Theme: Camera Obscura - the three theme entries have a common scrambled word concealed within, as explained by the reveal:
54A. Device found in this puzzle's three other longest answers : HIDDEN CAMERA. You can find these things for next to nothing on eBay and Amazon. Creepy.
20A. Protective charm often adorned with feathers : DREAM CATCHER. Great, fresh entry. They can be elaborate, and quite beautiful:
33A. Stamina-testing ballroom event : DANCE MARATHON. Subject matter for the widely-acclaimed 1969 movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
40A. Forensic analyst's discovery : TRACE MATERIAL. A potpourri of things that might link a person to the scene of a crime.
Thursday rolls around again, and here's a nice scramble-theme from Kurt. The three theme entries are fresh and interesting, and the CAMERA is consistently found scrambled across the two words. There's a couple of nice long downs tying things together. I could have done without either one of the pairs AAR/SAAR or ERR/ERN but that's probably just me being picky. Let's see what else we've got to talk about:
Across:
1. Naproxen brand : ALEVE. A non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug of the proprionic acid class. Now we know.
6. Yap : TRAP.
10. Documentary divisions : ERAS. Not my first thought as far as a clue is concerned, but I think I see what Kurt or Rich are getting at - for example, documentary maker Ken Burns has produced programs covering the Vietnam War and the Civil War, as well as the jazz era.
14. Ricoh competitor : XEROX
15. Green-skinned "Return of the Jedi" girl : OOLA. Thank you, crosses.
16. Approaching : NIGH. The End, commonly. Let's hear it from Grumpy Cat:
17. Not shady : LEGIT
18. Action figure? : DOER
19. Site of Shah Jahan's tomb : AGRA. The Taj Mahal. The Shah had it built to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaj. As an aside, there are approximately two million Indian restaurants in the world called either The Mumtaj Mahal or The Taj Mahal. The other four are called The Red Fort, The New Bengal, The Taste of India and The Lahore Kebab House.
23. Decorative globe : ORB
26. Ice cream maker Joseph : EDY
27. Holed a five-footer, say : PUTTED. Or, in my case, three-putted, commonly.
28. Start of a hands-off declaration? : LOOK, MA! Followed by a trip to the ER or the dentist.
30. Fivers : ABES. We call 'em "Lady Godivas" in England, in the rhyming vernacular. A "tenner" is an Ayrton (Senna). The day one of my co-workers in London told me that he couldn't make it to lunch because "I got to go down the J. Arthur to sausage a Gregory" and I understood him made me feel like I was a native of the City.
32. Pigs out (on), briefly : O.D.'S
36. Longtime Labor Day telethon org. : M.D.A. Jerry Lewis-hosted event in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
37. Wild bunch : MOB
38. Gold units: Abbr. : KTS. Karats.
46. Swiss river : AAR. Here it is, with the old city of Bern sitting handily in the meander.
48. "Peter Pan" pooch : NANA. In the book, she was described as a Newfoundland, but for some reason Disney in their infinite wisdom turned her into a St. Bernard in their movie adaptation.
49. Travel org. freebie : AAA MAP. I still enjoy printed maps for browsing, but Google Maps for navigation is pretty awesome, especially the real-time rerouting to avoid traffic.
50. Lamentation : PLAINT. Complaint, in old-speak.
52. Miss an easy grounder, say : ERR
53. It can follow directions : -ERN. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. Question - why do we say "suh-thern" and not "sow-thern"?
58. Cold drink brand : ICEE
59. Come & Get It! pet food maker : ALPO
60. Annoyed : IRKED.
64. Like some warnings : DIRE
65. Jetty : PIER. The longest pleasure pier in the world is at Southend on the east coast of England. It's almost a mile and a half long and has a railway running from the shore to the pier head. There used to be a pub at the end, but it caught fire in 2007 and took the pier head down with it.
66. "Keen!" : NEATO!
67. Fresh answers : SASS
68. Quick on one's feet : SPRY
69. "Business @ the Speed of Thought" co-author : GATES. Collins Hemingway gets the co-writing credit, but Bill's is the only name on the cover.
Down:
1. Guns N' Roses' Rose : AXL. He of the X-rated anagrammatic name.
2. Sheltered side : LEE
3. Bit of work : ERG
4. Cancel : VOID
5. More than just edgy : EXTREME
6. Morning fare since 1952 : TODAY. The Today Show on NBC.
7. Study, e.g. : ROOM
8. Actor Baldwin : ALEC
9. Rampart topper : PARAPET. Merriam-Webster has rampart and parapet as synonyms, but they're two separate things. Here's a diagram of Hadrian's Wall, built by the eponymous roman Emperor to keep the marauding Scots out of northern England (some people still say that it should never have been abandoned).
Now, all this begs the question as to whether Francis Scott Key knew the difference. Either "From the ramparts we watched" or "O'er the parapet we watched" would make more sense. Probably too late to change it now.
10. Legislate : ENACT
11. Punctual : RIGHT ON TIME. Swiss Railways, famously. Amtrak, less so.
12. Concurred : AGREED
13. Result of a messy breakup? : SHARDS. Glass, usually.
21. Wax-coated cheese : EDAM
22. Rear : TUSH
23. Ancient : OLD
24. Gad about : ROAM
25. Wall Street figures : BOND TRADERS. 007 memorabilia collectors?
29. 1980 Chrysler debut : K-CAR
30. Something in the air : AROMA. There's my coffee brewing, in a K-CUP.
31. Cake with a kick : BABA. Rum-soaked confection.
34. "Too true!" : AMEN
35. Creole vegetable : OKRA. Popular in Indian food too.
39. German industrial region : SAAR. Don't confuse your Ruhr and your Saar.
41. Youngest Brontë : ANNE. Cheerful-looking bunch, and this was painted by their brother, Branwell. He painted himself out of the portrait, evidently quite poorly.
42. Short rests : CATNAPS
43. Weight allowance : TARE
44. Stud, e.g. : EARRING. Now, wait a minute. A stud is a stud, an earring is an earring, and ne'er the twain shall be confused. Docking a point for this one.
45. ICU worker : LPN. The "N" was my final fill. I wasn't sold on that whole "North-ern" thing at 53A, and I didn't know Licensed Practical Nurse.
46. Rose garden pests : APHIDS
47. "The Good Wife" wife : ALICIA. Thank you, crosses. Never saw the show.
51. Nice thoughts? : IDÉES. Nice, in the south-ern part of France, located in a south-erly direction from Lyon. OK, I'll stop now.
52. Bishop John for whom a Georgia university was named : EMORY. Knew the school, learned today he was a bishop.
55. Movie trailer unit : CLIP
56. Imitator : APER. I've been peeved about this word before, I'll just let it go.
57. One-half base times height, for a triangle : AREA. For a right-angled triangle only, if I recall correctly.
61. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls" : KAT. Crosses to the rescue again.
62. Juillet's season : ÉTÉ. Summer in Nice is nice.
63. Big affairs : DOS
And .... here's the grid.
Steve
54A. Device found in this puzzle's three other longest answers : HIDDEN CAMERA. You can find these things for next to nothing on eBay and Amazon. Creepy.
20A. Protective charm often adorned with feathers : DREAM CATCHER. Great, fresh entry. They can be elaborate, and quite beautiful:
33A. Stamina-testing ballroom event : DANCE MARATHON. Subject matter for the widely-acclaimed 1969 movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
40A. Forensic analyst's discovery : TRACE MATERIAL. A potpourri of things that might link a person to the scene of a crime.
Thursday rolls around again, and here's a nice scramble-theme from Kurt. The three theme entries are fresh and interesting, and the CAMERA is consistently found scrambled across the two words. There's a couple of nice long downs tying things together. I could have done without either one of the pairs AAR/SAAR or ERR/ERN but that's probably just me being picky. Let's see what else we've got to talk about:
Across:
1. Naproxen brand : ALEVE. A non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug of the proprionic acid class. Now we know.
6. Yap : TRAP.
10. Documentary divisions : ERAS. Not my first thought as far as a clue is concerned, but I think I see what Kurt or Rich are getting at - for example, documentary maker Ken Burns has produced programs covering the Vietnam War and the Civil War, as well as the jazz era.
14. Ricoh competitor : XEROX
15. Green-skinned "Return of the Jedi" girl : OOLA. Thank you, crosses.
16. Approaching : NIGH. The End, commonly. Let's hear it from Grumpy Cat:
17. Not shady : LEGIT
18. Action figure? : DOER
19. Site of Shah Jahan's tomb : AGRA. The Taj Mahal. The Shah had it built to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaj. As an aside, there are approximately two million Indian restaurants in the world called either The Mumtaj Mahal or The Taj Mahal. The other four are called The Red Fort, The New Bengal, The Taste of India and The Lahore Kebab House.
23. Decorative globe : ORB
26. Ice cream maker Joseph : EDY
27. Holed a five-footer, say : PUTTED. Or, in my case, three-putted, commonly.
28. Start of a hands-off declaration? : LOOK, MA! Followed by a trip to the ER or the dentist.
30. Fivers : ABES. We call 'em "Lady Godivas" in England, in the rhyming vernacular. A "tenner" is an Ayrton (Senna). The day one of my co-workers in London told me that he couldn't make it to lunch because "I got to go down the J. Arthur to sausage a Gregory" and I understood him made me feel like I was a native of the City.
32. Pigs out (on), briefly : O.D.'S
36. Longtime Labor Day telethon org. : M.D.A. Jerry Lewis-hosted event in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
37. Wild bunch : MOB
38. Gold units: Abbr. : KTS. Karats.
46. Swiss river : AAR. Here it is, with the old city of Bern sitting handily in the meander.
48. "Peter Pan" pooch : NANA. In the book, she was described as a Newfoundland, but for some reason Disney in their infinite wisdom turned her into a St. Bernard in their movie adaptation.
49. Travel org. freebie : AAA MAP. I still enjoy printed maps for browsing, but Google Maps for navigation is pretty awesome, especially the real-time rerouting to avoid traffic.
50. Lamentation : PLAINT. Complaint, in old-speak.
52. Miss an easy grounder, say : ERR
53. It can follow directions : -ERN. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western. Question - why do we say "suh-thern" and not "sow-thern"?
58. Cold drink brand : ICEE
59. Come & Get It! pet food maker : ALPO
60. Annoyed : IRKED.
64. Like some warnings : DIRE
65. Jetty : PIER. The longest pleasure pier in the world is at Southend on the east coast of England. It's almost a mile and a half long and has a railway running from the shore to the pier head. There used to be a pub at the end, but it caught fire in 2007 and took the pier head down with it.
66. "Keen!" : NEATO!
67. Fresh answers : SASS
68. Quick on one's feet : SPRY
69. "Business @ the Speed of Thought" co-author : GATES. Collins Hemingway gets the co-writing credit, but Bill's is the only name on the cover.
Down:
1. Guns N' Roses' Rose : AXL. He of the X-rated anagrammatic name.
2. Sheltered side : LEE
3. Bit of work : ERG
4. Cancel : VOID
5. More than just edgy : EXTREME
6. Morning fare since 1952 : TODAY. The Today Show on NBC.
7. Study, e.g. : ROOM
8. Actor Baldwin : ALEC
9. Rampart topper : PARAPET. Merriam-Webster has rampart and parapet as synonyms, but they're two separate things. Here's a diagram of Hadrian's Wall, built by the eponymous roman Emperor to keep the marauding Scots out of northern England (some people still say that it should never have been abandoned).
Now, all this begs the question as to whether Francis Scott Key knew the difference. Either "From the ramparts we watched" or "O'er the parapet we watched" would make more sense. Probably too late to change it now.
10. Legislate : ENACT
11. Punctual : RIGHT ON TIME. Swiss Railways, famously. Amtrak, less so.
12. Concurred : AGREED
13. Result of a messy breakup? : SHARDS. Glass, usually.
21. Wax-coated cheese : EDAM
22. Rear : TUSH
23. Ancient : OLD
24. Gad about : ROAM
25. Wall Street figures : BOND TRADERS. 007 memorabilia collectors?
29. 1980 Chrysler debut : K-CAR
30. Something in the air : AROMA. There's my coffee brewing, in a K-CUP.
31. Cake with a kick : BABA. Rum-soaked confection.
34. "Too true!" : AMEN
35. Creole vegetable : OKRA. Popular in Indian food too.
39. German industrial region : SAAR. Don't confuse your Ruhr and your Saar.
41. Youngest Brontë : ANNE. Cheerful-looking bunch, and this was painted by their brother, Branwell. He painted himself out of the portrait, evidently quite poorly.
42. Short rests : CATNAPS
43. Weight allowance : TARE
44. Stud, e.g. : EARRING. Now, wait a minute. A stud is a stud, an earring is an earring, and ne'er the twain shall be confused. Docking a point for this one.
45. ICU worker : LPN. The "N" was my final fill. I wasn't sold on that whole "North-ern" thing at 53A, and I didn't know Licensed Practical Nurse.
46. Rose garden pests : APHIDS
47. "The Good Wife" wife : ALICIA. Thank you, crosses. Never saw the show.
51. Nice thoughts? : IDÉES. Nice, in the south-ern part of France, located in a south-erly direction from Lyon. OK, I'll stop now.
52. Bishop John for whom a Georgia university was named : EMORY. Knew the school, learned today he was a bishop.
55. Movie trailer unit : CLIP
56. Imitator : APER. I've been peeved about this word before, I'll just let it go.
57. One-half base times height, for a triangle : AREA. For a right-angled triangle only, if I recall correctly.
61. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls" : KAT. Crosses to the rescue again.
62. Juillet's season : ÉTÉ. Summer in Nice is nice.
63. Big affairs : DOS
And .... here's the grid.
Steve
FIR! Used the reveal to get the gimmick, but think I would have found it if I'd just looked a bit longer. I was already comparing letters looking for an anagram, but only for groups of 3 or 4 -- 6 letters was longer than I'd considered yet.
ReplyDeleteSteve: LOL at "The other four..."!
Re: F.S.Key -- we poets sometimes take liberties, as I did in the last one today.
{B+, B+, C+, A-, A.}
Whether a long sleep or CATNAP,
A protective DREAM-CATCHER will TRAP
Any evil nightmare, or
EXTREME night terror --
It's like a parental block app!
She went to a DANCE MARATHON,
Glass slippers was what she had on!
She danced with a guy
So incredibly SPRY --
Knocked her socks off, yet left her slip-ons on!
"LOOK, MA!" he shouted again,
ReplyDeleteThen he tumbled end-over-end!
He woke up on a table,
Doc told him, "You're stable,
Now tell what happened to the nice L.P.N.!"
A figure of action's a DOER!
In the woodlot of life, he's a hewer!
In the salon of views
He's a styler of DOS,
To the garden of IDEES he hauls manure!
He was sent to the store for lime-cola;
Returned instead with a slave-girl named OOLA!
"I remembered wet, wild, and GREEN,
So my choice was between
This Orion love-slave or a bushel of OKRA!"
(Who can identify the anachronism in the last poem?)
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Kurt and Steve!
Nope, that's always the formula for a triangle, Steve.
No problems.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNot a single write-over on this one, though "holed a five-footer" could just as easily have been "muffed a five-footer." Thanks, Kurt.
Steve, Fermat's correct. Works for any triangle.
My postal scale has a TARE button. Put a container on the scale, TARE to zero it out, fill the container, and now you can weigh just the contents. Handy for recipes.
I remember the trains in Japan were frequent, inexpensive and always RIGHT ON TIME. Impressive!
Solving today was a speed run but the CAMERA wasn't caught by me. There were a couple solved by tricky clues- TODAY ( not cereal) and ERN (thank you nurse) and two unknowns crossed in the SE- KAT & GATES. OOLA- name sounds like it needs another LA; didn't know her either. I can't believe Bill Gates would waste his time placing his name on a book that someone else wrote most of. He certainly doesn't need the $$$$$$. ALICIA was filled by perps and EMORY was an easy WAG.
ReplyDeleteD-O, you might as well use the postal scale for cooking. I buy a roll (100) of forever stamps and it lasts over a year to use them, mostly used on Christmas cards.
Got it all without help, but it was Thursday-tough. WAGged cells at OOLA x PARAPET and NANA x ANNE. Erased fins for ABES, marathon dance for DANCE MARATHON, frost for AROMA. Didn't know any of the show biz stuff, as usual.
ReplyDeleteFavorite today was "start of a hands-off declaration" for LOOK MA. I wanted to crowbar in something on the order of "its mine". Least favorite was "travel org. freebie" for AAA MAP. Try strolling in to an AAA office as a non-member and asking for a free map. Kind of like saying that AARP gives out free discount cards.
still a very nice puzzle and a really enjoyable write-up. Thanks Kurt and Steve.
Good Morning!
ReplyDeleteMissed being here again this week, so I was surprised by doing so well this morning. Usually, I benefit from the early week warm ups and stretches.
Thanks, Kurt. I read study as a verb, not a noun so ROOM came late. Oddly enough, the long answers came easily for some reason, but I didn't see the HIDDEN CAMERA. Ha! That's the way it's supposed to be. Favorites: LOOK MA and AAR and SAAR in the same puzzle. NorthwestERN University students have an annual charity DANCE MARATHON.
Thanks, Steve for the fine tour. Sorry, not too many culinary elements.
Have a good day, all.
Enjoyed the theme today- I'm sure it was challenging to find 2 word theme answers that could have variations of CAMERA in them.
ReplyDeleteMy only nit - but I've said it before and Rich must be stuck in a rut because he keeps using it-- LPNs do not work in ICUs - their level of training is adequate for med/surg floors but they do not have the training to manage all the lines, drips, ventilators that an ICU patient can require.
Thanks for an entertaining write-up Steve (can you translate what Arthur with the sausage means?) and to Kurt for the puzzle!
Ignored the theme, but had no problems. Easy Thursday.
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Hungry Mother said.
Thanks, Steve, and by the way, I tried working out the Axl Rose anagram but nothing came of it. Can you shed light in a socially acceptable way?
"Rampart, a high earthen embankment, usually with a ditch in front,which served as a barrier against an attacking enemy,as a defensive position for infantry and artillery, and as a shield against precision fire and observation. Ramparts adapted for artillery armament were called artillery ramparts; those intended only for infantry fire were called rifle ramparts. Ramparts were widely used in the fortification of populated areas and fortresses and in covering borders until World War I. A rampart consisted of a breastwork and a parapet. The breastwork served to cover the combat position. The parapet was built in two levels; the upper level was usually used for the mounting of the guns and was called the artillery parapet, and the lower level was used for the movement of guns and men and was called the communications parapet." The Soviet Encyclopedia
ReplyDeleteThis is agrees with my impression of rampsrts and parapets from reading historical novels.
AXL Rose has LAX morals?
Off to my taxi run. More later.
"
YR, it's not his morals, it's the oral sex that's x-rated.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteKurt makes you work, too, but it had a nice mix and was fun to solve. No searches, no erasures. Liked the theme; it helped me narrow down the fill for TRACE MATERIAL. Lots of A's today. AAA MAP, AAR, SAAR, in addition to the normal mix. Favorite fill was probably LOOK MA.
EDAM - I prefer Gouda, especially smoked Gouda.
SAAR - Rich in coal. Germans say SAAR Gebiet; we've had Ruhr Gebiet more often. SAARland has been fought over through the centuries; France feels it has dibs on it, too. France was slow to withdraw after the post WWII occupation.
Have a great day.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle from Kurt - enjoyed the theme but had a few hiccups along the way.
I really loved this write up full of great trivia- thank you, Steve!
Had the reveal of HIDDENCAMERA before I actually saw it in the theme answers. TRACEMATERIAL was the last one I figured out.
In this day and age you never know where a hidden camera may be. Both Big and Little Brother are watching... Yikes, that makes me sound more paranoid than I really am but do often wonder where they might be strategically placed.
For "Morning fair" I was thinking breakfast food so that threw me for a bit as did NIGH- I had Near
I'm a huge Star Wars fan and could perfectly picture OOLA but the name escaped me without perps.
ABES was a "Doh!" moment :)
Perps: AGRA, PLAINT, GATES, SAAR, EMORY (know the school; no idea he was a bishop) and had never heard of BABA
ALICIA was a gimme since I was a huge fan of "The Good Wife" DH and I watched it faithfully from the first episode to the last. We miss it- it was so well written with intelligent dialogue and great characters.
Speaking of good shows- @ Irish Miss and Tawnya: I also love "This Is Us". It's my new favorite and I don't think I've made it through one episode without crying.
Have a great day everyone!
🐇
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteCommendable puzzle from Kurt today. Thought the clue for LOOK MA ("Start of a hands-off declaration?") was cute. Really wanted "G.I. Joe" for action figure, but didn't have enough spaces. OOLA was 100% perpped. Thanks for the in-depth expo, Steve.
Enjoy the day!
Musings
ReplyDelete-If you got this theme before the reveal in this fun puzzle, you’re a better man than I am Gunga Din
-Wonderful summation and title, Steve!
-I’ve forgotten why my Doctor told me I can’t use ALEVE any more
-Hawkeye’s ORB and scepter
-Those five-foot PUTTS are just outside the “gimme” range
-Having my bride try to read any map while I am driving is not good
-We take our bird feeders out of the trees and put them on the LEE side of the house in winter
-People who are not RIGHT ON TIME are saying their time is more important than yours
-What we did while watching CLIPS last night
-BTW, we were there to see this #1 movie in America (2:38) which made me proud and ashamed
-Two Broke Girls is two attractive girls, suggestive and lame dialogue with a laugh track
Enjoyable puzzle. I was looking for camera brands like LEICA, so I missed the CAMERA scramble.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites were results of a messy breakup=shards and look ma no hands.
MJ, my OOLA was all perps, too. And like, Bunny M, I was looking for breakfast fare for a while.
DO, so? Gimme a little poetic license. LOL
I have many studs, earrings which I wear for everyday. I love dangles, but don't wear them with jeans and other dress-down attire.
I've got my mojo back and am accomplishing a lot in a day. Thimngs are looking up.
I tend to think of AAA maps as free because I pick them up so long after paying dues. Of course, their cost is part of my dues, just as "free breakfast" is part of the motel room fee.
Thanks to Kurt and Steve for a fun Thursday. I got the theme reveal and then went back to find the hidden cameras. Great work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining ERN, Steve. I could not see how the bird (usual clue for ERN) had anything to do with the directions N,S,E,W!
Thanks also for the photo of Bern and AAR to remind me of Swiss trip.
I had Veto before VOID, near before NIGH, Ruhr before SAAR, Iran before AGRA (I was thrown off by the Shah!). OOLA did not come out of my CW memory bank for a while.
Yap sounded like a verb which did not make TRAP an easy fill.
ABES was all perps to this Canadian. Our five has Sir Wilfred Laurier and we do not call it a Wilf. LOL!
I agree with inane hiker @8am about LPN. We use the equivalent term RPN here and they would not deal with a critical patient in more acute areas like ICU; rather they deal with more medically stable patients. Although they might assist with basic care in ICU, they would not be my first choice as an ICU worker. Better clue would be LTC (long-term care) worker IMHO.
Have a great day.
Thanks for the corrections on the triangle area thing - I swore we learned at school that it had to be a right-angled triangle. I remember dividing an isosceles triangle into two right triangles and calculating the area of each to come up with the total. What a waste of time that was!
ReplyDelete@Dudley - see D-O's comment a couple below yours. Spared me the blushes.
@inanehiker - There was a very well-known film distribution company in the UK (responsible for almost every feature that you saw at the cinema) called J. Arthur Rank. In rhyming slang, you usually leave out the word which rhymes, so if you go up the stairs, you go up the apples [and pears]. What my friend was saying was he had "to go down to the J. Arthur [Rank] to sausage [and mash] a Gregory [Peck]" - he was going to the bank to cash a check.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a DOER today. I have a respiratory infection that I just started antibodies for [and Makers Mark + honey for good measure]. Donno if it's 'cuz I can't breath or the just the toddy but the Central East became a mess-o-ink.
Thanks Kurt for the puzzle. I fell into the TRAP of Talk as a synonym for YAP and Near for the NIGH. Everything but eLICIA worked itself out. Thanks for a fun puzzle.
Steve - 'Sup wityou? Great expo; thanks for 'spainin' 53a (methinks clue needs a ?) and the '007 comment was LOL. BTW, all triangles are 1/2 a sq.
WOs: see above; Bearing b/f EAR RING [load bearing stud - no? Hey, it's LEGIT]; EMT b/f LPN.
ESPs: PARAPET; @ 29d K was the Aha! WAG - seein' as we had K-CAR last week.
Fav: LOOK MA c/a was NEAT-O
NIGH mirroring DIRE was cute too. Ditto Grumpy Cat :-)
{A,A,A,C+,B [lime-cola?]}
HG - I'll wait for Hidden Figures on HBO but, yeah, that looks good and pride / shame inducing. In the same vein, what happened to our research? XEROX's Parc, Bell Labs? I guess we have Alphabet's Moonshots and JPL.
What Bunny said wrt theme. It helped me get off the evidence train-of-thought RIGHT ON TIME @40a.
I've PUTTED out "impossible" (by BIL's estimate) putts but, by then, I'm already 8-over getting to the green.
Time for a CAT NAP while I'm not coughing out a lung - I still have a paper to finish for boss-man.
Cheers, -T
To start the day, I spilled coffee all over my computer table though not on any part of the computer itself, fortunately. Maybe things will go better.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle certainly was and a quick romp, too. Thank you, Kurt Krauss. I see you managed to fit in some Ks in the grid. Good job!
My daughter and her family are dedicated Star Wars fans so at one of their parties we had to assume the name of a character. Mine was OOLA so that was a quick fill. Interesting to learn that EMORY was a bishop and I'll take a CSO at NANA even if it's the dog's name.
I also miss The Good Wife and so ALICIA was easy and I sometimes watch Madam Secretary but it's too much like reality and makes me nervous. Two Broke Girls gets too raunchy so I've watched it only a few times but knew KAT.
Hand up for NEAR before NIGH as well as IRATE then IRKED. Mr. GATES might not need the money for his book, but I suspect it draws more readership than the co-writer.
Thanks again, KK and Steve, too.
Have a happy day, everyone!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis had a bit of a bite, as it should for a Thursday, but nothing perps couldn't overcome. I had talk/trap, Iran/Agra (Shah led me astray) and near/nigh. I needed the reveal to catch the theme which was certainly well "hidden," at least to me. I agree with Inanehiker on that LPN clue; it bugs me, too.
Thanks, Kurt, for a late week challenge and thanks, Steve, for your usual witty write-up.
Tawnya, from yesterday, thanks for the heads-up on the continuation of "This Is Us." That is very good news, indeed.
Bunny M @ 8:52 ~ We share the same tastes, as "The Good Wife" was one of my favorite shows, also, and I never missed one episode, either. (I must say, I never got over Will's death.). I miss it very much because there are so few shows that have strong, relevant story lines and strong and convincing (and likable) characters. I think "This Is Us" scores high marks on both of these factors.
HG @ 9:25 ~ You are being generous by saying "Two Broke Girls" language is "suggestive and lame". Judging by the one and only episode that I had the misfortune to watch, and the weekly promo clips, I'd say "Where are the censors"? I can't believe what they get away with saying in prime time hours. Even harder to believe, IMO, is why they are still on the air.
I'm a little down as my neighbor of 13 years is moving today. Even though there is an age difference, we shared a lot of the same interests and values, not to mention the occasional cocktail hour! I haven't met my new neighbor yet, but I do know she is single, late 50's, and a San Antonio transplant who is going to be working at Spitz's alma mater, RPI. She's not faculty but I don't know what her position is, only that it is her alma mater, also.
Have a great day.
Oops - Sorry Steve to pile on re: AREA. I was drafting whilst you posted. BTW, I understood your Pal was getting money - but to trans-literate it as such? No wonder y'all can manage those Cyrptics! Too much thinking to understand yourselves. :-) -T
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteNot to hard for a Thus. But I was unable to focus on the cameras. Anagrams baffle these old bifocal-laden eyes.
I have no idea what a DREAM CATCHER is, and had lots of perp there, and throughout this puzzle.
Though I spent most of my career in glass, SHARDS made me think of broken dishes.
Cool regards!
JzB
I will step up to translate Steve's new Cockney rhyming slang:
ReplyDelete"I got to go down the J. Arthur to sausage a Gregory"
J. Authur RANK (British Industrialist => BANK
Sausage [and MASH] => CASH
Gregory [PECK] => CHECK/CHEQUE
Therefore: "I GOT TO GO DOWN TO THE BANK TO CASH A CHEQUE/CHECK"
Also, with regards triangles and area, do the following:
ReplyDelete• On the back of an envelope, draw a rectangle.
• Make a triangle by drawing a straight line between the lower left corner and any point on the upper edge of the rectangle, and a second line from that point to the lower right corner.
• Now draw a vertical line from the upper corner (vertex) of the triangle to the lower edge of the rectangle.
• You will then see on each side of the vertical line, 2 identical pairs of triangles (rotated by 180°), one inside your triangle, one outside (but filling the rectangle).
• So the area of the triangle is half that of the rectangle.
• QED
• I forgot to add: On the front of the envelope write my address, attach a first class stamp, and enclose an Abe.
ReplyDelete• Back to the crossword, I loved Steve's title, which would have been a much better reveal - CAMERA OBSCURA - worth a WIKI.
ReplyDelete• While looking for the theme, I noted there were various choices of contiguous letters common to their centers.
My first thought was CREAM - PUDDING ? (not PIE)
Then McRATE - what you earn for a McJob?
And even MAC-RATE - Your mortgage payment?
Well, I had trouble with this one this morning. Started at the bottom and worked my way up to the top and then ran intro trouble in north and mid west. I just couldn't let go of the notion that FARE had to refer to breakfast food, and so even though I thought of TODAY as an answer at one point I figured it couldn't possibly work. Never occurred to me that it all referred to TV. Also, I guess I just don't know my brands, so even though I use ALEVE fairly often, I didn't get that one or the Ricoh competitor. Aaarrggh. Another problem was that I of course assumed the messy break-up was a relationship thing, so it was only the perps that helped me get SHARDS in the end. Not my best morning, although ironically I got the CAMERA theme early.
ReplyDeleteBut one interesting learning moment, thanks to Steve. I donate to a Native American reservation and have sometimes received these odd circular ornaments from them, with no idea what to do with them. The picture clarified that they were DREAM CATCHERS. I guess I'd better hold on to them from now on, if they're protective charms.
Have a great day, everybody!
"... Cockney rhyming slang ...."
ReplyDeleteThe Brits should have used this in WW2 to confound German interceptor operators, as it certainly succeeded here.
"sausage [and mash]" equals "cash"??? ... maybe there is something in British beer that helps make this work, but I think aspects in Russian verbs are clearer.
Welp, I didn't see the hidden cameras. Had to turn on red letters to solve the top center area. Didn't understand the ERN thing at all, thinking that maybe the ERN was a migrating bird and therefore knew which direction to fly. Learned that fivers are ABES, not fins. I give this puzzle four stars for theme, 3 stars for the rest. 1 star for ODS and KTS. 5 stars for the no hands clue.
ReplyDeleteLW and I cannot abide laugh tracks and simply cannot bear to watch a show that uses them. That eliminates almost all comedy shows. We used to like The Big Bang Theory but haven't watched it for several years for many reasons not the least of which is the annoying laugh track.
Tonight on PBS are reruns of a couple of shows we like: Vera and Shetland. What is it with so many British crime shows being set in far northern locations? First Yorkshire, then Northumberland, then Scotland, and now Shetland. Sheesh. Sorta nice scenery, though. Stark.
Best wishes to you all.
This was fun, although made difficult by the presence of a little dog on my lap.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I do? - he just won't let me go. Even now, as I try to share my impressions with colleagues, our Chihuahua-mix, Nacho, has me pinned, and I have to stretch my typing arms around his 9-lb bod very carefully lest I wake him from his (excuse the expression) CAT-NAP
I liked the cluing, esp. where it turned out unexpectedly literal, such as with SHARDS and EAR RING. I hadn't known EMORY was a person, much less a bishop.
Thank you, KK for your creation! And Steve-arino for the elucidatin'!
SAD! I set an alarm for a 3p conference-call and now I'm miserable trying to fall back to sleep.
ReplyDeleteSo, I tuned my sleepy-time goto - CSPAN for TODAY's droning confirmation hearings to find... Cover bands for the GALA? And these guys aren't even good [OK, I admit I don't like Country nor Western @1:48].
Krewe of Bacchus has a better cover band booked. [Don't call the number listed under demo - it's not ALA TMBG's Dial-a-Song; it's their actual booking agent - D'Oh!]
OMK - funny Nacho takin' a "CAT" NAP.
I looked for the CLIP of Agent Mulder (X-Files) mentioning DREAM CATCHERS (I know I saw it), but I could only find this bit.. Who else thinks Ducovny jump'd the shark on that one?
Time for another toddy and antibody. Cheers, -T
Wees,
ReplyDeleteplus 4 WAGS that actually worked!
Definitely a crunchy puzzle!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteAXL Rose married a girl named Connie. I think her maiden name was Lingus. :^P
Great theme for today - I got most of the puzzle the first go around, and had just two write-overs. I had RUHR before SAAR, and MDS before MDA. But it was mostly solved with a just a few WAGS.
Regarding 11d (RIGHT ON TIME) - I had a boss whose definition of this was, if our appointment is at 11:00 (for example), being there at 10:50 was being "Right on Time". Being there at 11:00 was considered being late . . .
Regarding 27a - I had two of these (5 footers) in the final two holes of a round I played, oh, probably 20-22 years ago. In each case I missed holing them out. #17 was a par 5 and #18 was a par 4, which I sadly 3-PUTTED. Finished the round par/bogey. The only two holes where I scored an "ABE" (5). I had birdied all four of the other par 5's that day, and as well had 2 birdies on a couple of the Par 3's. The rest of my round were pars. Yup, I was 6 under par coming to #18. Finished with a 67 which is my all-time best score on a regulation, Par 72 course (if I recall correctly, we played from the "white" tees which was about 6,400 yards)
Ah to be young again . . . and in "golfing" shape.
Nacho--what a sweet, funny name for a chihuahua mix!
ReplyDeleteSolved late with no issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation Steve!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree Gary- Hidden Figures is a wonderful movie - what perseverance these women had!
They would have been breaking down walls even as women in 1961 but as African American females they were awe inspiring!
Misty @ 6:11 ~
ReplyDeleteThanks. He is Mr. Personality. He's got the longest eyelashes and knows how to bat those peepers. We think at least part of his mix is Jack Russell. Of our three guys-- incl. a purebred Golden and a rescue Yorkie-- he's the brightest and most eager to please.
He gets what he wants out of the deal, witness his claiming my lap as his personal territory - whenever...
We have FDR's dog, the Thin Man's dog and NANA. I had that same thought about LPNs.
ReplyDeleteOK Owen, if not lime cola then Orion? Liked #1 (A-).
I got the theme just as I was entering HIDDEN CAMERA.
LOTSA Golf talk, eh? I remember a scramble where we put our first two in the water and after two penalty strokes lied five just off the green.
Our opponents: 2, same area. I then chipped in and they three-putted. Push.
I remember Raj with the telescope looking through a window. He was watching the Good Wife.
Happy I day tomorrow regardless of persuasion.
WC
Jayce (and everybody else), you mentioned two TV shows that you like; ones that I don't know much about. I tried watching Shetland once and I couldn't get into it. The plot didn't grab me, I didn't readily warm up to the characters and it all seemed so bleak. I haven't watched Vera. What's it like?
ReplyDeleteI was a big fan of The Good Wife, Downton Abbey, Foyle's War, NCIS, old war movies and westerns, etc. I'm looking for some new shows to add to my list...
Thanks in advance.
Nacho sounds lovely, Ol Man Keith--so glad you have him.
ReplyDeleteDonno who cares but Bags (1B) will join Bidge in the BB HOF. Yeay 'Stros!
ReplyDeleteN.C. Nice to see your IDEES back. You always add a + to the day; visit more oft.
IM et.al. I heard about This is Us on NPR's ATC. One of the creators has a son as portrayed and made sure he was filmed as normal. I Googled for the interview I heard - but, it's not my day on finding what I think I recall.
Jayce - I'm w/ you on laugh tracks. If you can't get a real YUK then [Owen - insert rhyme here] it!
IM, Lucina, et... - I too watched an episode of Two Broke Girls... Not a TRACE of funny.
Bill G. Try Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events if you've NetFlix. Eldest turned us on to it. It's pretty frick-dark-funny and a good way to spend time w/ the kids >13.
C. Moe - That windmill on the Green can be a bitch, eh?
Cheers, -T
I remember one of the guys in the foursome saying, after I 3-jacked the 18th hole, that while he knew I was mad for missing the putt and ending on a bogey (my only one of the day), I had to be pretty happy with a 67. I was! Best score ever. I've been fortunate to have broken par more than once but that was my best 18 ever. Best nine hole score was a 32 on a par 35 course. But I followed that with a smooooth 42 on the back nine! 😜🏌⛳️
DeleteYeah, sorry about the lime-cola. It had to be cola to rhyme, but green to make sense, so it was either lime-cola or mango-cola.
ReplyDeleteThere may be a better word for this than anachronism:
OOLA the green slave-girl dancer was from Star Wars.
The Orion green slave-girl dancer was from Star Trek.