Theme: None
Words: 72 (missing Q)
Blocks: 29
I
always cringe when I see Julian Lim as the constructor for Saturday's
puzzles, and it was looking pretty bleak at the beginning. I did manage
to get some solid fill in all the corners, was able to work
through this challenge with only a half-cheat (I have the periodic chart
app on my phone, so I looked that one up) and then it was just a matter
of some healthy Wild-Ass Guesses. Just a few too many proper names in
the puzzle for me, but then again, they all filled with the crossings.
Not a terribly intimidating grid, two 9-letter
fills on the inside and 8-letter corners
16. One way to serve fowl : À L'ORANGE - We have a duck farm near my place, and it's a stop on my UPS "Q" truck ( the town is Aquebogue )
16. One way to serve fowl : À L'ORANGE - We have a duck farm near my place, and it's a stop on my UPS "Q" truck ( the town is Aquebogue )
39. Herbal beverage : ANISE TEA
3. Pepper with punch : JALAPEÑO - D'oh~!! Spelled it with an "H" to start
And there you have a four-course meal....
Vay-Cay-ShON-WARD~!
ACROSS:
1. Muslim veils : HIJABS
7. Curly's dad on "Sesame Street" : PAPA BEAR - I don't remember him
15. "For unto us a child is born" source : ISAIAH
17. "See?!" : "TOLD YA~!"
18. Counterbalanced, say : WEIGHTED - I had all but the first two letters, and tried "AR-ighted"....
19. Penn., for one : STA - I passed through Pennsylvania Station last weekend; came this close to staying for the Rangers/Capitals game in the Garden right above. I love going in to New York City.
20. Thing to do with your fingers : SNAP - my first thought, but I hesitated
22. Attain, as great heights : SOAR TO
23. Brewmaster's need : HOPS
25. Plenty of horn? : KLAXON - got it off the "X", but went with a "C" and not a "K"
27. Payless box letters : EEE - Saturday cluing for a common fill
28. It often follows 12 : ONE PM - nailed it, tho I had AM, not PM
30. "Anthem for Doomed Youth" poet Wilfred __ : OWEN - the "W" was my last fill
31. Thirsts : YENS
32. Structure from the Arabic for "lighthouse" : MINARET - learning moment
34. Low bar? : DIVE - I was in one on Thursday to see a friend do her stand-up routine, but she went on too late - UPS comes early. I did get to shoot some pool with a guy from one of the restaurants - man am I out of practice
36. Green machine : ECO-CAR - PRIUS did not fit
37. Some timeshares : VILLAS - I am friends with the nuns in my area, and they live at a "Villa"; there's usually a 12-step retreat there each spring and fall
41. Poet friend of author Ernest : EZRA - filled via perps
43. Point of view? : EYE LINE
44. Downtime? : FUNK
47. Like some ukuleles : OVAL
49. Many a group vacation photo, in slang : WEFIE - the expanded "Selfie"
50. 2008-'09 Japanese prime minister Taro __ : ASO - perps
51. __ chief : TRIBAL
53. Urquhart Castle's loch : NESS - four letters~? Good WAG
54. Created with : MADE OF
56. Ran : BLED
58. Cool : HEP
59. Rule broken by deities? : I BEFORE E - nailed it
61. Target of a whacking : PIÑATA
63. "Mad Men" actor John : SLATTERY - half perps, half WAG
64. Elicits : EDUCES
66. Acknowledge subtly : WINK AT
DOWN:
1. Strikes a chord : HITS HOME - ah, not a guitar clue; I love the chords of this song
2. Kind of muscle contraction : ISOTONIC
4. First __ : AID
5. Canine sounds : BAYS - not ARFS
6. Osso buco cut : SHANK
7. Tree with green-skinned fruit : PAWPAW
8. Maugham's "Cakes and __" : ALE
9. Irritating growth : POISON IVY - oh, it's irritating alright
10. Chlorine's periodic table follower : ARGON - cheatcheatcheat
11. __ Men: one-hit wonders of 2000 : BAHA - vague recollection of this band
12. Carte part : ENTRÉE
13. Tatum O'Neal received her Oscar at it : AGE TEN - got it off ----EN
14. Overhauls : RE-DOES
21. Seas : A LOT
24. Best Actress after Field : SPACEK - made me change my AM to PM @28a.
26. Struck (out) : X-ed
29. "Yes!" singer Jason : MRAZ - another one up from the dredges
31. #3 on the 2016 Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list : YELLEN - of the Federal Reserve - her Wiki. There's a Ms. Yellen on one of my UPS trucks who gets at least a box a day; Hey - we're going drone~!
33. Like 100 on most tests : ERROR FREE
35. Mountaineer's expectation : VIEW
38. Productivity-increasing trick, in modern parlance : LIFE HACK
40. Overlooks, as a fault : SEES PAST
42. Prefix with fauna : AVI
43. Airline to Eilat : EL AL
44. Starve, to Shakespeare : FAMISH
45. Worth keeping : USABLE
46. Tender turndown : NO, DEAR
48. Some retreats : ABBEYS
51. Sweet __ : TOOTH
52. Toon pursuing l'amour : Le PEW
55. Small salamanders : EFTS
57. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI
60. Trick ending? : ERY - trickery
62. One in an order : NUN - and a villa~!
7. Curly's dad on "Sesame Street" : PAPA BEAR - I don't remember him
15. "For unto us a child is born" source : ISAIAH
17. "See?!" : "TOLD YA~!"
18. Counterbalanced, say : WEIGHTED - I had all but the first two letters, and tried "AR-ighted"....
19. Penn., for one : STA - I passed through Pennsylvania Station last weekend; came this close to staying for the Rangers/Capitals game in the Garden right above. I love going in to New York City.
20. Thing to do with your fingers : SNAP - my first thought, but I hesitated
22. Attain, as great heights : SOAR TO
23. Brewmaster's need : HOPS
25. Plenty of horn? : KLAXON - got it off the "X", but went with a "C" and not a "K"
27. Payless box letters : EEE - Saturday cluing for a common fill
28. It often follows 12 : ONE PM - nailed it, tho I had AM, not PM
31. Thirsts : YENS
32. Structure from the Arabic for "lighthouse" : MINARET - learning moment
34. Low bar? : DIVE - I was in one on Thursday to see a friend do her stand-up routine, but she went on too late - UPS comes early. I did get to shoot some pool with a guy from one of the restaurants - man am I out of practice
36. Green machine : ECO-CAR - PRIUS did not fit
37. Some timeshares : VILLAS - I am friends with the nuns in my area, and they live at a "Villa"; there's usually a 12-step retreat there each spring and fall
41. Poet friend of author Ernest : EZRA - filled via perps
43. Point of view? : EYE LINE
44. Downtime? : FUNK
47. Like some ukuleles : OVAL
49. Many a group vacation photo, in slang : WEFIE - the expanded "Selfie"
50. 2008-'09 Japanese prime minister Taro __ : ASO - perps
51. __ chief : TRIBAL
53. Urquhart Castle's loch : NESS - four letters~? Good WAG
Hey, what's that in the lake~?
56. Ran : BLED
58. Cool : HEP
59. Rule broken by deities? : I BEFORE E - nailed it
61. Target of a whacking : PIÑATA
63. "Mad Men" actor John : SLATTERY - half perps, half WAG
64. Elicits : EDUCES
66. Acknowledge subtly : WINK AT
1. Strikes a chord : HITS HOME - ah, not a guitar clue; I love the chords of this song
And for the guitar players, a lesson
4. First __ : AID
5. Canine sounds : BAYS - not ARFS
6. Osso buco cut : SHANK
7. Tree with green-skinned fruit : PAWPAW
9. Irritating growth : POISON IVY - oh, it's irritating alright
10. Chlorine's periodic table follower : ARGON - cheatcheatcheat
11. __ Men: one-hit wonders of 2000 : BAHA - vague recollection of this band
12. Carte part : ENTRÉE
13. Tatum O'Neal received her Oscar at it : AGE TEN - got it off ----EN
14. Overhauls : RE-DOES
21. Seas : A LOT
24. Best Actress after Field : SPACEK - made me change my AM to PM @28a.
26. Struck (out) : X-ed
29. "Yes!" singer Jason : MRAZ - another one up from the dredges
31. #3 on the 2016 Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list : YELLEN - of the Federal Reserve - her Wiki. There's a Ms. Yellen on one of my UPS trucks who gets at least a box a day; Hey - we're going drone~!
33. Like 100 on most tests : ERROR FREE
35. Mountaineer's expectation : VIEW
Hey now....
40. Overlooks, as a fault : SEES PAST
42. Prefix with fauna : AVI
43. Airline to Eilat : EL AL
44. Starve, to Shakespeare : FAMISH
45. Worth keeping : USABLE
46. Tender turndown : NO, DEAR
48. Some retreats : ABBEYS
51. Sweet __ : TOOTH
52. Toon pursuing l'amour : Le PEW
57. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI
60. Trick ending? : ERY - trickery
62. One in an order : NUN - and a villa~!
Splynter
Would love to hear some life hacks...
ReplyDeleteOne I can recommend is to hang a tennis ball in the garage to aid my parking distance. It's a no braniner every time!
Life hack number two.
ReplyDeleteDon't ever think your opinion is worthy of publication.
One of my poorest showings in a long time¡ The entire SE quadrant either red or white¡ Too many unknowns throughout to be listed¡ I'd never even heard of Wilfred Owen¡
ReplyDeleteJust read over W.Owen's bio in Wikipedia. I'm like him in one way, that few of my poems or stories have ever been published, and the few that have just in ephemeral small press magazines. but unlike him, I've had no mentors who will get me any recognition after my death, either. And while I've written a lot besides limericks, it's all been with regular meter and rhyme, which is so out of fashion these days as to doom any poetry written in that style.
Poems written in the depth of depression should be labeled as toxic. They are downers with the possibility of inducing a similar state in their readers.
{A, B+, B, B-.}
According to a most persistent rumor
The pun is the lowest form of humor.
If that be true,
The limericks' due
All the celebrity accorded a malignant tumor!
In SCIENCE we find molecular fusion,
Power induced from atomic CONFUSION!
Put quarks side-by-side
To combine or divide,
They'll spew off energy in profusion!
Listen to the blaring KLAXON sound!
The submarine is preparing to drown!
'Neath waves we'll drive!
Prepare to DIVE!
Be sure the screen-door's battened down!
Behold a PINATA that's loaded with HERSHEY'S,
Hanging in state for the children's mercies!
It's BLED out its end,
Its assassin AGE TEN!
It will pass as chocolatized farts and burpies!
Uncle!
ReplyDeleteNailed it. Only "adjustment" was jalapeño for habanero and wanted multi but task didn't fit. Finished at life hack.
ReplyDeleteGolf, spring training, all good in the hood
Never noticed that JALAPENO and hAbAnErO share half their letters.
ReplyDeleteA grind until nearly stopping in the northeast. My bride helped with ALORANGE and VILLAS, but was amused that I had tried WEllhung instead of WEIGHED.
This puzzle threw me down and stomped my scrawny butt into a bloody pulp. At least it didn't take a lot of time to discover that I was not worthy of this Lim grid.
ReplyDeleteOn to Sunday!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteAt 33d I put in Excellent long before Error Free. Certainly bollixed up that corner. The very last to fall was Mraz, and I bet I'm not the only one who never heard of the guy or his "Yes!" song.
Morning Splynter, thanks for elucidating today.
WEFIE is terrible and not a word. Should never be used, ever
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Are you kidding me? My only error was failing to see Kevin SPACEY is not Cissy SPACEK? What a wonderful workout.
-I have no idea how I “knew” KLAXON, WEFIE, YELLIN or SLATTERY
-Low bars and HERSHEY bars – fabulous
-Headgear for Muslim women. Face must be visible for driver’s licenses and passports
-Handel gets no credit for “For Unto Us A Child Is Born” today ☺
-Some HS’s have WEIGHTED grades for AP courses like calculus
-HOPS growers near me can’t keep up with craft brewery demands
-ONE PM knocked out academy award for STREEP. C’mon you thought of her too!
-Timeshares and leasing cars never made sense to me
-A fatal EYELINE
-I BEFORE E made me WHACK my forehead! Loved it!
-I thought Tatum got her Oscar at a PODIUM
-I try to SEE PAST appearances when I meet people
-“Ya leave PENNsylvania STAtion ‘bout quarter to four” - Next stop?
No dice today. No way to finish. Never heard of- ANISE TEA, WEFIE, PAWPAW tree, MRAZ, DIDI Moore, LIFE HACK ( wanted some type of TALK), ISOTONIC muscle contraction ( voluntary or UNvoluntary were the only ones I knew)- that I did not complete. Unknowns that I DID complete- ALE, PAPA BEAR,- that's all. I did the NE & SE, got HERSHEYS, ERROR FREE ( not for me today), TRIBAL in the SW and that was about it.
ReplyDeleteStarted bad and stayed bad. BURKAS or HIJABS, I figured it would be ONE AM or PM, Tatum would be ELEVEN or AGE TEN. I just BLED all over this puzzle. Too tough for my brain.
I enjoyed this very much. Only issue was Hip instead of Hep because Anisi Tea seems like it could be a thing.
ReplyDeleteI bet some if you would recognize Jason Mraz if he came on. His songs were overplayed but the guy has talent with wordplay.
No internet again this morning for an hour or two. A disdadavantage of having a package is no phone either, and of course no tablet without internet access. I used my cell to caLL the cable company.
ReplyDeleteVery difficult but very staisfying and enjoyable. Not error free with three red letters. MRAZ, all perps.
Hand up for Streep, one of my favorites.
I liked ONE PM and HERSHEYS.
"WEFIE is a trademark and brand of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Filed to USPTO On Thursday, April 03, 2014." WEFIE seems to have become almost generic like Band Aids and Kleenex. BTW slang is acceptable in crosswords.
Shhh! Wonder how few people actually do these crosswords, especially ones like this...
ReplyDeleteGood day to all!
ReplyDeleteThis was too tough for me to finish without Google help. Had the most trouble in the NW (had Handel before ISAIAH) and SE (unfamiliar with the term LIFE HACK) corners. Favorite clue/answer was "Rule broken by dieties?" for I BEFORE E. At least I didn't have to resort to red letters. Thanks for the grand tour, Splynter.
Enjoy the day!
Dudley,
ReplyDeleteJason Mraz never sang a song called "Yes!"; it is the name of his album.
Last night: lead body fill is much better than Bondo but takes skill to use. Upside is that it will hold long after the Bondo has bubbled and chunked off. Definitely used for restorations. Many good videos on its usage.
Life hack number 3:
ReplyDeleteIf you are shy and intimidated about posting on a blog, picture all the other bloggers are in their underwear and it will make it easier to post a comment.
YR, I agree that calling the cable company is very difficult, but disagree with the satisfying and enjoyable part. :)
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you Julian and thank you Splynter.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, you may be late because of no access, but I'm late because I slept late. Again.
Struggled mightily. I mean to the level of checking crossing answers to see if they both indicated plural so I could get an S. Checking for comparative and superlative forms for an ER or (I)EST. Testing for common crossword fill and crosswordese in the shorter answers. Trying answers, testing, and taking them back out, like acme (VIEW). Testing answers that I initially rejected, like REDOES.
Got all of the east, and most of the middle, but the west proved to be unsolvable without help. I was so close. Nuts.
No searches, but after about 90 minutes, including a couple of 5 or 10 minute breaks, I finally turned on red letters. 3 wrong answers lit up.
Correctly had HIJABS and good fill around it, but I had the rather simple "HITS a key" for "Strikes a chord." My best actress after Field was STREEP. In the SW, I had USeful. Erased the red content and refocused. Finally !
I BEFORE E clue was great. And maddening.
I use paper and pencil or the master solve option and only use red letters for finding mistakes in problem spots. If I find a red letter I go back to the master solve option and try to correct it on my own. I am loathe to use a red letter alphabet run because it is not satisfying for me. I do use alphabet runs in the master mode. I feel that using Google during the solve gives me too much of a leg up. Frequently I Google afterwards to learn more about the word or to see why a wag paid off.
ReplyDeleteIf I need way too much help and it becomes an unsatisfying slog, I prefer to stop solving and read the blog. Each one of us seems to have seems to have "his" own view of getting help.
That last sentence reminds me of what I consider a failure in the English language. We have only the gender neutral pronoun "they" for the plural and only the gendered pronouns for the singular, i.e. he she, him, her. This can get awkward when the gender could be either male or female.
BTW Cattle is gender neutral. Does it have a common gender neutral singular?
Took half an hour, but I finally got it done. Never heard of "Wefie" -- had to perp it. Hands up for sneaking a peek at the periodic table; I just kept seeing Boron right below Chlorine but knew it was the element *beside* it that was wanted. The northeast was the last to fall; it just seemed to take forever to get that all filled in.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous T from last night: it was I who drove Spfld-DuPage yesterday. Had been to Jacksonville to see my 97 year old mother and stayed overnight in Spfld with my brother. I'm an Illinois boy all the way.
Husker 9:33 - Baltimore. Travel time is about equal to one magazine. :-)
ReplyDeleteArgyle - Oh, thanks. It never occurred to me that "Yes!" was the name of an entire album. There was additional confusion for me in the fact that the British band Yes began as Yes! officially before dropping the exclamation point, early on. Kinda put me on the wrong track...
As to the lead body filler, I remember seeing that used in upscale body restoration shops years ago. It makes sense that it wouldn't be pure lead, but some alloy to make it a little harder, and I suppose it might have a formulation similar to solder. Just never heard it called that in that context.
Hi Everyone:
ReplyDeleteI thought this was going to be an easier than normal Saturday because I started out so well but I was wrong. My downfall was the SW corner which took forever to break open. I had Hershey's and, after a fashion Slattery, but the downs were elusive for ages, as was the devilish but brilliant I Before E fill. Mraz was unknown, Tatum was eleven before she was Age Ten, my AM turned to PM, I Fled before I Bled and I winced at Wefie. Like Hack is still on life support. Despite all these roadblocks I finished w/o help in just a tad over the average Saturday time. Remembered Baha Men from a recent puzzle and also Jalapeño because I spelled it wrong a week or so ago. Nice CSO to Owen.
Thanks, Julian, for a tough but ultimately doable challenge and thanks, Splynter, for the fun and factual summary.
Was notified by Discover that several fraudulent charges were made on my account, including Uber, Lyft, Dominoes, and others. When I checked my statement online, none of these companies showed up but 40 separate charges in one day were made to the tune of almost $1500.00 to a company called EIG Domain.com. I called there this morning and was told a credit would be issued. I have no idea how my card was comprised and while this is upsetting and causes inconvenience, I know I'm not liable for any of these charges. OTOH, I'm getting a little wary of using the card anywhere.
Have a great day.
I'm with Jinx in Norfolk. Tromped is an understatement here.
ReplyDeleteIf some ukuleles are 'oval,' what are the rest? Square? Isometric? Orthagonal? Neoclassical? Federalist?
Hey, Anonymous@10:45! I've got shirt AND pants on! So there.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss: You should contact your credit card company and have a new card issued. Also, don't count on a credit from EIG Domain. Discover should handle any fraudulent charges on your account.
oc4beach - Discover has already issued a new card which is on the way. I have little expectations of receiving that credit and as far as I'm concerned, this is Discover's mess to sort out. I can't believe that 40 transactions in the same day with the same company didn't raise any red flags. On the bright side, my Gibble's care package was just delivered. Chips Ahoy!
ReplyDeleteJinx, you could add to the bright side with an update on Zoe. 😉
Well, after my great Friday experience yesterday this was a typical Julian Lim Saturday toughie for me. I got most of the bottom but then had to start cheating.
ReplyDeleteI did know some things, like EZRA Pound, friend of Hemingway, which I got right away. Also Tatum O'Neill's AGE TEN (been thinking about her with the Oscars coming up tomorrow). I too put STREEP at first, for the other Oscar clue, but knew it had to be FUNK and that K kept me confounded until I finally got ECOCAR and realized it was Sissy SPACEK we were talking about here. One embarrassing problem: I should have gotten Wilfred OWEN right away, but that took a while. And I sure don't know my contemporary music.
Still, a lot of fun, Julian--thanks. I especially liked HERSHEYS name on all those candy bars. And thanks, Splynter, for the funny Loch NESS picture!
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Echoes of Barry Silk today. Thanks so much, Julian. Tough, but fair. The harder to guess areas perped out just fine for me when push came to shove. Entirely solvable offline with pen and paper without having to look up a thing.
ReplyDeleteMissteps that ultimately sorted themselves out:
Streep before Spacek (thought of Spacey too, but wrong sex for the clue there)
Eleven before Age Ten
Ave. before Sta.
Brassy before Klaxon
Set before Xed
Condos before Villas, and briefly Cabins and fleetingly day spa before Abbeys.
Eye cone (cones and rods, they're pointed, right?) before Eyeline
Fled (briefly) before Bled
Was stuck on parapet for far too long before minaret sprang to mind.
No problem with wefie here, despite not having heard the term. Deduced it as a logical extension of selfie.
Favorite clue was Rule broken by deities? A sweet bit of parsing trickery, that.
ReplyDeleteIM: I'm glad you are being taken care of. When my Bank America Visa was compromised last year it was flagged immediately because they got multiple charges for gas the same day in Delaware and Indiana at the same time. Sorta hard to do. I wasn't sure about the email they sent me because I have had bogus emails that looked real but weren't. I called the number on the back of my card and they verified the email and the problem.
Enjoy the Gibbles.
Good Luck
Wow. Clues I've NEVER seen before, coupled with answers that make no sense, at least to me. And folks are congratulating this guy? For what?
ReplyDeleteWEFIE? Really?
What the …heck Is EEE ?
People should learn the difference between a difficult puzzle made solvable by good clueing vs an impossibly clued puzzle that gives satisfaction only to the creator when it doesn't get solved.
Disappointing.
Tricky tangential cluing is the norm late week.
ReplyDeleteSelfie > a picture of oneself. Ergo, wefie > a group picture of we selves.
Re EEE: Think extra wide shoe size. Payless, aka the Payless shoe store chain.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks @ 11:15
How about "bovine".
Don
I don't always get a chance to even start the Saturday puzzle and was pleasantly surprised with my "relative" success today. Thanks Julian and Splynter.
ReplyDeleteIt always is encouraging to get 1A immediately (although HIJABS are headscarves not veils technically). The SW and then NW filled in fairly quickly. But the SW was a problem and required a little Google help. I had Hip before HEP, Wave at before WINK AT, Evokes before EDUCES, Life Wage before LIFEHACK.
Anonymous PVX@1:57- EEE refers to shoe size marked on the box of shoes at the Payless shoe store.
Saturday's are always more difficult and sometimes frustrating. I expect when I begin that it will be a challenge and may require some help either at Google or with explanations here. WEFIE was new to me also but the clue does say slang and it is a logical extension from Selfie. When I was exploring Google, I found the term USIE for a group photo and that makes (slang) sense also.
HG, Niagara is gaining a large number of craft breweries also. We joke that if there is not a winery on every corner there now is a craft brewery! Great for locals and tourists!
Have a great day.
oc4beach @ 1:54 - I had to smile at your comment about the validity of the BOA email concerning your card being comprised. I get an email from BOA at least twice a month telling me that my account is showing suspicious activity and that I have to click on the link to verify information or my account will be frozen. Coincidentally, I received one just yesterday.) Guess what? I have never in my life had an account with BOA. I go through the same silliness with emails from Wells Fargo and USAA, two companies I have never done business with. All of the emails look legit as far as the logos and addresses, but there are always spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors that stand out like a sore thumb.
ReplyDeleteThe singular of cattle is beef.
ReplyDeleteDon, bovine? Perhaps, but how common is it? Would I say, "I jammed on the brakes when a bovine wandered onto the highway." It is interesting that the synonyms given in the thesaurus and dictionary are mostly gender specific, bull, cow, heifer, ox (castrated male).
ReplyDeleteBTW have you seen the logo for the burger/wine restaurant, Zinburger? Am I incorrect that their logo looks like a DAIRY cow sipping from a tiny wine glass?
Link logo
Irish Miss, that is a very unsettling experience. I hope all goes well.
McAfee Security, which I don't have, keeps suggesting that I have a problem which needs fixing and so I need to buy their help. I have been problem free with Norton 36O for many years and have never ever had a serious security problem which shut down my computer and required technical help.
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks @ 3:19
The Zinburger logo looks more like a bull to me.
Also, I think steers are the unhappy males.
Don
No, despite those who would tell you otherwise, cow is the singular form of cattle. Beef is the meat that comes from cattle. And yes, as some are likely to point out, cow also refers to the female bovine. But per Merriam Webster's dictionary, one of the meanings of the word "cow" is:
ReplyDelete2. a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex or age
Life hack #??: Don't waste a whole Saturday morning struggling with a puzzle with clunky defs!! Too many disagreements to list! Shoulda stood in bed!!
ReplyDeleteGood God!
ReplyDeleteWell, after a week of celebration, I have met my comeuppance. Mr. Lim's pzl has certainly put me in my place - and any ego-boosts recently received are now totally, completely reversed!
I was happy that a few WAGs turned out to be correct. The old grey walnut dd his best. I leave the rest to the geniuses who managed to get by with only two or three cheats on this one. Splynter's admission that he had the periodic table handy helps to ease my pain, if only by the teeniest bit.
Well, I am now assless, having cheated it off many times today. I expect it'll grow back by tomorrow. Even with cheating, I still couldn't solve this monster.
ReplyDeleteWhere is PK to chime in ?
ReplyDeleteCow is fine, or upon closer inspection, perhaps a heifer or a steer. Don't need to get too close to recognize the bull. It's common to hear cows, cattle or herd for the plural.
In my g-g-grandfather's day and vernacular, the singular was beeve, and the plural was beeves. He was a cowboy, a Baptist preacher, and an author. You can read his book, "From The Plains to the Pulpit" online.
True PK, it would be very unusual to see today's tamed cattle stampede, but it was a dangerous reality for the cowboys that rounded up Texas Longhorns and drove them on the trails to market.
TTP, re "beeve": is that why the University of Texas Longhorns' mascots are named "Bevo"? Will check out "From the Plains to the Pulpit" - love cowboy lore and stories. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDid finish, but with a google for Maugham "Cakes and ___"- remembered it had to do with something alcoholic - rum?; confirmed pawpaw tree and alorange. Stumped when the perps were solid for the deities' rule clue? What-"ibe foree"? Duh-great trickery. Got minaret by thinking what Arabic structure could resemble a lighthouse, but then the perps for Yes singer John started with M-R. Then I remembered, great Czech name, Mraz. Great fun puzzle.
Enjoyed your recap, Splynter as always!
Tx Ms, it very well could be how Bevo got that moniker. Never considered it before. The mascot has always been named Bevo since I have been around.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thanks to Misty for A.B. Toklas and remembering that Pound was one of the gang. He got into trouble for pro-Nazi broadcasts. But EZRA wasn't solid because of Mr Az.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I didn't arrive to find out everyone knocked this off easypeasy. I was going to throw in the towel because I couldn't get any footholds.
So, I concentrated and left it to the cerebellum. I confess that I had to look up the spelling of ISAIAH.
Did anyone have SIGN with the fingers.
Struck out is K'ed in baseball.
Nice QOD to Owen. Depression is the mother of great art. In my depressed YUTE, I binge listened to Roy Orbison singing "If heartaches brought fame and tears brought plaudits I'd be a Legend in my Time. "
Good group of'licks today, 100%
I have to grade myself 99% for that Isaiah spelling lookup. I knew if I gave up I'd be smacking V8 cans on my head.
Bill G, I caught your Julius Caesar answer to the dogs of war and the reference to Pogo's Xmas Carol. I had an aunt Nora in Boston who surely spent time on the trolley.
Splynter: L. E. B. F. T. Do you get that?
Mr Lim: I had a YEN to do a FUNKy xword
It was no SNAP. I BLED I tellya. I EDUCED until the KLAXON blew at ONEPM and SLATTERY's mounted foot marched by.
WC
I reluctantly agree that "cow" can refer to male or female. Maybe my childhood misconceptions are too strong. I still believe bullocks and oxen are almost always castrated males because it makes them more docile.
ReplyDeleteNot a big deal with me about cattle but I obviously diluted my point. I would rather discuss they and he/she. Any takers? I am amazed that the hoi polloi have not invented words for this conundrum. Also we need words for "Is it not true?" or "Isn't it?" Ne c'est pas or nicht wahr seem so much more facile. The PA Dutch say, "Ain't it?" Maybe we should say simply, "Not so?" Why don't we commonly use this phrase?
Alan had 16 T-shirts in the laundry today although he wears only one a day and I do the laundry every seven days. He also ran out of underwear today when I washed way more than a dozen pairs. I wash, dry, fold and present his clean clothing to him in the laundry basket to put away. Then he doesn't put them away and they mix with the dirty ones. GRR!
I am having many anxious moments about the state of my health right now, but it is peanuts compared to my maid of honor's husband's having to undergo three times a week four hour long dialysis treatments.
How golden are the golden years? My dad said getting old is not for sissies.
It's so very late now but I was gone all afternoon with my "people" i.e., my three sisters and three nieces. We had a fun time shopping at Dress Barn then ate at a place called the Thirsty Lion. Good food, but noisy. Do you know it, Jayce? It's at Tempe Marketplace.
ReplyDeleteAs for the puzzle, I didn't care for it. Too many obscure and unfamiliar names frustrate me though I did finish a good chunk of it but had to look up said names. That is something don't like to do. I've never heard of MRAZ but liked seeing HERSHEYS, PINATA, and JALAPENOS. I recalled BAHA Boys from a prior puzzle.
NUN and ABBEY also pleased me.
Thank you for the challenge, Mr. Lim and of course, thank you, Splynter, for your always upbeat narrative.
I hope your day was spectacular, everyone!
I've always taught the singular of cattle as cow. I know it sounds strange but I believe it's grammatically correct.
ReplyDeleteYR, your pronoun question reminded me of the U of T prof who stirred up debate (and more) by his refusal to use gender-neutral pronouns.
ReplyDeletehttps://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-professor-vs-the-pronoun-warriors/article32474079/
As for your "isn't it" problem, Canadians have that solved with Eh!
LOL.
I remember the PA Dutch phrase about growing too soon old and too late smart.
Mr. Eh!, I hadn't heard of the Toronto professor and his plight. Thanks for the link. Geez! I could never have imagined that particular disagreement. I have managed to accept people's choice of gender identity. I'm OK with their choice of restrooms. I have gotten used to calling people 'black' and then later, 'African American.' (I grew up using the word 'Negro.') I am getting used to 'Native American' instead of Indian. I am happy calling people 'he' or 'she' depending on their preference (if I know it). But I had not heard of new pronouns such as "xu," "hir," "ze," and so on. It's too much for me. So I find myself on the side of the U of T professor. I hope he manages to keep his position. Good luck to him.
ReplyDeleteLucina, we ate dinner at the Thirsty Lion several years ago. I don't remember it much. We all like Rula Bula on Mill Avenue very much, though, and have gone there several times.
ReplyDeleteWilbur, that Roy Orbison song sounds right on!
ReplyDeleteGreat post as always -- ELEVEN or AGE TEN got me... question - how is "Seas" = A LOT ???
ReplyDeleteThis seemed utterly impossible, but I stuck with it way longer than was reasonable. Eventually got all of the impossible parts in the NW and SW. But then discovered I had FIW with one small mistake: YELLIN/WIFIE instead of YELLEN/WEFIE
ReplyDeleteAs a physics person I know just enough chemistry to get in trouble. I know Chlorine is highly reactive, which means it is one column away from the Noble Gas column. But I needed one more letter to be sure it was ARGON.
Hand up for HABANERO before JALAPENO. I wanted HIJABS from the beginning, but ARFS, YAPS or YIPS would not yield. Finally figured out BAYS. and the NW fell in place.
IBEFOREE finally got me the SW. So not obvious deception!
Learning moment about MINARET origin!
Knew few of the proper names. "Yes" had me thinking of the British band of my era and their song Roundabout. Never heard of this MRAZ guy nor his album of that same name "Yes". I have friends (brother and sister) named Mrazek, so I was able to WAG the Z.
DIDI, OWEN also unknown. EZRA Pound I finally remembered. Did anyone else think STEPS for 12 follower?