Theme: PV & DP
Words: 70 (missing K,Q)
Blocks: 30
Our
third installment from this duo to close out 2016, and this time Patti
gets 'top billing'. A smattering of fills on my first pass, a few
gaffes, a few WAGs, and I called it done - but no ta-DA~! So I had
to go back and check where I went wrong, though I was fairly certain it was
in the spanner at 34a.; turned out I had another mistake at the proper
name for 42a. Oh well. Finished within my personal allotted time, and
now I am freezing as I compose the write-up; see 31a. One 15-letter
spanner, one 15-letter climber, two 12-letter fills, and paired 10s in
the down corners;
34. First volume of a Beverly Cleary series : BEEZUS AND RAMONA - I recognized the author's name, but only the "Ramona" part from any titles
8. "You're skating on thin ice" : DON'T EVEN GO THERE - I had "eveR", since I had no idea about the 15-letter spanner crossing here
23. They're hard to put down : PAGE TURNERS - nailed it. The last Page Turner I read was "The Racketeer" from John Grisham - now I am on to "The Broker". I was reluctant to read his stuff because I knew the books revolved around lawyers (and frequently jails/prisons, too) the way Crichton's revolves around genetics, Patterson & Kellerman around murder mystery, etc. - but I am glad I started with "The Litigators", which was quite humorous
43. Comedy team staples : STRAIGHT MEN - I have heard this phrase, but couldn't think of an example - and then I read the list here at the Wiki, and I see quite a few I recognize - which includes James May from the British Top Gear series
2O1seveNWARD~!
ACROSS:
1. Not much : JUST A TAD
9. "__ Weeks": classic Van Morrison album : ASTRAL
15. Caravaggio masterpiece that pictures Pontius Pilate with Jesus : ECCE HOMO - the painting
16. Raise : PARENT
17. Iconic building with "point" offices : FLATIRON - dah~! Not PENTAGON, tho I realize there would need to be the phrase "with THE" in the clue
18. Market array : BRANDS
19. What stars have : FAME - I tried EGOS
20. Specialty docs : ENTs
22. In order : TIDY
26. Dauntless : STOUT
29. Spray holder : VASE - ah - I forgot that a "spray" is kind of floral arrangement
30. Site of monkey business : ZOO
31. Get a winter coat? : ICE UP - I am afraid my apartment will ICE UP this weekend - we lost the furnace, which includes the hot water, and won't get repaired until Tuesday. Always on a holiday weekend....
32. Part of an inheritance : GENE - ah, that kind of inheritance
33. River to the Severn : AVON - another good WAG
37. Cornerstone word : ANNO - I figured EST'D was not going to last
38. Hauls : LUGS - I had TOWS to start
39. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe : MAUER - filled via perps
40. Spectrum band : RED
41. 1969-'70 Broadway musical that ends with a fashion show : COCO
42. Brandt of "Breaking Bad" : BETSY - beSsy seemed just as likely - I have not watched a single episode of this show, but I got a Firestick for Christmas from my landlord, so I can watch everything now - but first I am making my way through "Burn Notice"
46. Benjamin portrayer : HAWN - Goldie, as in Private Benjamin; I was thinking BRAD or PITT, for Benjamin Button
47. Cries of surprise : O-HOs - oops, went with A-HAs
48. John follower : ACTS - Bible chapters
52. Fleet destroyed by the Protestant Wind : ARMADA
54. Ovid, for one : EPIC POET
56. More expensive : DEARER - started as DEEPER
57. Bought back : REDEEMED - Blue รyster Cult song, too
58. Joshua tree habitat : DESERT - as for what got filled in first, I WILL NOT EVEN GO THERE
59. Tests using Snellen charts : EYE EXAMS
DOWN:
1. Bridges of Los Angeles County : JEFF - once I changed my "building", this actor's name (and not a structure) occurred to me
2. Home of the Herb Alpert Sch. of Music : UCLA - I had the U and A
3. Hustle : SCAM - ah, the noun, not the verb
4. Head of the Sorbonne? : TรTE - Frawnche
5. Sushi choice : AHI - made my PENTAGON wrong
6. Eagerly unwrapped : TORE AT - Not even a week ago - I got a Millennium Falcon Bluetooth music player
7. In with : AMONG
9. SFPD alert : APB
10. "Nausea" novelist : SARTRE - I recognize the name, but not much else - the Wiki
11. Express, say : TRAIN
12. Orbital maneuver : RENDEZVOUS - learned this word from reading the 'adapted' novel of The Empire Strikes Back - but I was about 9, and read it literally as ren-dez-vows
13. "Years of Minutes" author : ANDY ROONEY - good WAG with the "OO" in place
14. SFPD ranks : LTs
21. Resolute policies : STANDS
23. __ platter : PU PU
24. One working on keys : USER - computer keys
25. Wreck locator : SONAR - shipwrecks
26. When, in Act IV, Juliet drinks the potion : SCENE THREE
27. "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" : TEEN DRAMAS - never watched any of them
28. Taverna liqueur : OUZO
31. Structural pieces : I-BARS
32. Riata twirler : GAUCHO
33. Basic Latin word : AMAT - ah. I had AMAS
35. Rough going : SLOG - popular Saturday Crossword descriptor
36. "Yes!" : AMEN
41. __ block : CINDER
42. Next to : BESIDE - the blue-eyed girl from some time back sat BESIDE me yesterday - my heart was galloping in my chest....
44. Clued in : AWARE
45. Glum : MOPEY
48. Crown : APEX
49. Food __: after-eating drowsiness : COMA - did not suffer this on either holiday this year
50. Come down hard : TEEM - like rain
51. FDA output : STDs - Tried RDAs first
52. Throw into the mix : ADD
53. "The lie that enables us to realize the truth": Picasso : ART - I think I just read this in a book on novel writing
55. Volcano center? : CEE - VolCano
9. "__ Weeks": classic Van Morrison album : ASTRAL
15. Caravaggio masterpiece that pictures Pontius Pilate with Jesus : ECCE HOMO - the painting
16. Raise : PARENT
17. Iconic building with "point" offices : FLATIRON - dah~! Not PENTAGON, tho I realize there would need to be the phrase "with THE" in the clue
19. What stars have : FAME - I tried EGOS
20. Specialty docs : ENTs
22. In order : TIDY
26. Dauntless : STOUT
29. Spray holder : VASE - ah - I forgot that a "spray" is kind of floral arrangement
30. Site of monkey business : ZOO
31. Get a winter coat? : ICE UP - I am afraid my apartment will ICE UP this weekend - we lost the furnace, which includes the hot water, and won't get repaired until Tuesday. Always on a holiday weekend....
32. Part of an inheritance : GENE - ah, that kind of inheritance
33. River to the Severn : AVON - another good WAG
37. Cornerstone word : ANNO - I figured EST'D was not going to last
38. Hauls : LUGS - I had TOWS to start
39. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe : MAUER - filled via perps
40. Spectrum band : RED
42. Brandt of "Breaking Bad" : BETSY - beSsy seemed just as likely - I have not watched a single episode of this show, but I got a Firestick for Christmas from my landlord, so I can watch everything now - but first I am making my way through "Burn Notice"
46. Benjamin portrayer : HAWN - Goldie, as in Private Benjamin; I was thinking BRAD or PITT, for Benjamin Button
47. Cries of surprise : O-HOs - oops, went with A-HAs
48. John follower : ACTS - Bible chapters
52. Fleet destroyed by the Protestant Wind : ARMADA
54. Ovid, for one : EPIC POET
56. More expensive : DEARER - started as DEEPER
57. Bought back : REDEEMED - Blue รyster Cult song, too
Redeemed
59. Tests using Snellen charts : EYE EXAMS
I can read line 7
1. Bridges of Los Angeles County : JEFF - once I changed my "building", this actor's name (and not a structure) occurred to me
2. Home of the Herb Alpert Sch. of Music : UCLA - I had the U and A
3. Hustle : SCAM - ah, the noun, not the verb
4. Head of the Sorbonne? : TรTE - Frawnche
5. Sushi choice : AHI - made my PENTAGON wrong
6. Eagerly unwrapped : TORE AT - Not even a week ago - I got a Millennium Falcon Bluetooth music player
9. SFPD alert : APB
10. "Nausea" novelist : SARTRE - I recognize the name, but not much else - the Wiki
11. Express, say : TRAIN
12. Orbital maneuver : RENDEZVOUS - learned this word from reading the 'adapted' novel of The Empire Strikes Back - but I was about 9, and read it literally as ren-dez-vows
13. "Years of Minutes" author : ANDY ROONEY - good WAG with the "OO" in place
14. SFPD ranks : LTs
21. Resolute policies : STANDS
23. __ platter : PU PU
25. Wreck locator : SONAR - shipwrecks
26. When, in Act IV, Juliet drinks the potion : SCENE THREE
27. "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" : TEEN DRAMAS - never watched any of them
28. Taverna liqueur : OUZO
31. Structural pieces : I-BARS
32. Riata twirler : GAUCHO
33. Basic Latin word : AMAT - ah. I had AMAS
35. Rough going : SLOG - popular Saturday Crossword descriptor
36. "Yes!" : AMEN
41. __ block : CINDER
42. Next to : BESIDE - the blue-eyed girl from some time back sat BESIDE me yesterday - my heart was galloping in my chest....
44. Clued in : AWARE
45. Glum : MOPEY
48. Crown : APEX
49. Food __: after-eating drowsiness : COMA - did not suffer this on either holiday this year
50. Come down hard : TEEM - like rain
51. FDA output : STDs - Tried RDAs first
52. Throw into the mix : ADD
53. "The lie that enables us to realize the truth": Picasso : ART - I think I just read this in a book on novel writing
Cubism, get it~?
Splynter
FIW¡ Only error was AMAs + BEsSY instead of AMAT + BETSY.
ReplyDeleteFlubs: penTagON > FLATIRON, brave > STOUT, pate > APEX, regS > STDS, MOodY > MOPEY, cowboy > GAUCHO
{A.}
Puzzle Plaints
------ -------
The theme today I plainly see,
It is to get the best of me!
Down, a language I can't frame,
Across, a person I can't name.
Wild-Ass Guessing gets nowhere,
Deceptive clues just seem unfair!
Some letters seem like pick-and-choose:
Who could spell a RENDEZVOUS?
Determination, more than skill
Gets to, at last, that final fill;
But do I hear a trumped ta-da?
I'm still denied such foofaraw!
What cursed cell yet thwarts my bid
To complete this consarned grid?
What? Just a typo? Glory be!
I knew a genius was in me!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis would have been lots easier if I'd recognized the grid-spanning "first volume." Saw the "and" but had no idea what the two names might be. Got 'em, but still don't recognize 'em. Stout finally convinced me to change my TAPA to a PUPU platter. That AVON/RAMONA/MAUER/BETSY stack was just cruel! If it hadn't been for some fortuitous WAGs, this one could easily have gone down the drain. That would've been a terrible way to end the year. Thanks, Patti and Doug.
Splynter, you've got better eyes than I do. I could only make out the first 6 rows. Try to stay warm!
Lots of cheesy fill, but it's done. Gold star.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but Patti and a Doug did me in. I did finish but needed help with one square to get that NE corner to open up. Mind you, I had Anne Rooney filled in and Andy never entered my mind. (Wherever said mind was wandering!) Overall, it was a tough solve because of so many unknowns. While I'm familiar with Sartre, I'm not familiar with that particular title. Never saw "Breaking Bad" so Betsy was a guess and "Beezus and Ramona" was all perps. Is that a children's book?
Thanks, Patti and Doug, for a year-ending challenge and thanks, Splynter, for the last hurrah expo for 2016.
Misty, I hope the sandman paid you a nice, long visit!
YR, I hope things are improving with Alan.
Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve everyone. ๐๐พ๐ท
Let me wish everybody a Happy New Year. But it's Saturday AND the end of the year so the puzzles should get harder as the week progress, but NOT as the 52 weeks progress.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't complete the NE today. Just too many people, books, and a Van Morrison album that I have never heard of. The West and SE were completed. But just staring at BEEZUS'O'N_RAM_NA gave me no help; the book, author, and series were unknowns. But that would not have helped even after correctly guessing PAGE TURNER, because MAUER, BETSY, ASTRAL, & SARTRE were total unknowns. I had filled GOUCHO for GAUCHO but it wouldn't have mattered. My brain kept wanting MANEUVERS for RENDEZVOUS but it was one letter short. I was stuck and nothing would have helped.
The rest was done only from WAGS- ACTS, AVON, ANDY ROONEY, FLAT IRON building, JEFF (or BEAU), UCLA, RED, HAWN- these were WAGS that enabled a toehold because I think PUPU platter, ARMADA and DESERT were about the only gimmes this morning.
D-O, I guessed the AVON in the 'stack' but the other three- no way.
Good morning all
ReplyDeleteJust like yesterday, the NW corner was tough for me. I suspected 1D was going to be one of the Bridges brothers, maybe even Nash (Bridges) - wasn't that a TV show?
I had ripped for TOREAT and ECCEHOMO and FLATIRON were unknowns.
I knew the BEEZUSANDRAMONA right away - Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors as a child and I loved this funny series about sisters. This fill was a huge help. Lot of perps and WAGS today but got it done in my usual Saturday time.
Splynter - thanks for you expo. Fun and informative as always. I suspect my DH needs glasses but he's in denial. If he could have an eye exam using the chart you provided, I believe he would gladly go for the test ;)
Thanks PV and DP for a nice workout - a fun challenge today!
Everyone have a safe and fun ringing in of the new year! DH and I will be enjoying a quiet evening at home, trying to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop :)
Tough, but fun. The bottom 2/3 was relatively easy. The top was another story. In the NW I wanted BEAU instead of JEFF and EEL instead of AHI. I'm glad it was not the ubiquitous EEL sushi, although I love it. JUST A TAD fixed that corner, but the NE did me in. I looked up ASTRAL and red lettered 18 across. I am satisfied that I finished with a little help.
ReplyDeleteStay warm, Splynter. Yes, it seems that this type of thing happens on weekends and/or holidays.
My students enjoyed the Cleary books, including this one.
I have read many of Grisham's books. I especially liked The Painted House. If I space them out with other genres the lawyer theme does not bother me. I also like Scott Turow novels.
I used to hear DEAR and DEARER relating to expensive,but not so much now. It seems dated.
A PUPU platter is fun to share. My favorite local Chinese restaurant, which had a good one, when out of business due to a rent increase three years ago. The building stands vacant. Does a tax write-off for the landlord make up for the loss of rent?
Happy New Year.
In the coming new year, how about a down to earth 'Saturday Puzzle' for the common man or woman?
ReplyDeleteThis one filled in pretty smoothly for me - but it helped knowing BEEZUS AND RAMONA. My kids and I loved all the Beverly Cleary books with Beezus and Ramona Quimby, their neighbor Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy. And my MIL grew up close to Beverly Cleary's Klickitat Street in Portland, OR, where she grew up and also had her fictional kids live.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/26/garden/on-klickitat-street-with-beverly-cleary-for-3-generations-the-child-s-choice.html?pagewanted=all
Patti's crosswords remind me of Silkies - looks overwhelming at first, but she makes it all smoothly go together without weird fill.
Thanks Splynter for the write-up.
Happy New Year's Eve to all!
I got stuck on fame x scam having entered fate x scat. Stars have fate, right? And scat for hustle almost makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sonia! I share your request! So many puzzlers seem to "get off" on poor cluing, thinking that it's so clever.
ReplyDeleteSLOG? What SLOG? For me the entire west coast blossomed once JEFF replaced BEAU and JUSTATAD slipped out. ECCEHOMO and the rest flowed from those first letters. Down further, BEEZUSANDRAMONA are very familiar to this former fourth grade teacher as I'm sure it is to other teachers and former fourth-fifth graders. For children's amusement they couldn't be beat.
ReplyDeleteOnce the west was won I thought Patti and Doug had given us a nice New Year's Eve treat, but there loomed authors and MVPs, my kryptonite! Slowly, very slowly and having to Google (argh!) MAUER, SARTRE (know him but not all his titles)and ANDYROONEY I finished. Though SARTRE was part of my curriculum enough time has passed that he has all but faded from my memory.
I'm currently reading Circling the Sun by Paula McClain and DEAR, DEARER occurs often, as expensive. Ovid as POET went in place but the EPIC part waited for perps. CEE from volcano was one of my first fill.
Thank you, Patti and Doug for a final challenge for 2016! And thank you, Splynter for rounding out the year for us in your inimitable way
Please enjoy a safe, joyous New Year's Eve to ring in 2017!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteBack when I first started doing crossword puzzles, I had two or three crossword dictionaries to help me when I couldn't guess or didn't know an answer. Now, it's Google, and thank God for it, as I would've been lost without a few cheats today. And even with a few cheats, my sheet looks a mess. I wouldn't let go of PENTAGON - until I googled ECCE HOMO - and soon the NW fell. Oddly, I had JUST A TAD right from the start but couldn't see JEFF in 1d.
Any old way, another Saturday puzzle completed; and as my buddy Tinbeni would say, more words, names and phrases today that I will forget by tomorrow
Here's a limerick I REDEEMED just for today. HNY all ...
In December we had a frost heave
On the roof of our house; had to leave.
Stayed with friends on our block,
So it comes as no shock
That we had to "hang" out, New Year's Eave.
Thanks, Patti & Doug, for a great Saturday puzzle. Started slow, but once I put in PAGETURNERS, everything fell into place. Nice challenge for the last day of the year!
ReplyDeleteNice write-up, Splynter, as always. Love your humor!
Happy New Years to all!
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteBeing familiar with BEEZUS AND RAMONA helped a great deal, but it wasn't enough. Finally turned to a few Google searches to get it finished. And when there was no Ta-da after finishing, I turned on red letters and found that I had made the same mistake in the NW as Northwest Runner with FAtE/SCAt instead of FAME/SCAM. Grand write-up, as usual Splynter. Thank you.
Happy New Year to all! Enjoy the day!
Thank you for the Beverly Cleary link, inanehiker. Very nice article.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhat Peg said at 1222.
Funny to see ARMADA again. Wonder if the Protestant Wind was led by their PROWS, too. Seriously, there is an excellent book written in 1988, on the 400th anniversary of the historic battle; "ARMADA" by Peter Padfield. It is rich in sailor's phrasings, and the vocabulary of sailing vessel operations. The effects of weather, even in Summer, was profound in affecting the outcome.
One of your very best poems, Owen. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteChairman, I liked your poem, too. I hope it is apocryphal.
Rich, please keep these Saturday challenges coming, even though some, including me, sometimes need help. We grow by stretching. Monday through Saturday puzzles run the gamut from easy to difficult, something for everyone. Those solvers who don't like the difficult Saturdays have other days to savor. Eliminating the difficult Saturday ones leaves nothing for those who like such challenges.
I watched Private Benjamin for the first time on a day full of snafus. Sitting alone in the theater laughing my head off at the silliness was great therapy.
One of my favorite novels recently was Sisters One, Two, Three by Nancy Star, about complicated mother/daughter relationships and family secrets. I recommend it.
Now I am reading Valley of the Kings by Coffey, a historical novel about the era of Ahkenaten and Nefertiti in Egyptian history. It is a real PAGE TURNER, with all kinds of intrigues, passions, assassinations and treachery. It is said to be well researched, just my type of historical novel. I am learning much.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I knew MAUER (one of C.C.’s Twins) but not BEEZUS (should have known OUZO) and so I’ll take one bad cell on this fine puzzle
-DON’T EVEN GO THERE is good advice on political discussions these days
-A timely take on FAME
-My wife’s middle name is Mary but it should be TIDY ☺
-We are in the first category - Vฤs, Vฤz, Vรคz. You?
-Did anyone else sing “Give me some men who are STOUThearted men..” in HS glee club?
-ANNO DOMINI is now Current Era (C.E.) in our secular world
-70% of pawnshops items are REDEEMED
-Reading the 20:20 line on a Snellen Chart indicates normal not “perfect” vision
-My wife and her mother refuse to TEAR AT wrapping paper
-He was an SFPD INSP not a LT
-I’m told I had some OUZO when we visited a wedding party in Italy. I’m fuzzy on the details.
-As a bricklayer we called CINDER blocks Haydite (a very light aggregate) blocks
Yellowrocks @ 12:59
ReplyDeleteIt is, although we did fail to get out of the '60's temp-wise yesterday! ๐
๐๐๐
OwenKL:
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say, A+ today!
ChairmanMoe:
Also very good.
YR@12:59
AMEN! Puzzling would be mediocre without these weekend challenges. Like Chairman Moe, many years ago when I first started doing really difficult puzzles, I, too, used several dictionaries, trivia and reference books thereby learning the information. Today, of course, we have the internet though I still have the books.
I liked this challenge, and if I keep doing crosswords for anther fifty years I might be equal to the challenge. I looked up ASTRAL Weeks (I guessed "A month of weeks" to compliment "Years of Minutes). Also the BEEZUS book, Joe MAUER, COCO and checked the spelling of OUZO.
ReplyDeleteEven after all that cheating I had FDA output being "SmDS", which I assumed was some medical lingo. I always thought the FDA was AGAINST STDs.
I agree with YR on the value of the difficult puzzles, as long as it isn't so difficult that very little can even be Googled. Those aggravate me to the point that I don't even try further submissions by that constructor. We haven't seen any of these for a while, but they do crop up. Certainly it is not the case today.
Thanks to Patti and Doug for today's poser, and to Splynter for the eye chart (oh yeah, and the other explanations too).
Take a pause from Burning Notice for a while start Breaking Bad. It's much deeper and quite addictive--just like crystal meth.
ReplyDeleteHi all!
ReplyDeleteI know Saturday's puzzles are above my pay-grade, so I cheated like a Chicago voter - early and often; 9a was my 1st Google and confirmed APB.
Thanks Gail and Bruce for the fun learning day. Thanks Splynter for the expo - sorry to hear about your furnace/boiler; good to hear you can "read" line 7 :-)
Lookups: 9a, 39a, 42a, 13d, and how the hell to spell RENDEZVOUS (hey!, my pen only has so much ink).
ESPs: 15a, 34a.
WAGs: WAGs, WAGs, everywhere.
WOs: 41a ≠ Hair [almost fit H-and?-R Block for 41d] was STRAIGHTened out by 43a. 40a ≠ ELO; 6d≠ TOREin
Fav: PU PU 'cuz on the CD One Fierce Beer Coaster there's a very funny song that starts with that platter. The song is JUST A TAD (ok very) un-PC so I won't link.
Instead, how about one of the best STRAIGHTMEN ever: George of Burns and Allen FAME. [Hope link isn't too political for HG :-)]
{A+} {Nice}
Jinx - LOL! your comment re: FDA c/a.
I'm w/ YR, C. Moe, et.al. Even though I still can't do most Friday pzls 100%, I get to learn. Hell, when I started solving ~10yrs ago I couldn't get a Tuesday w/o resorting to an xword dict.
Assuming the rain stays AT BAY, neighbor and I have $$$ to blow up in the sky for the cul-de-sac kids.
Happy New Year to all my friends at the Corner.
Cheers, -T
Chairman Moe, I realize that frost heaves are alien to Floridians who are said to resort to scarves and mittens when the temperature is below 60 degrees, at which time we would use a very light sweater, if anything. LOL. I am wondering whether you spent your youth in the icy climes of the northern US to inspire such a poem.
ReplyDeleteJust the opposite, I turn on the AC when the temp. rises above 80 and I set my heat at 67-68. Floridians crowing about 80+ weather and wearing shorts and flip flops all the time do not make me envious in the least. I love temperate weather 20-80 degrees, but our temperate zone is sometimes intemperate with some days in the single digits and others from 85 to 100, although most years these bad days are limited. Nowadays we get more very highs than very lows.
Is my face red! Thursday night I sorted my laundry on the LR couch while watching Jeopardy. Friday I had company for dinner. This evening I found a folded bra beneath the bottom of a throw on the couch. They must have seen it. I will never be cool.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, MJ, Wilbur, and Irish Miss, for the kind words and suggestions about my insomnia yesterday. My neighbors kindly gave me some xanax, and it worked--I got almost ten hours of sleep last night. So I feel great today.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this was a tough Saturday puzzle for me and although I got the southwest corner without any problems, this required a lot of cheating. Even so I still goofed in the end, with TINDER instead of CINDER, giving me TOCO instead of COCO (which I didn't know either). I must say I've also never heard of or thought of TEEM having to do with "coming down hard." But there were lots of clever clues, my favorites included VASE for spray holder, GENE for part of an inheritance. And at least I got SARTRE as the author of "Nausea" and Ovid as the EPIC POET. Speaking of which, I liked your poem, Owen, and yours too, Moe.
So many thanks, Patti and Doug for ending our year with a fun puzzle, and you too Splynter, for your always fun expo.
Have a great New Year's Eve, everybody, and a wonderful 2017!
Misty - I've been amiss in welcoming you back [I even have two stickies reminding me!]. Welcome back; and good to hear you got a good night's sleep. But really Who needs it? .
ReplyDeleteOHO, right, AMONG others, farts like me need to nap before tonight's festivities.
YR - I don't know your size, but, the laundry fax pas may not have been as embarrassing as you think ;-). C, -T
Rain coming down hard is said to be teeming.
ReplyDeleteI saw "Coco" on Broadway, a show about the famous haute couture diva, Coco Chanel, thus the fashion show reference. Recently I read a historical novel about her. She was quite a feminist.
H A P P Y
ReplyDeleteN E W
Y E A R
To All Our Cruciverbalist Cohort!
Whether your celebration is noisy and bright or quiet like ours, we hope you have a pleasant time tonight, a renewing and empowering time to mark both closure and a new beginning.
We'll have a quiet time tonight - watching the tape-delayed Time Square celebration. I was once part of that mob, back in the '80s when it was neither so massive nor so dangerous.
Funny, how our national "Midnight" is still the one in New York City. I grew up in San Francisco, and I've been living in or near L.A. for 36 years but no celebration out here feels anything like the ones I spent in the Big Apple, or in Williamstown or Northampton MA., or New Haven CT.
The NE keeps the edge in my heart. And Times Square is the heart of America tonight.
I don't know what happened but this week has been The Week of Major Ink Blots! Monday thru Thursday it seemed I didn't know diddly squat. Didn't even try Friday or Saturday. I'm looking forward to Monday's offering, hoping I've regained some intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThank you, constructors and bloggers. I enjoy my time spent here, even when the puzzle defeats me. Thank you, commenters. You are (almost) all a ray of sunshine in my life.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope 2017 is a great year for all of us!
Pat
Thinking about the ARMADA caused me to reflect on William the Conqueror's good fortune. His invasion fleet succeeded, sailing in September after waiting through several storms in August of 1066.
ReplyDeleteNeither Philip II nor Hermann Goering had such luck, Philip done in by the "Protestant Wind" (plus those plucky smaller English Men-o'-War), and Goering by the Spitfires and Hurricanes.
Anonymous T, many thanks for the sweet message, and for the hilarious video which cracked me up! I guess I'm not the only one with insomnia!
ReplyDeleteinanehiker: thanks for that Beverly Cleary link. I never read any of her books that I remember, but the house where I grew up was about 2-1/2 miles from her childhood home. Just spent the last hour touring my old neighborhood on GoogleMaps. She published her first book about the same time as my family moved to Portland when I was 5 years old.
ReplyDeleteOMKeith - Pasadena can be fun on NYE. Spent a night with friends in a van-camper just a block off the parade route. A good time was had by all.
ReplyDeleteAarrgghh!!! I've lost two posts including a little lick I efforted.
ReplyDelete'A's for everyone, near tada for me and I think I'll try to find that Egypt book.
Let's see what Sunday brings
WC
OK. I'm guessing my ethereal fans want to see my lick.
ReplyDeleteTo recap my long tour de jour
The APEX was RENDEZVOUS, pas maneuver
From the cobwebs came Joe Mauer
Perping ASTRAL took an hour
But the SLOG was worth it, do y'all
Concur
WC
Yellowrocks: yes, I spent almost 60 yrs living north of the Mason Dixon line. Have been exposed to temps well below 0 deg F. I don't miss it one iota. ๐
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI was just catching up/re-reading... D'oh! and double-D'oh! I'm sorry Patti & Doug; I was looking at the wrong puzzle when I typed up my thanks to the constructors.
I just came up with a '17 resolution - TIDY my workplace!
C. Moe - I'm w/ you. It would take big $$ to move back north. Jeans and a t-shirt was all we needed to set-off fireworks tonight. The kids (and the young at heart) had a hoot!
Cute Wilber.
May '17 bring y'all peace and joy. Cheers, -T
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY!
ReplyDelete(I watched Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. They're a lot of fun.)