Theme: No Reveal Monday - Start with three letters; a vowel progression and the same two consonants.
17A. Hebrew or Latin, e.g.: ANCIENT LANGUAGE
23A. Meetings of self-improvement seekers: ENCOUNTER GROUPS
39A. Form 1040 and schedules: INCOME TAX RETURN
53A. Doctor with a pager: ON-CALL PHYSICIAN
61A. Most of the Atlantic, to Columbus: UNCHARTED WATERS
Argyle here. The kicker is the five entries are all grid spanners and in language. Well done!
Across:
1. Contractor's detail, briefly: SPEC. (specification)
5. NYSE listings: COs. New York Stock Exchange/companys
8. Shade-loving plant: HOSTA
13. Pull's opposite: PUSH
14. Sitting on: ATOP
16. "That's __!": "Piece of cake!": A SNAP
20. Cpl., for one: NCO. Corporal/non-commissioned officer
21. Sundial number opposite I: VII
22. Kitty coat: FUR
29. Child of a boomer: Xer. Generations
30. With 31-Across, flying exhibition: AIR
31. See 30-Across: SHOW
32. More than fair, less than great: GOOD
34. Petting __: ZOO
36. Composer Bartók: BÉLA
44. Right triangle ratio: SINE
45. "Impractical Jokers" network __TV: TRU. truTV.
46. Most fit to be drafted: ONE A
47. Captures: NABs
50. Plus: AND
52. "CSI" evidence: DNA
58. Itinerary word: VIA. (by way of)
59. Dubai's fed.: UAE. (United Arab Emirates)
60. Glamorous Gardner: AVA
68. Allow to board: LET ON
69. "Frozen" queen: ELSA
70. Game with rooms and weapons: CLUE
71. Natives for whom a Great Lake is named: ERIEs
72. Like a clever devil: SLY
73. Outdoor faucet attachment: HOSE
Down:
1. Massage facility: SPA
2. Joke with a homophone, say: PUN
3. Top-left PC key: ESC
4. Trouser material: CHINO. Trousers of such a fabric gained popularity in the U.S. when Spanish–American War veterans returned from the Philippines with their twill military trousers.
5. Elevate to sainthood: CANONIZE
6. Giants great Mel: OTT
7. Work a crossword puzzle: SOLVE
8. "Macbeth" cauldron stirrer: HAG. One of the three Weyward Sisters.
9. Buckeye State sch.: OSU. Ohio State University.
10. Acronym for a big mess: SNAFU
11. Prepare to advance after a fly ball: TAG UP
12. Mimics: APERS
15. Bridge partnerships: PAIRS
18. S.A. country at zero degrees latitude: ECUA. (Ecuador)
19. About to happen: NIGH
23. Army vet: EX-GI
24. Vegas signs: NEONS
25. Early spring blooms: CROCI
26. Easy run: TROT
27. Hanger near the shower: ROBE
28. Be a debtor of: OWE TO
33. Summer of disco: DONNA
35. Cereal grain: OAT
37. Monday, in Metz: LUNDI. French.
38. "Ben-Hur" setting: ARENA
40. Dinner, e.g.: MEAL
41. Like Superman's special vision: X-RAY
42. Flees: RUNS AWAY
43. Indian flatbread: NAAN
48. "It all happened so fast" memory: BLUR
49. Sudden burst: SPATE
51. Operatic icon: DIVA
53. Developing egg: OVULE
54. Forty-__: NINER
55. Desert plants: CACTI
56. Shoes that make you look taller: HEELS
57. Hidden downside: CATCH. There's always a catch.
62. Soil-moving tool: HOE
63. Ques. response: ANS. (answer)
64. Broadband letters: DSL. (Digital Subscriber Line)
65. Rock gp. with winds and strings: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)
66. Moscow's land: Abbr.: RUSsia
67. Lay eyes on: SEE
Argyle
49 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to Joel and Santa!
Not bad. Unknowns were TRU and LUNDI. Made a stupid mistake. So this was the longest of the 6 puzzles I worked!
More rain. Egad!
Have a great day!
Oh, the ignominy¡ A DNF on a LUNDI¡ A natick in the NE: HOS¡A + ¡AGUP. I WAGged B instead of T.
I caught the vowel progression, but it bugs me that the NC doesn't seem to have any significance. The acronym site I checked had 284 meanings, none of which fit.
My first two poetic efforts today morphed into political polemics. I trashed them, but fear my inspiration was tarnished.
{B+, C-, C, C-.}
One cactus is a cactus, a cluster's CACTI,
But can a bouquet of crocus be CROCI?
The lexicon's even worse, CROCI
Can be pronounced to rhyme with sigh!
If it's not crocuses, it's a crock, say I !
Go to the AIR SHOW, go to the ZOO
At either there is something to do.
There's FUR and cute
Or a parachute,
But both have a hint of danger for you!
To find a holy man to CANONIZE,
Would his being a Canon help get the prize?
AND if they prefer
A high caliber
A cannon could shoot him to heavenly skies!
Once more, the midnight oil I burn
To SOLVE my INCOME TAX RETURN!
If there's no SNAFU
About what I OWE TO,
A refund might give me some lucre to burn!
Good morning!
Thanks, Joel, for a Monday speed run. My only stumble was ROPE (soap on a rope) before ROBE showed up. Thanks for 'splainin' the theme, Argyle. Looked for it. Missed it. Natch!
High winds yesterday knocked out electric service, which in turn knocked out internet service. We were powerless to do anything about it. Well, not quite. The generator kicked in and kept the lights on, but the Internet remained stubbornly nonresponsive. After 8 hours, things were finally back to normal. You know, it's really annoying when you call your ISP to report an outage, and the recorded voice invites you to go online where service is much faster and more convenient. Grrrr!
Good day to all!
An impressive puzzle from Joel today with five grid spanners. I didn't see the theme while solving, but am impressed after the fact. Thanks for 'splaining it all, Argyle.
More rain this morning. At least the veritable lake in our back patio and yard was able to drain overnight.
Enjoy the day!
Those who APE ("mimics") are APES, not APERS.
Nice write-up Argyle.
Thanks for the FUN Monday puzzle Joel.
Hand-up for not noticing the "vowel progression" theme. Ugh!
Hope y'all have a great week.
Cheers!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Sorry for my absence - having some issues I'm dealing with - but hope to stop by more often as things get SOLVEd.
I, too, did not see today's puzzle's vowel run (ANC, ENC, INC, etc). Had a couple write overs as I tried SO SO before GOOD in 32a, and OVARY before OVULE in 53d. Great "theme" and great recap
Not happy with the outcome of one of the two NFL games yesterday; I will be rooting for the "dirty birds" in two Sundays
Obviously, my favorite clue/SOLVE was 2d, PUN. Here are a couple: the first was a limerick for yesterday, but I didn't do the puzzle until late evening. I'll post it now since the "object" word probably won't appear for awhile. I penned this back in December:
When she has some free time on weekends,
Actress RUEHL goes out diving with friends.
But she has an obsession
About decompression:
The dive drives her to Mercedes bends.
And one for today:
The geometry teacher felt fine
With applying for credit on-line.
He got in a tangle.
The deal had an angle:
They need somebody else to co-SINE
I KNEW that my cherished fellow bloggers who got the theme would like it. Being a recovering engineer and not a man of letters, I didn't get it and wasn't particularly impressed even after Santa explained it. Kind of like a joke - if you have to explain it, it doesn't work. I also winced at O(hio) S(tate) U(niversity) for "Buckeye STATE Sch." I'm sure its "legal" or Rich wouldn't have allowed it, but it seems more appropriate for a King Syndicate grid than for this fine outlet.
I had never heard of BELA Bartok, and only sort of knew HOSTA, TRU TV and ELSA, the Frozen queen. I erased okay for GOOD, and skipped a clue and had to move DNA from 50A to 52A when the perps exposed my mistake.
I like that we had a Monday-level puzzle on Monday. I hope the rest of the week follows suit. Thanks to Joel and Santa for your efforts, which were far better than I could produce.
IPhone woke me at 2am with weather alert: tornadoes warning!! Big storm pass by, gone by 3:45, but then couldn't go back to sleep. My wife had to start work at 9, so had to wait till after breakfast with honey-dew to get at the CW. I found it a bit crunchy for a Monday. Got 'er done, but about twice my usual Monday time. And, of course, didn't see the theme until Argyle 'splained it to dopey me. Fun CW anyway, thanx, Joel! Nice write-up, thanx, Argyle! Owen, B, B, C, C+. Thanx!
Good morning all!
Fun, easy Monday; loved the grid spanners- nice job Joel! I missed the vowel progression w/two consonants - thanks for 'splainin, Argyle :)
Enjoyed the plants CACTI, HOSTAS, CROCI
With this unusually warm weather my irises and hyacinths are confused and popping up. I worked in the garden Saturday pulling weeds. A first for me in January.
Have a great day everyone!
🐇
Good morning everyone.
Thanks Argyle for explaining and expanding on the theme. While I got the fill easily enough, I didn't see all the technical niceties while solving.
No real issues.
VII - While the fill was obvious enough, I questioned whether I and VII were truly opposites on a sundial, A quadrant or a third of a circle would be more likely. Haven't found any pictures of sundials where they appear to be truly opposite. JMHO
The overnight part of the Nor'easter passed us by uneventfully. We will see what happens this afternoon. Our recycling men came very early to beat the storm. I wasn't ready. The condo assn. won't allow us to put the cans out the night before.
DO, I, too, have been frustrated to be asked to solve co0mputer problem online, when I have no service.
Puzzle was prefect for a Monday, just a little crunch. I missed the theme.
There were hostas in our garden when we moved here. They spread like crazy and overtake the garden. It took a few years to get rid of them. I still get an occasional sprout or two.
Little children are great apers. That's the way they learn. We have to be careful what show them them.
Living with my music teacher ex has been helpful with crosswords. I knew Bela Bartok.
I learned last night that David's hip break is clean and will need only a pin rather than a plate. Operation today. He is a CPA vice president in charge of his division. They do corporate taxes so this is their busy season. He has been working until 7PM 4 days a week and will soon be busy on some Saturdays. Hopefully he can soon work from home, but he doesn't have the multi-screen computer set-up they have at work.
OKL, A A A B and A+++ for last night. I have copied your lovely poem to savor.
YR - Its cheap and easy to add another monitor on most Windows computers. You probably just need a second monitor, a video card, and a teenager to do the work. Hardest part for me was to clear enough real estate on my desk for the monitor.
Great news about the pin v. plate. DW has a plate in one leg and a new hip in the other. I got really good at wheel chair operation.
Good puzzle, though I missed the theme.
Impractical Jokers is a very funny show. Four life-long friends in/near their 40s, compete in hidden camera situations. It's not for everyone, but I think everyone should check it out.
And yes, I am aware that no one asked for a tv show recommendation.
Thanks, Jinx. David is great at computers. I don't know whether he will modify his in home set up for the next few weeks or not. In this dog eat dog NYC business world, with a quite insensitive boss, I am sure he will be pushing himself to the limit very soon. I should have mentioned that, as well as the 4 long weekdays, he works Fridays, too, but usually only until 5:00 or 5:30. Please forgive all my typos in the last post.
Good Morning:
This was a nice easy breeze start to the week. After I filled in Income Tax Return, the light bulb went on with the progression theme, so On Call Physician was easy as pie to suss. Liked seeing the cacti/croci entries. Five grid spanners is quite impressive, as Argyle pointed out.
Thanks, Joel, for a smooth and satisfying solve and thanks, Argyle for your edifying expo.
YR, glad to hear your son doesn't need a plate. I don't know anything about hip surgery but it seems that the pin is the less severe choice. Hope the surgery and recovery go well. I'm also delighted to hear of Alan's improved status. I hope 2017 is kinder to you (and Alan) than the last two have been.
We're expecting a snow/sleet mix later today, lasting into tomorrow.
Have a great day.
Musings
-Just back from a fool’s errand. I saw the gimmick (successive vowel/NC) and wracked my brain trying to make it more than what it was. If I was the write-up person, I would have probably contacted Argyle or C.C. to ask what I was missing.
-UNCHARTED WATERS – Starting a teaching job at 58 yrs old in a new city
-I thought fixing this gasket would be a SNAP. Repairman will be here at 2.
-GOOD? 4H’ers know what a white ribbon means
-Where they NABBED Dilinger and what was playing
-EL AL is very cautious about who they LET ON a flight
-The Archiocise of Omaha has a campaign going to CANONIZE this man
-At noon on June 21 in ECUA you’d have no shadow
-INCOME TAX RETURN/OWE TO – Hmmm…
-The Hippodrome chariot ARENA set for BEN HUR was the largest ever built at that time
-“What’s the CATCH, all I have to do is hide this package of heroin in my luggage for $10,000?
-Musically “When whippoorwills call and evenin’ is NIGH” to where do you hurry?
I liked this LUNDI puzzle and now I know two French days, LUNDI and MARDI.
After finishing I also saw the vowel progression. Good SHOW as Steve might say. And about the only thing I recall about trig is SINE and cosine. Nice to SEE NAAN spelled out. Kitty coat is cute for FUR.
Thank you, Argyle, for your usual excellent expose and thank you, Joel Mackerry for a great grid.
Have a lovely LUNDI, everyone!
* Gary: To my blue heaven!
* I got the alphabetical vowel progression but missed the NC. I think the well for clever themes is starting to run dry.
* Geez, we had a microburst of really heavy rain pass over our house about 30 minutes ago. By the sound on the skylights, I thought it was hailing...
* YR, what is your relationship with Alan if you don't mind my asking? Friend? Relative? You take such good care of him. I'm guessing you have explained it before but I don't remember.
* I always think about whether Ecuador has a 'Q' for some reason.
* I've never heard anybody call them CROCI. I've never heard anybody refer to anybody else as an APER.
* Chairman Moe, I loved your last limerick!
Good catch Spitzboov. I and VII are opposite on a 12-hour clock face, but on a sundial they're only six hours apart, unless you've designed a sundial specifically for the Midnight Sun above the Arctic Circle (in which case you'd need I and VII for both a.m. and p.m.)
Very nice having spanners for a Monday. No problem with this one in spite of being a bit bleary-eyed after staring at the weather radar during a tornado watch last night here in Naples, FL. My wife slept through it.
Bill G, Alan is my much loved second son, as David is my much loved elder son.
Nice Lundi puzzle from Joel. Like Jinx, I'm also a recovering engineer but I got the vowel progression and the N but didn't see the C as part of the theme. I guess I'm not totally recovered. Argyle's expo tied it all together.
I had the progression by the third theme clue, so I entered the ON and UN on the last two and let Perps fill in the rest. No real hitches today.
DO: I know what you mean when you call your ISP and they try to get you to go to the part of their service that isn't working. Just plain annoying. If it was working, I wouldn't be calling. One thing that I have as a backup is the Hotspot on my cellphone that allows me to still get on the internet with my Ipad and computer. I'm at my beachhouse in OC MD, where I don't have internet service, so I use the hotspot while I'm here. I don't stream so I never use up my 10G of data allowance.
It's raining at the beach, but it's still better than the snow that I left in PA. I hope the weather is nice where everyone is.
Thanks to Joel and Argyle for the LUNDI fun. I found this CW a little crunchy for Monday but I did see the vowel progression.
Hand up for Okay before GOOD and Rope before ROBE.
CW staple ERIE was plural today.
Like Bunny M, I loved the plants, HOSTA, CROCI and CACTI. I am looking forward to seeing the first two in my garden this spring.
I wanted Ovum before extra spaces forced OVULE.
I stood with one foot on each side of the equator in ECUA. Would the sundial VII be correct there billocohoes??
We have rain, fog and general dreariness but no bad storms thankfully.
Stay safe and enjoy the day.
From the weekend, where I lurked because I was late and WEES was in effect.
Congrats and thanks to C.C. and all her supporters on the blog anniversary. Long ago, I did the CW in local newspaper and would wait for the answer grid in the next day's paper (and even then would not always understand the answers). I found this blog while googling for an answer somewhere around 2010 or 2011. I lurked until late 2012 when I jumped on board and was kindly received. I do enjoy the camaraderie and explanations (esp. when it is a cultural difference).
I complete the CW in various formats depending on the day: sometimes in pen in local newspaper if it comes early enough and is not on the same page as Sudoku or Word Jumble which DH likes to complete; on Mensa site on my laptop; on AcrossLite on my iPad. I don't have any particular preference.
YR - Sorry to hear of David's broken hip and hope for good healing. Also glad to hear of some peace with Alan's medical situation. Your devotion is admirable.
Bill G. - best wishes for your wife's recovery.
Been away for awhile, trying to catch up.
Belated happy birthday John Lampkin.
Belated Happy Birthday Blog!
Sorry to hear your news Yellowrocks...
Spitzboov, good sundial catch!
Ancient language?
Encounter groups? Yada Yada Yada...
This income tax return is not a political statement,,,maybe...
So that's why it's called "a practice."
When did manners become uncharted waters?
Bill G @ 10:48 --> thanks! Glad that you enjoyed it.
@oc4beach -- To make matters more painful, my home phone service is Vonage VOIP; when the Internet is out, so is the phone. I have to use my $0.25/minute flip-phone to listen to the recorded messages at my ISP's tech support line. I'm pretty sure my flip-phone doesn't have any hotspot feature. It normally just sits in the glove box in the pickup so I've got something in case of emergency.
DO: Sorry to hear that. Technology is great, except when it isn't working. Do you lose your internet often, or is it just an occasional thing?
If you don't have a smartphone, you can also get a MiFI hotspot device from outfits like FreedomPop and others. Sort of for insurance when your system goes down.
Good luck.
CED, what have you don e to P-O the blog gods. I found your post in the filter again. It would be a shame to lose that one; some really good stuff.
Is that you on the second cake?
CE Dave, now that's my type of cake, too. Lovely. I love butterflies.
Hi All!
Argg!!! FIW by a natnik - mUNDI sounded good but I shoulda' thought of Luna for Moon's Day (hey, that's today!) Oh, well 'twas a fun pzl Joel; thanks.
Thanks for the expo Argyle; I didn't note the progression either. OTOH, BELA's (unknown) music was pretty.
WO: AdD b/f AND
ESPs: natnik. See: above
Fav: c/a for DONNA Summer of Disco. Pop was single in the '70s and I remember his LPs :-)
Honorable mentions: 5 spanners is cool but COS & SINE in the same puzzle(?!?) is Better Than GOOD. (<-link). There's a band called BLUR that does GOOD too. Google if you want {D+}
I did like all the plants too - Note to self: gotta get my garden back in shape. The cold did the tropicals no favor:-(. I think the palms made it tho.
{B+,A-, LOL, A-} {?, Nice}
YR - Good news re: Eldest's pin no plate.
D-O: That was some wind, no? But not as bad as in other parts so I'll take a blown over chair... - If you need technical support with your email; please send us an email detailing your problem (?!?) - Wanks.
HG - While Boy's Town Father deserves it, I'm pullin' for Pope Frank for the next Saint CANONIZE'd.
AND, you're lucky - It wasn't my carry bag LET ON where they wanted me to put the heroin. How do I claim that 10K on my INCOME TAX RETURN?
I'm feeling the need for an UNCHARTED Accountant [with a hat, yes, a topper would do nicely...]
Cheers, -T
Terrible day yesterday. The power went out at 4pm, just as it was beginning to get dark, and stayed out until 10pm. 6 hours with no computer, no internet, no television, no music, no reading, since the small collection of candles and lanterns I have didn't have enough power for anything except helping one get from room to room without tripping or bumping into things. Thank goodness we have a gas stove, so we could at least heat up some soup for dinner. But at least I could see to get ready for bed, and have night lights on during the night once the power came back on.
So my heart sank this morning when I saw five grid spanners (five!) on a Monday puzzle. Give us a break, Joel! My across run-through yielded almost nothing, but thank goodness the downs began to slowly, slowly fill things in until I actually got the whole entire thing without cheating. Yay! Huge relief, and my morning started to feel a lot better. So thank you, after all, Joel--and you too, Argyle. Loved the METZ picture.
Interesting how Metz has been used lately to confuse us about whether the answer would be in German or French. Loved the three flower references, and have no idea how I remembered CHINO--a word I haven't heard in years. But my favorite, of course, was SOLVE to describe my morning ritual.
I ordered two battery operated lanterns from Amazon this morning. Hope they arrive quickly in case we have any more winter storms in the offing.
Have a great day everybody--and I will too.
CED - you SLY dog you. That TAX RETURN response was LOL! Any CLUE why the filter X'ER'd you? :-). C, -T
Anon-T, What wind? This morning as we were leaving for our daily march, DW noticed a board lying in the shrubbery. "What is this?" "Oh, nothing dear. Just part of the shutters from the garage window way over yonder and way up there." Glue bottle? Check! Air-powered staple gun? Check! Extension ladder? Check! Fixed in a jiffy with no alternate facts required.
For all TBBT fans, I forgot to mention there is a spinoff in the works centering around Sheldon in his youth. (I learned this from a recent Jim Parsons interview.) I stopped watching it years ago but I think there are still some fans on the Corner.
CED ~ Why was the cat afraid of the tree? Because of its bark! 🐈 🌳
Well, for all the commotion, the Béla was bella.....
Great sundial reference, thanks.
This was the crunchiest Monday Xwd in a long while. I actually thought I might have to cheat, but fortunately managed to squeak a victory after all. I wasn't sure about HOSTA, but I figured the cross perp just had to be TAG UP. Whew. I mean that: WHEW.
Thanks for the workout, Joel Mackerry, and the follow-up, Argyle.
Troubled last night while watching TV - with so many emergency signal buzzers interrupting our viewing. These signals are important, we know, but they tend to post with too broad a brush. Ours are mainly flash flood warnings, but that's not something that ever threatens our portion of "Orange County" in SoCal. Maybe someday the technology will be refined enough to target TVs in homes where the messages will actually do some good.
Misty, I feel for you with your long blackout. And for you desper-otto for the loss of the 'net. We keep some battery lights on hand, and also a wind-up radio to be able to hear emergency broadcasts. My favorite kindle (I've accumulated six) is a back-lit one, so that I can count on a few hours of reading if the juice dries up.
I agree with those who believe that I and VII are opposite on the sundial. They are 180 degrees from each other. When I sit opposite you I am directly across from you.
David came through the operation fine. He has a rod and a pin in his upper femur, not the hip.He is assured there will not be any residual lack of function. He is cleared to return to work in two weeks. He expects the high amount of pain will last for four weeks. Things could have been worse. Thanks for your concern.
I just returned from watching Hidden Figures, a fantastic movie! It's well written and well acted and what a story! BTW, though I've always had a high regard for anyone with mathematical talent, this movie sent that over the top! I have new respect for all you physics and math pros as well as engineers and rocket scientists (I know there's at least one).
Nice puzzle. I'm impressed with those five grid spanners. Didn't catch on the vowel progression but it didn't matter. Nice way to spend a Monday afternoon (was working all morning.) Gonna watch Endeavour and Morse tonight. Best wishes to you all.
Anon T @ 1:53 --->. Ok, I guess my first one was either too punny or not punny enough! So here's the PUN. Mercedes Ruehl goes Scuba Diving. A common concern of divers (so I've heard) is that if they surface too quickly from a deep dive, they can develop the "bends". So I used her name and the word bends as a play on the well-known German automobile
YR, here is a picture of a sundial. pic. Need I say more?
Lucina, I am no math/science superstar but I did enjoy teaching both of them and I wrote a math puzzle newspaper column for 10 years. I just finished tutoring Jordan in first-year algebra and a high school student in Algebra II. I enjoy the math and the interaction. It is really nice to see Jordan's increasing maturity to learning math and showing his work.
I like physics now but I sure had trouble at Cornell with Physics 101. Finally, I understood it well enough that I could see the forest instead of just all of the trees. So I am basking in the glow of your previous post. Thanks.
I am looking forward to the movie.
I just LOVE this! The dad is talented and his young daughter can sing on key, understands the musical phrasing and is cute as a button. What do you think? FATHER/DAUGHTER DUET
Thank you for the kind words, Ol Man Keith. Glad you got through the black-out okay.
Argyle, you are correct about the sundial, of course. The other way would be illogical.
BillG:
As a mathematician you will definitely appreciate the movie and more so as a human being.
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