don't believe in astrology. I'm a Sagittarius and we're very skeptical."—Arthur
C. Clarke
I think that about does it for me today. See you back in my regular slot next week!
Steve
I think you meant Shuffle in your comment for 49 down. Although the Shuttle is white and kind of looks like an Apple product. I could the arrogants over in Cupertino coming out with a new version sans a cargo bay and claim it was courageous to make it slimmer and claim "who needs cargo space anyway?"
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bruce and Steve!
Did not know POINDEXTER and AZOV, but everything else was clear.
Have a great day!
FIR! Problems in the NW corner, COBB > TACO, EROS > AMOR, BORE > TAME, LYRIC > COMIC. Got as far as 3 blank cells (and several wrong ones I didn't know about) when I decided to take a nap. Tackling it again after waking, the NW corner finally yielded. The theme was helpful in speeding things along, but perps would have fallen easily without them. in fact, METHUSELAH mutated through multiple spellings before settling down.
ReplyDelete{B+, B, B+, A-.}
Poor LAME antediluvian METHUSELAH
Lived before Noah, so no umbrella!
No Steinway Grands
Were in the lands,
So he had to sing in the choir a cappella!
POINDEXTER at the sea market, where fishermen dealt
Was to buy some supper for his home where he dwelt.
But no ODOR would bless
His nostrils as FRESH --
So he gave it A PASS because the SMELT SMELT!
Get SHERLOCK to deduce the murder, who did it!
Get EINSTEIN to police the light speed limit!
But seek out Rita
Whenever you need a
Meter-maid handy to issue a ticket!
JUDAS, the Wandering Jew, it's told
Must stick around till the Earth grows cold!
This TATTLE TALE
For his Heavenly bail,
Must explain to each shade how their serials closed!
METHUSALEH instead of METHUSELAH totally messed up my SE, leading to WEEP instead of WAIL and ANAgram instead of EPIgram. Never did figure it out, so big DNF.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThought 17a would be POINTY HEAD before I snapped that these were actual names. Back in the day POINDEXTER was National Security Advisor with an aide named Oliver North. And then everything went south... Thanks Bruce and Steve.
Steve, you weren't alone with the POINDEXTER, as I had no idea and it was all perps. The nickname theme was easily figured out. My only other unknown was MAURA Tierney; GENE Tierney needed an extra letter. METHUSELAH spelling will always need help as everybody knows it but it's not a word you write every day.
ReplyDeleteIsle of MAN isn't alone- ever heard of ISLA MAJERES just off Cancun?
EWE(S) & EWW in the same puzzle?
I think OD and ODED would be pronounced the same.
JAPE- the only place I've ever seen it is in a X-word puzzle; never heard it said.
Steady fill today except a few slips with MOIRA before MAURA and a few stabs at how to spell METHUSELAH.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young there was a totally sexist board game called Barbie - Queen of the Prom where you went around the board getting your dress, etc. Then you got your date - you always wanted Ken or Bob and the dud/nerd was Poindexter - he's probably head of the design team at Microsoft now! Nerds revenge!
Thanks Steve and Bruce!
Thanx for a relatively quick solve . Azov & Amor were slow in comming . The rest not to trying for someone on oas.
ReplyDeletePretty quick solve after first pass looking for lay ups. Had a tense issue with GIVE "gave" but AVID quickly corrected that miscue.
ReplyDeletehttps://1drv.ms/f/s!Auxlp_oJlQxzikgRo7kIoi_o92Pc
The Carolina Panthers is also a NFL franchise not geographically aligned to a city or a state. No matter how many times Tarheel fans say it, "Carolina" is not a state.
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteBreezed right through. We haven't seen Maura Tierney in a puzzle for a while. The role she was best known for was Abby Lockhart in ER. The character was long-running; she started out as a nurse and somehow found the drive to become a doctor.
Morning, Steve, thanks for elucidating.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis had a bit of a bite but perps helped a lot, especially with Poindexter, a complete unknown. Hand up for thinking Gene before Maura; I guess that's an age-related thought process. I am familiar with Maura, too, as she has had many TV roles. Not sure when I sussed the theme but when I did, I smiled and thought, that rascal Bruce has done it again! This theme would never occur to me if I lived to be as old as Methuselah!
Thanks, Bruce, for continuing to surprise and delight us on a consistent basis and thanks, Steve, for continuing to educate and entertain us every week, whether it be Wednesday or Thursday!
We had an all-day long downpour yesterday but our temps are still very mild, especially for mid-November. Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a week away.
Have a great day.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot it all w/o erasures or lookups. Good theme and enriched with the long downs. Some good fresh fill, or fill with fresh clues.
EZRA - My sister is a Cornellian, and so I've heard ample EZRA. I can imagine them going ape over him at reunions.
Anon -T Re: dishwasher. We've had an Asko for 17 years. Maybe 3 service calls in that time. We like it because stowage of dishes and flatware if very efficient. Our serviceman is not too enamored of the newer models but your mileage may vary. We are happy with ours.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteA little crunchy for a Weds puzzle but ultimately doable. No cheats but plenty of smudges. ICK before EWW - MALE before ISLE; COLTS before FOALS; TORT before TART but then I realized it was a treat not a TRIAL
To Amonymous T from late last night: great link to Sinatra. That's my karoke "go-to" song to sing. I also do his "I've Got You Under My Skin"
A couple more limericks came to kind today:
Folks at ORECK thought maybe they'd pluck
An idea that stops fur getting stuck
In their vacuum sweeper.
And then make it cheaper.
Would you now say that their products suck?
There are only five senses, you see,
Vision, touching and hearing, are three;
Add tasting and smell,
But oh, what the hell,
Make it six, 'cause I've got "ESP"
Big Easy - I think it's Isle of Mujeres.
ReplyDeleteHi all!
ReplyDeleteGot stuck on a few things this morning and didn't have the time/patience to wait them out so googled a few things to speed the process along. Never heard of JAPE, didn't know who MAURA was, couldn't spell METHUSELAH without trying to parse out METH USE LAH which didn't make any sense...Certainly would not have had as pretty a grid as Cartboy if using pen/paper that's for sure! Oh well, still enjoyed it and learned a few things along the way. Thank you Bruce!
Filled in POINDEXTER pretty quick thanks to Young MC.
John Denver HATED TO GO. So did Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.
No school today, but lot's of homework so I'm off!
Happy Wednesday,
t.
PS: @Owen #3 was my favorite today!
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteFavorite clue/answer was "Destination for the last flight?" for ATTIC. Have heard of the Sea of AZOV, but couldn't pull it out of the recesses of my brain this morning, so needed 100% perps. Thanks for a fine puzzle, Bruce, and thanks for the expo, Steve.
Enjoy the day!
I didn't think AZOV could possibly be right, so I verified it online. Same with MAURA - looked her up on Tivo to make sure she wasn't lAURA. Otherwise no help and no errors. Still had to erase eros for AMOR, dull for TAME, mixes for OLIOS, male for ISLE and bawl for WAIL.
ReplyDeleteFavorites today were "destination for the last flight" for ATTIC and ISLE of man, but not woman. Least favorite was "coming to a point" for TAPERED. Seems to me that it should have been "tapering" or "came to a point". Maybe technically correct, but it tastes greasy when it rolls off the tongue.
Desper-otto - thanks for the hardy haw haw. Steve - loved all the write up, but especially the A. C. Clarke quip. And Bruce hit just the right level of Wednesday difficulty for my level of ability.
Very different theme today which I liked very much. I sussed it with the first two theme answers. All the themers were familiar and used in common sayings such as "old as Methuselah," and "He's no Einstein." Favorite clues were man,but not woman/ ISLE and destination for last flight/ ATTIC.
ReplyDeleteI knew CORNELL was used as a surname, but it brought to mind CORNEL WILDE. It was followed immediately by TIERNEY which brought to mind GENE TIERNEY. Both starred in Leave Her to Heaven, a 1945 movie. I loved Cornel's Greatest Show on Earth.
When my grandson was small we used to watch POINDEXTER.
Very familiar with JAPE, I guess from novels. I heard of the Sea of AZOV, but needed two perps.
Waited for the second E in METHUSELAH. That E and the I in ISLE were my last entries.
I thought of TAPERED as an adjective. Some churches have tapered windows.
Have a great day.
Agree that it was Thursdayish. I also thought of Isla de Mujeres (http://www.computingdoc.com/OnRoad2004/email9/sp0927.jpg).
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Clever and fun! Thanks Bruce and Steve!
-JUDAS’S motivation (via Andrew Rice) – “Listen, Jesus I don't like what I see, All I ask is that You listen to me, And remember, I've been Your right hand man all along, You have set them all on fire, They think they've found the new Messiah, And they'll hurt You when they find they're wrong”
-Playing in this Bowl Game means you had a decidedly lackluster year
-Michelle WIE but I.M. Pei. Durn vowels!
-HATED TO GO – AVID Cub fans in Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville on November 2.
-Trying to change another’s political opinion on Facebook is fruitless
-EZRA/AZOV is in the suburbs of Natick. It had to be.
-TAXI - Yeah, that’s how I’d like to spend my day!
-In this part of the country, Pickups might supplant AUTOS on those lots
-OVERSELLS – Get a “free” room at a resort and see what happens in the mandatory meeting. We’ll take A PASS.
-EMBAR/ESTOP? Terribilis!
-Fun version (with a blooper) of NOT ME! (2:48)
Steve: Good Job Pinch Hitting ... Humm, that gives me an idea. LOL
ReplyDeleteBruce: Thank You for a FUN Wednesday puzzle with a nice theme.
Participated, as a teenager, in the St. Petersburg to Isle Mujeres sailboat race.
And since the clue at 67-a, Man, but not woman, for ISLE was in English not Spanish, I thought it was appropriate.
Fave today was that Krispy KREME donut (I like 'em!) ... and there was NO BOOZE in the grid.
Cheers!
Very nice puzzle by Bruce. Theme was good, as were the entries.... TATTLETALES, ARMED ESCORTS..... and loved the clue for ATTIC. Thanks, Bruce!
ReplyDeleteSteve, nice having you for a Wednesday. And you got your FOOD! with KrispyKREME and TART, as well as SMELTS!
Have not read todays Blog yet,
ReplyDeletejust saw Anon T's last post yesterday & had to jump on.
I had the same problem with my dishwasher (one of many)
it could be a bad pump, but b/4 you buy a new one
take it apart (hey it's already busted anyway)
& check for food clogs
Dishwsher gunk!
Mine turned out to be stuck by an olive pit, 13 years & still going!
(but it is making weird noises...)
Another one of those puzzles in which I started off with nothing,
ReplyDelete& painstakingly filled in letter by letter,
approaching completion with glee,
only to be heartlessly cut down by the Natick Ezra/Azov...
(I WAG'd an N & an S in the same box, & still lost...)
Rats!
Maura? (but it had to be Smelts?)
Learning moment: 61d Epi(gram)
Never heard of it! Not only did I have to look it up,
I had to look up the definition of "Pithy" also...
Hmm, Poindexter, a hard one to find an entertaining link for...
Oh!, Wait a sec!
SHerlock, Excellence speaks for itself...
Einstein?
Methuselah?
Note that Judas is missing,
because religion & politics have no place on the Blog...
(hmm, now if we could only do something about sport clues in Crosswords...)
(& French!)
:)
Our fifteen-year-old Maytag dishwasher had a broken door. We ordered a new one from our trusty local appliance dealer. He offered a Frigidaire for a reasonable price. Consumers Reports gave it a moderate rating but warned it might be noisier than typical. We've had it a couple of weeks now. The dishes are nice and clean and it is less noisy than our old one. It does run for a long time so we run it on Quick Wash most of the time. We're pleased so far...
ReplyDeleteAnonT, after eight years our GE Profile dishwasher gave up the ghost when the stainless steel tub seam weld cracked its entire length. GE only guaranteed parts and labor for five years and the tub for only one year. Even tough the tech tried to talk us into another GE, we went to an appliance warehouse and bought a top of the line LG. So far we have been very happy with it.
ReplyDeleteBy way of comparison, the LG has a slight edge in dish cleanliness, but both did/do an excellent job. The GE was quieter, especially when we couldn't use it. The GE guarantees were so short as to be useless, the LG guarantees all parts and labor for 10 years and the store gave us a five year extended guarantee. The LG tub is guaranteed for lifetime. Plus the LG cost less. Guess which one I prefer.
Hi all !
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle by Bruce Haight today. Liked the theme. EINSTEIN was my first theme answer. I solved from the SW to the NE again today. Then saw moniker again for JUDAS. All in all, it was a quick but enjoyable solve.
Another fine write up Steve. Thank you.
I may have missed a day or two, but we haven't heard from Avg Joe for some time. Or have we and I missed it ?
How about BlueHen ? I recall him commenting after his second hip surgery, but not sure when he last posted. Thought he was going to become a regular...
Anonymous T, Like CED, I would tend to take it apart and try to fix it myself. But then again, I have the time and sometimes like to mess with stuff. FWIW, I installed our Kenmore model 665 16705891 dw in '89 with the kitchen remodel. Never had a problem. I think Kenmores were made by Whirlpool. I'm sure I would have consulted CR for performance and reliability ratings before buying it.
On a side not... I just had my first ever Panzerotti. Delicious. Probably should eat a lot of them, but I'll definitely be going back. Now have to walk my boy and burn off some of those calories.
HA !
ReplyDeleteThere you are BlueHen !!!
I got sidetracked while composing my comments, and didn't want to Preview, so I didn't see you had just posted.
Was wondering how you were doing. Hope all is progressing well this time...
I found this a bit crunchy for a Wednesday too, but amazingly I got the whole thing without any cheating--Yay! Woohoo! Many thanks, Bruce--you've made my day! Some unknowns including POINDEXTER (kept thinking, 'shouldn't that be Pointdexter?'), MAURA, WIE, and AZOV. But everything else fell into place after a little work.
ReplyDeleteSteve, fascinating bit of info about Mark Ballas from 'Dancing with the Stars'--one of my favorites.
Fun limericks this morning, Moe. Yours, too, Owen.
Have a great day, everybody!
A solid workaday pzl, appreciated for its balance 'tween difficulty and ease. In fact I found myself alternating between "Piece o' cake" and "Impossible w/o cheats"!
ReplyDeleteIn the end, my reaction was very much like Misty's: I found Mr Haight's creation required no cheating, so made me feel just that much better about my ol' brain this morning. Thank you, sir!
And thanks to you, Steve, for sharing your very similar impressions. I particularly enjoyed your quotation following the EINSTEIN entry.
I thought this puzzle was easier than Monday's or Tuesday's. I had cobb/TACO, blah/TAME, cedE/GAVE, maLE/ISLE. The rest fell into place without too much trouble. Thank you, Bruce H.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the expo, Steve.
I got the theme today but it didn't help spell METHUSaLAH. Needed to correct aPI/EPI for that one. I doubt I'll remember the correct spelling if we see it again.
A SO to me at 1a: Pat nee Scott.
Anon T: we have remodeled 2 kitchens over the years and I have put in Kitchenaid appliances both times. No complaints.
I hope everyone is having a great day. Happy Wednesday!
Pat S
Perps came to the rescue for a fairly quick and fun solve. Thanks, Steve, for your always interesting review. Fav: quotes from Einstein and A.C. Clarke.
ReplyDeleteThanks, BlueHen, for all the legwork on warranty – I’ll remember LG when I need to replace my D/W.
CED – great Methuselah cartoon.
I was happy to see “Weedeater” as a clue. I was even happier when it came on the market in 1971. As the youngest in my family and the only one left on the farm to do house- and yard work, I had to trim, using hand snips, around the quarter-acre concrete base of the chain-link fence. It was only when I left home and Daddy had to mow and trim, he broke down and bought one which I used when I helped out on weekends. George Ballas got the idea while sitting in his car in a car wash. I knew he was a Houstonian, but didn’t know he was also a dancer and dance studio owner. Heard of Mark Ballas and DWTS.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43593451/ns/business-small_business/t/weed-eater-inventor-dies/#.WCyv9NQrLs0
@Anon 4:46 - of course, SHUFFLE. I blame the F and T for being too close together on the keyboard.
ReplyDelete@billocohoes - you're right, thanks for the correction.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteOur dishwasher is a Sears Kenmore and runs just fine. I installed a dishwasher for my wife's cousin in Pennsylvania a couple years ago. Was quite a job. I learned a valuable lesson, they have to be level. So, when I re-installed it, I made sure it was level and it worked fine. Still does. That's my story and i'm sticking to it.
Got through the puzzle quite easily, especially for a Wednesday.
Did not catch the theme right away until I had EINSTEIN. Then it jumped out at me. That reminds me of the book we just read for our book club. "The 110 year old Man who Climbed out the Window and disappeared." Written by Jonas Jonasson. A good laugh.
AZOV was not known. Perps. Neither was MAURA. perps.
EZRA I wagged after I had three letters.
EWW and WHEE were tough to get.
Some long verticals. Good.
I am cooking dinner for 20 guys at the Commandery. So, I have to run. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I enjoyed this puzzle and liked the theme. It seems to have a lot of S's added for no other purpose than to make the entry cross with another entry, eg SMELTS, AUTOS, EWES, FOALS, DOSES, FOAMS, NANOS, OLIOS, and even TATTLETALES. I would be perfectly happy never to see ODED again. Liked the clue for ATTIC.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnon-T, I forgot to copy the link and text below it.
Quick Fixes The article is from Family Handyman*
Also, I always run the hot water in the kitchen sink until it gets hot before starting the dishwasher cycle. Yeah, the dw has a heater element to get the water hot, but it won't have to work as hard (and wear out sooner) if you start the cycle with hot water...
Must be my day for types too Steve. Just read my earlier posts. 1 each. Funny how dropping the n't from should changes the sentence completely... I'll have to make not of that.
* Family Handyman is a Readers Digest publication. If you click my link you'll see they are offering an annual subscription for $10. If you are a DIY'er, go for 2 yrs. Just be advised that their annual subscription means 11 issues, not 12. So you would think you are going to get 11 issues, correct ? No. One slightly larger issue counts as two issues (I think it has more ads), so you only really get 10 issues. But, at a buck an issue, it's a pretty good magazine...
TTP
ReplyDeleteI'm a DIY'er ... but I don't think I need Family Handyman publication.
I mean, geez, how tough do you think it is to "Pour Two-Fingers of Scotch" into a glass ...
NEAT!
When our D/W gave up the ghost, we consulted CU and purchased the highly-rated Bosch. It looks nice, does a good job cleaning dishes, and is ultra-quiet. But with just the two of us, it only gets run about every third day. From the get-go, it starts smelling funky on day #2. We had D/Ws for years and years and never had an odor problem before this one. I checked online and found many other odor complaints about the Bosch. We now run the D/W on alternate days, full or not. Seems wasteful of water and electricity, but at least it no longer smells. (Before you suggest it, yes the filter in the bottom of the unit is cleaned regularly -- that's not the source of the problem.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with others who thought this a bit of a crunchy Wednesday puzzle. Still solvable though.
ReplyDeleteBluehen,
ReplyDeleteforgive me but I am having trouble wrapping my brain around
what you said...
to quote:
"The GE was quieter, especially when we couldn't use it."
(Uh, what?!?)
Anon-T, per TTP @ 2:45
"The float valve"
Of course, if that dang thingie gets stuck,
you have no water!
ReplyDeleteLiked your puzzle, Bruce. Biggest problem was Methuselah. Ick instead of eww was not helping me, nor was colts inlstead of foals...it took some undoing. Then WHEE, it was done. Clever "man but not woman"
Great LINK TO WEEDEATER . Mark is currently appearing on Broadway as one of the Jersey Boys- he can sing as well as dance.
ReplyDeleteFunny that you guys flipped puzzles, but this played like a Thursday for me as well.
Dear Tinbeni:
ReplyDelete"I mean, geez, how tough do you think it is to "Pour Two-Fingers of Scotch" into a glass ... NEAT!"
Well, you really need to specify if these are SAE fingers, British Standard Whitworth or Reamur fingers, or -- gasp! -- Metric Fingers. If the later, then of course each finger is equal to 2.44067 SAE fingers, so you move faster and happier, more in tune with the BSW Scottish norm.
And, yes, I just saw the sun go over the yardarm!!
I ran into McDonald's to knock this off and read the licks. I always grade Owen higher and love Moe's stuff
ReplyDeleteIM. You know it's nearing Thanksgiving when you hear Jingle bells.
I was a math major and we had one of those nerd vs jocks games. Lost. Boohoo
CED. Don't discourage sports clues. If it wasn't for Niekro I might never have started that Saturday beast.
We usually get EZRA as the OT guy.
PLIE is what saved my SE. I thought I'd oversold my self on OVERSELLS.
Drove, nice write-up but I haven't figured the various styles, not to speak of days.
Nice QOD to my PATS. Preview, Sunday night of the next Superbowl?
Thank god I didn't have to come up with NANOS, which I never saw until here
WC
To Misty and Wilbur and the others who enjoy Owen's and my humor through rhymes, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAHEM... Hi All!
ReplyDeleteD'Oh! In my hast leaving the office to buy a dishwasher I left my puzzle. So, my puzzle comments may be a lie. And, I don't get to read the funnies b/f bed :-(
Thanks Bruce for a fine puzzle that took me way too long to glam onto. I knew what moniker meant but not what the clues meant until I suss'd SHERLOCK - "Duh, No Sh**," I thought to myself.
Thanks Steve for subbing and for the POINDEXTER pic - I could only think of Buster POINDEXTER (Hot! Hot! Hot!) and John of Iran-Contra fame [Hi D-O!]. Oh, and thanks for the music, it was Good :-)
FIW? - I may have left the L in LAURA xing SMELTS...
WOs: ARID where A FEW went. In Cellar was lade, as in stowed(?)
Notable-fun: clechos and IPODS || NANOS
Fav: WEES - c/a for ATTIC.
I had a BODYGUARD in Egypt anytime we left Maadi (this was after the MB took over).
{A, B+, A, B+} {Nice Moe}
Inanehiker - My pocket protector says "The GEEK shall inherit the Earth"
TTP - I too am hoping I missed something re: AveJoe. Hope he's well.
CED - funny links. CartBoy - that's a fine looking grid.
Thanks Tawnya for the tunes.
Cheers, -T
//PSST, Dishwasher epic to follow...
Dishwasher epic...
ReplyDelete//skip if you don't care
First, thanks to everyone who chimed in. I had the CR rankings but I take them with salt. I think sometimes they are OVERzealous with their ratings and a 70 is just as good as a 90 but the 90 is 3 decibels quieter or some such. Having "normal standards" input helps!
CED & TTP - I did the DYI thing last night. I took it apart, cleaned out all the gunk, and fired it up. It filled w/ water, didn't make noise [Sunday it made obnoxious noises!], and then drained. The poor thing is >10 years old w/ broken seals and a failing heating element anyway... So, Buy. BTW, I do have a subscription to Handyman - it's an annual Christmas gift from Pop.
First: Online comparisons. I compared Kitchenaid, GE (not Profile - BlueHen 1) thanks, 2) more than I wanted to spend b/f Christmas!), Bosch, and LG (again thanks BlueHen and TTP!) at Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Conn's [local to HOU]. Amazingly, they all had a sale going on! But curiously, all the "normal" list prices were higher than CR expo'd. [and neither Lowe's nor HomeDepot could deliver before 11/30 on the Kitchenaid. Imagine, Thanksgiving w/o a dishwasher - EWW].
Our Admin Assistant [She's the best!] mentioned BestBuy. Usually I don't think of them as such and, sure enough, they are having a "Black Friday" sale going on too.
I'm going to pause here. Really? It's bad enough Christmas starts after Halloween but can we at least wait until we've eaten the 1st Turkey to shop? //rant over
Anyway - Best Buy had the LG, Bosch, Kitchenaid, and GE (not-profile) in-stock. And, turns out it was a "real" sale w/ original prices closely aligned w/ CR. However, when I got to Brick-n-Mortar, the LG in CR was discontinued and they didn't have one in the warehouse. The 'new' LG they had was only $100 < #1 rated Kitchenaid (on sale).
Last decision - Bosch & GE, vs. Kitchenaid. Here's where a smart man wins. I knew, aesthetically, DW would be more pleased w/ the latter. For <$130? Priceless.
Anyway - the Girls are disappointed they have to wait "Until Saturday?!?" for it to be delivered.
Thanks again everyone. Next up - the oven... :-). He's the LAST man standing (all appliances were installed at once when the kitchen was remodeled 10+ years ago).
Cheers, -T
Anon-T,
ReplyDeleteb/4u buy a new dishwasher
there are cheaper alternatives...
Thanks for the nice write-up Steve! I wanted to clue the theme entries with long clues like "You studied all night again? You're such a ___" (Poindexter). I think Rich had space constraints and maybe didn't want to upset anyone out there named Poindexter. I like the theme, but it is a bit edgy. Bruce Haight
ReplyDeleteNice of you to check in, Bruce--many thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Bruce. Just curious - was it Rich or you that came up w/ the moniker idea?
ReplyDeleteI found my puzzle (in my other computer bag) and, crud, I never did switch from lAURA. And, for some reason, LASe sits @23a. Other WO - cOlts b/f FOALS; and Yuk b/f EWW. Oh well, at least I can read the COMICs b/f I turn in.
CED - I shared your dishwasher idea... DW said "Now you're watching LOL Cats? Honey, we need to talk..." Oh, boy. I deflected, "I bought a dishwasher" and grinned sheepishly before a hasty retreat. :-)
Cheers, -T
"DW said..."
ReplyDeleteEarlier someone said "My DW died"
For a minute there....
If Owen is our Coleridge, then Moe can be our Scott
The latter penned the immortal
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive
WC