Theme: None
Words: 72 (missing F,Q)
Blocks: 29
Unlike
last week's successful struggle, this week's puzzle was just a
Google-fest for me; too many proper names that I simply had no clue
about - and even some that I should have known, but were cleverly clued
with misdirection. In my humble opinion, there were a few too many "meh"
clues in this one, but only because I had never heard the term, or
didn't agree with the clue/answer connection. Oh well - can't claim a
win every week.... It was Mister Lieb who introduced us to "Fun Sponge". A pinwheel grid, with no fill longer than 8 letters,
all in the corners;
7a. Free speech inhibitor? : SWEAR JAR - meh. The clue was trying to be just a little too cute; IMHO, the SWEAR JAR is for the aftermath
of "free" speech; it never inhibited me. I had "B" and "C" in there - a
swear BAR makes sense, and so does CAR when you think of cell-phone
free train cars - and crossing this cell with a proper name was just
Natick
41d. Quality control process with an alphanumeric symbol : SIX SIGMA - new to me. I looked it up, and the first paragraph made sense, but the rest lost me.
60. Different exercises performed consecutively : SUPER-SET -
like most exercise equipment these days, too - e.g. the combo elliptical and
stepper; I don't bother with exercise - I just lift everyone else's
treadmills for shipping at UPS
2d. "Star Trek: Voyager" actress : JERI RYAN
- Googled. All I could think of was "JANEWAY". Never got in to this
version of Star Trek, even with a character such as Seven of Nine; I
just read that she was once Borg....does that make me a Trekkie anyway~?
ONWA-[resistance is futile]
ACROSS:
1. Major clothing chain : TJ MAXX - I thought I'd have a chance at this one, once I got a crossing letter, and it was the last "X"
15. Morsel : WEE BIT - ugh. TID bit was in there originally, and I refused to let go
16. Tufted tweeter : TITMOUSE
17. Unspecific threat : OR ELSE
18. "Right you are!" : "YESSIREE~!"
19. "Women and Love" author Shere : HITE - Google #4 as I solved; kept getting Women IN Love, from D.H. Lawrence
20. Tach readings : RPMs
22. Norwegian king during the Cold War : OLAV V - filled in the "OLA--" and waited, but I felt the second "V" was a pretty good WAG; either I,V, or X
23. Serial sequence : ARC
24. Attributes : TRAITS
26. Door opener? : DEE - the "D" at the front of the word DOOR
27. Where Martin Scorsese taught Oliver Stone: Abbr. : NYU - I knew it was a film school, but tried USC first. Oh well
28. Rhein tributary : AARE - filled via perps
29. 16th-century rulers : TUDORS
32. Archaeologist, at times : DATER - as in carbon dating, etc.
34. Capital of Kazakhstan : ASTANA - filled via perps
36. Disdained, with "at" : SNEEZED - oops, I had sneeRed at to begin with
38. Mickey Rooney septet : EX-WIVES
42. Blue on screen : RATED X - "BLOODS" fit, too, a show on CBS, so I was pondering
44. Last Supper query : IS IT I~? - several awkward answers in terms of parsing....
45. Completely overhauled : REDONE - for example, this could also be RED ONE
48. Revival figs. : EMTs
50. Texter's appreciation : THX - when I start typing in my texts, the app fills in the whole word THANKS for me
51. I, perhaps : ONE - the Roman numeral "I"
52. Harsh : SEVERE
54. U.N. ambassador appointed by JFK : AES - filled via perps; Adlai E. Stevenson II
55. 2008 Best New Artist Grammy winner : ADELE
58. Sweet sign-off : X O X O - lots and lots of "X"s. Seven of "X" (see 2d.)
59. King Ahab's father : OMRI - no clue, but filled via perps, yet again; the Wiki
62. Boxer Rebellion setting : PEKING
64. Cherish : TREASURE
65. Shady Records co-founder : EMINEM - DAH!~!!! I like Eminem, and I know that he's "Marshall Mathers" and "Slim Shady", too. Just didn't see the connection. Googled.
66. Snakes : SERPENTS
38. Mickey Rooney septet : EX-WIVES
42. Blue on screen : RATED X - "BLOODS" fit, too, a show on CBS, so I was pondering
44. Last Supper query : IS IT I~? - several awkward answers in terms of parsing....
45. Completely overhauled : REDONE - for example, this could also be RED ONE
48. Revival figs. : EMTs
50. Texter's appreciation : THX - when I start typing in my texts, the app fills in the whole word THANKS for me
51. I, perhaps : ONE - the Roman numeral "I"
52. Harsh : SEVERE
54. U.N. ambassador appointed by JFK : AES - filled via perps; Adlai E. Stevenson II
55. 2008 Best New Artist Grammy winner : ADELE
58. Sweet sign-off : X O X O - lots and lots of "X"s. Seven of "X" (see 2d.)
59. King Ahab's father : OMRI - no clue, but filled via perps, yet again; the Wiki
62. Boxer Rebellion setting : PEKING
64. Cherish : TREASURE
65. Shady Records co-founder : EMINEM - DAH!~!!! I like Eminem, and I know that he's "Marshall Mathers" and "Slim Shady", too. Just didn't see the connection. Googled.
66. Snakes : SERPENTS
67. Event associated with warm climates and big midday meals : SIESTA
DOWN:
1. Driving instructor's reminder : TWO HANDS - CAR driving instructor; with TID bit in the grid, I had T-T---, thought maybe this was a GOLF driving instructor; although a "two hand" reminder on the driving range is also a good tip....
DOWN:
1. Driving instructor's reminder : TWO HANDS - CAR driving instructor; with TID bit in the grid, I had T-T---, thought maybe this was a GOLF driving instructor; although a "two hand" reminder on the driving range is also a good tip....
3. Initial encounter in a romcom : MEET CUTE - so completely unaware of this phrase, I still couldn't believe it even after I looked it up - here. I have to admit, I went to pay my rent for the second time at my landlord's bank (not MY bank) because he is in Florida - the first time I made this trip was Halloween when the tellers were dressed as "Snap, Crackle, and Pop". However, the cutie I stepped up to yesterday was none of those characters, and when I asked, she said she was on the drive-thru as a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Baker....I like cinnamon. Does this count as a meet-cute~?
4. Fit : ABLE
5. Frat letters : XIs
6. Former Nissan SUV : XTERRA
7. Hinders : STYMIES
8. "Bullets Over Broadway" Oscar winner : WIEST
9. Sci-fi staples : ETs
10. Recess rejoinder : "AM SO~!"
11. Stir up : ROIL
12. Katy of "High Noon" : JURADO - M, B, C, J~? Take your pick
13. Sincere sign-off : AS EVER - or is it A SEVER~?
14. Player of Kent : REEVES - ah, yes. I knew it was not Christopher REEVE; but then I recalled the character was played by George REEVES in the 50's
21. Flaunt : PARADE
24. Fiction's Lord Greystoke : TARZAN - yeah, this one eluded me for too long
25. Pringles alternative : STAX - I did get it partially right - I laid in LAYS first
8. "Bullets Over Broadway" Oscar winner : WIEST
9. Sci-fi staples : ETs
10. Recess rejoinder : "AM SO~!"
11. Stir up : ROIL
12. Katy of "High Noon" : JURADO - M, B, C, J~? Take your pick
13. Sincere sign-off : AS EVER - or is it A SEVER~?
14. Player of Kent : REEVES - ah, yes. I knew it was not Christopher REEVE; but then I recalled the character was played by George REEVES in the 50's
21. Flaunt : PARADE
24. Fiction's Lord Greystoke : TARZAN - yeah, this one eluded me for too long
25. Pringles alternative : STAX - I did get it partially right - I laid in LAYS first
30. Ill-conceived : UNWISE
31. Stand for 45-Down : DAIS - a circumreferential clue that I figured out; 45. They involve insult comedy : ROASTS - I just watched the roast of Rob Lowe
33. First name in architecture : EERO - first name this week, last name last week (Saarinen); I did not know he died at age 51 - I am only 5 years younger than that
35. Hybrid cuisine : TEX-MEX
37. "Nos __": 2000s French-Canadian drama set in a summer home : ÉTÉS - utterly unsolvable from my point of view; and not just because it's Frawnche; filled via perps, but with 'summer' in the clue, ÉTÉ would have been a good WAG
39. Total assets? : VITAMINS - ARGH~! The cereal Total. Got me good.
31. Stand for 45-Down : DAIS - a circumreferential clue that I figured out; 45. They involve insult comedy : ROASTS - I just watched the roast of Rob Lowe
33. First name in architecture : EERO - first name this week, last name last week (Saarinen); I did not know he died at age 51 - I am only 5 years younger than that
35. Hybrid cuisine : TEX-MEX
37. "Nos __": 2000s French-Canadian drama set in a summer home : ÉTÉS - utterly unsolvable from my point of view; and not just because it's Frawnche; filled via perps, but with 'summer' in the clue, ÉTÉ would have been a good WAG
39. Total assets? : VITAMINS - ARGH~! The cereal Total. Got me good.
100% of 12 vitamins and minerals~!
40. One way to connect nowadays : ETHERNET
43. Allots : DEVOTES
46. Stomach : ENDURE
47. Superior, vis-à-vis Michigan : DEEPER - Great Lakes
49. Metaphors, e.g. : TROPES - OK, this word sounded familiar, but I still looked it up to be sure. Googled.
53. Wield : EXERT
56. Vault : LEAP
57. Language that gave us "plaid" : ERSE - yeah, CELT was not right
59. Tom Joad, e.g. : OKIE - I did actually know this one
61. Flare producer : SUN - Nice 'double flare' with the flared skirt, too
63. "Big four" record company : EMI
Splynter
46 comments:
Meh.
DNF. still had most of the NW and one cell in the NE empty when I gave in and hit the red. Six red letters showed in the NE, and 5 in the NW, but the bottom 2/3rds stayed black. weLl > ABLE, siERRA > XTERRA, SmEAR wAR > SWEAR JAR, mItSi > WIEST, etc.
{A, B, B+, A-, A.}
He was not to be SNEEZED at, he stood SIX foot SIX.
He came into the parlor to get his tat fixed.
What he wanted REDONE
Was to change the RED ONE --
He'd now solved two crosswords with a Saturday mix!
Mr. TITMOUSE is only a WEE BIT of fluff.
He carries no luggage, what he's wearing's enough.
You can bet, YES SIREE,
That he flies around free --
'Cause his EX-WIVES have gotten all of his stuff!
The ARCHEOLOGIST is DEVOTED to history he adores,
With his TWO HANDS he studied the final TUDORS.
When Elizabeth died
Nobles thought it UNWISE
To take the next king from the traveling Fodors!
Santa faints away when he MEETS M.& M.s!
The room sways around doing high R.P.M.S!
Seasonal rerun ensures
The commercial ENDURES!
REDO it for summer -- Santa meets EMINEM!
A Kazakhstani from ASTANA
Tried to move to U.S. Indiana.
But neighbors assailed him
The called him an alien --
Tho that was because of his waving antennae!
Ditto with Argyle.
Just because some word group has been around since the 1940s doesn't mean much ... hey, I've been around since the 1940s, and I never heard of "meet cute."
45A could be reclued as "1st infantry Division: Big ___ ____"
Ooops, before I forget...
"What is 6 Sigma?
6 Sigma is a popular quality improvement methodology made famous by the likes of Motorola and GE. 6 Sigma focuses on reducing the variation within a process. The term 6 sigma itself, relates to a level of performance where only 3.4 defects are produced per million opportunities. This is achieved by using careful measurement and statistical analysis to understand which ‘levers’ to pull to create the desired output." (A 'sigma' is the mark for one standard deviation, so six of 'em is pretty far away from the mean.)
Meet cute, live and learn. Speaking of random things, does anyone do shadow puppets any more?
Have a great week end all and thank you Splynter and John.
Hello Puzzlers -
My Struggle Meter was pegged.
Got most of the fill without peeking, but had doubts about some of it - Omri, I'm looking at you - even if perps were solid. Meet Cute is just miserable, since it is grammatically odd and therefore hard to guess. Not a lot of fun overall.
Morning, Splynter, when Jeri Ryan turned up, I wondered what photo would be selected - well done! I never got hooked on Voyager either, but seeing even a single episode is enough to cement the image of a very memorable Seven of Nine.
Good morning!
SWEARlAw, SWEARbAn...or just SWEAR! DNF. Splynter, I was right withya on SNEERED and TIDBIT. Figured the driving instructor told 'em to BUCKLE UP. Dredged HITE up from somewhere in the depths. THX was (is?) George Lucas's audio standard for movie sound.
I remembered the Katy JURADO character from High Noon, but drew a total blank on her name. So, at the end of the day, I wound up with two bad cells: bURADO and nEEVES. Bzzzzzt!
Forgot to mention, back when Star Trek Voyager was on, DW never called JERI Ryan "Seven of Nine." She always referred to her as "44 of D."
Good morning all. I fizzled out at the end.
Started in the center. STAX was first fill. Held off on RPMS. Entered fusion for hybrid cuisine and took it out just as quickly with the obvious EXWIVES. SIX SIGMA was as easy for me. I had just commented on it the other day when we had SOP. Spent way too much time with SIX SIGMA for a period of my career. It has its places, but not in what I did.
Reading a clue like "Fiction's Lord Greystone" always knocks me down a peg or two. I know right away that I'm not going to know the answer, and that I'm going to need to rely on perps. TRAITS, AARE, RATED X and REDONE gave me 4 of the 6. OK, so it's TARZAN. That answer also made me change SNEErED (at) to SNEEZED (at). EERO made me change it the first time from SCOFFED (at).
I like how the pronunciation of attribute(s) changes from verb to noun.
Even with VIT--INS in place, I kept rejecting the only word I know of that it looked like. Had no real confidence in either AES and OMRI that would make VITAMINS work. Then the penny dropped, and I accepted the other two.
Initially had SWEAR LAW and LUPINO. Then realized REEVES. Made me take out law. Took a chance with AS EVER after changing OLAf V to OLAV V and then JAR came. I've seen plenty of SWEAR JARs, so I accepted it. That J was the last perp needed to fill JURADO. Who ?
Had GUN for flare producers but that left me with SUPER GET and I felt that couldn't be correct. Tested the alphabet to get the S.
NW corner did me in. Got TJ MAXX easily enough as a clothing store chain that ended in X. So that gave me the likely XIS down and the probable ABLE, which locked in with OR ELSE. Never thought of WEE or TWO HANDS. Initially wanted stay back there, which fit with tid BIT, but not TJ MAXX. Didn't know that author either. Nor the actress. Nor where Martin taught Oliver. I was at a complete loss for romcom initial encounter.
Serial sequence offered no help. It could have been anything. I entered AbC. Wasn't a completely bad guess after all.
Finally turned on red letters and that b turned red. Put the R in and it didn't help with the few remaining unknowns. Hit the solve button. Heard the TADA but I give myself a DNF.
44A: It's been many moons since my catechism studies (I'm a septuagenarian) so don't think me to be sacraligious, but the only terms that came to mind were "Oh, waiter" and "Check please". C'mon; Mel Brooks took it to a much worse level.
I hope this works. If not go to YouTube and search Mel Brooks The Last Supper.
The Last Supper a la Mel Brooks.
Maybe this will work.
The Last Supper a la Mel Brooks.
Success!!
A real struggle, but worth it. Satisfying. I missed the middle A in ASTANA, so I had STiX instead of STaX. Now I remember seeing Stax in grocery stores. Too late. I haven't thought of MEET CUTE in a long time. It seems like teen girl talk to me. Idioms like this usually do not use proper grammar. I missed the C there and in ARC. I still don't understand ARC. TARZAN and IS IT I? were gimees. SIX SIGMA and JURADO were unknown but wags and perps got them.
Facing the swear jar penalty might inhibit some people.
Off to my chores.
I failed miserably at solving this puzzle.
Never have heard of or seen STAX.
I've never shopped in a TJMaxx store but one recently opened near me. I've heard they have very tasty banana chips to eat with a fruit dip.
I did immediately know Tarzan but I raised 4 boys who read all the books.
I hear a ferocious winter storm is heading my way with double digits below zero and lots of snow. It'll be a good week to fly to the east coast.
Montana.
23. Serial sequence : ARC = A story arc is a continuing storyline in say a television show that has a number of episodes. Story arcs are also found in comics, books, video games, and other forms of media. From Bill Butler's LAXCROSSWORD.
YR, about that swear jar...
Mark Twain once commented that he liked having a preacher in attendance. It added "zest" to his swearing.
Argyle, THX. I know of story arc, but didn't connect to sequence.
Musings
-I had no idea on MEET DATE or JERI RYAN which made for four bad cells but I had no idea on SIXSIGMA but got that. I’ll take it on this very challenging Saturday puzzle!
-A Facebook JAR for the use of “AWESOME” would be overflowing
-A general “OR ELSE” doesn’t work with kids. Be specific and follow through
-I showed my usual Saturday TRAIT of working from the bottom up
-The RPM’S of my yute!
-Opener: A suffix or the actual letter. Capital: Currency or city
-The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I (ONE), ended the TUDOR rein
-Carbon DATERS and creationists have issues
-The dreaded blue screen of death
-AES’s historic “Until hell freezes over” UN moment (2:20)
-Do you recall a 30’s film character named STYMIE?
-Me too, TTP,SNEERED held until TARZAN swung in
-Interesting OKIE migration info
Cheated and alphabet-ran my way to a fill. No fun. Too difficult for me. Only reason for even doing it was to see if I could learn a few things along the way. Trouble is, by the time they come up again in a CW, I will have forgotten them once again. Also, very late start today. Very good write-up, Thanx, Argyle. Very nice limericks, thanx, Owen.
Hi again~!
Just got home from day 6, week two of Christmas at UPS~!
D-Otto - loved the DW comment about "44 of D" - but I think she was underestimating....
Magilla - thanks for the Last Supper History of The World link - that never gets old~!
Splynter
I got "swear jar" right away. We had to put it out for the second Presidential debate. It had quite a few quarters in it by the end.
Good Morning:
This was quite a struggle but I finally finished and was confused by the lack of the Tada! Rechecked the entries and when nothing popped out, asked for the error removal and found the culprit. Gun instead of Sun. I had filled Gun in with complete confidence (Source of a flare? Why, Gun, of course!) Super Get did look odd but I know nothing about exercise lingo or gyms, for that matter.
I did know Katie Jurado and Sheri Hite, but stumbled on Omri (I had Omoo) and had Tidbit before Wee Bit and USC before NYU. Meet cute is one of those finger-nails-on-the-blackboard entries. I know, I know, it's valid but I still don't like it. I would never describe TJ Maxx as a clothing store as they sell lots of other goods; it's more like a department store, on a smaller scale.
Safe trip, Montana. As of right now, you are coming into decent weather.
Thanks, John, for a real stumper and thanks, Splynter, for the informative write-up. I hope you're ready for the coming Christmas chaos!
Have a great day.
Hi all!
What XI of IX said... Thanks Splynter;that was my impression too. YESSIREE, Google and I are good buds now.
I got started well (TJ MAXX pop'd to mind as did "But, Honey, look how much I saved." 'You didn't save diddly -you spent $300 and didn't need more shoes!' I digress. I MET CUTE in HS and she still is. I put up w/ it (and lame movies, right HG?) :-)
Hum, I started and ended w/ SNEErED. Flair gUN too. D'Oh again.
{A,A+,B,B+,B}
Michael & TTP - SIX SIGMA's flaw is "you get what you measure" so folk manipulate the numbers to get what the Suits want. See VW and diesel.
Fav: STAX just 'cuz the clue made me think of Mitch's (@2:59) Pringles alternative. TEX MEX was nice too - love a good pico before SIESTA.
AS EVER, XOXO, -T
Thanks to my granddaughter's endless watching of TARZAN I knew Greystoke and JURADO made sense to me as a Hispanic surname though I don't recall Katy. Hand up for TIDBIT until WEEBIT took over. Only yesterday I saw HITE in another puzzle though I don't know any of the titles.
And I can't believe that THMAXX failed me because I shop there frequently. When I looked up JERIRYAN it hit me. MEETCUTE??? I would not have guessed that. The center was kinder to me than the surrounding areas.
Splynter, it's comforting to know you had a hard time with this one, too. It definitely challenged me.
So thank you, John Lieb, for serving up obtuse clues and references.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
IrishMiss:
Yes, about TJMAXX and why I didn't get "major clothing chain." It isn't exclusively for clothes, it's a department store. I was looking for something more specific.
It's possible to buy bedding, household items, toiletries, shoes and even furniture, so calling it a clothing chain is a real stretch. Maybe Rich and John have never shopped there.
TV TROPES - The Swear Jar
I read the Wikipedia article on MEET CUTE. Definitely not familiar with that jargon or argot.
Also, just realized when I read your write up that I got REEVES by thinking of the wrong Superman. I thought his name was Christopher Reeves. I forgot about George.
A teen friend of the neighbor boy has an XTERRA that needs a muffler now. It has for months. He has a really loud sound system instead. He thinks it's a Camaro or something. He'll probably need to get new tires soon. Squealing tires, bad exhaust system, and a blaring sound system... Yes Husker Gary, he thinks it is awesome.
Betsy C, that's funny.
Anonymous T - Yes, an inherent exposure in any measurement system.
Patted myself on the back when I thought of TJ MAXX instantly (don't know why, never shopped at ours), but should have known I'd go downhill from there. Finally muddled through, gave up, and came here. I love coming here and reading all the comments and learning from the masters. Thanks all and I'm off to do something even if it's wrong! Oh, Husker Gary, I have the same TRAIT - bottoms up!?
I could have filled Betsy's jar before I finally said .... it. Did manage to fill in most of the squares though, but approximately 20 were wrong and five were blank. I was simply over X'ed today.
MEET CUTE makes no sense to me, but heck, that goes for a lot of the latest expressions. Revival figures/EMTS never came to mind. Neither did JERI RYAN. Never been a fan of Star Trek stuff. My oldest is our family expert. Lots of fills were correct thanks to lucky wags.
Nuff complaining for today for this old timer.
Might get our first winter storm next week. Hope it helps our drought conditions.
I've said it before in this forum and I'll say it again. I'm amazed at how some puzzles are difficult for me to solve and then I come here and everyone thought it was EZ-PZ and I feel like an idiot. And then, the opposite occurs.. I finished this in probably my fastest Saturday time in years and from what I'm reading people had some trouble with it. It's interesting how everyone's minds work differently.
Hi everybody. I sailed through this with red letters turned on and enjoyed it about as much as I enjoy most Saturday puzzles, which is to say, not very much. But with red letter assist, it was a reasonable challenge for me for late Friday night.
I think most of the folks here are better CW puzzle solvers than I am. But I was familiar with the term "Meet Cute." I first heard it years ago on Siskel and Ebert when they were reviewing a movie. The expression is pretty common in reviews of RomCom movies and TV shows for the offbeat situation invented by the screenwriters to bring the two leading characters together so they can fall in love. I don't like its syntax similarly to how I cringe at "My bad." Why not Cute Meet? Oh well...
Tough.... DNF and FIW on SWEARJAR/SWEAR?AR and TARRAN/SNEERED. Did know the MEETCUTE from "The Holiday" movie with Kate Winslet and Eli Wallach encounter:
MEETCUTE
Thanks, Splynter for the walk-though today!
Sorry - that link didn't work. I'll try again.....
MEETCUTE
Here you go Peg.
Meet Cute
The https blogger. com stuff isn't needed.
Just put your link in place of the word url between the quotes.
In this case, the link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGVSVOTgS2Q
Well, I've had worse Saturdays. To my surprise, I actually got about 4/5 of this puzzle before cheating. Only the NW corner and the SE middle gave me some problems. Never heard of JERI RYAN or SHERE HITE, and although TJ MAXX occurred to me, I didn't think it was spelled with two Xes. King Ahab's father OMRI was a complete unknown to me, but I did get Mickey Rooney's EX WIVES. In the end I also goofed on TARZAN because I had SNEERED AT, like others. But all in all, this still was an interesting and tough, if very crunchy, Saturday puzzle--and yes, Splynter, it helped a lot to know you struggled a bit too.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
TTP... Many thanks!
Anonymous T said:
"Michael & TTP - SIX SIGMA's flaw is "you get what you measure" so folk manipulate the numbers to get what the Suits want. See VW and diesel."
You're right, so maybe that's why they put to on a diet? A while ago, the craze was "Lean Six Sigma" (I kid you not).
And another maybe ... maybe we should change the saying to "Lies, damned lies, and six sigmas"!
Michael: First - a confession - I'm a "suit"/ da' man...
That out of the way... LOL! Modern take on Twain. I know you kid me not... I knew Six Sigma was dead when 1000's of H1B "consultants" were suddenly "black belts." [not to disparage India-Indians, it just was in '04-ish].*
I've been working overtime trying to "lean" NIST, Cisco, Forester, Gartner, and CEB's collective "advice" to real-world / applies-to-us security framework. You have no idea how much management/metrics is/are baked into this crap -- I don't work w/ dummies who need me to tell them .ru nor .cn should be hitting our ETHERNETs.
----
*For the record - I work with a bunch of guys/gals from India and they're Awesome! But these aren't [insert Corp here] goofs who sat for some dumb test; my buddies know their s***. Plus, they've introduced me to some really Awesome! food [There's this green stuff that you dip naan in and wow, Awwwwesome! {Sick of the A-word yet HG? :-)}} My "lunch bunch" hails from India, Hong Kong, Iran, UK, Cairo, and even Canada (Eh?).
Lem - from way earlier. Yeah, I do a killer rabbit shadow puppet.
Brooks never gets old M. Go-Rilla.
Cheers, -T
Man, oh MAN! I was breezing through this one, filling right 'n left, up 'n down -- until BAM! I hit the WALL -- and just couldn't continue without cheats. Rats!
I felt much like Splynter. Too many unknowns like ASTANA and SIX SIGMA (Thanks, John Lieb; I'll compare my "Correct for Error" teaching to that handy mnemonic). And even though I'd already scored slickly with several semi-unknowns, like Mr. Rooney's EX-WIVES and NYU and TITMOUSE and TUDORS, I got stumped, chopped down to size, before the end. Grrr.
Like Life itself, there ain't no Justice in Xwds. You can be King or Queen of the Grid five days a week, and then come a cropper with a medium-tough one. This was a very respectable contribution from Mr. Lieb. He may have known precisely what he was doing -- in letting me have my way, for instance, in the SW sector, an area that yielded its goodies with only a WEE BIT of resistance, so easy I SNEEZED at it.
I wonder, whats the ERSE for "suckered"?
Another "constructor" who doesn't want anyone to solve, horribly obscure cluing and no where to build.
Hope you guys liked this, I thought it a hot mess. I enjoy working puzzles, the only enjoyment I got was recycling the paper it came in.
Too hard for me. Also lost interest.
All the dead ends, ditto here. Hated to have to let go of TIDBIT. I had the 3 FIWs including Flare GUN. When I finally had a chance to come here I knew I should go over it. But SWEAR BAR makes weird sense.
I actually settled on MEET CUTE, reasoning that MEET MATE probably wasn't right.
Only stubbornness kept me at it, especially the NW thru DATER. I agree that it was possible to get Naticked out.
Once I decided on HITE I looked it up. Sort of like the red ink thingy.
I too liked all of Owen's Rick's and the write-up. Welcome back Splynter, I thought of you this morning while reading"We Agnostics".
A lot of CUTE clueing. I think the groans are music to Mr Lieb's ears.
Any ears out there to hear?
WC
2 Down Jeri Ryan
Seven of Nine
Hey Wilbur, I'm still here.
Wilbur:
Don't despair. We of the western contingent read the late posts and other people will read them tomorrow.
Wilbur, and some of us in CST... Well, the Barenaked Ladies sang it best.
BTW, I discovered on CW alternate [over-air HD side-channel] old Tonight Shows w/ Johnny Carson. The one paused now (my Bro (Army one) called) is from '72 w/ Carrol Burnett and Bob Hope. Big topic - Nixon's re-election and Nam. Watching it is interesting 'cuz the more things seem to change, the more they stay the same - and we ENDURE. C, -T
I meant to check and got mired in the caves of Monte Python. Hilarious. I'd like to get started Sunday but today's paperwork day.
Have a great day, California and especially Bill and Lucina
WC
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