Theme: Play Ball! - Choose your team.
69A. Sports org. for the players that begin the answers to starred clues: MLB. Major League Baseball
17A. *Found middle ground: MET HALFWAY. New York Mets.
39A. *Hockey rink divider: RED LINE. Cincinnati Reds.
58A. *Shaft from the sun: RAY OF LIGHT. Tampa Bay Rays.
10D. *"Unforgettable" crooner: NAT KING COLE. Washington Nationals.
25D. *Jimmy Olsen, notably: CUB REPORTER. Chicago Cubs.
26D. *"The Tonight Show" host after Johnny Carson: JAY LENO. Toronto Blue Jays.
Argyle here. Symmetry! Pin wheel with a bullseye. Consistency! All three letter teams. A reveal tucked in the SE corner. Quantity with quality and a couple of learning moments. Yes, I liked this puzzle(Can you tell?).
Across:
1. Task: JOB
4. Suddenly paid attention: SAT UP
9. Take __: snooze: A NAP
13. Wows: AWEs
15. One may drift in from the kitchen: AROMA
16. Scarlett's plantation: TARA
19. Caesar's stunned words: "ET TU!?"
20. Dirt road depressions: RUTS
21. Tots' three-wheelers: TRIKEs
23. __ Wall Street: 2011 protest: OCCUPY
26. Kind of delinquent: JUVENILE
28. Resort island near Venezuela: ARUBA
29. Chart with roads: MAP
30. Rainier or Rushmore: Abbr.: MTN. (mount)
31. Sad sound: SOB
32. "It's my call": "I SAY SO"
35. Eye provocatively: OGLE
38. Corn serving: EAR
41. 102, to Caesar: CII
42. 69-Across list of games, briefly: SKED. MLB
44. Garden-tidying gadget: WEEDER
45. Texter's "Holy cow!": "OMG!". (Oh my God)
46. In favor of: PRO
48. Suffix with chlor-: INE
49. __ Waldo Emerson: RALPH
51. Reach a total of: AMOUNT TO
54. Self-effacing: MODEST
55. Friendliness: WARMTH
56. Temporary calm: LULL
57. FBI employees: AGTs.
64. Fictional pirate often addressed as "Mr.": SMEE. Capt. Hook's bo's'n.
65. Like basic wall switches: ON/OFF
66. Boyfriend: BEAU
67. "B.C." cartoonist Johnny: HART
68. Would like: WANTs
Down:
1. Rush hour tie-up: JAM
2. Have to pay: OWE
3. Racetrack risk: BET
4. Like many pretzels: SALTY
5. Cousins of woofs: ARFs
6. Stranded motorist's need: TOW
7. Actress Thurman: UMA
8. Fee-based home entertainment: PAY TV
9. Eroded, as savings: ATE INTO
11. Soviet cooperative: ARTEL. One of the learning expo's. "The Artel (association) is another term for the collective ownership and operation of industry. It is one of the oldest and most widespread institutions in Russia." ~ Manya Gordon. Even the Wiki page is short.
12. Temporary stop: PAUSE
14. Foundation plant: SHRUB
18. Live-in household helper: AU PAIR
22. Sleep stage: REM. (rapid eye movement)
23. Desert respites: OASES
24. Sound from a lily pad: CROAK
27. Opportunity for growth: UPSIDE
29. Finally arrived: MADE IT
33. Stitch: SEW
34. Winner's number: ONE
36. Uneven gaits: LIMPS
37. Quarterfinal contestants count: EIGHT
40. Jazzman Garner: ERROLL
43. Percussionist's kit: DRUM SET
47. Toronto's prov.: ONT. (Ontario)
50. Actor's unwritten line: AD LIB
51. Flooded: AWASH
52. Igneous rock, once: MAGMA
53. Fielder's assist, e.g.: THROW
54. Bobbles: MUFFs
56. Hit high into the air: LOFT
59. Santa __ winds: ANA
60. Partner of hither: YON
61. Precious stone: GEM
62. Uncooperative "2001" computer: HAL
63. Spot for a bath: TUB
Please excuse my abbreviated version today. I lost my Google Chrome bowser somehow.
Please excuse my abbreviated version today. I lost my Google Chrome bowser somehow.
Argyle
Phrenic is my new word of the day. No, not from the puzzle. From the thesaurus looking up a synonym for intellectual with fewer than 5 syllables!
ReplyDelete{B+, B.}
ARF was the main observation of the dog,
To which the response was CROAK from the frog.
Yet they SAT UP all night
Till the morn's RAY OF LIGHT
MADE them PAUSE the palaver of phrenic dialogue.
A harp once filled the halls of TARA
With sweet Irish muzak™, an aural-AROMA.
But today they're AWASH
With rap, OH MY GOSH!
And DRUM SETS creating metronomic-MAGMA!
Hi Y'all! Good start to the week with a fast, fun puzzle, Jake. Good one, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteOnly problem I had was with SKED. When finished I finally realized it was SchEDule. Duh! I don't think I'm fully awake yet.
Lot of excitement here for my family this weekend. They streamed the high school graduation on internet so I got to see my granddaughter give her acceptance speech for the highest academic award from the superintendent of the state board of education last night. She was one of 13 who made straight A's all during her high school career out of 425 graduates. She took International Baccalaureate courses -- whatever that is. (dumb but proud old grandma.) She'll go to Loyolla University in New Orleans next year on scholarship to study music business. Wish she had decided on the university a block from her home which was her parent's alma mater.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jake and Santa!
No problems, except did not know ARTEL.
Twas hotter than blazes yesterday.
Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteGood morning.
Thank you Jake and thank you Argyle. "Play Ball !" is a fitting title.
Had one that was totally unknown. Did not know ERROLL. Bet JzB did.
Had to perp in ARTEL. It wasn't unknown. Just not in the forefront.
Seems like we've seen AU PAIR recently. :>)
Hope things get back to normal for you soon Argyle.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Easy puzzle to ease into the work week. I never read several of the clues as the perps had already filled in the answers.
ReplyDeleteWe had to have a TOW on a recent trip to Houston. Fortunately, the car died in a parking lot during the day when the garage was still open and not in the underground garage at 10:30 at night after the show we went to see.
ARTEL is a new word for me, but the perps gave me the answer.
QOD: Any truth is better than indefinite doubt. ~ Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 ~ July 7, 1930)
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this one, too, Argyle. Looked for the theme...couldn't find it. My mind is simply sports-averse. Nice one, Jake.
Doesn't CUBRE PORTER sound like a cocktail? Maybe an aletail.
When I think of Unforgettable, I think of Dinah Washington. But she's more of a belter than a crooner. She had a short, tough life.
ARTEL did not give me PAUSE. Hello, old cw friend.
I agree, TTP, we've seen a lot of AU PAIR recently. UMA, too.
I didn't know SKED although perps took care of it. I guess I'm not up on MLB. I couldn't get the theme until Argyle explained it. Thanks.
ReplyDeletePK, isn't it great to live in the times we do, when seeing your granddaughter graduate in real time is possible?
Have a good week, everyone!
Montana
"(The) Artel (association) is another term for the collective ownership ... in Russia."
ReplyDeleteI just got around to looking it up. My Chrome was alright after a reboot.
Hand up for ignorance of ARTEL, and not knowing ERROLL Garner. Thank goodness for that old-time movie guy by the same name. Only erasure was spa in favor of TUB. Congrats, PK, on your scholar. My granddaughter has always been a UK Wildcats fan, but rather than go close to home it looks like she has selected Xavier. I wonder what she'll do with all that blue sportswear.
ReplyDeleteArgyle didn't point out his CSO. Except for the fire danger, I always enjoyed the Santa ANAs - warm, dry and breezy. Great for sailing from Marina del Rey to Catalina Island.
We're camping near Shanksville, PA. Dropped by the Flight 93 Memorial yesterday, but it was windy and cold so we're going back today for more observation and reflection. There are also a couple for Frank Lloyd Wright houses nearby, and we'll probably see at least one of them.
Thanks to Jake and Santa for a good start to the week.
Also added a big CSO to Misty; Erroll Garner.
ReplyDeleteJinx, "Falling Water" is very interesting. Impractical, but interesting.
ReplyDeleteI usually do the puzzle on Mensa, but am wondering whether there is a site that uses a color other than red to show erroneous entries. Being very red/green colorblind, it took over five minutes to find one wrong entry in yesterday's puzzle. I almost resorted to the "Solve this Puzzle" menu item in hopes that I could see a letter flash when corrected. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteJinx, at minimum you should see Fallingwater.
ReplyDeleteIf you are into early American History, you might venture to Ft Necessity. Colonel George Washington of the British militia built it as a safeguard during the tensions that led up to the French and Indian War. Not much of a fort though. The battlefield has been preserved.
Nearby Ohiopyle has a nice state park. Or is that where you are camping ?
I skied Seven Springs when I was young. Mistakenly got on a black run long before I had the skill to tackle it.
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteA solid Monday puzzle from Jake, well executed. Hand up being unfamiliar with ERROLL and ARTEL. Perps to the rescue. Thanks for being our faithful Monday guide, Argyle.
Enjoy the day!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Me too, Argyle!
-When we picked up our grandchildren, we MET HALFWAY in Wahoo, NE
-My neighbor’s son moved back to Nebraska because he got so tired of Houston traffic JAMS
-When horse racing was very big in Omaha, many placed a BET with these
-I had to get a TOW last fall when my key would not turn the ignition
-There has never been a PAY TV event for which I have shelled out any moolah
-We MADE IT to one graduation party an hour late on Saturday because the lovely girl who invited us put the wrong address on her Facebook invitation. It was 19851 County Road 26, not 9851 County Road 26. We did see some lovely country in the Missouri River bluffs and got her correction and apology yesterday.
-NCAA BB – Sweet Sixteen to Elite EIGHT to Final Four to Championship game
-MLB Outfielders you had better not run on because of all their THROWING assists. First one is an ASTRO
-PK, my granddaughter got an IB diploma also two years ago. The six Lincoln high schools just alternated in the 15,000 seat Pinnacle Arena and so we did get a good seat.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice way to start the week, with just enough crunch to make you think a little. Needed the reveal to catch the theme which was fun. As Argyle said, nice symmetry with all 3 letter teams. I didn't pick up on Jay (Leno) until reading the expo.
Well done, Jake, and, as always, Argyle, thanks for the tour.
PK, congrats to your granddaughter on that outstanding achievement. You should be very proud. (I see you're still prowling around in the wee hours of the morning! 🙃)
Our roller coaster weather continues. Last week, the a/c was on, this morning, the heat is on.
Have a great day.
Anon@7:44 -- Any site except Mensa! We call them red letters by convention, but Across Lite puts an X over them, and some other sites do a double-line thru the bad letters.
ReplyDeleteArtel? Why does that name make me think it's a Russian version of Kmart?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations PK!
Hey! You left out a baseball team!
(Hmm, possibly because I cannot find any reference to their name...)
Impossible trivia question.
What was Charlie Browns team called?
Note: I did find that Peppermint Pattys team was called The Pelicans?
More info you didn't ask for...
Ah, yes. Across Lite puts an X over wrong letters, and then leaves a black flag in the corner after you get the right letter to let everyone see it once was wrong.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteCpngrats, PK, on your granddaughter's achievement.
Had _MEN in before AGTS; but questioned it right away because of abbr FBI in clue. Got the rest w/o mishap. More than usual compound? fill; ie I SAY SO, SAT UP, A NAP, AMOUNT TO, plus all the theme compounds. Just not so fond of them. Most dramatic fill was ET TU (which I guess is compound, too). But overall, I did like Jake's puzzle.
Though I'm not a baseball fan, I enjoyed this puzzle and got most of the teams. NAT did not resonate with me and neither did JAY so thank you, Argyle, for naming them.
ReplyDeleteDitto about not knowing ARTEL or that ERROLL. If I'd heard of either in the past, they have long ago been forgotten.
Thank you, Jake Braun and Argyle. This starts off my Monday very well.
PK, congratulations on your granddaughter's high achievements!
Have a marvelous day, everyone!
Argyle: Nice write-up. Enjoyed the ARTEL link, a learning moment on a Monday.
ReplyDeleteAlways a plus!
Jake: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle. Enjoyed the MLB theme.
Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get ERROLL (and ARTEL).
Beautiful, sunny day here ... heading to 91 degrees.
(Still haven't turned on the A/C this year ... yet!)
cHEERS!
Thank you for your kind "applause" concerning my granddaughter's achievements. I think she got my brains -- I seem to be without some these days despite my crossword workouts to keep mentally fit. The day of her brunch, she had other friends' parties to go to. My son who lives long distance and his family weren't sure if they would stay the night or go right back home so I de-cluttered my home, intending to ask my kids & brothers, etc. to come visit at my place for the afternoon. One suggestion had been to adjourn to the older son's house half an hour away. In all the confusion of sons needing to consult wives, etc., I went on home to await the outcome. My sons, one wife and 5 of 6 grandsons came to my house. The other wife and grandson went shopping. Lots of commotion and visiting and working on my computer. They all left after two hours. Then I had a moment wondering why my one daughter, my brothers and their families hadn't made it to my house. Hadn't missed them until it got quiet. Then I realized I'd forgotten to invite them while waiting for sons to make up their minds. Aaaagh! I have a refrigerator full of soft drinks that I intended to serve. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not in charge any more if I ever was.
ReplyDeleteSeemed like a fairly straightforward solve today, well clued and constructed. Didn't need or notice the theme, really, and the puzzle didn't suffer in service to it.
ReplyDeleteWas wondering what Splynter thinks of Ottawa after they didn't bother to show up in Pittsburgh, losing 7-0. Never a good idea to crow while the farmer is still in the field.
Wonderful puzzle to start the week--many thanks, Jake. I'm so glad I didn't know it was sports-themed until the very last clue, because this way I didn't fret about it and just solved everything as it came along. No problems whatsoever, even though I didn't know ARTEL and didn't understand SKED until the blog. When I did get the sports reveal, I was surprised that I actually figured out most of the teams that started the starred clues--more fun. And I loved that Jake put in so much high and low culture--RALPH Waldo Emerson, Caesar's ET TU, SMEE, TARA, UMA, JAY LENO, and of course, NAT KING COLE.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't know ERROLL Garner, so thanks for the link to his "Misty," Argyle!
PK, congratulations on your granddaughter's terrific achievement!
Have a great week, everybody!
OK you Baseball fanatics!
ReplyDeleteIt turns out my favorite team did win a few games, sort of...
And what is this obsession with Stats? stats, 1950's
More stuff you didn't ask for: 1960's
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Jake Braun, for a fine puzzle. Thank you Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteFinished this slowly due to my last night last night. Had to catch a couple ZZs after guarding the crossing.
Jinx: I used to work near Shanksville, PA, in Rockwood, PA, while with Automatic Electric. Nice country.
Liked the theme. I see the CUBs are part of it.
Little problem with the NW corner, but it fell.
Yes, we did have AU PAIR the other day. Probably won't for another couple years.
Now I have to report in for yesterday. That one took me a while.
See you tomorrow.
Abnejo
( )
Did anyone know ARTEL? Ellington at Newport (the album) introduced me to jazz.
ReplyDeleteD-O did, @ 7:06.
ReplyDeleteA happy Monday pzl from Mr. Braun, well explicated by Argyle. And - OMG! - how I missed the theme entirely!
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw some nods towards baseball, but didn't suspect team names were part of my fills. What I did notice was that this was a tad tougher than most Monday pzls, at least for me. ARTEL is not a word with which I had any familiarity. I also stumbled (not for long) at 10D, thinking first of Johnny Mathis, probably because he went to my high school and college, before slapping my forehead and remembering - of course! - the great NAT KING COLE.
It also took me hella long to work out the spelling (at 40D) of EARL, ERLE, EARLE, EROL, ERROL, EAROL, EAROLE, before settling into ERROLL.
ReplyDeleteI think SMEE is a nautical knife. Except I had MAGNA and didn't correct.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of jazz, D D Bridgewater was on Mary McCartlin last night (NPR). Lovely voice.
Nice Monday xword and write-up. Loved the QOD to Misty. Clues were very unique and imaginative.
Owen, #1 was excellent. On the C-Moe scale I give you PwD***, **
WC
Ps I think Mookie Betts is the best defensive right fielder right now.
ReplyDeleteWC
I agree that this CW seemed a little difficult for a Monday but I persevered and finished. Thanks Jake and Argyle. (I wondered if this was a C.C. Puzzle with all the baseball.)
ReplyDeleteI'll join the crowd who did not know ERROLL or ARTEL, and noticed that we have had AU PAIR about 3 times in the last week. Also tried to put -Men before AGTS.
I'll take a double CSO with ONT and Toronto JAY. And I see that OTTAWA was in the weekend puzzle. Yes, there has been a drought of Canadian Stanley Cup wins. (We have almost given up on Toronto!). The Sens have their work cut out for them if they want to have a victory parade in Ottawa along with the special Canada 150 celebrations.
Congratulations to your granddaughter, PK. My daughter also graduated from IB and I know the work required!
We celebrate Victoria Day today (in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday). Off to the fireworks later.
It is cool but the rain has cleared.
A fun one today, but the southwest corner stumped me.
ReplyDeletePK: Your writing is so witty. Congratulations to your granddaughter. How proud you all must be of her. When she is in New Orleans for college, I hope you will join her for a visit and look up the Louisiana contingent.
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles, you are probably thinking of the snickerSNEE, a large sword-like knife, used as a weapon to cut-and-thrust (snick-or-snee, from Dutch).
ReplyDeleteAbejo - We are actually in Rockwood (or just outside of it) at Hickory Hollow campground. Wanted to eat at Rock City Cafe, but they didn't open until 3:00 yesterday and were closed all day today.
ReplyDeleteSpent more time at the Flight 93 Memorial today. Very moving. We'll come back when they open the Voices Tower, an installation of 40 wind chimes, one for each of the heroes killed on Flight 93 that awful day. We didn't feel like touring anything else, but will try to visit Falling Waters and maybe Kentuck Knob next trip.
Not a bad puzzle. Maybe ARTEL isn't a Monday-level word. Otherwise nicely Monday-easy. Knew ERROLL Garner right away; love his playing! His left hand almost seems to have a mind of its own.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this puzzle very much; baseball and a fun grid were great. I also have many fond memories of Erroll Garner playing on Mike Douglas, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin LINK.
ReplyDeleteWonderful job Argyle.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jake for a this baseball-puzzle GEM before the dog-days of summer sets in (and the Astros loose any more games! We're now 29-15, which, granted is better than the start of 2005's Tombstone Season w/ a 15-30 start. [Note: 'Stros 2005 ended at the World Series*]
Thanks for the expo Argyle and 'splainin' ARTEL. Hand up: ARTEL and ERROLL were ESP. I saw the theme as solving so it was an easy "get."
WO: started writing Sc[h]ED @42a.
Fav: Seeing ON/OFF Switch and HAL in the same puzzle... Maybe if Dave had tried to turn HAL OFF and ON again...
{B+,A-}
Hey Hahtoolah! Missed your QODs whilst you were away.
More applause from Houston for your granddaughter PK!
HG - In Beltran's first go-round with the 'Stros, I recall him catching a fly in shallow-center (a relative term at Minute Maid Park) and, still on the run-in, firing (home or third) to nail the tagged-up runner. As he released the ball his entire body flipped into a summersault and, then, he pop'd back up. Amazing. Also, IIRC, this was 2004 in game 5 of the playoffs w/ the Cards. [The same series that Pujols broke H-Town's hearts].
When Carlos came back to the park as a MET; there were fan-signs panning him w/ Carlo$ - Space City was not happy he signed for ton$ more money in NYC.
CED, I have a hard enough time keeping up with baseball stats (read: I don't) and now I I gotta keep track of Brown's team's win/loss, ERA, and RBI's?!? :-). Good Grief!
Cheers, -T
*I believed from Opening Day and kept every sports page from 2005. I just knew WS even if when it looked bleak 1 Jun. The papers are still in a box in the attic.
Thx Argyle. That cleans it up. So SNEE is the knife, SMEE is Book's flunky and MAGNA is spelled with two Ms.
ReplyDeleteT, Boston had it's Houston 2005 in 1967 and this is the 50th anniversary. There were four teams in it right down to the wire.
I still say it ranks #1 in the fifty years
WC
I was very late cleaning up my pool question. Check the last post for Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI'll add: the algebra lesson is that
2/3m = l --> 3l = 2m.
And for the Wilburs of the world I check my pace by starting with second hand on XII and seeing how close it is every 3 laps.
I actually think this would be an excellent introduction to algebra
WC
Yes I'm trying to bait some of the night owls.
What'll it be: algebra or baseball.
WC
Com'on Wilbur, that's easy!... You have an Ω watch waterproof to a depth of 50m. -T
ReplyDeleteDang... 3+ hours later and crickets?. That was my best "on-short-notice" meta-intertextual-meta attempt at humour. Shove me in the shallow water [will that bring out Tawnya? :-)].
ReplyDelete//Sigh... Tip the wait-staff. I'll keep my day JOB. I guess. If I have to.
OKL - Phrenic is a new word to me too; I keep reading it as 'frenetic' which, I suppose, could be the mind in one's diaphragm. Curious etymology. Thanks.
Hackers kept at bay, Pop flies in tomorrow am [weather permitting - hellava Storm this am!], I'm "off" for the rest 'o the week. Now, time for A NAP. Cheers, -T
Wilbur: Text talk can be so confusing. I know I knew it once, but what is "On the C-Moe scale I give you PwD***, **" BTW, OTOH, QOD=Quote Of the Day (why it includes Of but not The, Cod only knows!), CSO=Coincidental Shout-Out.
ReplyDeleteAnon-T, I was pulling for the Stros in 2005.
ReplyDeleteJinx, Fallingwater is the Frank Lloyd Wright house.
Falling Waters is a town in West Virginia, just across from Hagerstown, MD. I've been to both, which probably helps me know the difference.