Theme: VOWEL TRIFECTA. In the 2nd, 4th and 6th letter position of the first word of each two-word theme entry is a repeated vowel. These entries appear in the grid in alphabetical order, viz. A-E-I-O-U. Let's have a look.
16 A. Monkey cage discard : BANANA PEEL. Stereotypically, monkeys love BANANAS, but who wants to eat the outer part, despite its having appeal? You don't want to encounter one at the top of a slippery slope
22 A. Reason for totaling, as an insured car : SEVERE DAMAGE. "Totaling," in this sense indicates declaring the vehicle to be a total wreck, destined for the junk yard. Sadly, I totaled my most favorite car in a multi-vehicle pile up on the Southfield Freeway, back in 1991.
29 A. Cause of some tan lines : BIKINI TOP. A BIKINI is a two piece swim suit consisting of a bra top and a separate bottom part. Coverage is widely variable, depending on the specific design parameters. Of course, the covered parts will not be suntanned, resulting in tan lines. Per Wikipedia: "The name was coined in 1946 by French engineer and clothing designer Louis Réard, after the recent nuclear tests at Bikini atoll —often better known than its namesake—and with the slogan 'an anatomic bomb.'''
37 A. Ornate 18th-century genre : ROCOCO ART. This is a late baroque style that originated in Paris that employed a jocular and florid approach. The style was ornate, colorful, curvy, and asymmetric, frequently based on witty or playful themes.
44 A. Fluffy sun blocker : CUMULUS CLOUD. Well described by the clue, these clouds are generally of low altitude, and often have a flat base along with a puffy, cotton-like top.
55 A. Baseball rarity, and a hint to the vowels in the first words of 16-, 22-, 29-, 37- and 44-Across : TRIPLE PLAY. Of course, the mandatory baseball reference! Here, the triple play refers to the repeated vowel in each theme entry. In baseball, it's an event in which 3 outs are made on a single batted ball. As rare as this occurrence is, this example is of what must be an even more rare variety.
Hi gang, JzB reporting for duty, with a fine puzzle by our famous dynamic duo. Clever gimmick and elegant execution. Very rich themeage, with five entries, plus a unifier. Nicely done.
Across
1. "That's enough out of you" : CAN IT. Put a lid on it; give it a rest.
16 A. Monkey cage discard : BANANA PEEL. Stereotypically, monkeys love BANANAS, but who wants to eat the outer part, despite its having appeal? You don't want to encounter one at the top of a slippery slope
22 A. Reason for totaling, as an insured car : SEVERE DAMAGE. "Totaling," in this sense indicates declaring the vehicle to be a total wreck, destined for the junk yard. Sadly, I totaled my most favorite car in a multi-vehicle pile up on the Southfield Freeway, back in 1991.
29 A. Cause of some tan lines : BIKINI TOP. A BIKINI is a two piece swim suit consisting of a bra top and a separate bottom part. Coverage is widely variable, depending on the specific design parameters. Of course, the covered parts will not be suntanned, resulting in tan lines. Per Wikipedia: "The name was coined in 1946 by French engineer and clothing designer Louis Réard, after the recent nuclear tests at Bikini atoll —often better known than its namesake—and with the slogan 'an anatomic bomb.'''
37 A. Ornate 18th-century genre : ROCOCO ART. This is a late baroque style that originated in Paris that employed a jocular and florid approach. The style was ornate, colorful, curvy, and asymmetric, frequently based on witty or playful themes.
44 A. Fluffy sun blocker : CUMULUS CLOUD. Well described by the clue, these clouds are generally of low altitude, and often have a flat base along with a puffy, cotton-like top.
55 A. Baseball rarity, and a hint to the vowels in the first words of 16-, 22-, 29-, 37- and 44-Across : TRIPLE PLAY. Of course, the mandatory baseball reference! Here, the triple play refers to the repeated vowel in each theme entry. In baseball, it's an event in which 3 outs are made on a single batted ball. As rare as this occurrence is, this example is of what must be an even more rare variety.
Hi gang, JzB reporting for duty, with a fine puzzle by our famous dynamic duo. Clever gimmick and elegant execution. Very rich themeage, with five entries, plus a unifier. Nicely done.
Across
1. "That's enough out of you" : CAN IT. Put a lid on it; give it a rest.
10. Festoons with Charmin, for short : TPS. The childish prank of Toilet Papering a tree.
13. Chicago airport : O'HARE.
14. Barak of Israel : EHUD. Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001, also a highly decorated soldier who held several other political and government positions.
15. __ butter : SHEA. A fatty substance from the nut of the SHEA tree.
18. Phone using a tower : CELL.
19. Govt. agency that supports startups : Small Business Administration.
20. Kettle output : STEAM.
21. Ride in the desert : CAMEL. The ship of the desert.
24. Social ranking : STATUS.
27. Many mobile downloads : APPS. APPlications.
28. Coral component : POLYP. This is an individual animal that, when combined into large clusters can form a coral reef.
34. "All Things Considered" co-host Shapiro : ARI.
35. Day of song : DORIS. Not a day of the week.
36. Fleece source : EWE. Lamb's mom.
40. Thyme piece : SPRIG. A small stem, including it's minor branches.
42. Pre-hurricane emergency op : EVACuation.
43. Runs after : CHASES. Can also involve vehicles.
49. "No one can beat me" : I RULE. Arrogant.
50. Poker game concern : CHEAT. Well - any game, really.
51. Unit of resistance : OHM. Electricity.
54. Poker at the table? : TINE. Part of a fork.
57. Where buds may go : EARS. For listening to music, podcasts, etc.
58. Right hand : AIDE. Top assistant.
59. Meditation teachers : YOGIS.
60. "The Affair" network, briefly : SHOtime.
61. Flow with force : SPEW.
62. Place on a pedestal : EXALT.
62. Place on a pedestal : EXALT.
Down
1. Corny leftovers : COBS.
2. Starbuck's boss : AHAB. Characters from Moby Dick.
3. Child tender : NANA. Grandmother.
4. Tax-deferred plan, briefly : Individual Retirement Account.
5. Stiffen in fear : TENSE UP.
6. Prairie home : TEPEE. A portable conical tent made from skins, cloth or canvas on a frame of poles.
7. The Supremes' "__ a Symphony" : I HEAR.
8. "See if I care!" : SUE ME.
9. Cholesterol letters : High Density Lipoprotein.
10. Annual Augusta National event : THE MASTERS. Golf tournament.
11. "Pequod" co-owner : PELEG. The pequod is the Nantucket-based whaling ship from the novel Mobey Dick.
12. Room in a maison : SALLE. French for house and room, respectively.
15. Shrimp dish : SCAMPI. This is the Italian word for prawn, which is a crustacean similar, but not quite identical to a shrimp. You have to count their legs to tell. The dish is typically made by broiling with garlic butter.
17. Off-roaders, for short : ATVS. All Terrain Vehicles.
21. 2-Down's title, informally : CAP'N.
22. Dirty digs : STY. A pig's place.
23. Place of honor : DAIS. A low platform for a lectern, seat of honor, or throne.
24. Prep for a bout : SPAR. Boxing practice.
25. Big name in riding mowers : TORO.
26. Canadian short story writer awarded a Nobel Prize in 2013 : ALICE MUNRO. [b. 1931] Her stories explore human complexities in an uncomplicated prose style.
26. Canadian short story writer awarded a Nobel Prize in 2013 : ALICE MUNRO. [b. 1931] Her stories explore human complexities in an uncomplicated prose style.
29. Lavish wrap : BOA.
30. Discount rack abbr. : IRRegular.
31. First-aid gear : KIT.
32. Boo-boo : OWIE. Kid-speak for a minor injury.
33. Cribbage markers : PEGS.
35. Prefix with drama : DOCU-.
38. Small eggs : OVULES.
39. NASCAR's Yarborough : CALE. [b. 1939] One of only two NASCAR drivers to win three consecutive championships, with 83 total wins on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner's list.
40. Z's : SHUT EYE. Sleepy time.
41. Elbow protector : PAD. Cushioning gear to protect against injury.
43. Mine extraction : COAL. A combustable black or brown rock composed of fossilized organic material.
44. Names as a reference : CITES. Typically in a foot note.
45. Hater of David, in Dickens : URIAH. Mr. Heap, the obsequious weasel from the Charles Dickens novel, David Copperfield.
46. Rx : SCRIP. A doctor's prescription for a certain medication.
47. Reprimand : CHIDE.
48. Aggressive cat lover of cartoons : LEPEW. Pepe.
51. Gymnast Korbut : OLGA. She won 4 gold and 2 silver medals for the Soviet team in the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
52. Flag down : HAIL.
53. Classic PC adventure game : MYST. A graphic puzzle-adventure game having a variety of endings, depending on the player's choices.
55. Some univ. proctors : TAS. Teaching Assistants.
56. Curse : POX.
56. Curse : POX.
Lots of good stuff here, including a whale of a sub-theme. No less than we would expect from this all star team.
Cool regards!
JzB
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear PK, who turns 76 years old today. She can read our blog write-ups and comments, but she can't comment. Her iMac is so un-Apple!
44 comments:
Nice, medium/easy puzzle. A few significant w/os:
CAVIAR > OVULES, an unknown word to me. [1. Botany A structure in seed plants that consists of the embryo sac surrounded by the nucellus and one or two integuments and that develops into a seed after it is fertilized. 2. Zoology A small or immature ovum.]
FUR > BOA, which prompted pURIm > DORIS, though I wanted Dennis first --DORIS I think of more as an actress.
GURUS > YOGIS, HAND > TINE, MELO > DOCU. For a braggart, I wanted I sUck > I RULE!
SALLA > SALLE, which gave me SEV.RE .A.AGA for 22a, so I first thought the theme was AAA words. My usual thumper on vowel progressions.
CSO to me -- my nieces & nephews called me Unca' OWIE when they were toddlers. O as in Owen, not as in ouch. About the closest I've ever had to a nick-name.
{A-, A-, A-, B-, B.}
Edward O'HARE flew thru warfare,
But Japanese Zeros didn't like him up there!
He died in his plane,
But with runway lanes
He's still taking care of folks in the air!
A matter of grooming for a coral POLYP
Is care of the hair around their lip.
They can EXALT, "I RULE
Over drifting OVULE,"
If they don't let their tendrils TENSE UP!
It wasn't THE MASTERS when the Wii golfing YOGI
Was challenged by the CAMEL to a game in the Gobi.
It was wholly sand traps --
Not a green on their APPS --
But the bactrian won with a bogie!
A SALLE is a poor place to tether your TORO
He'll cause SEVERE DAMAGE to china ROCOCO!
It's no good to CHIDE,
But if you can ride
On a lawn, you can tell it, "Go mow row!"
Although it may sound like an outworn cliche is,
A tree that gives butter, known as a SHEA is.
I HEAR a SHEA glade
Would also give shade,
And the wood can be used constructing a DAIS.
Hi everyone!
Thanks to C. C., Don and Jazzbumpa!
Nice puzzle!
Used perps, etc. to get SBA, ARI, THE MASTERS, PELEG, LEPEW and MYST.
Happy birthday PK, and many more!
Have a great day!
Hello Puzzlers -
Brilliant theme! Nicely done, DGCC.
Morning JzB, thanks for pointing out the aeiou sequence. I missed that detail. Certainly makes the theme execution all the more outstanding.
I haven't done this puzzle yet, or yesterday's, but to me (up late, as usual) it's still Tuesday, March 21, so I must say to all you puzzlers and constructors, Happy Vernal Equinox!
Good morning!
Zipped right through this DG/CC creation. I even managed to notice the vowel triplets, but not that they were in AEIOU order. DORIS, because DENNIS was too long. Thanx, guys.
Happy birthday, PK! Have a great one.
Gotta run...
Creative theme - at first I didn't read the theme clue carefully enough - so I thought SEVERE DAMAGE had 4 E's- but then re-read- just the FIRST word! Doh!
Thanks JzB, DonG, and CC! The only rhyme you'll get from me on the blog- I'll leave the poems to Owen!
Happy birthday PK!
As much as I appreciate and am in awe of C.C. and her endless accomplishments as a constructor, this puzzle reminds me of how fortunate she was to learn from Don Hard G. The elegance of the theme and its presentation is first class.
When I first watched NASCAR Cale and Lee Roy (no relation) Yarborough were on the top of the heap. Sadly, LEE ROY did not have a graceful exit.
Thank you Don for bringing the world the endless talent and gracious mentor C.C.
JzB fun as always.
Damn-
PK Happy Happy.
Spring has sprung.
The sun is shining, 60's overnight.
I found this a late week tester.
Good morning all
I really enjoyed this very clever puzzle from the dynamic duo of DG & CC! No problems getting the theme answers until 44A. When I got the reveal of TRIPLEPLAY, that helped me understand the actual theme so I knew there would be three U's in "Fluffy cloud blocker"/CUMULUSCLOUD which was also one of my favorite fills- cute :)
Only unknowns were EHUD, ARI and PELEG. For some reason I always think CALE is Carl Yarborough.
Learning moment: I knew ALICEMUNRO but didn't realize she's Canadian.
Thanks DG & CC- fun stuff today! And JzB- thanks for an enjoyable and fantastic write up with great links (esp. liked the Triple Play one)
Happy Birthday PK- have a wonderful day!
The sun is shining but it's cold here. Yesterday was lovely- sunny and around 60 so I opened a couple of windows for awhile and DH was able to get in a quick ride on his new motorcycle after work (he's loving the longer days/later sunset for this reason 😃) Today I'm continuing my cleaning of my bookcases and trying to get rid of some books. It's tough to part with them but I'm running out of room!
YellowRocks- hope you're feeling ok after your biopsy and that the news is good. The waiting part is hard.
Wishing everyone a great day 😃🐰
Thank you, CC & DG for an impressive grid!
Shout out to me and all the NANAs out there.
Happy birthday, PK! I miss you.
Thank you, JazzB for an excellent expo.
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Thanks C.C. and Don for this enjoyable midweek test of the grey matter. JzB was spot on today in his tour through the puzzle which made it doubly enjoyable.
I was able to see the triple vowels when I got "triple play" and had BANANAPEEL and SEVEREDAMAGE. This helped me fill in the I, O and U clues.
I did have a little problem in the SW with IRULE, TINE and EARS. All very clever clues.
SBA was a gimme. I am a volunteer mentor for SCORE which is an organization of retirees (mostly) who help entrepreneurs start new businesses and is part of the Small Business Administration. If you have the time and inclination there are SCORE chapters all over the country that could use your skills in mentoring new businesses. You can check out SCORE at this link. It's a great way of giving back.
Have a great day.
Loved the puzzle's theme. I saw the vowel progression, but only noticed double vowels, not triple, until the reveal. This progression was needed for cumulus. I was thinking of foamy sunscreen. The reveal also provided a lot of perps for the bottom section.
Bunny, I too, thought it was CARL and needed all perps for CALE, my only unfamiliar fill.
I have heard of Alice Munro but know little about her and have not read her stories.
Dear, PK, I wish you a very happy birthday. I sure do miss your posts. If you email your thoughts to me, I would be happy to post them in your name as frequently as you like.
Thanks you all the kind thoughts on my biopsy. I had a fine needle aspiration of a very large thyroid nodule. It was not nearly as painful as my dental work and I soon felt back to normal. I am concerned, but tell myself that often the results are negative, and that, even if not, surgery usually has a short recovery time and a fine outcome. Thinking of all the really serious problems many of you and your spouses are facing it inspires me. "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet."
Happy Birthday, PK, and good day to all!
Fun puzzle, lovely vowel progression. Definitely needed the unifier to grok the theme. Thanks Don and C.C. for today's entertainment, and thanks Jazzbumpa for the expo and links. Amazing triple play clip.
Enjoy the day!
Happy Birthday PK
Nice write-up Jazz. Good Job!
Thanks for a FUN Wednesday puzzle Don & C.C. Enjoyed the TRIPLE PLAY theme.
Learning moment was the SHEA butter. Can't say I've ever tried it.
Needed ESP to get the Canadian Nobel Short Story writer ALICE MUNRO, another Learning Moment.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Turned out I required a lttle more time than expected. The Moby Dick clues filled by perps, especially "peleg." My bad, I only read the Cliff Notes in HS. Would contest "scrip" for Rx. As a medical man we say "script" otherwise a fairly typical "humpday" puzzle. It's a cold but at least sunny day in Utica, NY. Still mountains of snow from the storm.
Good Morning:
I continue to be amazed at the creativity, craftsmanship, and consistency achieved by our Dynamic Duo. I avoided the revealer on purpose but, eventually, perps spelled it out. I saw the triple vowels in a couple of answers but didn't suss the theme until I had the reveal filled in. I completely missed the vowel progression (mighty impressive, may I say) which I'll blame on my haste to finish the puzzle to get to the blog. Had gush/spew and lrg/irr and had trouble with Ehud and Peleg momentarily. Also, had Shay (butter) instead of Shea, which I had never heard of until coming across it in CWs. I thought the crunch factor was high for a Wednesday but in a fair way.
Bravo and Brava, Don G and CC, you are the tops and, JazB, you're a pretty cool maestro yourself! Nice expo, as usual.
Happy Birthday, PK! 🎂🎉🎁🎈🍾 You are sincerely and greatly missed!
YR, I love your indomitable spirit! Hoping for good news!
It was 51 yesterday and today's "high" will be in the 20's! As Tin would say, "Go figure" and as Jayce (remembered the Y!) would say, "Sheesh! And as Thumper would say, "~~~~~~~~~~"!
Have a great day.
Good morning everyone.
Fun puzzle today with a clever theme. Knowing we were into triple vowel repetition helped prefill CUMULUS. The only fly in the proverbial SHEA butter (and I hate to even bring this up) is the third 'e' in SEVERE is not pronounced. A word like 'deleted' comes to mind but I'm sure the authors had their reasons for using what they did. Still, a BZ to them for presenting a tour de force.
Nana - All our grandchildren apply Nana to BH. I go by 'Opa'.
TINE - Tähn - tooth - in L. German appears to be a cognate word. I used to use an 8 tined silage fork to throw ensilage down the access chute. (After I left to go to college, my dad bought an electric silo unloader. :-))
Didn't see it til later, but once again the names tripped me up.
Ara/Alan/ronocoart
(Oh well,,,)
Happy Birthday PK!
You will not believe what I found looking for a silly triple play link...
Having been taught history in a different country,
(ask me about Ned Kelly some time.)
I had to take a refresher course on
the story of how O'hare got its name. (A True Story in two parts. 7:27)
I also went looking, but could not find,
the gun camera footage described in the story.
"puzzling thoughts":
Outstanding effort from the dynamic duo of Don Hard G and our fearless leader, C.C.
Jazz, you too did a yeoman's job of tying all of the themes, etc. My only "head-scratcher" was
35d (DOCU), which, though making sense, is a bit of a stretch.
Saw a limerick I wrote containing the word "POX" and realized I already used it here to highlight another word, LOO
Had two write-overs: OWEY > OWIE and CAPO > CAPN. No rhyme or reason for either miscue
Learning moment --> SCAMPI. I thought it referred to the preparation, and not that it was an actual type of "shrimp"
I see that CC had 2/3 of her regular "topics": golf ( THE MASTERS) and baseball (TRIPLE PLAY). Not seeing a wine reference ...
I see now that former NASCAR driver Yarborough is a vegetable farmer, so appropriately he's changed the spelling of his name to "Kale"
OK, I' m going "All-Owen" today with my lim:
They say limericks can be quite campy,
Since at times they portray girls as trampy.
Take, for instance Miss TISH,
Who we hear's "quite a dish",
After basting herself with shrimp SCAMPI
Heard this tidbit last week when some snow caused plane delays at OHARE.
"When O'Hare sneezes the nation catches a cold. "
How true it was. Soon there were delays at many other airports.
Very nice offering today. Thanks, Don & C.C. for the wonderful workout. Knew TRIPLEPLAY was the reveal answer, but took a while to get the Triple Vowel Play. Great job!
Thanks, JzB, for a great write-up.
Rococo Art added some crunch to the puzzle today...
There is nothing funny about banana peels!
Severe damage
What could have possibly caused this?
Warning! do not open the Cumulus cloud link if you have a dirty mind!
Ahem, due to the volumeof dirty minds out there,
I have been asked to tone down the Bikini Top link...
As I was dashing off a Wed I hit the south and SW and a dead end. Ironically it was the H in SHO that got me URIAH (HEEP), which got me to CC and that was enough to get me the rest of those fiendish clues (I hadn't checked the constructors until Bud=>EARS=>CC.
I originally had EARS before COBS.
Nice 'lick C-Moe, go ahead and put a POX upon us again. Clever stuff from Owen and great write-up by Spitz.
Indeed, when the final 4 ends the MASTERS begins.
YR, I hope that biopsy proves benign. I had one on 1987 and they said "Good news! You should live another 20 years".
It apparently went benign. 😂
Misty, when you get here I'm glad the snail finally arrived. If you'd watched Golf channel you'd have used FedEx.
They inundate with shoulda used FedEx ads
WC
I far as I can tell SCAMPI sometimes refers to the crustacean but also can refer to the preparation style as in chicken scampi.
Impressive Wednesday puzzle. Thanks Don G, C.C. and JazzB.
Hand up for getting the theme but not seeing the alphabet sequence until I came here. Loved the whale of a sub-theme also.
I moved from Shush to CAN IT, and waited for perps to decide between the good HDL or the bad LDL.
My buds went to Bars before they got in the EARS.
Unknowns were SBA, Peleg.
Had a FIW with cross of the unknown EVAC and CALE. I thought Cole was a better name but the O was shown to be incorrect by red letter help.
We have had MUNRO here many times in the past (even back to 2008 when she was just a "Canadian storywriter"). Clueing has progressed from "Booker Winner" (in 2010 clue) to "2013 Literature Novelist" which does not even reference Canadian.
AliceMunro
Ray@9:02 - this Canadian medical person has heard SCRIP without the T for many years. This maybe another regional variation.
YR, love your attitude.
Happy Birthday, PK.
Have a great day.
Ooh! Always exciting to see a Don and C.C. puzzle! I started well on this one but hit all sorts of snags along the way and worried a little if I was going to make it. But in the end I did, and not only made it but got the theme! Yay! And I not only got the three evenly spaced vowels in each theme answer but the alphabetic progression! Woohoo! A terrific experience on a damp and gloomy morning! Many thanks, Dynamic Duo! You've made my day. And fun expo, as always, JazzB.
Am still a little in the dark about a few items. Didn't know CALE and never heard of SHEA butter. And had HEX before POX. Glad I read "Moby Dick" after I retired--that helped a lot this morning.
Have a wonderful birthday, PK. Glad you're still following the blog.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get good results on your biopsy, Yellowrocks. And I too admire your brave spirit.
Wilbur, I must be having a senior moment. Snail?
Have a great day, everybody!
Yes, it is SCRIP here, whether said by a medical person or a lay person. I needed to bring a SCRIP yesterday. I also needed a blood test to check my clotting factor, which I was not told of in advance. So I had to get the blood test before the procedure. Luckily I was at a hospital. I am glad there was no fasting requirement. It set me back 45 minutes. For unavoidable scheduling reasons, I was on a tight time table to take Alan for his every-three-weeks injection after my procedure. I called Alan's nurse and she obligingly gave me an appointment an hour later. C'est la vie. Alan had a counselor who said that when there are problems, life is normal. When everything goes right that's a bonus. Getting snippy and being upset only makes the situation worse.
Canadian Eh! now I realize why I got Alice Munro, even though I really do not know much about her.
I love every type of scampi, but especially those that have seafood. I suppose shrimp or prawn is my favorite. I also love a spicy Fra Divolo with mixed seafood over pasta.
It is so windy and cold today, 30 degrees, after a delightful warm spell. The weather is expected to be very warm again this weekend and then very cold. I am used to March temperature swings, but not so many in such a short time. One of favorite times is late April and early May, not hot, not cold. Is it too much to expect?
Thank you, thank you, JzB, for posting the link to the Bullitt car chase! It brings back many nostalgic views of my native city. Would you believe I learned to drive on some of those very streets? Stick-shift, too! There is really nothing quite as terrifying as cresting a hill, with your nose pointed to the sky, and not knowing what you'll see when the car straightens out. Or shifting into first after braking to a 45-degree stop, knowing you'll roll back before the gear catches.
What would I have done if Steve & his outlaw chasers had roared in front of me?!
Thanks to C.C. and Don for a neat pzl, one that led speedily to a happy Ta-DA!
Great puzzle! Very Wednesdayish.
Musings
-We are just back to our hotel from the Smithsonian Museums and have noticed security has been pumped up on the streets of D.C. after the London event so things are moving even more slowly. I hope do Don’s and C.C.’s puzzle after we get back from dinner.
My HS English teacher (Jr. Year) spent the ENTIRE first semester analyzing "Moby Dick". I hate that book!
Sorry to hear that, JJM. A semester is way too long to do only "Moby Dick," especially since there are lots of endless discussions that have nothing to do with the plot. But you have to admit, it does help you answer crossword puzzle clues.
Snail mail delivery of your tax papers vis a vis FedEx
PO is called snail mail today. ☺
Thanks for a great CR. I had the theme fairly early (for a change) .
A few I'd never heard of like 'poly p' and 'ari'.
Got Shea butter immediately, have a box of it, great to keep your skin smooth.
Bye,
Off to Tai Chi
Excellent theme and wonderful clues. Sprinklings of total unknowns and gimmees. I liked this puzzle. Well done.
I heartily agree, Jayce. Signature Don and CC Wednesday perfecto. In fact CC left her signature with (C)umulus (C)loud
Keith, I LOVE San Francisco. Riding on the outside of the cable cars is great fun. The cable car museum is very enjoyable too. When I drove down Lombard street, the long hood of my big American car jutted out to the horizon and blocked out everything in front of me just as you described. Once I drove over the crest, the winding street and flower gardens were beautiful. Then, there were Ramos Fizzes and Irish Coffees with breakfast at the Buena Vista. Very excellent...!
Late getting back to the party.
CED 12:48 - Not sure whether that was a serious question. That accident happened some years ago in Australia. I don't recall why, but an uncontrolled (maybe unoccupied?) airplane with a running engine rolled up to the victim in the photos, and its propeller sliced its way along the victim's fuselage. When finally the prop bit into something more substantial, near the cabin, that was enough to halt the engine - too late, obviously.
Thanks for explaining, Wilbur. I promise I won't ever use snail mail for my tax information ever again!
Hi All!
I can't claim a true win today because, while mumbling at my computer's sluggishness and working the puzzle (at break-neck speed) between commands, I'd mumble answers or "wha?" writing faster than I was thinking. I got to 39d and mumbled "Argg, NASCAR" and moved on in search of perps. The contractor sharing my office for the week piped up:
"What about NASCAR?"
Me: "Oh, just this puzzle. Yarborough of NAS..."
"CALE," he replied.
I began to CHIDE him "Oh, Crap. That's a CHEAT! .... So, is that with a K or a C?" :-)
I think I would have solved without his "help" but we'll never know.
Thank yous DG & CC! Other than (above), SALLE, EHUD, and ROCOCO this puzzle was totally in my wheelhouse. I even nailed (most) the names - including PELEG and MUNRO [we just had that last week].
Thanks JzB for the sparkly writeup - I esp. enjoyed LE PEW cartoon.
WOs: so I wanted ROMANTIC ART and entered ROMACE ART [notice no N?]. That lead to melo-drama.
Fav: I'm going with the theme. So well executed.
{A,A,A-,B-,B} { :-) }
YR - I'm counting on hearing good news in the future re: biopsy.
CED - did you notice in your BIKINI link that the word BANANA is in the CUMULUS cloud behind/above the wading girls? SEVERELY meta, man.
OMK - your storied reminded me of Cosby's driving in SF [you can hate the man but love the comedy (more meta- look at the poster of the video - it's bananaman)].
Happy Birthday PK. Take up YR on her offer so we all know all's well with you and we get your fun posts back!
Cheers, -T
Dudley - I forgot to say... Re: CED's serrated aircraft. "And now we know... The Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey would say. Thanks.
Time for some SHUT EYE. Cheers, -T
Never heard of CALE or that name ever. Turns out it is short for CALEb.
Thanks, Dudley, for explaining the airplane tragedy.
PELEG was unknown even though I did read Moby Dick in college. We were at that tech school on the Charles near Boston and our professor thought it would be good for us nerds to read it.
Fun theme and excellent construction with solid fill. Yes, ALICE MUNRO has visited us several times recently.
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