Theme: Commercial Opportunity. The two-word theme entries have no surface connection, being mere vehicles to hold the letters of the concept theme entries. These letters are circled, and if you didn't get the circles, the theme might be tough to suss. There is a unifier though, so let's start with that.
23 A. Mantilla material : SPANISH LACE. A Mantilla is a lace or silk lady's scarf worn over the head and shoulders.
A SPACE STATION is an artificial satellite used as a base for off-planet activities.
49 A. It may be shaped on a wheel : POTTER'S CLAY. An iron-free earthy material, consisting mainly of hydrated aluminum silicates that is plastic when wet, but hard when fired, used to make pottery and decorate ceramics.
The PLAY STATION is a video game console developed by Sony.
55 A. Sacred lily of ancient Egypt : BLUE LOTUS. This is a water lily containing the psychoactive alkaloid apomorphine. It was important in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology.
1. Blowout victory : ROMP. A game where one team scores a lot, and the other not so much. I was hoping for one the other day; but, alas, 'twas not to be.
33. Program interruptions literally demonstrated by this puzzle's four sets of circles : STATION BREAKS. This is a pause between broadcast programs, when a transmitting station can identify itself and slip in a few commercials. As we will see, each theme entry holds a type of station, spelt with its first and last few letters. Thus the STATION is BROKEN within the entry.
17 A. World-class : FIRST RATE. Something world class or FIRST RATE is as good as it gets. And our first break gives us a FIRE station - a place where the FIRE fighters reside between calls, and keep their vehicles and equipment.
23 A. Mantilla material : SPANISH LACE. A Mantilla is a lace or silk lady's scarf worn over the head and shoulders.
The Mantilla Company
A SPACE STATION is an artificial satellite used as a base for off-planet activities.
49 A. It may be shaped on a wheel : POTTER'S CLAY. An iron-free earthy material, consisting mainly of hydrated aluminum silicates that is plastic when wet, but hard when fired, used to make pottery and decorate ceramics.
The PLAY STATION is a video game console developed by Sony.
55 A. Sacred lily of ancient Egypt : BLUE LOTUS. This is a water lily containing the psychoactive alkaloid apomorphine. It was important in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology.
A BUS STATION is a terminal building where long-distance buses arrive and depart.
Hi Gang - Jazzbumpa STATIONED here to guide you through today's puzzlement. We have four quite different types of STATION, split out for our edification and enjoyment. Let's see what else there is.
Across
1. Blowout victory : ROMP. A game where one team scores a lot, and the other not so much. I was hoping for one the other day; but, alas, 'twas not to be.
5. Airline mentioned in the first line of the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." : British Overseas Airways Corporation. Here's Paul.
9. Taj Mahal city : AGRA.
9. Taj Mahal city : AGRA.
13. Old Renault : LE CAR. The U. S. marketed version of the Renault 5, sold here from 1976-83.
14. Cold, in Cádiz : FRIO. Spanish.
15. Mark as important : FLAG. Not the first definition you'd think of, but valid.
19. Glass manufacturing dioxide : SILICA. This is what is commonly known as sand. Common window glass also contains oxides of sodium and Calcium, together comprising about 25% of the batch. Though both are ceramics, this material is quite different from POTTER'S CLAY. It is also different from Mrs. TESH. [Vide infra.]
21. Bk. read at Purim : ESTHer. A festival held to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews.
22. Sports doc's scan : Magnetic Resonance Image.
25. Univ. dorm overseers : RAs. Resident Advisors.
26. "__ the fields we go ... " : O'ER. To Grandmother's house.
27. Codebreaking org. : National Security Agency.
28. Dream up : CONCOCT. Create, devise, fabricate.
30. One inch = one foot, e.g. : SCALE. As in maps or modeling.
32. Seals, as a deal : ICES. To secure the deal. I guess because ice was fluid, but is now solidified.
38. Not quite place : SHOW. In horse racing - win, place, and SHOW are betting protocols. the terms refer to the first, second, and third place finishers, respectively.
39. California's San __ Zoo : DIEGO.
40. Rubs elbows (with) : HOB-NOBS.
44. Kids' recess game : TAG.
45. Time of yr. for new growth : SPRing.
48. She raised Cain : EVE. Not very well, though, in the original dysfunctional family, since he grew up to be a fratricide.
52. Legal thing : RES. From Latin.
53. Thickening agent : AGAR. A gelatinous polysaccharide substance obtained from red algae.
54. African desert : SAHARA. Lots of SILICA there.
58. Allow to pass : LET IN.
59. Architect Saarinen : EERO. From Finland, known for his neofuturistic designs.
60. Composer who was a CBS reporter : TESH. John [b 1952] Former sportscaster, now a composer, performer, and radio and TV personality.
61. Bay and gray followers : AREAS. Referring first to the region around San Fransisco Bay, and then to something less certain.
62. Uno y dos : TRES. 1 + 2 = 3, En Español.
63. Concerning : AS TO. Regarding.
64. Spoon's escape partner : DISH. From the same nursery rhyme as the musical feline, the out-of-this-world acrobatic bovine and the cackling canine.
64. Spoon's escape partner : DISH. From the same nursery rhyme as the musical feline, the out-of-this-world acrobatic bovine and the cackling canine.
Down
1. Means to an end : RECIPE. Odd way to think of it, but a recipe is something designed to achieve a certain outcome, so OK.
2. Pertaining to the eye : OCULAR. From Latin.
3. Marseille morning : MATIN. Hence, a morning prayer service is called Matins, though not likely to be offered to EOS, these days. [Vide infra.]
4. Police unit : PRECINCT. A section of the city, as defined for police purposes.
5. Fave texting bud : BFF. Best Friend Forever.
6. Projecting window : ORIEL. Bay and bow windows are common types. Perhaps useful for viewing orioles.
7. Respiratory cavity : AIRSAC. Per this definition, an alveolus. Birds have several other AIR SACS in their bodies.
8. Bulk-purchase club : COSTCO. If you see something you like there, buy it now. Next week, it may be gone forever. BTW, their pumpkin pies are awesome.
9. Kilimanjaro's cont. : AFRica.
10. Genre that influenced Prince : GLAM ROCK. Pop music style from the U.K. in the 70's featuring outrageous costumes, make up, hair styles and glitter.
11. Hectic lifestyles : RAT RACES.
12. Biased targets of the Gray Panthers : AGEISTS. Age discriminators.
13. Rodeo need : LASSO. Loop on a rope.
18. In that case : THEN. Indicates what follows.
20. Extremely, musically : ASSAI. Accompanies and intensifies a tempo marking.
24. Angelic ring : HALO. It's like a sunburst behind the head.
29. "Later!" : CIAO. Informal exclamation at meeting or departure, coming via Italian schiavo [I am your slave] and relating back to the Latin word for slave, sclavus.
30. Like logs : SAWN. Having been cut with a saw.
31. Bitter __ : END. A nautical term, referring to the end of a rope to which an anchor is attached. If that is reached, then the water is too deep for anchorage.
33. Snow remover : SHOVELER. The person, not the tool.
34. Without a doubt : TO BE SURE. Of a certainty.
35. Tasting menu portion : BITE. A nibble.
36. Brings up : REARS. Refers to nurturing a child until full grown. Other senses of the word indicate cultivating plants, raising animals, rising to great heights, or - of a quadruped - raising up on its hind legs.
37. Sandwich filling for a lacto-ovo vegetarian : EGG SALAD. Unlike vegans, they will consume eggs and dairy.
38. Frozen dessert : SHERBET. A fruity frozen confection, and a sure bet to please.
41. Play-of-color gem : OPAL.
42. South American capital : BOGOTA.
46. Persona non grata : PARIAH. Any social outcast, originally, the lowest caste in southern India.
47. "__ Hope": '70s-'80s soap : RYAN'S. The Irish immigrant Ryan family owned a bar in New York city, and had several upwardly-mobile adult children. This is already more than I knew about it.
50. Have faith : TRUST.
51. French darling : CHERI. No matter how you spell it.
56. Dawn goddess : EOS. Perhaps one of the most ancient deities in human history.
Well, that's the end of this show. Hope it didn't BREAK you.
Cool regards!
JzB
{C, C, B-, C, B+.}
ReplyDeleteIn AFRICA towers Mount Kilimanjaro,
Wreathed in clouds as a moist HALO.
A geologic PARIAH
South of the SAHARA,
Wrapped in glaciers like an icy LASSO.
Along the Nile we find the BLUE LOTUS,
A flower for forgetting things that annoy us!
Shuck the RAT RACE,
Slow down our pace,
Head to the STATION to catch the next BUS!
The circus SHOW has a big-top tent cover!
Children ROMP playing TAG, so much to discover!
The calliope keys throb,
The big cats HOBNOB,
The elephants parade! (But pity the SHOVELER!)
As kids, there were soda jerks to CONCOCT treats,
SHERBETS and ICES and other such sweets!
But now it's just COSTCO
To watch our in-come go,
So we can DISH up healthier blah foods as eats!
Satan determined to break EVE out of jail,
So he hired the serpent, so goes the tale,
To help EVE find the keys
To give Eden the breeze!
Which leaves us to ask -- was the snake's pay SCALE?
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Peg and JazzB!
Only unknown was STATES.
No dinner tonight. Sob.
Have a great day!
I hate puzzles with lots of proper names, so I loved this one.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteWow, Peg, you made me work for it this morning. Nice...or should I say FIRST RATE? Enjoyed your expo, JzB.
That 2001 photo reminds me that in the movie the space shuttle was operated by Pan Am and the video-phones were owned by the Bell System. Seemed a safe bet in the 60's that those two companies would endure until 2001. Nope.
EERO reminds me of an NYT puzzle a few weeks ago -- a rebus puzzle with some squares containing multiple letters. The answer for "Architect Saarinen" was four blocks long, but it was ELIEL, not EERO. Devious!
Good Morning, JazzBumpa and friends. Interesting puzzle. I thought it was going to stump me at first, but I was able to soldier on.
ReplyDeleteI was actually in having an MRI yesterday when the storm plowed through.
EERO Saarinen may have started out in Finland, but he ended in the US. His father was also a famous architect.
I learned of ORIEL windows from doing the crossword puzzles. The word used to be a crossword staple.
My favorite clue was She Raised Cain = EVE.
Stay safe, everyone.
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peg for a very doable challenge this morning. The long fill came pretty quickly, but the theme completely escaped me. Nicely done.
Thanks, JazzB, for a fine elucidation of theme and for the expert tour.
Have a fine day, everyone.
My V8 moment (not just a V SIX moment) was remembering that the DISH ran away with the spoon, not the dang fork. Perfect level of difficulty for Wednesday, at least at my skill level. I got it, but with a lot of difficulty.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know SPANISH LACE (or mantilla). I was thinking of meniscus from my chemistry classes a century ago. Never heard of ICE(ing) a deal. I got OPAL, but had to look up play-of-color after I finished the puzzle. I was thinking of theater, something like Technicolor Dreamcoat. Didn't know that Australia only has 6 states. That doesn't seem fair - maybe we could give them California, since they want out anyway. Also didn't know MATIN, ORIEL or ASSAI.
Erased rout for ROMP and admit for LET IN (plus fork for DISH).
My favorite today was RECIPE for "means to an end". Brilliant.
Thanks to Peg for a fine puzzle, and to JazzB for yet another solid explanation.
Fun puzzle. At first I thought the separated circle words were breaks instead of stations. I soon changed my mind. Fine puzzle, Peg. JzB, you, too, have a terrific inimitable style, easily recognizable.
ReplyDeleteFLAG reminded me of an email or ebook option.
Hahtoolah, you missed your MRI due to the snow yesterday. I will likely miss mine tomorrow. We expect April weather today and 6 or so inches of snow to shovel tomorrow. Whacky weather.
JzB, I , too, wondered how well Eve raised Cain. Then I thought of several people who did awful things even though they were raised well and had outstanding, upstanding sibs. Not always the parents' fault.
RECIPE for disaster seems apropos nowadays.
Off to Alan's commute, but I am so glad that he is back in the swing of things and working steadily for a change..
Good job on the write-up Jazz.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a FUN Wednesday puzzle Peg.
"Blowout victory" started out as ROUT before ROMP appeared. Kinda explains my solving experience.
Not many SHOVELERs here in the Tampa Bay AREAS. Go figure ....
Cheers!
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteWell executed theme today, with a smile inducing unifier. Thanks for today's entertainment, Peg. Great write-up, Jazzbumpa. Especially liked your description of the DISH's cohorts at 64A.
Enjoy the day!
"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDeleteOnly blemish was starting at the bottom and putting STATE into 61a before checking perps. Otherwise my grid was clean. Cute theme and clues; nice recap JzB.
My lame attempt at a lick/pun:
There's an old saying that's changing, I thought you should know,
As the cost of admission continues to grow.
To see GLAM ROCK concert? It's high-priced.
Guess my budget, will be sacrificed;
Now, it's two for the money and one for the SHOW.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis started out feeling like a Friday puzzle as I was getting nowhere at first. ROMP wouldn't come to me and even though I've heard "Back in the U.S.S.R." countless times, was drawing a blank with BOAC. I only had a few known fills until San DIEGO then things started to fall into place (guess my brain had finally warmed up!)
I got the unifier/theme pretty quickly then and was able to go back around again and finish. Thanks to Peg for a nice workout and JzB for your great tour ( lol at the SILICA / Selleca / TESH reference 😃)
Some bumps along the way : EERO - I can never remember his first name! So simple and a CW staple yet it always eludes me.
ORIEL was a learning moment; AIRSAC- I wanted Airway. Other perps: AGEISTS, STATES, SLATES and ASSAI (I also have trouble remembering musical terms)
Speaking of music - @ Anonymous T- I just read your comments from yesterday regarding Rush. I'm a huge fan and thought of them with BASTILLEDAY and The TREES doing the CW. My DH also loves them and we've seen them in concert seven times. Now my 15 year old nephew has discovered them, so nice to see another generation appreciating such amazing talent :)
Wishing everyone a wonderful day!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough solve for a Wednesday. But didn't get the theme until reading JzB's explanation. Seemed like a lot of Spanish today. No nits.
Bitter END - Properly, the free or loose end of a line. Originally, the bitter end of a mooring line was taken to the bitts to secure it.
Bitts - A shipboard mooring fixture, comprised of cylindrical posts similar to BOLLARDS, mounted in pairs.
My take on bitter end is not nautical. When some sports fans see their team losing big they opt not to stay until the bitter end. They rue this decision when there is a big last minute winning rally while they are still in the parking lot. This take on bitter end is quite familiar to me, the nautical take, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking Oz should have made their N.T. into a state by now, but no, it's still just the Northern Territory, in case anyone counted and realized there are 7, not just 6 areas delineated on that map.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was nice and easy for a Wednesday. But I've always thought of a mantilla as an elegant veil secured to the head by a decorative comb, rather than looking like a loose scarf.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I think I had about TRES cells in the SE with no erasures but I enjoyed the puzzle and Jazz’s always fine write-up
-FIRE STATION changes in Samuel Clemmons’ hometown
-Anyone else want CHANTILLY LACE or ROUT for ROMP?
-Where is the SPACE STATION right now? (allow a few seconds to load)
-Le George Costanza got stuffed in le locker because parents drove a LE CAR
-Turbo Tax assures me my 2016 return has nothing the IRS will FLAG
-Earth, Moon and Sun to SCALE
-Speakeasies were careful who they LET IN
-Costco is investing $275,000,000 a mile from my house here in Fremont, NE.
-We got 3” of snow last night for this SHOVELER to tackle today
-Is any word mispronounced more often than SHERBET?
-A graphic representation of Australia’s population density
-People rued the day if they didn’t stay until the BITTER END of the Super Bowl
-Name the movie with a sensual scene with a POTTER’S WHEEL
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWell, Peg, you gave me quite a workout today but there was a happy, help-free ending, so all is well. Hand up for Rout/Romp and also In Re/As To. I misread South America capital as South Africa so that held me up a little, also. (Funny how our eyes play tricks with us, at times.). Definitely needed the reveal to appreciate the theme, which was really hidden, for me, anyway. Some of the cluing was devious but in a fair, Aha way. Took me forever to come up with Dish; haven't heard or said that rhyme in tears.
Kudos, Peg, for a mid-week challenge and thanks, JazB, for your enlightening and humorous summary.
Have a great day.
Thank you, Peg Slay, for today's rapid ROMP! For me, strewing SPANISH through the grid is much preferable to, say, French. It's a treat! And thanks, Jazzbumpa, for your enlightening review. That is also a treat.
ReplyDeleteIn my youth we often wore mantillas to church in lieu of hats. Sadly, I regret having given them all away when we no longer covered our heads. Some were really beautiful.
BOGOTA reminds me of Chickie whom we haven't seen for a while. I hope her DH is doing well.
Well, not being well attuned I had GLAMTOCK/TAS and didn't notice it. Drat!
The San DIEGO zoo was a favorite place to visit when I was in school there.
Hahtoolah:
I'm glad to see you survived the tornado and I'm sorry for your city, though.
Have a delightful day, everyone!
HG:
ReplyDeleteGhost is the movie. One of my favorites.
Naturally, tears should be years! 😅
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you Peg and thank you JzB. Nothing obtuse about this puzzle or write up.
ReplyDeleteSolved it at the MENSA site, but opened the LA TIMES site so I could see where the circles were placed.
FIRST RATE puzzle. Challenging. Seemed like there were fewer "auto fill" answers than normal for a Wednesday.
Had to change ROUT to ROMP in the northwest, INKS to ICES and CONJURE to CONCOCT in the northeast, LET BY to LET IN in the southeast.
Not familiar with the word Mantilla, but SPANISH LACE became obvious. Perps to the rescue on the MATIN.
Loved the "Means to and end" clue for RECIPE.
JzB, your A CUTE Triangle cartoon reminded me of a clue I read the other day. It was "Equiangular quadrilateral." I read the clue and was momentarily stumped. It's been way too long since geometry class.
ReplyDeleteI used the MENSA site, so no circles. I did open the LA Times site to see the circles but it was too much trouble bouncing back and forth, so I decided to go without trying to get the theme. I was able to completely fill in the puzzle, though. Love ya PERPS.
Peg provided a puzzle with a lot of fresh fill today. Only a few old faithfuls like AGRA, OER, MRI and NSA to name a few. I really liked BOAC, RECIPE, SPANISH LACE and POTTERS CLAY. JzB led us through the circles nicely thereby providing the Ah Ha moment for me.
Proper names and some foreign words give me a headache sometimes. I got TESH, but like BunnyM I can never remember EERO. I tried ENZO, but that would have given me SHOVELNR and TOBESUZE. So like I said earlier, I let PERPS rule.
Another pure PERP answer was RES. I don't recall ever seeing it before.
I'm not a lacto-ovo vegatarian, but I do like EGG SALAD, so I just made some for lunch and am baking some bread using Rhodes Frozen Bread Dough. Along with tomato soup I will enjoy lunch today. Usually I'm more of a Meatatarian.
Have a good day and for those in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast get ready for the snowstorm coming tonight from HG's neck of the woods.
Yellowrocks, to me, it would be the fan(atics) that stay or watch the game to the bitter end, knowing their team is has no hope of winning. Not ones that leave or rue their decisions. The fanatics stayed (or held out hope) to the bitter end.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading JzB's and Spitzboov's explanations, I read various sources that attribute the etymology of bitter end to naval origins. Seems solid to me. I'll go with it.
Prior to that, I would have thought it derived from eating certain root vegetables or fruits to the bitter end.
Got a little comic relief reading one of the remarks that the nautical sense of bitter end is promoted by a group known by the acronym CANOE. Committee to Ascribe a Naval Origin to Everything.
We haven't had much snow in Chicago this year. It's been 55 days since we've had an inch of snowfall measure at O'Hare. A couple of tenths predicted today. No shoveling required.
Wednesday workout today. Thanks to Peg and JazzB for the fun. I was a DNF because of the crossing of STATES (I was thinking of a musical sextet), TESH (didn't know he was a composer) and SHO (I don't know all the American networks).
ReplyDeleteLike TTP and oc4beach, I was on the Mensa site with no circles. I kept working there anyway and then opened the LATimes site to see the circles. I circled the wrong letters when transferring to 49A and got POTT Y break - LOL!
Hand up for InRe before AS TO, learning ORIEL and EERO (didn't we have ELIEL here a week or so ago d-otto?) from CWs.
I smiled at HOBNOBS but thought the Bay & gray AREAS clue was meh! I was thinking of "allow to pass" as a car and LET IN was not entirely agreeable. But if you think of allowing into a club, it works(thanks HuskerG).
Spitzboov, the plot thickens (with AGAR) again today!
Have a great day. No SHOVELERS needed here thankfully.
TTP, I agree. The fans I spoke of do NOT stay to the bitter end. Bitter end is not about who stays or goes, but it refers to the unfortunate outcome itself.
ReplyDeleteI found very many recent print references to the bitter end in sports and politics and very few in nautical. How much of everyday speech is about the bitter end of a rope? Obviously that was the origin of the phrase, but it has been co-opted, as many words have been.The dictionary counts both meanings as valid. Personally I have never heard of the bitter end of a rope, although I accept it as correct. I have heard the other meaning countless times. I'll bet it is the more frequently used.
Had SENIORS for 12D before crosses took care of that and I reread the clue, otherwise no issues.
ReplyDeleteNo worries,
ReplyDeleteexcept for maybe some confusion about Australian sextet.
And I learned Oriel window not from crosswords,
but The Canterville Ghost. (1944)
Robert Young keep interrupting the ghost
when he was supposed to be moaning at the oriel window...
Also learned about Boogie Woogie.
The only station breaks I like are from SNL.
(Warning, you may have to watch an Ad to see this clip...)
Thanks for all the nice comments. When I construct a puzzle, I try to make it fun and a bit of a challenge, but not impossible.
ReplyDeleteThanks, JzB for all of your great pics in the write-up and your insight.
I look forward every day coming here to read all of your comments.
Peg Slay
You just described the friday puzzle!!!!
DeleteThank you, Peg Slay!
ReplyDeleteI expect a Weds pzl to be the first taste of toughness in the week, and you didn't disappoint. This one stopped me in a couple of places, but it's always good to pause to take a breath. It makes the final Ta-DA! all that more rewarding.
I enjoyed seeing old faithful AGRA in the same Xwd with AGAR. A first time, I think - at least for me.
JzB - Thank you for posting the lovely likeness of Mistress EOS. What a charming way to start the day!
Great Wednesday puzzle, Peg--a bit crunchy but doable--many thanks! I got very little on the top at first and had to start at the bottom and work my way up. Didn't get the theme until the reveal, but all those split words suddenly made sense--what a relief to have those circles this morning! Loved your "cute triangle" cartoon, JazzB, as well as all your other great pics. I still don't understand the connection between ELIEL and EERO, though--would love an explanation. Listened to McCarthy, but didn't hear BOAC. No, matter, still a really fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, everybody!
CED 12:51 - loved the boogie woogie. That clip started off a chain reaction of course...just finished up with a 1940 version of Sing Sing Sing. Great music!
ReplyDeleteGoes with 37d. Customer: we don't eat eggs, meat, gluten, dairy, soy or nuts. What do you recommend we get. Waitress: The F... out!!
ReplyDeleteMisty, Eliel was Eero's father. "Architect Saarinen" could refer to either of 'em.
ReplyDeleteMy thought on the bitter end; Live at The Bitter End, Crystal Blue Persuasion.
ReplyDeleteI really had no idea what the circles were referring to because I was trying to finish the puzzle. With the Spanish-FRIO, TRES, and 'Matilla', biblical abbr.- ESTH, Italian- ASSAI, Frawnch- CHERI, I needed all the perps to complete. I won't include San DIEGO- that's in the USA. Both Mantilla and SPANISH LACE were unknowns (as didn't Jinx) and the lace and BLUE LOTUS were 100% perped.
ReplyDeleteAGEISTS is a new word for me. The G.P. can target any company they want but as a Old Bald Panther, I know that I can't do the work that I could do 30 or 40 years ago.
I echo what everybody said about this terrific puzzle. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteDesper-otto, many thanks for explaining--I was so puzzled by that!
ReplyDeleteNot much opportunity to comment, but I had to say hi and thank you to Peg for a very fun puzzle and JzB for an intuitively great write up.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to TTP's 'CANOE,' in the 'Greek Wedding,' AGAR stands for "All Greek, All 'Round."
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeletePeg - Crunchy fun! Many missteps but ultimately a win! Thank you. JzB, you coulda' stopped at Sir Paul and had my undying gratitude :-). Fun(ny) expo. Thx.
Huh? There's a Means to a Bitter END? [1d, 31d]
WOs: LET by, EGG white, there's no second A in BOGaTA, THus b/f THEN, and I put in COScos [could club imply more than one? - I inferred it anyway...]
ESPs: TESH, MATIN.
Fav: I'll side w/ Hahtoolah [glad you're OK!] with c/a for EVE.
I'd go with RECIPE but I was leaning toward RECItE [learning rote is a means to an end, no?] and, when I inked the P, I pronounced it RE-CIPE in my head. I figured JzB [or HG] would 'Spain CIPE... There's my V8! for the day :-)
{B, C, A, B, groan :-)}. {cute}
Jinx - ICES a deal is inking one where you get at least a win.
C,Eh! LOL re: POTT-Y!
Bunny M. - My girls are into RUSH too! I got to take them to R40 in HOU.
Spitz - Your CANOE Society :-) might claim Bollard too. I know Bollards from physical-security; they're the posts you see in front of buildings that block vehicles from driving through the front entrance.
Cheers, -T
YR, were you saying,as I noticed that the circles could refer to BREAK as well. Until BUS. And, think about those fans who didn't stay for the magnificent END Sunday night.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was pretty bitter for the Falcon faithful.
Isn't there a bitter ELM?
Answer to BAKERS half DOZEN of Rhett Butler's impersonators?
House of the Seven Gables
I agree with Peg, btw thanks for dropping by, the xw was crunchy enough to make us use the perps.
I started to go for the THROAT on 7d
OWEN I graded you much higher because of imagination. Thanks C-Moe too. And of course JzB for a great write-up.
WC
Yes. The boogie boogie contests were interesting
ReplyDeleteLuAnn of comics has become an RA. Speaking of the comics page: the bridge column was interesting today. East dropped a guarded King to fool declarer.
Some time I'll tell my Chu-Lai bridge story.
I thought BFF meant something different; perhaps that's the point.
Finally, Eve also REARED Seth and the rest is history.
WC
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Peg Slay, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was not bad, except for the NW corner. That is where I finished.
EERO was easy. We have had him many times before.
As was AGRA. A crossword staple.
GLAM ROCK was new to me.
RAT RACES is not.
I am not a member of COSTCO, but am thinking about it.
Anyhow, I am off to bed. Too late for me tonight.
See you tomorrow. Heading to Virginia for the weekend. Convention.
Abejo
( )
Peg - failed to say how much I enjoyed the theme. I got reveal early on and was hoping it wasn't just going for FIRE, POLICE, etc. You didn't disappoint with different "STATIONS" Broken-up.
ReplyDeleteWC - 13/2 == 6.5 Gables? {Moan :-)}
Leafing through the paper b/f bed and I came across the Obit of Irwin Corey and Google'd him (if he's a comic, I gotsta know if he's funny). [If this is political - my appologies... I don't quite get it as I was 12 when this was recorded.]. I wonder if that's where John Hodgman got his inspiration. RIP Irwin @102. Anyone a fan [I never heard of him b/f tonight]?
Cheers, -T
It's not LuAnn who's become an RA, its her BFF Bernice. But yeah, being an RA is a current arc in the strip, one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteWC: I caught the extended meaning to "Eve also REARED Seth and the rest is history."
My memory of Prof. Corey is vague, but I do recall him as a comic I enjoyed on variety shows of my youth.
BOAC was a gimme as I love "Back in the USSR". It was written by the Beatles as a parody of the Beach Boys song "California Girls".
ReplyDeleteI can walk to Costco and I am a member but I rarely go there. I prefer to patronize local businesses when possible.