Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)
Blocks: 30
The return of a Saturday duo - the last time we saw these two constructors was back in April of this year. That puzzle featured a 15-letter spanner with a central climber of 13 letters. Today we have 9-letter corners in the across, a pair of 10-letter climbers in the down, and a smattering of 8-letter fill elsewhere. I moved through this grid as smoothly as the one from April, did not get stalled on the proper names, but I have to admit I did not get my "ta-DA~!" - turns out I went with BETAS and not BETHS, and should have known better with the crossing down. Oh well. Some of the longer fill;
15. Only pitcher whose jersey number was retired by the Mets : TOM SEAVER - I'm from L.I., NY, so I had a pretty good idea who this was
12. 2013 literature Nobelist : ALICE MUNRO - her Wiki
66. Bright one in a school : NEON TETRA
27. Smartphone notification : EMAIL ALERT
How 'bout this one~?
ONWARD@Splynter.com~!
ACROSS:
1. Sole proprietor? : SHOE STORE - since I was 'hip' to the "?", it would have been in my best interest to try filling in SHOE somewhere, but I left it blank on the first past
10. Spiffy : SMART
16. Certain internet chatter : AOLer
17. Headache source : EYESTRAIN
18. Lopez who played Jiminez in "The Dirty Dozen" : TRINI - got it from perps, but should have been a logical guess in the first place - so would that be a L.A.G.~? The "Logical-Ass Guess"~?
19. Bear fruit : PAN OUT - watermelon didn't fit....
Get it~? "Bear" fruit~? C'mon, that's funny
22. One of the gang : PAL
24. Get the word out? : ERASE - har-har
25. "Wrong call, I suppose" : "GUESS NOT."
30. Test ban subjects : A-BOMBS - I dropped an "A" bomb at 18a.
33. Coloratura Gluck : ALMA
34. Crow heard on tracks : SHERYL - not fooled - I know who Sheryl Crow is
36. Keats wrote on one : URN - "Ode on a Grecian..." I believe
37. Mount, as a comeback : STAGE
39. Santa __ winds : ANA
40. The blahs : ENNUI
42. New England sch. in Kingston : URI - University of Rhode Island
43. 1980 film with the #1 hit "Magic" : XANADU - I remember the title track from star Olivia Newton-John, but never saw the movie - it was a flop, but the soundtrack did well
46. Like the Kara Kum : ARID - a WAG, but it sounded like a desert
47. Goddess on whose bust Poe's raven perched : PALLAS - mostly perps
49. Droning : MONOTONE
51. Target : AIM AT
53. Bad check letters : NSF - @#$Z&%~! I paid Geico on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, got email confirmation, then paid my credit card bill in full on Black Friday - and received notice from my bank Saturday that I had -$147 in my checking account - Geico posted late. The negative balance included the Non-Sufficient Fund charge of $38. Like they don't have enough of my money....
54. It takes a licking : LOLLIPOP - There's a girl at UPS who used to come by with a big bag of lollipops for me once a month. (lollipops is a word you can type with one finger in the top right of the keyboard - try it.)
Umm, not the girl from UPS
57. Bargain for : PLAN ON - I plan on getting a cel phone remote car starter, but wanted to ask those here at the blog for any input they can offer on best brands or functions
62. Canceled a reservation, maybe : ATE IN
63. Tossing and turning : WIDE AWAKE - I hear all the rookies at UPS complaining about trying to get to sleep for a 12am-10am shift for the Christmas peak season. If I have to, I will take some non-alcoholic night-time sleep aid, just to get over the "switch"
65. Death in Venice : MORTE - I figured it was Italian for "death", but was not sure of the spelling
67. Hebrew letters : BETHs - Dah~! Not BETAs
68. Montana's has a plow, a pick and a shovel : STATE SEAL - oops, I went with STATE FLAG
- shout out~!
DOWN:
1. Pedometer unit : STEP - I used to have a step-counter on my cel phone, and it recorded something like 20,000 steps while working at UPS one morning - and I got nowhere; I was still standing between the slide and four trucks....
2. Georgetown newspaper, with "The" : HOYA
3. Sign : OMEN
4. Brand on the Alcan Highway : ESSO
5. Stings : SET-UPS
6. Tam patterns : TARTANS
7. Some gametes : OVA
8. Journalist Whitelaw __ : REID
9. Orange half of a comic duo : ERNIE - Bert and Ernie
10. Like some appetites : SATIABLE - reminds me of that funny story with the "prefix-less" words; see here
11. To a greater extent : MORE SO
13. Eye care brand : REΫ°NU
14. Touch off : TRIP
21. Letter between Whiskey and Yankee : X-RAY - I once worked for an architect who owned his own 4-seater plane (Dudley~!), so know my pilot's alphabet, which may be why I screwed up my Hebrew one
23. "Herbie: Fully Loaded" star : LOHAN
25. Get ready to hit the road : GAS UP - had the "S", so this worked for me
26. Modern opening? : ULTRA
28. Sink : SAG
29. Latish wake-up time : TEN AM
31. TD Garden skater : BRUIN - I know my hockey teams
32. Snarky : SNIDE
35. Odorless gas : RADON
38. Scrutinizes : EXAMINES
41. Styron's Turner : NAT - nearly duplicated at; 59d. Electoral analyst Silver : NATE
44. Hustler's request : ASAP
45. Still saved : UNSPENT
48. Demon of Semitic lore : LILITH
50. In recent times : OF LATE
52. Stops on a commuter train : TOWNS
54. Souvlaki choice : LAMB
55. Plains native : OTOE
56. Painter Mondrian : PIET
58. Dazzles : AWES
60. Cajun staple : OKRA
61. Sci-fi author Stephenson : NEAL
64. 1988 film noir remake : D.O.A. - well, I looked at both films (1950)-(1988), and they do not feature the same characters, nor the same plot, so I am not wholly convinced that the later one could be considered a "remake". Besides, I would have gone with the Van Halen song....
For the guitar players out there try this link,
watch the fills & the whammy bar work -
the player in this video hits the mark -
and they're not easy
Y'all tried the "LOLLIPOP" thing, didn't you....
Splynter
FIR! Northern California was still blank when I finished the rest of the puzzle, but eventually I stared it into submission!
ReplyDelete{B-, B+, D*, A-, B+.} *Afraid my Depression is infecting my droll poems to make them so droll, they'd roll over and die!
They PLAN ON the mission, the rotors SET UP.
The last thing to do, the fuel tank to GAS UP!
It's not fancy for a drone,
A flat beige MONOTONE,
And so small that they fed it from a DIXIE CUP!
PALLAS Athena had great knowledge to impart!
She won every bee in which she took part!
To stay WIDE AWAKE on the STAGE
A fight with ENNUI she'd wage --
Game shows can be boring, MORE SO when you're SMART!
A-BOMBS are for ashes, of people they burn.
Some blow in the wind, some fill up an URN!
We all die some day,
Our names pass away,
So let's at least go with a bang for our turn!
A Khan once lived in exotic XANADU
But there he was bored, with nothing to do.
He'd stamp the STATE SEAL
On outgoing mail,
And stamp the state walrus on some of it, too!
At cannabis LOLLYPOPS they're taking a shot.
Do they AIM AT high tots? Well, I GUESS NOT.
When colds make noses runny,
They're a more SATIABLE munchie;
In visiting rug-rats, it would result in guest snot!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThe top of this one almost solved itself. The bottom, not so much. POPSICLE and LIES AWAKE slowed things down. "Death in Venice" morphed from NOVEL to MOVIE to MORTE. It was PIET Mondrian who finally broke things open down south. Thanks for the workout, Doug and Patti.
Splynter, hand up for STATE FLAG. My ARID was the same WAG as yours. I'm a touch-typist. "Lollipop" is one of the most difficult words to type. Words that alternate left/right are much easier/faster to type.
Trini Lopez is probably best known for this song.
NSF: I think banks love 'em. A few years ago I deposited a personal check from a neighbor. It bounced. His bank charged him an NSF fee, and Chase charged me a fee for depositing it. Perhaps that's why Chase is my former bank. Are you listening, Jamie Dimon?
Surprised myself by getting this one. At first glance, it seemed impossible, but I slogged it out.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI found this challenging enough but not as difficult as some Saturday offerings. Tom Seaver was a gimme as were a couple of the other long fill. Having these toeholds really help with the solve.
Thanks, Doug and Patti, for providing enjoyment on this frigid December morning. Thanks, Splynter, for guiding the way.
BTW, my Christmas tree looks beautiful with the new lights, all 250 of them. Now, my neighbors can see that I didn't turn into Scrooge, after all! π
Have a great day.
It was a DNF due to the unknown Goddess-PALLAS- crossing the unknown Demon-LILITH- crossing the unknown Hebrew letters-BETHS (does the Hebrew plural add 's'?) I couldn't get the 'Hustler's request' with A_AP in place, thinking a panhandler instead of a hustling worker.
ReplyDeleteThen there was the SE. I had WIDE AWAKE, STATE____, & NEONTE___. I didn't know NATE Silver ( Phil would have been an entertaining analyst) or NEAL Stephenson, kept thinking of an academic 'school', and only tries STATE SONG and FLAG, neither correct. I didn't PLAN ON not finishing today but that's the way it is. My brain is still thinking of 'haggling' with a car dealer or the like.
DIXIE CUPs- "Goin' to the Chapel of Love"
D-O- did you eventually get your ca$h?
So did it PAN OUT for me today? I GUESS NOT.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all. Thank you Doug and Patti. Thank you Splynter.
Needed and got a breakthrough answer in almost every section, but the SW corner's demon LILITH did me in. At the L intersect with unknown PALLAS, the T intersect in MORTE, and the H in BETHS. Should have guessed the H.
No struggle to answer TOM SEAVER, aka "Tom Terrific."
Do you believe in magic ? I was in the wrong decade, thinking of the Lovin' Spoonful until Olivia's voice came through and put me in the 80s.
I was also in the wrong state for a few seconds, wondering how Kingston NY could be considered New England. Skipped by that clue for awhile. Then ULTRA and EMAIL taught me that there is a Kingston, Rode Island.
Couple of type overs. AtOllS before ABOMBS (misread that clue) and STATE flAg before STATE SEAL. I'll bet Montana got that one, if she decided to tackle the puzzle today.
Not the water tower, the city of Hershey PA uses KISSES for the shape of their street lights. The whole town smells like chocolate.
ReplyDeletehttp://media0.trover.com/T/4de3120b7e8a41376c0000a5/fixedw_large_4x.jpg
Briefly thought it was odd but logical that Montana would have a snow plow on their seal - oh wait.
Rember that Lilith was Kelsey Grammar's bitchy wife on Cheers? Now I get the connection.
ReplyDeleteBig Easy: "Beth" is actually a transliteration of the Hebrew letter Χ. Plurals in Hebrew depend upon the gender of the word, so would end, in the transliteration, as either "-im" for masculine nouns, or "-ot" for feminine nouns. Thus the "plural" would be "Bethim." Also, the Hebrew letter "Χ", is pronounced more like "bet" than "beth." "Beth" means "house", which is why many synagogues are called Beth Shalom, which means House of Peace.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed today's puzzle, even though it was way above my capabilities. I had no idea that LILITH (which I Googled) was a demon, but that explains some stuff from my personal history. Hand up for STATE FLAG. Also, I had "the Hill" newspaper for the HOYA, ode for URN, and wowS for AWES. Also looked up ALMA Gluck, PIET Mondrian, NATE Silver and NEAL Stephenson.
ReplyDeleteWith all the success LOHAN has had in films, you would think she could afford some underwear.
CHERYL Crow sang with Jimmy Buffet. In doing so, she joined a list that includes Paul McCartney, Clint Black, Rita Coolidge, Alan Jackson and Roy Orbison. Jimmy also sang with Frank Sinatra on Frank's "Duets" album.
Thanks to Doug and Patti for a fun "growth opportunity" and to Splynter for the reveal, including the gratuitous reveal-ing gam shot of the not-UPS gal.
BE, yes, I eventually got the money from my neighbor. His bank admitted that the NSF was a bank error and refunded his fee. Chase refused to refund mine. Grrrrr. I didn't mean to imply that I'm still PO'd at Chase. Oh wait, yes I did.
ReplyDeleteSolved a very challenging Saturday puzzle with slightly below average time. Loved the SHOE STORE clue and get the word out = erase. Last to fall was the L in AOLER and ALICE. PALLAS was all perps. I knew PIET from the final T and LILITH from LIT.
ReplyDeleteI have passed the DIXIE CUP smoke stack on the plant in Easton, PA. many times. You can Google "Dixie Cup Plant Easton, PA images" to see it. I wish they could fix this blog site so I could link images.
Back to my chores. See you later.
D-O, arguing with a bank over a trivial matter is more trouble than it's worth. Sort of like if the IRS says you underpaid by less than $100. You will waste more time and money trying to get it right, even if you are right and they are wrong. But 27 years ago they once said I underpaid them $3,306.61. Luckily my best friend is an ex-IRS field agent. He knew the people to call and had their direct numbers. I owed them nothing, especially since my only source of income was my salary and a few CDs. Hard to screw up a 1040 short form with one W2 and three 1099-INT. It only cost me a pizza.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Alphabet- there's no way I'll ever learn the Hebrew alphabet, or Russian, or Arabic. I know many Greek letters through Math and Physics but not the entire alphabet.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Big Easy said. I was not seeing hustler in the right sense, and didn't parse ASAP because of it. Otherwise smooth sailing for a Saturday.
Morning, Splynter, I recall a grade school history book photo of a water tower shaped like a pineapple, located in Hawaii. I presume it was the Dole factory. Can't help you with the smartphone remote starter - you see, my phone doesn't need remote starting. :-)
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot most if it eventually, but had to google PALLAS. Thanks for the write-up, Splynter.
LOLLIPOPS - Reminds me of this line from 'Red October':
Jeffrey Pelt: Listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their LOLLIPOPS. But it also means I keep my options open.
Back in the 90's there was a pretty nice seafood restaurant in Worcester, MA called the Sole Proprietor. Guessing it's still there, but don't know.
I think we've had the NECCO tower before. Tower
ReplyDeleteYes Rabbi, transliteration is such an inexact process. Hebrew is made worse by the two distinct schools of the language - Sephardic and Ashkenazi - which have finally with the growth of spoken Hebrew from the now 68 year old State of Israel been mostly unified. I try to pick up Thai using the google translate but it often is very different then what my wife knows. Big Easy, add learning Thai to the challenge. Thai script (Thai: ΰΈัΰΈΰΈ©ΰΈ£ΰΉΰΈΰΈ’; rtgs: akson thai; [ΚΓ ksΙ̌Λn tΚ°Δj] About this sound listen) is used to write the Thai language and other languages in Thailand. It has 44 consonant letters (Thai: ΰΈΰΈ’ัΰΈΰΈΰΈΰΈ°, phayanchana), 15 vowel symbols (Thai: ΰΈͺΰΈ£ΰΈ°, sara) that combine into at least 28 vowel forms, and four tone diacritics (Thai: ΰΈ§ΰΈ£ΰΈ£ΰΈΰΈ’ุΰΈΰΈ์ or ΰΈ§ΰΈ£ΰΈ£ΰΈΰΈ’ุΰΈ, wannayuk or wannayut).
ReplyDeleteAlthough commonly referred to as the "Thai alphabet", the script is in fact not a true alphabet but an abugida, a writing system in which each consonant may invoke an inherent vowel sound. In the case of the Thai script this is an implied 'a' or 'o'. Consonants are written horizontally from left to right, with vowels arranged above, below, to the left, or to the right of the corresponding consonant, or in a combination of positions.They also do not space between words....
Enjoyed the puzzle and Splynter hit another home run.
I didn't parse ASAP correctly either. I figured it was a hustler asking for A SAP to take advantage of, which still made sense (at least to me).
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the PALLAS/raven answer/clue pair, reversed, also appeared in Patrick Jordan's Washington Post puzzle today. How likely is that?
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle today, not too challenging for a Saturday but had to look up some unknowns : PALLAS, DIXIE CUP and LILITH.
ReplyDeleteEasier fills were TOM SEAVER - know him more from the Reds since we lived and breathed the Big Red Machine in our household ( even though he wasn't part of their heyday)
XANADU - ahh, knew this right away. As a preteen I was enthralled with this cheesy movie. Loved Olivia Newton-John and the music.
NEONTETRA - growing up my Mom worked for a fish store and had six aquariums at our house. Lots of tetras! She had one tank dedicated to a pair of mating Red Oscars who would often jump out of the tank. Madness would ensue with us trying to catch them before our dachshund did and they blended in with the red and black shag carpet ( it was the 70's! Lol) We also had a Red Devil with his own 100 gallon tank since he would eat any other fish. Amazingly he lived about 14 years.
Thanks Splynter - always love your write ups.
Happy Saturday to all!!
I find it interesting how words change when adopted by another language. The dictionary says that KIMONOS is commonly used as the plural of KIMONO, although the Japanese do not add S or make any changes for plurals. The same is true for the Hebrew letter BETH. S is commonly used as the plural in the U.S. according to the dictionary although the Hebrew does not add S for plurals. Foreign languages also change English words when they adopt them.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-There must have been a sale at the Proper Noun Store. Oh well, TOM SEAVER was a gimme, so…
-Yup, I got an E-MAIL ALERT just as I filled it in
-A natural thing for TRINI to do in The Dirty Dozen (:27)
-This is the time of year when FB coaches who didn’t PAN OUT call moving companies
-“Brutus, I thought you were my PAL. GUESS NOT!”
-Episode 3 of Oliver Stone’s Untold U.S. History on Netflix argued against the use of the A-BOMB on Japan
-Do you know another song with the word ENNUI (3:08) in it?
-I love the remote starter on my iPhone. As my salesman told me, “You can start your car from Mumbai”
-I got BETH largely from hearing of this
-TRIPPING booby traps are part of the perils of war
-GAS UP?
-Dude picks up a red hot horseshoe – Blacksmith asks SNIDELY, “Kinda hot for you?”, Dude replies, “Nah, it just doesn’t take me long to EXAMINE a horseshoe!”
-Nate’s Clinton/Trump election day forecast
-Toughie – Bobby Lewis was largely considered a One Hit Wonder with Tossin’ and Turnin’. What one hit song did the MONOTONES have?
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteThe NW corner was the most difficult for me. Had to google for TOM SEAVER and Whitelaw REID to open it up. HOYA was another unknown, but it perpped itself in. My first thought for 1A Sole proprietor? was "fish monger", but it didn't fit. Favorite clue/answer was ERASE for "Get the word out?" Thanks for your faithful guidance today, Splynter.
Hahtoolah--So sorry to hear of the tragic loss of your mother. I can only imagine the pain and sorrow you must be feeling.
Best wishes to all cornerites on this fine Saturday!
Husker, I could Google that just to be sure, but instead I'll stick my neck out with The Book Of Love.
ReplyDelete"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteTough puzzle day for me. First, the Sudoku failed to solve, and then the Doug and Patti entry threw up several road blocks. Sadly no blog for the Sudoku, but at least I can come here and discover my errors.
I, too had STATE FLAG before SEAL; I did get 1a (although FISH store fit, too, and could have supported FOOT for 1d). I did check Google for several answers (PALLAS, LILITH, GAS UP, GUESS NOT). Didn't "get" the clue/solve in 57a (PLAN ON); I had PLAY, which makes about as much sense as PLAN, IMO. I usually have problems when there are too many person's names to solve. Which is why the answer to 22a (PAL) is one of my favorites. "Hey Pal" is a go to phrase when I can't recall someone's name ...
Today's limerick:
When the miner let out a big shout,
We all thought he'd struck gold; there's no doubt.
After sieving by hand
All he had was black sand.
Guess his fortune just didn't PAN OUT.
Desper-otto, my solve was just the oppposite of yours. The bottom 3/4s almost sailed itself in place. In school at least one classroom had an aquarium usually filled with NEONTETRAs. Loved the clues for LOLLIPOP and ERASE.
ReplyDeleteI came to the same conclusion on LILLITH from Cheers and realized why she was so named. Great CSO, Montana!
Up at the top had to research TOMSEAVER and Whitelaw REID so that opened it up for me and I finished a little over my alloted one hour with a phone call in between.
We've seen ALICEMUNRO before and I recall mentioning that her bookstore on Victoria Island is named MUNRO'S.
Thank you, Doug and Patti as well as Splynter. I think of you, Splynter every time UPS delivers a package. This year I shopped more than half of gifts on-line so have received many visits from UPS. I love on-line shopping!
Have a delightful day, everyone!
Vancouver Island.
DeleteMJ:
ReplyDeleteIt appears we followed the same route to a solve at the top.
On second thought, here is a better limerick:
ReplyDeleteColin Kaepernick's future's in doubt,
As his games always end in a rout.
Like a gold-seeking miner,
This is one 49'er
Whose lame efforts just did not PAN OUT
Irish Miss under this dog for 16 years. Nipper
ReplyDeleteThat should have read "Irish Miss worked under this dog for 16 years."
ReplyDeleteAwesome guitar lesson,
ReplyDeleteClosest I could find to a kiss shaped water tower...
Runners up:
First
second
Third
fourth
Fifth
And a prototype in the works...
I'm with Big Easy on this one, the Natick of PALLAS / LILITH means no gold star for the constructors. Actually have never seen either one in my 30+ years,of (attempted) puzzle solving.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I appreciate knowing how Lilith on Frazier was named, nice. So her name on that show would have been a MUCH BETTER clue, assuming the constructors wanted that.
I liked this puzzle; all the answers were gettable without having to look anything up. I smiled at the clues for SHOE STORE, ERASE, LOLLIPOP, and MORTE. "Sole" didn't fool me, though, so I figured SHOE or FISH would be in the answer. Yeah, I took another look at the act of typing lollipop.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would not want to be able to start my car remotely. To do so means the car is always connected to the internet, listening, and therefore vulnerable. I wouldn't want anybody in Mumbai starting my car. I also never leave the engine running if nobody is in the driver's seat.
I applaud you for standing up to Chase bank and no longer doing business with them, desper-otto.
I don't think I could learn Thai (or Burmese or Cambodian). Whew.
Argyle, thanks for your pictures of towers.
Best wishes to you all.
Since many here are retired husbands....Past 1
ReplyDeleteRETIRED HUSBAND
After I retired, Isabel insisted that I accompany her on her
trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men; I found
shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally
unfortunate, Isabel is like most women -she loves to browse.
Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter, from
the local Target:
Dear Mrs. Merklee :
Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a
commotion, in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior
and have been forced to, ban both of you from the store. Our
complaints against your husband, Mr. Merklee, are listed
below and are all documented by our video surveillance
cameras:
1. June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put
them in other people's carts when they weren't
looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off
at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor
leading to the women's restroom.
Part 2
ReplyDelete4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an
official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right
away'.This caused the employee to leave her assigned
station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in
turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to
lose time and costing the company money. We don't have a
Code 3.
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag
of M&Ms on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a, 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to
a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and
told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they
would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department
to which twenty children obliged.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he
began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people
just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and
used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting
department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants
were.
11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while,
loudly humming the, 'Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his,
'Madonna Look' using different sizes of funnels.
Part 3
ReplyDelete13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people
browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 22: When an announcement came over the loud
speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed; 'OH
NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
15. Took a box of condoms to the checkout clerk and asked
“where is the fitting room?”
And last, but not least:
16. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door,
waited awhile; then yelled very loudly, 'Hey!
There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks
passed out.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteTypical Sat "learning/cheating" day for me. Nothing too hard but getting a(o)TOE-hold to see answers... I needed a "hint." Thanks Splynter! I also enjoyed the expo - Chuck Norris meme and the Bear's fruit was funny.
Thanks Doug & Patti for the fun. PALLAS, REID (as clued), and HOYA were new to me. And, the clue for ERASE was SMART, if not down-right devilish - Fav!
LILITH we saw about 6 weeks back w/ a Bible ref. clue IIRC. That set Cheers/LILITH/demonic connection into my head.
Anon@10:00a - that's how I rationalized A SAP too after giving up on 'Girl next door' letters to the magazine. In that same vein, I learnt Kara Kum is a desert and not a porn star.
{C, B+, ibid,ibid, B} {C,F}*
HG- Love me some Frankie; thanks. Also, I have NATE Silver's book "The Signal and the Noise" a great read. He didn't get it wrong - look at the light-blue STATEs that went red due to 1 or 2 districts.
D-O: I googled Book of Love and found Peter Gabriel [listen if you have time on your hands]. Then Googled MONOTONEs and found you're right.
I was thinking Catsup @20a. I remembered seeing that on a road-trip when I was a kid in the backseat. I'd drink out of that water tower - Argyle's water tower, however, I'd have second thoughts [where does the water come out Nipper?]
I recall Olivia Newton-John's XANADU but I like RUSH's version way better. It finishes Coleridge's Kubla Khan and the 12 min is worth it... To me anyway.
Have a great Sat everyone!
Cheers, -T
*{Cute,Funny}
Since you stopped giving me "grades" I figured it was something more cryptic! π Had the "Montana" clue ended up being STATE FLAG I might've gone a slightly different direction w CK, but I realize we need to keep politics off of the Corner ...
DeleteGreat tips on avoiding shopping trips.
ReplyDeleteKara Kum is not the preferred spelling of Karakum. Nevertheless, here is an interesting feature of said desert. The world's largest bar-b-que pit. Giant Hole
ReplyDelete"Crow heard on tracks" is the dumbest crossword clue of the century.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of dumb: Lotsa Lindsay Lohan clues this week.
@3:44 - really - I thought Crow on tracks was a great clue. Nailed it w/ the RY in place.
ReplyDeleteArgyle - AWE'd. Another data-point indicating we homoerecti are just too small yet we have the ability to adapt and SATIABLE(?) ourselves. Cool; thanks for the link.
C. Moe - So, I was cute by 1/2 :-). What comes in under cute but above groan?
Cheers, -T
T, Funny works for me! π
DeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, Doug Peterson and Patti Varol - and Splynter too! For being parties to my personal triumph!
Woo-HOO! Ha-HAH! Ta-DA!! I amazed myself by how well I did on today's pzl. I have had satisfying solves in the past, but never one so completely pleasurable and rewarding as this one.
Why "this one"? Because I didn't know half of the fills, either because there were multiple options (PAL, OTOE) or through sheer ignorance (TOM SEAVER), but I went with my initial impulse. It didn't matter whether my 1st guess was based on memory or nothing-at-all; I just trusted the old brain to come up with something, anything.
Over my years as a cruciverbal solver I've tried this before, trusting entirely to impulse from start to finish, but it never worked like today. It felt almost like magic, like I couldn't make a wrong turn. A little spooky, but very satisfying.
The old grey walnut is serving me well. Think I'll keep it a while longer.
After we finished eating at a Mexican Restaurant ( Chimichanga w/shredded beef) last night, my wife wanted to stop at Target on the way home. I did the REAL MAN thing.
ReplyDeleteDropped her off at the door, went back to the restaurant two blocks away, sat at the bar, and had another Pacifico on draft. I told her to call me when she needed me to pick her up.
:12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his,
'Madonna Look' using different sizes of funnels." An auto dept. in a Target is about as useful as on in Victoria's Secret; hey that might get me to go there.
No Sheryl Crow links yet?
ReplyDeleteI liked that clue also.
Umm Splynter....Who?
ReplyDeleteThose jokes about the retired guy going in to Target were funny.
I know that isn't my husband. Why just last night, I asked him to go to Target with me after we finished at the local Mexican eatery. Do you know what he did ?
He dropped me off at the entrance and told me to call him when I was done shopping. I know he went and sat on a bar stool somewhere. He had that same old slurred speech with the beer breath and glossy eyes. Then he wanted to get all romantic lovey dovey when we got home. I swear that man gets more selfish every year.
I liked the Sheryl CROW clue and thought it was funny.
ReplyDeleteCute, Lemonade and subsequent Target shoppers!
I just got back from driving Barbara home from the hospital. Her hemoglobin count was low from the side effects of the chemo so she had to get an infusion of red blood cells. It was a long, boring day. I hope this doesn't keep recurring...
ReplyDeleteI needed something to cheer me up a bit so I fell back on good ole Dave Barry.
I came across a little movie about Eddie the Eagle. Do you remember him, the only member of Britain's ski jumping team in the winter Olympics a few years back?
Great Sat xword. CCian in its clueing. I was encouraged to see Patti's name and thx Doug too.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course Lemonade for a great write-up. I'll get to the links later.
Owen. Depression is the consort of ERATO, much like LILITH was a consort in some versions. Check out Lawrence Gardner who of course is not mainstream.
I actually got this Saturday XW. Weehoo!
No mention of Coleridge writing XANADU on opiates. He came out of a dream WIDE AWAKE and started writing but was interrupted and couldn't finish.
Wait. Splynter did the write-up. Lemonade gets my WENDY award for cracking me up.
Of course, when I finish a Saturday I'm in the right frame for chuckles.
The necco sign is in Charlestown, MA
C-Moe, I keep trying to come up with a decent 'lick, like you two. Especially, with the trick ending.
WC signing out just prior to dozing out
Husker 10:58 -
ReplyDeleteThe vocalese version of Meet Benny Bailey (performed by Manhattan Transfer) tells us how to cure an ennui. The treatment involves a night out at a jazz club, ideally one where Benny himself is performing. Granted, that would be hard to arrange now...
It's worth adding that Meet Benny Bailey has some of the best vocalese work done by soprano Cheryl Bentyne. Even in rapid passages so common in the genre, she never misses a pitch.
ReplyDeleteDudley, I too am a big fan of The Manhattan Transfer though I like their earlier stuff even more than Vocalese.
ReplyDeleteBTW, did you hear that Tim Hauser just died? Sad...
Tim Hauser died on October 16, 2014.
ReplyDeleteAh, my mistake. I just found out about it and got mixed up about when it happened. Thanks for the correction.
ReplyDeleteFinished it 100% correct only with some lucky WAGs. Agree that PALLAS/LILITH crossing was unfair. Never heard of PALLAS and only a vague memory of LILITH from some art gallery.
ReplyDeleteThe Semitic demon I know is called a Dybbuk. Same number of letters, but crosses nixed that.
AOL ER I could not parse for quite awhile! I was thinking AOL IM (Instant Messenger) or something like that!
Never heard of TRINI and crosses barely helped. If I didn't wear contacts I probably would not have heard of RENU. I never considered it a "brand".
As for HOYA I was curious enough to look it up. I know of HOYA camera filters, but the origin is unrelated. The Georgetown word comes from a pretty obscure source.
From Wikipedia: The team name is derived from the mixed Greek and Latin chant "Hoya Saxa" (meaning "What Rocks").
Wilbur Charles @8:22:
ReplyDeleteThe interrupter of "Kubla Khan" was the infamous Person from Porlock at the door. The poem was never finished.