Theme: RRepeats - the second letter in each theme entry is doubled and the resulting phrase clued according to the first three-letter part
17A. What Dobermans do for dinner? : GRRAB A BITE. Grr!
24A. Super-cold concoction at Baskin-Robbins? : BRRAIN FREEZE. Brr! Combining the two, here's a cold Doberman:
41A. World's stealthiest detective? : SHHERLOCK HOLMES. Shh!
52A. Cutest Baby contest champion? : AWWARD WINNER. Aww!
65A. Massage epiphany? : AHHA MOMENT. Ahh!
Brruce brrings us a nice Thursday offering. A solid 59 letters of theme entries and a generally pleasing fill around those. I might have tried to not repeat the RR with the first two themers as it could indicate all the following entries will follow the same convention. Not a major nit though, the idea is fun. Let's see what jumps out in the rest of the entries.
Across
1. The Miners of the Lone Star St. : UTEP. University of Texas, El Paso.
5. Eurasia's __ Mountains : URAL
9. Fundraising gps. : PTAS. I had the P and tried PACS first until nothing would fit around it and forced a change of mind.
13. Caesar's France : GAUL. We studied Caesar's book "Conquest of Gaul" in Latin class at school. Cracking stuff for schoolboys.
14. Marner of fiction : SILAS. Great book. The movie adaptation starring Ben Kingsley as the eponymous weaver was excellent also.
16. Hindustani language : URDU. Hindi has given us quite a few English words, but I can't find any examples from Urdu.
19. Innocent : BABE
20. Retro wall unit : STONE. Retro? Pretty sure we still build with stone.
21. Titanic undoing : BERG. Least accurate damage assessment ever: "We've just stopped for a short time to take on some ice".
23. Not very bright : DIM
28. Yale alum : ELI
31. Longtime Yankees announcer __ Allen : MEL. No clue. Thanks, crosses.
32. First to play James : SEAN. 007-portrayer par excellence Connery. Dr. No was the first movie in the franchise, released in 1962.
33. Tall and lean : LANK
35. "Sadly ... " : ALAS
38. Box : CRATE
44. Got out of bed : AROSE. I arose early this morning to try to shake myself out of time-change clock-lag. I can fly across 11 or 12 time zones and get no jet lag, but that hour in Spring messes me up. It was nice and peaceful at the top of the Hollywood sign though - I'll find out tomorrow if my body clock is reset.
45. "So __ say" : THEY
46. Crowd-sourced review site : YELP. Can be useful if you ignore the obvious outliers (and the reviews obviously written by the buddies of the establishment).
47. Asian takeout option : THAI
49. Little trickster : IMP
51. See 56-Down : SLY. Sylvester Stallone of the movies. I've met him, his brother plays jazz at my local Italian restaurant. He's not as short as people seem to think. However, he's listed at 5'10" on Wikipedia, but I think that might be a little generous.
57. Security briefing org. : CIA
58. Clothing part that might split : SEAM. Especially if you're wearing a size to small or you've eaten a big dinner.
59. Epic tales : SAGAS
63. Singer James : ETTA
68. Agenda detail : ITEM
69. Gets mud on : SOILS
70. Phi __ Kappa : BETA
71. Banks of 2000s TV talk : TYRA
72. Doing business : OPEN
73. "The Osbournes" patriarch : OZZY. Quite the character. I saw Black Sabbath play in London once with Motorhead and Hawkwind. Quite the eardrum assault. Fun through. Here's Hawkwind - imagine this cranked up to 11. Awesome.
Down
1. Brand of sheepskin boots : UGGS. Australia's finest.
2. Biting : TART
3. Italian capital : EURO. No more Lira. It's a shame a lot of the European currencies disappeared with the introduction of the Euro.
4. Fallback option : PLAN B
5. __ Today : USA. Their distribution network is amazing. I'm always astonished how early the paper is delivered to the various hotels I've stayed in across the USA, even in remote locations.
6. Tease : RIB
7. "I was out of town," e.g. : ALIBI
8. Approach midnight : LATEN. Hmmm. I looked sideways at this one when it appeared. I'm still looking askance at it. Not a word I would use.
9. Place to hoist a pint : PUB. I've seen the inside of a couple of these. I pulled pints at the Queen's Arms in Kilburn, north London when I was 19. A lot of Guinness and shots of Bushmills - most of the patrons were Irish demolition workers. Tough crowd.
10. DBA followers : TRADE NAMES. "Doing Business As".
11. Madison Ave. field : AD BIZ
12. In-your-face challenge : SUE ME
15. Feudal laborers : SERFS
18. Protective barrier : BERM. There were a lot of berms bulldozed out of the sand here in Southern California last winter to protect the beach cities with the expectation of major storms. They're very effective.
22. El __ : GRECO. "The Greek". Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born in Crete, but spent most of his life in Toledo in Spain.
25. Authentic : REAL
26. Dole out : ALLOT. If you hand out a large amount you allot a lot.
27. Like birds with worms, so it's said : EARLY. The Early Bird was me this morning. No worms caught though, probably a good thing.
28. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA
29. Cowardly Lion portrayer : LAHR. Bert in The Wizard of Oz
30. Facing serious trouble : IN HOT WATER
34. Singer who formerly stylized her name with a dollar sign : KESHA, or rather KE$HA
36. "__ du lieber!" : ACH. "Oh, my dear!"
37. Yarn purchase : SKEIN. I misread the clue as "yam" at first which had me puzzled.
39. Squeal : TELL. As in rat someone out.
40. Catch sight of : ESPY. I'd clue this as the sports award, being more "in the language".
42. Raises : REARS
43. Many a gospel song : HYMN
48. Brainstorms : IDEAS
50. Uruguayan money : PESO
52. Nail a test : ACE IT
53. Like Oscar Wilde : WITTY
54. Mackerel relative : WAHOO
55. Beatnik's "With ya" : I'M HIP
56. Repeating movie role for 51-Across : RAMBO. Sly's character.
60. "Sheesh!" : GEEZ
61. Animated bug film : ANTZ
62. Time at a hotel : STAY. I've had quite a few of these in my time.
64. Org. for docs : AMA. American Medical Association.
66. Pint to drink : ALE. In the pub too.
67. AOL alternative : MSN
Short blog today, a lot going on for me. Hopefully no more explications required. The regulars in the comments section can handle any gaps. Here's the grid!
Steve
17A. What Dobermans do for dinner? : GRRAB A BITE. Grr!
24A. Super-cold concoction at Baskin-Robbins? : BRRAIN FREEZE. Brr! Combining the two, here's a cold Doberman:
41A. World's stealthiest detective? : SHHERLOCK HOLMES. Shh!
52A. Cutest Baby contest champion? : AWWARD WINNER. Aww!
65A. Massage epiphany? : AHHA MOMENT. Ahh!
Brruce brrings us a nice Thursday offering. A solid 59 letters of theme entries and a generally pleasing fill around those. I might have tried to not repeat the RR with the first two themers as it could indicate all the following entries will follow the same convention. Not a major nit though, the idea is fun. Let's see what jumps out in the rest of the entries.
Across
1. The Miners of the Lone Star St. : UTEP. University of Texas, El Paso.
5. Eurasia's __ Mountains : URAL
9. Fundraising gps. : PTAS. I had the P and tried PACS first until nothing would fit around it and forced a change of mind.
13. Caesar's France : GAUL. We studied Caesar's book "Conquest of Gaul" in Latin class at school. Cracking stuff for schoolboys.
14. Marner of fiction : SILAS. Great book. The movie adaptation starring Ben Kingsley as the eponymous weaver was excellent also.
16. Hindustani language : URDU. Hindi has given us quite a few English words, but I can't find any examples from Urdu.
19. Innocent : BABE
20. Retro wall unit : STONE. Retro? Pretty sure we still build with stone.
21. Titanic undoing : BERG. Least accurate damage assessment ever: "We've just stopped for a short time to take on some ice".
23. Not very bright : DIM
28. Yale alum : ELI
31. Longtime Yankees announcer __ Allen : MEL. No clue. Thanks, crosses.
32. First to play James : SEAN. 007-portrayer par excellence Connery. Dr. No was the first movie in the franchise, released in 1962.
33. Tall and lean : LANK
35. "Sadly ... " : ALAS
38. Box : CRATE
44. Got out of bed : AROSE. I arose early this morning to try to shake myself out of time-change clock-lag. I can fly across 11 or 12 time zones and get no jet lag, but that hour in Spring messes me up. It was nice and peaceful at the top of the Hollywood sign though - I'll find out tomorrow if my body clock is reset.
45. "So __ say" : THEY
46. Crowd-sourced review site : YELP. Can be useful if you ignore the obvious outliers (and the reviews obviously written by the buddies of the establishment).
47. Asian takeout option : THAI
49. Little trickster : IMP
51. See 56-Down : SLY. Sylvester Stallone of the movies. I've met him, his brother plays jazz at my local Italian restaurant. He's not as short as people seem to think. However, he's listed at 5'10" on Wikipedia, but I think that might be a little generous.
57. Security briefing org. : CIA
58. Clothing part that might split : SEAM. Especially if you're wearing a size to small or you've eaten a big dinner.
59. Epic tales : SAGAS
63. Singer James : ETTA
68. Agenda detail : ITEM
69. Gets mud on : SOILS
70. Phi __ Kappa : BETA
71. Banks of 2000s TV talk : TYRA
72. Doing business : OPEN
73. "The Osbournes" patriarch : OZZY. Quite the character. I saw Black Sabbath play in London once with Motorhead and Hawkwind. Quite the eardrum assault. Fun through. Here's Hawkwind - imagine this cranked up to 11. Awesome.
Down
1. Brand of sheepskin boots : UGGS. Australia's finest.
2. Biting : TART
3. Italian capital : EURO. No more Lira. It's a shame a lot of the European currencies disappeared with the introduction of the Euro.
4. Fallback option : PLAN B
5. __ Today : USA. Their distribution network is amazing. I'm always astonished how early the paper is delivered to the various hotels I've stayed in across the USA, even in remote locations.
6. Tease : RIB
7. "I was out of town," e.g. : ALIBI
8. Approach midnight : LATEN. Hmmm. I looked sideways at this one when it appeared. I'm still looking askance at it. Not a word I would use.
9. Place to hoist a pint : PUB. I've seen the inside of a couple of these. I pulled pints at the Queen's Arms in Kilburn, north London when I was 19. A lot of Guinness and shots of Bushmills - most of the patrons were Irish demolition workers. Tough crowd.
10. DBA followers : TRADE NAMES. "Doing Business As".
11. Madison Ave. field : AD BIZ
12. In-your-face challenge : SUE ME
15. Feudal laborers : SERFS
18. Protective barrier : BERM. There were a lot of berms bulldozed out of the sand here in Southern California last winter to protect the beach cities with the expectation of major storms. They're very effective.
22. El __ : GRECO. "The Greek". Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born in Crete, but spent most of his life in Toledo in Spain.
25. Authentic : REAL
26. Dole out : ALLOT. If you hand out a large amount you allot a lot.
27. Like birds with worms, so it's said : EARLY. The Early Bird was me this morning. No worms caught though, probably a good thing.
28. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA
29. Cowardly Lion portrayer : LAHR. Bert in The Wizard of Oz
30. Facing serious trouble : IN HOT WATER
34. Singer who formerly stylized her name with a dollar sign : KESHA, or rather KE$HA
36. "__ du lieber!" : ACH. "Oh, my dear!"
37. Yarn purchase : SKEIN. I misread the clue as "yam" at first which had me puzzled.
39. Squeal : TELL. As in rat someone out.
40. Catch sight of : ESPY. I'd clue this as the sports award, being more "in the language".
42. Raises : REARS
43. Many a gospel song : HYMN
48. Brainstorms : IDEAS
50. Uruguayan money : PESO
52. Nail a test : ACE IT
53. Like Oscar Wilde : WITTY
54. Mackerel relative : WAHOO
55. Beatnik's "With ya" : I'M HIP
56. Repeating movie role for 51-Across : RAMBO. Sly's character.
60. "Sheesh!" : GEEZ
61. Animated bug film : ANTZ
62. Time at a hotel : STAY. I've had quite a few of these in my time.
64. Org. for docs : AMA. American Medical Association.
66. Pint to drink : ALE. In the pub too.
67. AOL alternative : MSN
Short blog today, a lot going on for me. Hopefully no more explications required. The regulars in the comments section can handle any gaps. Here's the grid!
Steve
48 comments:
Whipped through this one easily, but gotta say the theme was a thumper.
I've discovered there is another OwenKL inhabiting the Web, tho so far our paths haven't intersected much: KESHA L. Owen.
{B-, B+, A, B, C-, A-, A.}
There was an old Roman in GAUL
Who thought that the Franks had it all!
They'd a BABE on the SLY,
And a ready ALIBI,
But PLAN B was to flee towards the URALS!
There was a farm guy from U.TEP
Who crossed the border, twas only a step.
Said, "It puzzles my BRAIN
The SOIL'S just the same,
But Texas chile don't get no respect!"
(It's cuz they can't spell chili correctly, like we do here in Nuevo México!)
[In response to "First to play James" and "Singer James".]
THEY tried to have SEAN portray ETTA,
But they needed a voice that was betta'.
Version two was a clone
But it weighed just one STONE --
They'd created an itty bitty ETTA BETA!
There was a DIM donkey named SILAS
Who wanted to be smarter, but ALAS,
He'd suffer BRAIN FREEZE,
Were ANTZ to YELP, "GEEZ!" --
Add to that, he was also an ass!
A EURO and a PESO entered into a bet
On the priciest thing each one could get!
But the judge, a baht, THAI
Called the contest a tie
When a sou said, "SUE ME, they're both a bad debt!"
Is there a word that could make me more ILLER
Than one that's made up as a crossword filler?
From EARLY to LATEN
No one except Satan
Would put in a pill of a word that was piller!
The EARLY BIRD gets the WORM, it's said.
He AROSE while others stayed abed!
But remember, do,
The worm rose, too,
And shouted WAHOO as he REARED his head!
Good morning!
Hand up for PACS. Still don't understand STONE, unless it's a cutesy reference to the stone age. Got the theme, and that helped a lot with the solve. Thanx, Bruce and Steve.
Now we can wait for the resident ANON to rail on about GEEZ.
GEEZ is a euphemism for Jesus, taken in vain. Remember the rules: No religion (and no profanity, please).
27 down "Early bird catches the worm" always reminds me of " But the second mouse gets the cheese".
geez (jēz)
interj.
Used to express mild surprise, delight, dissatisfaction, or annoyance.
[Shortening and alteration of Jesus.]
Ge•ez (giˈɛz, geɪ-)
n.
a Semitic language of ancient Ethiopia, now used only as the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Church.
MEL Allen has been gone from the Yankees for over 50 years (along with their sponsor Ballantine Beer, Allen would call a homer a "Ballantine Blast"), but then he hosted This Week in Baseball until his death in 1996.
Good morning all
Fun, clever theme and easy (for a Thursday) CW from Bruce- thanks! And thanks Steve-always enjoy your WITTY write up :)
I got the theme early with BRRAINFREEZE ( btw, mine from yesterday is a little better, so is the pain. Thx to CanadianEh! for the kind wishes!) with the extra R. The NW was a bit of trouble (again) as I didn't know UTEP and had Lira for EURO. Knew UGGS - I'm wearing mine right now. I know many think they're UGGly but I love them for the warmth, comfort and ease of putting on ( I have the kind that are looser and button on the side) With my back issues, putting on shoes in the morning can be a challenge.
I wasn't 100% sure about GAUL and it took a bit to get TART - two more Doh! moments.
And STONE -?? Still don't get it, lol
I tried Admen for ADBIZ and Rocky/RAMBO. Steve- that's funny about SLY Stallone. I always assumed he's tall. And thanks for explaining DBA. I had no idea what it stands for so TRADENAMES was a perp as were ELSA and MEL
PESO - this reminds me that we need to order some from our bank soon for our upcoming trip.
SKEIN - I have so much yarn, hubby says I could open my own shop. I taught myself to knit and crochet after I retired. I had so many projects lined up and was always finding more beautiful yarn to buy. However, I haven't made anything in several years because it aggravates the bad discs in my neck. I really hope to take it back up again someday.
Anon @7:41- do the same rules apply to the actual CW itself? I wouldn't think so. I've seen many religious references, slang terms and euphemisms used in them. I personally see nothing wrong with the clue/answer of GEEZ.
I really liked this theme when I realized that the first three letters represented clue-appropriate sounds and not merely doubling of the second letter. After the first two I was looking for a double RR. With SHHERLOCK the beauty of the theme hit me.
I, too, am a bit puzzled by STONE. I hope Bruce will explain it.
I remember from Latin class. "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres."
LATEN doesn't bother me. I think I've read it before, although it is likely archaic. Thanks to historical novels.
I'm glad the painter is called El Greco. His actual name is difficult to say and spell.
I needed the perps for WAHOO. No other unfamiliar words.
I believe URDU, Hindi and Sanskrit have many words in common, so some loan words from one will also be loan words from another.
UGGS look comfortable, but my view of them is a homonym for their name.
Bonnie I, too, have bad cervical discs. Mine make me numb and give me clumsy fingers several times a day. I have been told when it becomes too painful or too numbing I can have an epidural injection. Alan had that injection and has been pain free for over a year. I hope you can find some relief.
Good Morning,
Thanks, Bruce. It took me a bit to get the double R here, but once it fell, I was on a run. I still don't see LATEN, so I'll be back for further elucidation from the Cornerites. Of course, my favorite today was SKEIN. Yarn is sold in skeins or hanks. Skeins are wound, and hanks are not--a DIY project. Geese travel on foot in gaggles but on wing in SKEINS. Canadian Eh--don't you need some of those geese back home!? We have TOO many here. Maybe that was the first sign of global warming. ;^)
Thanks, Steve for a fine write-up despite your sleep lag. I don't have trouble in the Spring, but the Fall does me in.
Not to worry out East: We're sending warmth and sun. The snow will be gone in no time! Off to buy carrots, onions, potatoes and cabbage. Already have the CB. This Italian gal is making a 45th St. Pat's dinner for my 1000% Irish mother-in-law who is now 93. Monday I made Irish Soda Bread; yesterday I delivered butter cookies appropriately decorated from our local bakery. When one is 93, St. Patrick's WEEK is well-deserved!
Have a grand day all.
31A: if you don't know of Mel Allen then you probably never heard of Ballantine Beer.
Good Morning, Steve and friends. Fun theme. Like Steve, though, I initially thought we were going for the double "R" in the theme answers.
I was a bit stumped by LATEN, but just went with it since the perp seemed correct.
The BERMS may have word in California, but they were a disaster in Louisiana, especially after the BP Oil spill.
QOD: As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. ~ James Madison (Mar. 16, 1751 ~ June 28, 1836)
Good morning everyone.
Nice CSO à moi with IMP. Got the theme EARLY on which helped the solve go smoothly. ACH is always welcome, and MEL was a gimme. Only write-over was I had PACS before PTAS. We had WAHOO the other day. Oh, SLY - RAMBO helped, too. No searches were needed.
Good day to all!
Clever theme today with beginning sounds which could all be vocalized. ELSA Schiaparelli and MEL Allen were both unknowns, but were easily perpped. I'll put LATEN in the same bag with ILLER from yesterday. Thanks for the puzzle, Mark, and thanks for the thorough expo, Steve.
Enjoy the day!
Hi All!
WAHOO! I ACE'd IT. Thank you Bruce for a fun, doable, puzzle. The theme helped AL(L)OT. I had GRRArABITE and didn't get rid of reef until my AHHA MOMENT.
Nice expo Steve. Enjoyed the Hawkwind link.
WOs: Pacs b/f PTAS, reef ->BERM.
ESP: MEL, WAHOO
Fav: I really liked the IDEAS behind the themers.
Runner(s)up: ALE at the PUB with pint in both clues.
{B-,A-,A,A,B+,A,A}
D-O: Aww GEEZ, that didn't take long.
So THEY say? Who's THEY?
T.H.E.Y: The Hearsay Experts for You.
Have a great day!
Cheers, -T
Madame Defarge, I agree with Yellowrocks that LATEN is probably archaic. The hour latens.
Hahtoolah, I also liked AWAD's Quote of the Day from James Madison: "The fetters imposed on liberty at home have ever been forged out of the weapons provided for defence against real, pretended, or imaginary dangers from abroad."
Good Morning:
This was relatively easy for a Thursday, I think, because the theme was fairly obvious. Oscar Wilde was Irish before witty, I thought, so close to St. Paddy's Day. Big CSO to Jace at Sheesh! Had Aral before Ural and I, too, don't get the Stone C/A. Laten is a bit dicey but not as bad as iller. Overall, a smooth solve.
Thanks, Bruce, for a lighthearted Thursday offering and thanks, Steve, for your warm and witty comments.
DO, we didn't have too wait long, did we?
Madame Defarge, your MIL is a very lucky woman to have such a thoughtful and caring DIL. Please wish her a very happy St. Patrick's Day ☘ from me.
Have a great day.
Nice write-up Steve. Good job!
Bruce: Thank you for a FUN Thursday puzzle. Enjoyed the theme.
Well on St.Pat Day Eve how appropriate the grid had a PUB and some ALE.
Cheers!
I liked the theme on this easy Thursday. LATEN was very nice.
Well this was fun. Thanks Bruce and Steve.
My AHHA MOMENT came early and I smiled with each additional theme answer.
I was held up by use of first and last names with James.
I should remember UTEP from previous puzzles but I blindly entered Utah (also don't know my Lone Star states!) and was floundering for a while. STONE didn't help (I still don't get it like the rest of you!)
Speaking of flounder, I didn't know WAHOO was a fish.
Thanks for explaining the unknown DBA. I was going to comment on the cross of YELL and YELP but it was TELL.
Yes, let's just lump LATEN with ILLER as necessary but somewhat ugly crossword fill.
Great work today OwenKL.
Madame DeFarge, we are happy to share the geese with others. We have a surplus ourselves and various methods (oiling the eggs, patrolling with dogs, blocking shoreline access) are used in public and tourist areas to prevent the mess they create.
Bunny M, glad you are feeling somewhat better today.
We are shovelled out and have beautiful sunshine.
Have a great day.
Thanks for the kind words, solvers. I guess it was a little mean to start off with two double R's and then switch to H's and W's ! The STONE clue was not mine but I think Rich is saying that medieval walls were made of stone so a stone is one unit of those "retro" walls. Bruce Haight
As Yellowrocks said, many examples of "from Urdu" = "from Hindi." Google will be your friend for many examples.
Does anybody use MSN or AOL any more? Mr. Norris needs to encourage constructors to get away from these.
I ACED IT! Thank you, Bruce Haight, for this uniquely themed puzzle. And thanks for stopping at the Corner.
CSO to Misty at WAHOO which I also learned is a fish.
Whenever anyone says GEEZ I seriously doubt they even think about it's derivation as they are usually simply venting about something.
I agree that UGGS is a synonym for their appearance.
Our Bishop gave a dispensation from eating meat tomorrow so not being Irish or anything close to it, I'm making tacos.
And OwenKL, I enjoyed your poems today and especially liked that you mentioned the spelling of chile which even my spell check rejects.
Have a fabulous day, everyone!
I'm LATEN to the party today. I was also thinking it would be a 'RR' theme after GRRABABITE & BRRAINFREEZE. Maybe he could have included the 'RR-Bar Burger' from the old Roy Rogers Restaurants. (it was really the 'Double-R-Bar-Burger). Then I was shhocked at Mr. HOLMES because I had worked my way down on the right side with 'LOCKHOLMES' filled by perps and was thinking SHERR before the HH took over. I filled the puzzle in a Monday time. No problems.
ELSA Schiaparelli I had heard of but didn't know, and KE$HA were filled by perps.
My newspaper's font set makes a 'rn' look exactly like a 'm' and I read 37D as a YAM purchase instead of 'Yarn' purchase. The crosses filled the SKEIN.
The Retro STONE wall is a facade, just like bricks. They are not load bearing.
FIW, 3 WAGs, 1right, 2wrong.
How did a fish get a name like Wahoo?
(methinks there is a story afoot...)
WAG#2:Stone
Just didn't feel right. retro? I was thinking a TV or something...
But I got so hung up on what to build into a wall, that I accidentally
put 2 B's instead of 2 R's which totally obstructed my Berm.
(talk about a brainfreeze!)
But what really killed me is I had Bar for 9d instead of Pub.
BTAs, Ardu. I did finally correct tradenames, but thought 19a innocent was "rube"for the longest time.
Actual stand alone garden walls made of field stone, exterior stone facades and stone counter tops and tiles are so in these days. They may be retro, but they seem to be the latest style.
My sister in north central PA had 30 inches of snow on Tuesday. It took until 6:00pm Wednesday to free her car. We had 14 inches, but no big problem. We were plowed out and cleaned up by late Tuesday afternoon, but the mayor asked us to stay off the roads until Wed. morning. This week the temps are way below normal for March, so the huge snow piles will linger long. The biggest drawback is icy parking lots and snow filled parking places along the streets in larger towns.
Wahoo, Lucina--many thanks for the shout-out to me! I had no idea that I was chanting "fish! fish!" to celebrate in all this time. Anyway, this was a toughie for me with trouble in the northwest, and lots of small silly errors here and there. Never heard of BERM and didn't understand STONE when I got it, like others. But I did get the theme and liked it a lot, especially SHHERLOCK HOLMES. Got Bert LAHR and OZZY Osborne, and of course SLY and RAMBO, and even TYRA. So, a fun morning, many thanks, Bruce--and also for stopping by. And fun write-up, Steve.
Have a great day, everybody!
Musings
-I showed up this morning to sub for the librarian (why they need one is beyond me) and found out at the VERY LAST MINUTE that I was going to be a 4th grade teacher.
-I quickly found out who the helpers and problems would be and I am now doing pretty well. They are really smart!
-I did this fun puzzle at lunch but as you former El-Ed peeps know you don’t get to sit down much and so I think the world will keep spinning if I read your comments and blog later (or don’t blog!)
Hi gang -
Mixed feelings about the puzzle. Theme is close but no cigar for me -- RR; RR; HH; WW; HH. Symmetrical arrangement would have saved it.
IN HOT WATER and TRADE NAMES are great. LATEN not so much. I thought GEEZ needed a terminal E, but maybe I'm thnking of GEESE.
Another bright sunny day here, 35 degrees, First pop above freezing in almost a week. I've been covering our little clump of crocuses with a bucket every night, and they seem to be doing OK.
We've been watching the World Baseball Classic. Lots of exciting play. Great come-from-behind win for the U.S. over Venezuela last night.
Cool regards!
JzB
Steve's mention of learning 13A in his school Latin class puts me in mind of the various places we cruciverbalists acquired our store of trivia.
For me, I learned GAUL as a young actor playing a role in high school. The part was Sganarelle in Moliere's The Doctor in Spite of Himself, and among the gobbledygook he spouts (as a fake doctor) is the line, "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est."
Funny what sticks with you, or on you.
PLAN B reminds me of a pet peeve. In training young theater directors, I took pains to point out that there was no PLAN B, not if they understood it as something to "fall back on." Their hope was to find a PLAN A in the spontaneous creation of rehearsals - so they could afford to abandon what they prepared on their own. If anything was a PLAN B, it was that solo prep work.
Back to Mr. Haight's clever concept. He's a Slyboots, isn't he? At first the doubling of a letter feels so WRRong! Next comes the errant feeling that we ought to double some other letters in the phrase. It took a little extra time to work out exactly what he was after. But all was a happy Ta-DA! in the end.
Good day all. Thanks Bruce and thank you Steve.
We had silver sliver consternation yesterday, and yam yarn disorder today. Throw the double consonant confusion into the fray, and some of us may be ready to schedule an appointment with Dr Haight.
UGG! I saw the Archie Bunker AWW GEEZ pic on Google but, ALAS, apparently meme-generator has it's finger in that pie. Sorry for the redirect.
Madame Defarge - Can you teach this Italian how to cook Irish? Sounds delicious! Share recipies... Please?
I think MJ put her finger on why I liked the pzl so much... It's the onomatopoeic quality. Oh, we can dither about the arrangement and symmetry... But let's not argue about who killed who. This was a happy puzzle.
Re: 20a - STONE c/a. My guess re: the meaning of STONE's c/a tracks with Big E.'s. I recall the '70s where a number of folk showed-off to Pop their faux (non-functional) STONE chimneys, interior walls in their sunken-living rooms, etc. My $0.02. That and $200 will get you a pair of UGGS.
OMK on learning/drawing-upon MOMENTS: Gaul - er, gall, I learnt from Alice's Restaurant. "You have the gall to come in here asking if I have the moral [...] after being a litter-bug?" [no, I won't link, that's a Thanksgiving song]. I wonder if the two homonym-atopoeic (?) words are connected? [In your court YR - were the Gauls nervy? :-)]. Ok, I was 12 then, just a BABE...)
You can't talk about OZZY w/o mentioning Randy Rhodes. CED - I'll defer to you on RR's technique.*
Cheers, -T
*I'M HIP to your FLN links but I neither play nor speak guitar... I just enjoyed the musical interludes. I do grind a mean air-ax.
Yes, I realize I mixed up my Rhodes and roads, er, Rhoads... I SEAM to have an issue w/ homonyms... -T
Surre enough I tried for SHERRLOCK at first, and figured the name of a singer starting with KR-something might very well be right.
UTEP always sounds like to me the name of an ancient Pharaoh. (A crowd of Egyptians stumbling along a Cairo street, arms outstretched in stereotypical zombie position, chanting, "Uuuutep! Uuuutep!")
Hand up for PACS before PTAS.
Sheesh, Irish Miss, you sure are smart and wise!
Sometimes, when I'm feeling extra good I express it by belting out "Waaaa-hooo!"
CrossEyedDave, re what you said last night about the LA Times puzzle site working pretty well on an iPad, you are right. I did today's on my iPad and it was ever so much "pleasanter."
Best wishes to you all.
Here you go Anonymous T. Some special guitar strings for your special ax.
Jayce @ 4:15 ~ If I'm so smart and wise, why do I frequently misspell your name. Maybe because I once lived on Jace Court. Anyway, sorry. I also used too instead of to in my comment to DO. Maybe I have Brrain Freeze!
Completely off topic, one of the nuns in my high school was Sister Mary Gonzaga, pronounced GON zaga while the NCAA team is referred to as Gon ZAGA. Any thoughts, anyone?
Misty, that's funny! I would stick with WAHOO.
Steve may not see this but I thank him anyway. His analyses are always clever and cute especially when he inserts those British expressions and/or understatements.
IM:
Gonzaga is either Italian or Spanish. If the latter, the pronunciation would be Gon ZAGA. Maybe Italian, too.
Gaulia est omnes divisa in partes tres, una partes est Aquitania...
Veni,vidi,vici
Latin as the source of all Romance languages; the verb comes at the end of the sentence. With the exception of the conjugates of to be ..thus Gaulia EST omnes divisa... Of course this is from my last Latin class in 1966.
Anon T @ 3:36
Irish cooking? Ummm. Let's go to sweets. Or let's just say my father-in-law was SOOOO happy his son married an Italian. If you're serious, PM me about corned beef and cabbage dinner. ;-)
Irish Miss, I will indeed extend your good wishes!
D-O: Thanks, I am getting there on LATEN. Merci,
I am posting this link for grab a bite because the one I wanted to post
involved anatomy, & is too risque even for me...
& you thought a brain freeze was bad...
Why Sherlock is quieter these days...
I wound up here because I was trying to find out the type of breed in the fourth pic down...
I tried a Spa once, it made me very uncomfortable...
Growing up, we always pronounced Gonzaga as Gon ZAH ga. You know, where Bing Crosby went to college. . . . After this afternoon in Evanston, it's pronounced GO CATS!!!! I didn't go to NU, but they have been great neighbors for many years. Aside from sports, open marching band practices were the best entertainment for three little kids at 4 in the afternoon!
We heard a rumor that Chris Collins tweeted Mom, we did it. dad were playing Gonzaga! Don't know why he would since they were at the game, but the only social media I follow is this and Ravelry.com--knitting doncha know. Cute rumor, though.
Bruce - I forgot to say... Thanks for stopping by. Um, so... You don't know what STONE means either? :-)
TTP - LOL! I was needing new strings :-) Did you see Kiss is selling fragrance too? .
Have a great night. Cheers, -T
TTP - your 100 list FLN didn't give UHF any love. I found it! RAMBO Scene from UHF. SLY must be so envious [Link Warning - we are talking about B MOVIES]. Tawnya - still think Weird Al is a genius? Me too :-) -T
Lol. You are so right Anonymous T. I had no idea stone walls are IN right now!
UGG headquarters are right down the street from me here in Goleta (Santa Barbara) CA. Not Australia. Good marketing! I was confused at first because I did not get why it was plural as a brand name?
Hand up for PACS before PTAS.
WEES about STONE. And LATEN.
Never heard of KE$HA or MEL Allen. I do remember the Ballantine beer ads back east as a child. I remember the ads had something to do with "smiles".
Fun puzzle!
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