Theme: None
Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)
Blocks: 27
We
are witness to Bruce Haight's hitting for the cycle - this is his first
Saturday construction for the LA Times, and has now been published
every day of the week. Congratulations to Bruce, but I gotta say, too
many proper names(*)
in this one made it a fun sponge - can't win them all. 10x6 in two
corners and triple 8-letter stacks in the others, with two more 8-letter
fills as well.
15. Fizzled : PETERED OUT - what do you call a guy who tires easily~? Peter; how about the guy who's creative~? Art; The guy who stirs up trouble~? Buck - or - Russell; The wealthy one~? Rich; The one who's brutally honest~? Frank. I can go on....
14. Displaying polish, perhaps : OPEN-TOED
52. Symbol of ancient Egypt : SACRED IBIS - dah~! I had ICON, IDOL, and knew it wasn't correct - took a moment to remember the sacred bird - and also the God Thoth
31. "Brava!" : ATTA GIRL - I had the "G", and the "a" at the end of the clue helped me nail this
atta girl~!
Spring ON forWARD~
ACROSS:
1. Participated in a movie gunfight, say : SHOT BLANKS
11. Symbol of purity : HALO - not DOVE
16. Junket : TRIP
17. Really hot : EXTRA SPICY
18. Bud : MATE
19. Passes : ENACTS
20. Getaway car driver : WHEELMAN
22. Comforter : DUVET - I have such a resentment for this word, only because my friend's wife used it in a Scrabble game, and I challenged - it's Frawnche - and yet it counted. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
23. Metered lines : POESY
24. Rudder location : AFT
25. "Now!" : STAT - not ASAP
26*. "Buddenbrooks" author : MANN
27. Farm follower? : E-I-E-I-O - not "STEAD"; this was almost funny....
29. Moolah : GELT - not CASH
30. Pop-up producer : ADWARE
31. How many games are won : AS A TEAM - the NY Rangers finally figured out their Power Play, and still managed to lose on Thursday
35. Cuddled : SPOONED - yeah, one of these days I'll get around to this again
36. Wine flavor component : TANNIN
37. Compact __ : DISC
38. Jerks : TWITS - my mother's affectionate name for the NY Rangers
39. "No __!" : DICE
40*. Inventing middle name : ALVA
44. Six-pack to be proud of : ABS - the 'other' six-pack produces the exact opposite
45*. Big name in '50s-'60s civil rights : EVERS
47. Take turns? : STEER - got it, but pondered DRIVE, too
48. Cuts to a roving reporter : GOES LIVE - Ha~! Nailed it
50. Introductory language class : LATIN I
51. Digging : INTO
54. Shipping hazard : REEF
55. Wary : ON THE ALERT
56. Exam for some college srs. : LSAT
57. Tourist attraction : RESORT AREA
DOWN:
1. Radar pickups : SPEEDS
2. Threaded fastener : HEX-NUT - this is the crenellated version
3. Interval for Rossini : OTTAVA - musical reference, octave
4. Three-line stanza : TERCET
5*. Benjamin of "Law & Order" : BRATT - was never a big fan of his character - I think cutting out Chris Noth's "Mike Logan" was not a good move for the show - tho he did return on "Criminal Intent"
6. Frequency modulation word? : LESS - filled via perps; not sure I "get it"
7. Payroll service initials : ADP - I see this on the UPS truck daily
8. "Forget it!" : "NO I WON'T~!" - I had YOU WISH to start, and it was working for a while
9. German coffeecake : KUCHEN - OK, I'll take das word for it....
10. Optical maladies : STYES
11. Webmaster's code : HTML
12. Ancient Syrian : ARAMAEAN
13. Got ready to grill : LIT A FIRE
21. Focus group member, casually? : EYE DOC - ah. Clever
23. Date provider : PALM - the tree, not the singles website
26. Average : MEAN
28. WWII battle site, for short : IWO - Jima
29*. Theodor whose middle name was Seuss : GEISEL -even guessing this was "Dr Seuss" did not help at all
30. It adjoins the altar : APSE
32. Surgeon, slangily : SAWBONES
33. Aromatic brew : ANISE TEA - been popular in crosswords lately
34. Blaster : TNT - oops, not GUN
35. Unleashes : SICS
37. Runs : DIRECTS
39*. William of "24" : DEVANE - I liked him as Carter in "Payback"
40*. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - just read a true "science fiction" novel from Bradbury and Baxter where Genghis Khan meets Alexander the Great in battle
41*. Elvis Presley lyricist Jerry : LEIBER
42. __ facias: jury pool (from the Latin for "make come") : VENIRE - all my Law & Order watching did not get me this
43. Grain bristle : ARISTA - mostly perps
46. Sun block : VISOR
47*. '70s-'80s Egyptian president : SADAT - an another, but I knew this one
49. Permissive : SOFT
50. Suggestive gander : LEER
53. Letter after pi : RHO
11. Symbol of purity : HALO - not DOVE
16. Junket : TRIP
17. Really hot : EXTRA SPICY
18. Bud : MATE
19. Passes : ENACTS
20. Getaway car driver : WHEELMAN
22. Comforter : DUVET - I have such a resentment for this word, only because my friend's wife used it in a Scrabble game, and I challenged - it's Frawnche - and yet it counted. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
23. Metered lines : POESY
24. Rudder location : AFT
25. "Now!" : STAT - not ASAP
26*. "Buddenbrooks" author : MANN
27. Farm follower? : E-I-E-I-O - not "STEAD"; this was almost funny....
29. Moolah : GELT - not CASH
30. Pop-up producer : ADWARE
31. How many games are won : AS A TEAM - the NY Rangers finally figured out their Power Play, and still managed to lose on Thursday
35. Cuddled : SPOONED - yeah, one of these days I'll get around to this again
36. Wine flavor component : TANNIN
37. Compact __ : DISC
38. Jerks : TWITS - my mother's affectionate name for the NY Rangers
39. "No __!" : DICE
40*. Inventing middle name : ALVA
44. Six-pack to be proud of : ABS - the 'other' six-pack produces the exact opposite
45*. Big name in '50s-'60s civil rights : EVERS
47. Take turns? : STEER - got it, but pondered DRIVE, too
48. Cuts to a roving reporter : GOES LIVE - Ha~! Nailed it
50. Introductory language class : LATIN I
51. Digging : INTO
54. Shipping hazard : REEF
55. Wary : ON THE ALERT
56. Exam for some college srs. : LSAT
57. Tourist attraction : RESORT AREA
DOWN:
1. Radar pickups : SPEEDS
2. Threaded fastener : HEX-NUT - this is the crenellated version
4. Three-line stanza : TERCET
5*. Benjamin of "Law & Order" : BRATT - was never a big fan of his character - I think cutting out Chris Noth's "Mike Logan" was not a good move for the show - tho he did return on "Criminal Intent"
6. Frequency modulation word? : LESS - filled via perps; not sure I "get it"
7. Payroll service initials : ADP - I see this on the UPS truck daily
8. "Forget it!" : "NO I WON'T~!" - I had YOU WISH to start, and it was working for a while
9. German coffeecake : KUCHEN - OK, I'll take das word for it....
10. Optical maladies : STYES
11. Webmaster's code : HTML
12. Ancient Syrian : ARAMAEAN
21. Focus group member, casually? : EYE DOC - ah. Clever
23. Date provider : PALM - the tree, not the singles website
26. Average : MEAN
28. WWII battle site, for short : IWO - Jima
29*. Theodor whose middle name was Seuss : GEISEL -even guessing this was "Dr Seuss" did not help at all
30. It adjoins the altar : APSE
Awesome
33. Aromatic brew : ANISE TEA - been popular in crosswords lately
34. Blaster : TNT - oops, not GUN
35. Unleashes : SICS
37. Runs : DIRECTS
39*. William of "24" : DEVANE - I liked him as Carter in "Payback"
40*. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - just read a true "science fiction" novel from Bradbury and Baxter where Genghis Khan meets Alexander the Great in battle
41*. Elvis Presley lyricist Jerry : LEIBER
42. __ facias: jury pool (from the Latin for "make come") : VENIRE - all my Law & Order watching did not get me this
43. Grain bristle : ARISTA - mostly perps
46. Sun block : VISOR
47*. '70s-'80s Egyptian president : SADAT - an another, but I knew this one
49. Permissive : SOFT
50. Suggestive gander : LEER
53. Letter after pi : RHO
Splynter
Where is everybody? Er...Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI struggled mightily and the Wite-Out flowed freely, but I got 'er done. Whew! HALO, not SNOW. Tried SACHER before KUCHEN elbowed in. ARISTA used to be a record label...maybe still is. Thanks, Bruce. I didn't Haight it, but I didn't love it, either.
Splynter, doing something LESS often would modulate its frequency. At least that's how I took it.
Bill G -- Tonight's the night! (A couple of weeks ago he suffered premature clockulation.)
I hardly believe I finished this puzzle correctly! True, I needed the lack of a ta-da, but I wasn't totally expecting it anyway. HIEROGLYPH had already morphed, but still seemed the iffy-est. ISIS was an Egyptian goddess, but SACRED implied something non-goddish. I had no idea what 41-42-43d might be, so SACRED Ixxx could be anything. I tried ISIS, ICON, and considered ANKH before stumbling on IBIS! So many WAGs based on uncertain perps!
ReplyDeleteI hate hay-fever season
The runny nose beyond all reason!
Sneezing blast
Eyes half-mast
Gummed in place committing treason!
Bodies besieged by the trees,
Pollen wafting on the breeze!
Weedy war.
To the fore,
Bio-weapons make me sneeze!
Itching, scratchy lids and orbs
Rubbing, no relief affords!
Eyelids glued
Minds confused
Nostrils building mucus hoards!
Who can think when cannot breathe!
Tissues piling up like leaves!
Spring is here
Shed a tear
Only summer brings reprieve!
This was DOA this morning. The NW had exactly one fill-STAT. Wanted some type of bolt or nut for 2D but couldn't think of HEX. Come to think of it, just about all nuts are HEX nuts. PLANES for SPEEDS, EASER for DUVET, never heard of three side by side downs- OTTAVA, TRECET, Benjamin BRATT. Nor could I remember that the German word KUCHEN was both singular (der Kuchen) and plural (die Kuchen). Getaway driver- I guessed PEDALMAN and my focus group member couldn't be found, as I wasn't thinking optician or optometrist but the subject of an ad campaign. DISH, DISK, or DISC- Didn't know what to WAG to make anything fit.
ReplyDeleteThe rest filled in the usual Saturday time, not knowing ARAMAEAN, LEIBER, VENIRE, DEVANE which were solved by perps.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a big, fat FIW due to the dastardly SE crossing of Sacred Ibis with three unknowns: Leiber, Venire, and Arista. I had Idol which still made the downs look possibly correct. But, of course, they weren't, so no Tada for me today. Overall, after getting some traction, I was zipping right along until I hit that corner. Yikes! Despite that, I enjoyed the puzzle, especially the ever-so-subtle "Eye Doc" reference!
Thanks, Bruce, for a tough challenge and congrats on hitting the cycle and thanks, Splynter, for the nice wrap-up.
Have a great day.
That's a first. Today's NYT was quicker/easier than the LAT. Not complaining.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood morning all. Thank you Bruce and Splynter.
Good solving day for me.
Pretty much bisected the puzzle from the SW to the NE in a steady flow of good answers, excepting the totally unknown MANN, and the error of prose before perps required the change to POESY.
My MIL would always ask, "Hast du gelt ?" when she knew I was going to the store.
I was on a different wavelength with character traits of diplomacy and tact coming to mind for "Displaying polish, perhaps", and thought the answer was funny. Was both amused and relieved as EIEIO was unveiled. I needed that second E for ARAMAEAN.
Owen, the same SE was almost my bugaboo. Had all but the BI in IBIS, and came within a couple of keystrokes from putting in RI when I got it.
Deper-otto, my excuse for being late is that I slept in. Will try not to let it happen again. Watched Northwestern take down Maryland in the Big 10 tourney, and the adrenaline was flowing.
Yeah Splynter, I would go along with D-O's answer, more or LESS.
Funny how different areas stymie different folks. My Waterloo was in the NW. I turned on red letters and need a lot of help there. I did think of PETERED OUT but didn't try it because a had a wrong perp. That might have helped. I agree with Big Easy that "three side by side downs- OTTAVA, TRECET, Benjamin BRATT", were problematic. I was mad at myself because I couldn't dredge up KUCHEN with which I am very familiar.
ReplyDeleteI filled the rest in half an hour, good time for me on a Saturday. I found the bottom half easy. DUVETs are American as well as French and are very common in stores like Bed Bath @ Beyond and in bedding sections of department stores. I have two of them.
I had EYE DOC, but it took a while to understand why. Clever. Welcome back to old crosswordese, ARISTA. I see it only in puzzles.
In 2006 there was a terrible accident at our nearby Wild West City theme park. An employee brought a box of live ammo into the area where the actors were preparing for a Wyatt Earp reenactment. The actor unknowingly loaded the live ammo instead of blanks. He shot a man, permanently paralyzing him. Tragic!
Alan seems better today. I hope it lasts. Getting on it right away helped. Thank you all for your concern.
Good day to all!
ReplyDeletePecked my way through most of the puzzle today, but in the end googled for Benjamin BRATT to finish up in the NW. Favorite clue/answer was "Farm follower?" E-I-E-I-O. Also liked the clue for EYE DOC. Thanks for an enjoyable Saturday workout, Bruce, and congrats on hitting for the cycle. Great write-up as usual, Splynter. Beautiful APSE photo.
Enjoy the day!
What's with the 'risque' pictures (see 'atta girl') It is soooo juvenile and wholly unnecessary.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHA ! Noticed the clue, but OTTAVA perped in for me. Never hesitated at BRATT. BTW, I do know the difference between poesy and prose, and Homer's exclamation was audible when that error was corrected. :>)
From last night... Anonymous T and Chuck, you quantum types might be interested in reading about progress in quantum computing. I'll look for the article, but I think it was at CNET. The term "qubit" is used to describe data representation beyond the binary states. Too heady for me at this point.
Big Easy (yesterday)
ReplyDeleteNO I don't hit it 300 yds. off the tee ... maybe 240-250.
That leaves about a 200 yd. second shot (on a normal "Par 4")... not a wedge.
Those PRO's yesterday were hitting it 300 to 350 ... WOW ... damn near every time.
Cheers!
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteNice workout. Thanks, Bruce. I, too, loved Farm Follower, and like Splynter, I was certain that it must be -stead. Surprisingly, some of the longer ones fell quickly although I inked them in very lightly.
Nice tour, Splynter. Thanks for the cathedral link. Awesome is right. First I thought it was St. Chapelle--naw, that's Franche! DUVET is of French origin, but wander around Bed Bath and Beyond; you will find plenty of them, so it must Crossword legal. ;^)
GO CATS! Then NU kids here in town are astonished with this new experience. Cubs and NU! Do they think this is the norm?
I hope it's a sunny day for you. Enjoy the weekend.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Oh my! EYEDOC, POESY and KUCHEN were right! This blind squirrel found those acorns!
-“Senator, how was that junket, er, fact-finding-TRIP to Hawaii?”
-_ U _ _ T wasn’t a QUILT
-Thanks Otto, your less technical explanation works. What word would describe this clue…
-Davenport, IA often reenacts the death of Dillinger WHEELMAN Tommy Carroll (5:41)
-The MANN author I think of is the fictional one played by James Earl Jones and this wonderful speech (3:20)
-Why do those roving reporters insist on standing out in hurricanes, floods and blizzards?
-I thought the radar pickups were BOGEYS from Friday’s puzzle
-In Angels and Demons Tom Hanks searched many APSES
-other doctors have told me that surgeons are a “WHOLE different animal”
-DeVane’s current gig
-Jerry would be called a sexist today for these Elvis lyrics he penned
Good morning everyone
ReplyDeleteWell crafted puzzle today. A little crosswordese but lots of good stuff. Favorite clue was for EYE DOC. Chortled when alter: APSE crossed SPOONED.
AFT - When the conning officer would ask the helmsman: "Where is your helm(or rudder)?" he would answer: "My rudder is right (or left, or amidships)". (Everyone knew where the actual physical placement of the rudder was.)
KUCHEN - Is German for cake, period. KaffeeKUCHEN is coffee cake. L. German for KUCHEN is Kook.
GELT - There's part of a German song that goes:
"Wer soll das bezahlen, wer hat das bestellt,
wer hat soviel Pinke-Pinke, wer hat soviel GELD?"
Who should pay for that, who ordered it,
Who has enough pocket change, who has enough money?
Thanks guys, and thank you Splynter for the nice write-up! I'm still missing a Saturday at the NYT to hit for the cycle there- I think I need to call David Steinberg for help! Rich did a great job on toughening up some of my clues on this one. EyeDoc
ReplyDeleteAs noted, I had plenty of time after breezing through the NYT puzzle to slog through this one. I definitely felt that I wasn't going to get it, but I persisted and did it. I normally do the LAT puzzle first,, on paper, and then the NYT on my iPad, but I headed for the iPad first this morning. That order of things was a lucky happenstance.
ReplyDeleteAck! Ack! Ugh! Too many names for my poor old head today. Needed the red letters to get anywhere on this one.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @9:28 appears not to be aware of the "no personal attacks" rule.
Is it too early to start whining about Daylight Saving Time? Arizona has the right answer.
Whoo! What a masterful puzzle! Plenty of sparkling fill and plenty of things I sure as heck didn't know or had forgotten. I will most probably forget TERCET and VENIRE by the next time they show up in a puzzle. I have always liked William DEVANE as an actor; he has played everything from John F. Kennedy to a recovering alcoholic psychiatrist (in the Jesse Stone series of TV movies.) Loved the clues for EYEDOC and OPENTOED, and loved the EIEIO answer. Had a bit of a problem accepting SPEEDS as the answer to Radar pickups; SPEEDERS makes far more sense to me. Like Husker Gary, I tried BOGEYS at first. Wanted ANKH somewhere in 52A.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about the twice-yearly change of clocks; let's get rid of it.
Thanks, Bruce, for a nice challenge today. Once HIEROGLYPH was erased, the SE filled in much better, and could FIR. Took more than the usual time, however. But, then, what are Saturday mornings for?
ReplyDeleteNice write-up, Splynter. Got two sets of legs today, huh?
Oddly got many of the more remote clues and "petered out" on some of the easier ones. Even with taking a break for lunch and returning this was, like many a Saturday puzzle...a DNF.
ReplyDeleteCancelled the St.Patrick's Day parade today in Utica, upstate NY. Wind chill of minus 15 degrees. Even a few shots of Irish whiskey can't compete with that.
pretty good for me on a Saturday except the Northwest...Bratt and stat,,,and then SQUAT ! Learned something useless though. I always thought "Duvet" was the frilly crap that peaks out like ruffles on a girls bed.
ReplyDeleteMy Latin I and II came through today Venire means to come. I still don't recognize the legalize. Do any HS even teach Latin anymore? and my business trips to Egypt paid off as well..."Farda" or "in Shala" was the Egyptian for when a meeting would take place which means you better price in two weeks for two hours worth of meetings. Nice tourism opportunity. Ibises all over the place.
German coffeecake...Strudel, Bundt cake...even German Chocolate cake but "Kuchen" in an American Crossword puzzle? I don't feel quite as dumb today so some Thermodynamics. Easier math but satisfying. 4 laws..easy derivation from basic priciples and fully explains why my A/C never cools properly when its 95. Damn Carnot !
and something that always gets me...ITS A crossword puzzle ! now "eieio" is a word ???
ReplyDeleteHello Sat Solvers!
ReplyDeleteWell, it took 5 Googles (my personal limit) to finish it wrong. I got it done during Car Talk. To be fair, Googles were necessary to actually get "SHOT BLANKS"* and other long fills [YR - I think I recall hearing about that tragic story - wasn't there suspicion that live ammo was done on purpose?... Another Google awaits.]
Thanks Bruce for the puzzle and for stopping by. I liked STYES' juxtaposition to EYE DOC. [saw him Thurs for such]. However, I did PETER OUT and resort to Google for the names to enjoy EXTRA-play. Thanks too to Splynter for the expo.
Googles - 5d, 9d, 39d, 45a, and spelling of 47d (I had SADoT and ON THE oL--T)
FIW - SACRED IrIS. I shoulda Google'd Jerry too but I was stubborn.
HG - I was looking for BOGEYs on the Radar too... ENACTS almost made me ink it.
TTP & D-O: I thought more or LESS @6d too. Crap, both fit four squares. 5d Google let me know BL was more right than Bm.
Sparkle - EIEIO. I had --EI- and nailed it w/ a "Ha!" made more-so after discovering it was right!
Fav (and 1st fill): HTML [for them all. I'm White and Nerdy]. That saved me from the Dove/Snow dilemma. BTW, CED, did Ýe work for your ∞ //<-if that just worked there's also ∞.
{B+}
TTP - I read last week that IBM is building a 50 qubit box. ["What's a cubit?", Noah asked]. I assume it's to break (small) crypto and the NSA alreadys a-gotta the 5-Qb version. [I told him we already got one]
And now we GOES LIVE to the TWIT of the Year.
Raining here so the GIRLs get a reprieve from garden duty... Tomatoes go out on Wed. Have a great weekend all!
Cheers, -T
*sex after a vasectomy?
Dear Chuck @ 1:23 --
ReplyDelete"Eieio' IS a word, if you're an old farmer named MacDonald.
Misty, I just finished reading this article and I thought of you and thought maybe you would enjoy reading it.
ReplyDeleteBruce Haight, congratulations on the LAT cycle and I am sure you will have that NYT Saturday soon. Thank you for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteJayce, thank you so much for your link. I was an English minor in college and one of my professors was convinced Don Quixote was the best book of all time, which defined all future fiction. He created the myth vs. reality dichotomy in writing. It brings me back to our classroom at UConn in the 60's, again thank you.
Splynter, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnon---
"What's with the 'risque' pictures (see 'atta girl') It is soooo juvenile and wholly unnecessary."
No complaints from me. Keep them up.
Lemonade, you're welcome. I didn't know you had minored in English. Small world, I lived for a while in Connecticut in the 60's also. Did you ever visit Gillette Castle? Interesting place.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Big Easy about attagirl.
Big E - Oh, 'com'on. You can't see the risqué in that drop-dead-sexy Classic SS CH3V3L?* Dude, it exudes SPEED -- ABS all the way around.
ReplyDeleteWait. Maybe @Anon meant the woman under the car. No grease on her nails. Meh, No DICE.
-T
*read the tags if you can avert your EYEs
Wow, no luck at all in the NW. Had BRATT and STAT along with 7-10 down and still couldn't suss it out. Had QUILT instead of DUVET.
ReplyDeleteSo a big fail even though everything else was solved.
A radar gun picks up the speeds of all the vehicles it tracks. Good clue.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous T, I understand the wild west attraction owner was convicted of extreme gun handling negligence. I believe there was no nefarious intent. I have never understood why live ammo was allowed anywhere on the premises of a kid friendly attraction, especially not near the area where blanks were being loaded. At present there is also a civil law suit.
A girl in stiletto heels, bare midriff and frilly white blouse working on an engine is so incongruous.
Friends who do not care for x-words are surprised that they are not vocabulary drills where you match synonyms. X-words are so much more. We aficionados enjoy playing with language and are not really sober-sided strict constructionists. This is a light-hearted fun game for us. Thus most of us appreciate EIEIO.
As for the puzzle: Thumper. As for the expo: Illuminating and amusing as always. Thanks, Splynter.
ReplyDeleteOwen KL: Amen, Brother! In my seventy third spring, this is my worst hay fever season ever. When will the agony end? Since the trees started to bud in late February to date, I have lost a little over 10 pounds. Not because I want to or could stand to lose it, I just feel too miserable to eat. Oh, well. Hurry summer.
Cya!
Jayce, interesting is an understatement for this CASTLE created by William Hooker Gillette, a successful actor. My grandmother was born in East Haddam, though they moved to Attawaugan when she was little. I spent time in Clinton beach park area also as a child. There are many, many old Mansions such as LOCKWOOD used in Dark Shadows and others. We also have HAUNTED HOUSES even one near my childhood home.
ReplyDeleteI was at UConn 1965-1870, when basketball began.
Thanks for the memories
Maybe there is a blessing in this 20 to 25 degree below normal weather after an unusually warm Jan. and Feb. We had snow on Friday and deeper snow is forecast for Tuesday. At least we have no spring allergies as yet. I prefer winter in winter and spring in March. I fear that all too soon we will have very hot weather with no real spring at all.
ReplyDeleteI feel for all you allergy sufferers. Although my spring agony will begin later it will arise again for a long autumn siege.
Monday my older son is returning to his NYC office after weeks of telecommuting due to a broken femur. The walk from public transit to the office is over a mile -a real challenge. He has only walked short distances without a cane and still experiences pain. Even though he is producing as much online and is available to clients by phone, management requires office presence. Clients do not visit in person. So old fashioned.
Hi everybody.
ReplyDeleteAnonT, I've always loved the Upper-class Twit of the Year competition. Thanks for posting it.
I've never studied Don Quixote but what I know of it, I enjoy very much. Thanks for the article.
I too am thankful for Benadryl.
I looked up BRATT having no knowledge of those NCIS etc shows. But I failed on DUBET/DUVET. I never get past T on alphabet runs Plus..
ReplyDeleteI managed to LOSE!!! my paper puzzle with the NE undone. So, I did it online. One of my problems was KUCHEL. I wanted KUGHEL, a QOD to an old, old girl friend
A rival told me that KUGEL meant biscuit???
I managed to outwit him after we did a Splendor in the Grass act in a poison ivy patch. I wore long pants for a week while she was plastered in calamine and no one caught on.
Ah. The good old days.
Bruce, you didn't need any "toughening". This was a classic Saturday and Splynter a classic write-up. L.E.B.T.F. Splynter, have you got it yet?
I don't think there was a single sports clue.
WC
Jayce, thank you so much for suggesting that I read the article on Cervantes! Totally fascinating! Clearly I will have to go back and re-read his works when I have a little spare time! Again, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lemon, I enjoyed the haunted houses link.
ReplyDeleteI even learned a new word, mellifluous
Scroll down to video #1 for an amusing story...
Tough puzzle. I managed to get about three quarters of it with an erasable pen and paper, but with Washington Oregon and Idaho completely blank, I had to go to my Mac to finish it with a lot of help from Mr. Google and – gasp – red letters. Oddly enough, Mann was one of the few gimmes for me. But I was frustrated that the clock kept ticking with no Ta-da even after I finished the puzzle with no red letters showing. Strange.
ReplyDeleteOwenKL, your long poem about allergies was one of your best ever. I had severe allergies as a kid, but manage to "outgrow" them. One of the few advantages of growing older, I guess, as well as still being here.
Glad to be directed to the article about Cervantes. I found it very interesting. A little-known fact (but maybe not to puzzlers) is that Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same day – but the dates appear different because of the different calendar systems in use in England and Spain.
Love the twits link and EIEIO, which is definitely the"word" following Farm.
This week it's been in the 80s here for a change, after so many days of much-needed rain.
And now to set my clocks forward!
Most of it was slow and steady, but the whole NW was nearly impossible. I FIR with way more persistence and slogging than is reasonable.
ReplyDeleteAgree way too many proper name unknowns: BRATT, LEIBER, DEVANE, MANN (as clued).
OTTAVA and TERCET next to each other? And KUCHEN? Argh!
Did anyone else think the Radar reference might be from MASH?
GELT is also a Yiddish word so I knew that.
Does anyone know the origin of EIEIO? Wikipedia shows it morphed from previous versions. It may not be a "word" but it was amusing.
I agree with Big Easy: The Atta Girl photo was delightful. Thanks, Splynter!