Theme: Echo-o-o-o A word echoed in each theme clue
17A. Workshop sticker : EPOXY RESIN. This stuff. The red bits (scientific term!) are the hardener.
27A. Kitchen sticker : FRIDGE MAGNET. Here's one of mine from a winery near Santa Maria (no surprise there!)
43A. Mailroom sticker : POSTAGE STAMP. Here is the world's most valuable stamp, the British Guyana 1¢ Magenta. It sold at auction in 2014 for $9.5m. That's some return on your one-cent investment back in 1856.
58A. Desk-bottom sticker : CHEWING GUM. Yuck.
Nice theme-in-the-clue pangrammatic puzzle from Mark. There's a lot of fresh fill too, much more than a usual Thursday. I enjoyed the variety in the four "stickies". Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Eye-related prefix : OPTI
5. Acht minus sechs : ZWEI. If you want to clearly differentiate between "two" and "three" (drei) in German, you use "zwo" instead. I've heard the guy counting down a skier at the start of the Hannenkahm downhill in Kitzbühel incanting "drei-zwo-ein".
9. Con : SCAM
13. Rock guitarist Eddy : DUANE
15. Make : EARN
16. Dracula costume item : CAPE
19. Major in astronomy? : URSA. Nice clue.
20. 64-Across's realm : RUSSIA. Filled in easily enough once I'd got to the end of the "Across" clues and found TSAR.
21. Pacified : QUELLED
23. CBS maritime drama : NCIS. Never seen it, but I know it stands for "Naval Criminal Investigative Service". Was Tom Cruise an NCIS agent in "A Few Good Men?"
26. Lay bare : EXPOSE
32. Personal assistant : AIDE
33. "Zounds!" : EGADS! Yikes!
34. __ Mahal : TAJ
37. Had already learned : KNEW
38. City north of Memphis : CAIRO. 20 miles away. Here's a few old rocks in Memphis - actually, they're the remains of columns from a temple to Rameses.
39. Pacific island where much of "Lost" was filmed : OAHU. Where you can chow down on pupus.
40. Scrape (out) : EKE
41. "Wheel of Fortune" name : VANNA. Speaking of which, the proffered answer of "On The Spot Dice Spin" didn't win this one. Indiana U. fail.
42. Half-note feature : STEM
46. Kicks out : EXPELS
49. Water source : WELL
50. I-15 city between Los Angeles and Las Vegas : BARSTOW. Name-checked on the song "Route 66."
52. Service interruption : OUTAGE
57. Stage direction : EXIT. Stage Left.
61. Icy coating : RIME. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is not referring to frost on his beard.
62. Numbers game : KENO
63. Knife hawked on infomercials : GINSU. I think I've seen the commercials - isn't this the knife that cuts through a can and then cuts tomatoes? I hate to see knife abuse of this sort!
64. Old despot : TSAR
65. Try to find : SEEK
66. Is appropriate : FITS
Down:
1. River through Frankfurt : ODER
2. __ platter : PUPU. Food! A Hawai'ian staple. Make sure there's a couple of Spam musubi on there for me.
3. City near Ghost Ranch, a favorite Georgia O'Keeffe retreat : TAOS.
4. "Devil Inside" band : INXS. My first wife worked for their record company. They were pronounced "Ink-sis" by the folks at the label, so as not to been seen taking the talent too seriously.
5. Crazy consonant? : ZEE. And with "Z" this puzzle becomes a pangram, all letters of the alphabet appear today.
6. Used to be : WAS
7. La Salle of "Under the Dome" : ERIQ. I know him from "House."
8. Subtle slur : INNUENDO.
9. Make busts : SCULPT. Not a Victoria's Secret Uplift Semi Demi bra?
10. Producer Ponti : CARLO. Thank you, crosses.
11. Spots for religious statues : APSES
12. Civil War general : MEADE. Famous for Gettysburg and building lighthouses. He was born in Cadiz, Spain, which may or may not explain the lighthouse fascination.
14. Getting a good look at : EYING
18. 10K, say : RACE. Fun Run for some, Agony Run for others, Race for the select few.
22. They may not be on speaking terms : EXES. Especially if they live in Texas.
24. Clarifying words : I MEANT ...
25. City "it took me four days to hitchhike from," in Paul Simon's "America" : SAGINAW. I heard this five minutes ago - the song is currently being used in a VW car commercial.
27. Hoops move : FAKE
28. Zamboni domain : RINK. The Zamboni was invented, and is still manufactured right here in Southern California, in Paramount.
29. __ fixe : IDÉE. An obsession. I didn't notice this during the puzzle, crosses filled it in for me.
30. Meadow drops : DEW
31. Parking place : GARAGE
34. "Cheerio!" : TA-TA! I just finished watching all six seasons of "Downton Abbey" after a few years' delay. Jolly good! I cried in every episode. I cry all time in movies; I even cried in the first "Toy Story." I went to see "The Cider House Rules" at the AMC Theater in Burbank when it was first released wearing a light gray t-shirt. When I came out, the front was dark gray due to my tearful sobbing.
35. "Shh!" relative : AHEM
36. Head start : JUMP
38. Full-length clerical garments : CASSOCKS. I wore one of these in my days as an altar boy. See below for parental dragging-by-the-ear reference.
39. East of Essen : OST. A couple or three Germanic references today. I like the play on "East of Eden" in the clue.
41. Electric Chevy : VOLT
43. Annoy : PESTER
44. Childlike race in "The Time Machine" : ELOI
45. Thrown : SLUNG
46. Critic Roger : EBERT. One of the thumbs up. Or down.
47. Line on which y = 0 : X-AXIS.
48. Ballerina descriptor : PRIMA. Top banana at the barre.
51. "This is fun!" : WHEE!
53. "What a brutal week!" : TGIF! Thank Go[odness] it's Friday!
54. Lambs, in Latin : AGNI. I think this one is a tad obscure. I knew it because of my Catholic parents dragging me to church by the ear and therefore knowing the "Agnus Dei", married with the fact I was taught Latin at school, so I could figure out the plural. Tough one.
55. A strong one may invert an umbrella : GUST. Tried GALE, was wrong.
56. Big birds : EMUS
59. Hydrocarbon suffix : -ENE
60. Asian pan : WOK. Don't get a non-stick one - you want to be able to push food up the sides and have it stay there rather than sliding back to the bottom like Sysyphus' boulder.
And with that, my work here is done. Here's the grid!
Steve
17A. Workshop sticker : EPOXY RESIN. This stuff. The red bits (scientific term!) are the hardener.
27A. Kitchen sticker : FRIDGE MAGNET. Here's one of mine from a winery near Santa Maria (no surprise there!)
43A. Mailroom sticker : POSTAGE STAMP. Here is the world's most valuable stamp, the British Guyana 1¢ Magenta. It sold at auction in 2014 for $9.5m. That's some return on your one-cent investment back in 1856.
58A. Desk-bottom sticker : CHEWING GUM. Yuck.
Nice theme-in-the-clue pangrammatic puzzle from Mark. There's a lot of fresh fill too, much more than a usual Thursday. I enjoyed the variety in the four "stickies". Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Eye-related prefix : OPTI
5. Acht minus sechs : ZWEI. If you want to clearly differentiate between "two" and "three" (drei) in German, you use "zwo" instead. I've heard the guy counting down a skier at the start of the Hannenkahm downhill in Kitzbühel incanting "drei-zwo-ein".
9. Con : SCAM
13. Rock guitarist Eddy : DUANE
15. Make : EARN
16. Dracula costume item : CAPE
19. Major in astronomy? : URSA. Nice clue.
20. 64-Across's realm : RUSSIA. Filled in easily enough once I'd got to the end of the "Across" clues and found TSAR.
21. Pacified : QUELLED
23. CBS maritime drama : NCIS. Never seen it, but I know it stands for "Naval Criminal Investigative Service". Was Tom Cruise an NCIS agent in "A Few Good Men?"
26. Lay bare : EXPOSE
32. Personal assistant : AIDE
33. "Zounds!" : EGADS! Yikes!
34. __ Mahal : TAJ
37. Had already learned : KNEW
38. City north of Memphis : CAIRO. 20 miles away. Here's a few old rocks in Memphis - actually, they're the remains of columns from a temple to Rameses.
39. Pacific island where much of "Lost" was filmed : OAHU. Where you can chow down on pupus.
40. Scrape (out) : EKE
41. "Wheel of Fortune" name : VANNA. Speaking of which, the proffered answer of "On The Spot Dice Spin" didn't win this one. Indiana U. fail.
42. Half-note feature : STEM
46. Kicks out : EXPELS
49. Water source : WELL
50. I-15 city between Los Angeles and Las Vegas : BARSTOW. Name-checked on the song "Route 66."
52. Service interruption : OUTAGE
57. Stage direction : EXIT. Stage Left.
61. Icy coating : RIME. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is not referring to frost on his beard.
62. Numbers game : KENO
63. Knife hawked on infomercials : GINSU. I think I've seen the commercials - isn't this the knife that cuts through a can and then cuts tomatoes? I hate to see knife abuse of this sort!
64. Old despot : TSAR
65. Try to find : SEEK
66. Is appropriate : FITS
Down:
1. River through Frankfurt : ODER
2. __ platter : PUPU. Food! A Hawai'ian staple. Make sure there's a couple of Spam musubi on there for me.
3. City near Ghost Ranch, a favorite Georgia O'Keeffe retreat : TAOS.
4. "Devil Inside" band : INXS. My first wife worked for their record company. They were pronounced "Ink-sis" by the folks at the label, so as not to been seen taking the talent too seriously.
5. Crazy consonant? : ZEE. And with "Z" this puzzle becomes a pangram, all letters of the alphabet appear today.
6. Used to be : WAS
7. La Salle of "Under the Dome" : ERIQ. I know him from "House."
8. Subtle slur : INNUENDO.
9. Make busts : SCULPT. Not a Victoria's Secret Uplift Semi Demi bra?
10. Producer Ponti : CARLO. Thank you, crosses.
11. Spots for religious statues : APSES
12. Civil War general : MEADE. Famous for Gettysburg and building lighthouses. He was born in Cadiz, Spain, which may or may not explain the lighthouse fascination.
14. Getting a good look at : EYING
18. 10K, say : RACE. Fun Run for some, Agony Run for others, Race for the select few.
22. They may not be on speaking terms : EXES. Especially if they live in Texas.
24. Clarifying words : I MEANT ...
25. City "it took me four days to hitchhike from," in Paul Simon's "America" : SAGINAW. I heard this five minutes ago - the song is currently being used in a VW car commercial.
27. Hoops move : FAKE
28. Zamboni domain : RINK. The Zamboni was invented, and is still manufactured right here in Southern California, in Paramount.
29. __ fixe : IDÉE. An obsession. I didn't notice this during the puzzle, crosses filled it in for me.
30. Meadow drops : DEW
31. Parking place : GARAGE
34. "Cheerio!" : TA-TA! I just finished watching all six seasons of "Downton Abbey" after a few years' delay. Jolly good! I cried in every episode. I cry all time in movies; I even cried in the first "Toy Story." I went to see "The Cider House Rules" at the AMC Theater in Burbank when it was first released wearing a light gray t-shirt. When I came out, the front was dark gray due to my tearful sobbing.
35. "Shh!" relative : AHEM
36. Head start : JUMP
38. Full-length clerical garments : CASSOCKS. I wore one of these in my days as an altar boy. See below for parental dragging-by-the-ear reference.
39. East of Essen : OST. A couple or three Germanic references today. I like the play on "East of Eden" in the clue.
41. Electric Chevy : VOLT
43. Annoy : PESTER
44. Childlike race in "The Time Machine" : ELOI
45. Thrown : SLUNG
46. Critic Roger : EBERT. One of the thumbs up. Or down.
47. Line on which y = 0 : X-AXIS.
48. Ballerina descriptor : PRIMA. Top banana at the barre.
51. "This is fun!" : WHEE!
53. "What a brutal week!" : TGIF! Thank Go[odness] it's Friday!
54. Lambs, in Latin : AGNI. I think this one is a tad obscure. I knew it because of my Catholic parents dragging me to church by the ear and therefore knowing the "Agnus Dei", married with the fact I was taught Latin at school, so I could figure out the plural. Tough one.
55. A strong one may invert an umbrella : GUST. Tried GALE, was wrong.
56. Big birds : EMUS
59. Hydrocarbon suffix : -ENE
60. Asian pan : WOK. Don't get a non-stick one - you want to be able to push food up the sides and have it stay there rather than sliding back to the bottom like Sysyphus' boulder.
And with that, my work here is done. Here's the grid!
Steve
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Mark and Steve!
Enjoyable Thursday puzzle.
Didn't know DUANE and INKS, but they were easily filled in.
Still seeing k-laser doctor. Have many more appointments. Have to exercise legs (squats, etc.) in pool and in chair to prevent gangrene. (Have to reflexes.)
Have a great day!
Hi Y'all! Whee! Mark, enjoyed the puzzle. Always enjoy your Brit perspective, Steve. Thanks, guys!
ReplyDeleteMeadow drops was DEW, not cow "pat".
Didn't know Eddy DUANE or INXS. MEADE was a Civil War general? Hmmm!
Being higher math impaired, I had no idea at 47d for X-AXIS. ESP
I am still reeling. Yesterday I found on line some binders which really weren't what I wanted for a genealogy project I have going, but I decided to buy them at $35 each. When I logged on last night, the price had risen to $64. Talk about price gouging! I bought something else for $21 which should do the job adequately, if not exactly ideal. This morning, I have all kinds of binders advertised along this page. Think some computer saw my interest yesterday and raised the price. Aaaargh!
Good morning all. Thank you Mark and thank you Steve. 'Top banana at the barre.' Very witty Steve.
ReplyDeleteThe first theme answer I started to work out was FRIDGE------ for kitchen sticker. Wait, what ? How do you spell Frigidaire ?
The NE was saved by General MEADE. On the first pass, I threw in test answers anti and fang where SCAM and CAPE belonged. Oops. They didn't work.
No idea on AGNI. Had KiNO before KENO. I will try to remember that since we have had it before. Also had HOAR before RIME.
Had to wait on the perps for PUPU platter. Looks better than it sounds.
I agree Steve. Seemed like a lot of fresh fill today.
{B-, A-, B-.}
ReplyDeleteSaid DUANE, a studious dude from OAHU,
"I'm here to kick ass, with gum to chew!
My brain I'd EXPOSE
To stuff no one knows,
Because it wouldn't be new if I KNEW!"
INNUENDO of a youth from SAGINAW
WAS that he liked on human bones to gnaw.
When asked, were his parents
Aware of his aberrance,
He said, "Sure! Why this bone was my Paw!"
And a two-stanza l'ick:
The water-park was run by an eccentric genii
Who used his power on a wishful IDÉE
"Some magic I'll hide
In the park water-slide.
But only for women who fill out a bikini!
With what they shout, falling free,
The pool filled with will be!"
A brunette called, "Grape soda!"
A redhead called "Rum and cola!"
But a girl with green hair just shouted out, "WHEE!"
Cairo (Ill.) is north of Memphis (Tenn.) in the U.S. as well as in Egypt.
ReplyDeleteBARSTOW is (was?) better known as a Route 66 city.
Theme? Sticky things. Even with the unknowns, this puzzle was in my wheelhouse. I finished it before the coffee finished dripping. Didn't know ERIQ, OAHU, and never heard of CASSOCK or AGNI but the rest were easy. COSSACKS I know but not the CASSOCK. They live in RUSSIA, once ruled by the TSAR.
ReplyDeleteFRIDGE MAGNET- I have about 100 stacked in the garage. Pulled from the phone books' covers, most that advertise lawyers.
PK-- y=mx+b
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle with an easy theme. I was able to suss POSTAGE STAMP and CHEWING GUM with just a few perps and without reading the clues. We had MAHAL just a few days ago; today we got TAJ. Thanx, Mark.
Steve, it wasn't NCIS. Cruise's character was a member of the JAG (Judge Advocate General) Corps. NCIS is a spin-off from the older JAG series, so you were close. You might remember CARLO Ponti as the long-time husband of Sophia Loren.
PK, you had it backwards. His name was Duane Eddy. The guy who created the You-Tube post also got it backwards. Surely you remember Rebel Rouser.
VANNA almost had another "Singing [sic] In The Rain" moment this week. The contestant was solving a "crossword" puzzle. She got it right, but stuck an and in the word list. Bzzzzzt!
I wandered to the back of the yard yesterday to refill the hummingbird feeder. Discovered that a good-sized tree had broken off about 6 feet off the ground and crashed beside the electrical transformer. Fortunately, it wasn't a direct hit, and there was no OUTAGE. Doubly fortunate, it's in the utility right-of-way. I can let the electric company deal with the tree remains.
Good puzzle from our new regular Mike McClain.
ReplyDeleteLike Anon 6:44 I thought of the Cairo, IL to Memphis, TN direction as well as Egypt's cities. Luckily they are the same.
Did anyone else get stuck on filling the NE with QUELLED? it is correct but not what I thought of. Luckily, ERIQ La Salle stuck in my mind because of the Q. A name whic is glue for puzzles, especially a Pangram.
I am feeling better, two more doctor appointments today, and hope to be commenting on a more regular basis.
Thank you Michael and Steve.
Been there...
ReplyDeleteDone that?
No comment...
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Mark McClain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWent through this faster than normal for me for a Wednesday. Liked the theme. Very good.
I also thought of Cairo, IL, as the answer. In Illinois it is pronounced K-Ro.
NCIS, all three, are favorite shows of mine.
AGNI was easy as pie.
Never heard of INXS. Perps.
Of course I spelled ERIQ wrong the first pass.
I worked in BARSTOW, CA. Step by Step electro-mechanical telephone exchange.
Lefty Frizzell also had a song entitled, SAGINAW, Michigan.
Off to guard the crossing. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Good morning.
ReplyDeleteI surprised myself when I didn't bog down until Barstow. I got the theme early, which helped with crosses.
Thursday's are always red-letter help days for me, but didn't need any today. (Yes, I realize there still is the subtle help that you 'know' you're correct when you enter a letter, but I feel good about my solve anyway.)
Beautiful day here,
Montana
Never heard of 4D (probably a good thing I didn't).
ReplyDeleteI spelled Saginaw with an E instead of an I so I didn't get Cairo. I failed to go back to 24D or I might have worked that one out.
Everything else was good.
One bad cell today - eNNUENDO. ZWEe looked good to me. Erased grAnt for MEADE, anti for SCAM, and fixed SAGaNAW and fLUNG. ESPs for DUANE and CARLO. I didn't know that there is a Memphis, Egypt, but got CAIRO from the famous Mississippi River towns. I knew that 50A had to be BARSTOW or Baker, and Baker wouldn't fit.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that Fermatprime and Lemonade are on the mend.
Thanks Mark and Steve for a fun Thursday start. I'll miss out tomorrow - driving our motorhome across the Appalachians for the first time tomorrow, and want to get an early start.
Eriq Lasalle appeared in 'House'? Not sure if you got your hospital themed dramas mixed up or....er...your African-American actors posing as doctors mixed up. Hope it was the former...
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the crunch but still doable Thursday puzzle. WEES about the USA Cairo/ Memphis vs the Egyptian location. Like so many American pronunciations - Cairo is pronounced KAY-ro and I live near the town of Versailles which is pronounced Ver- SALES'.
ReplyDeleteEriq LaSalle was a lead actor and Emmy winner for ER, not House.
Thanks Steve and Mark!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle today. Lots of fresh words - PUPU, SCULPT, QUELLED, BARSTOW and SAGINAW, and ever X-AXIS. Seemed like a pangram. Got AGNI right away because of the Latin prayer. QUELLED also came easily.
RIME - Usually associate it with risk of engines icing up on small aircraft.
If Cossacks became priests, they'd wear CASSOCKS.
OST, ODER, und ZWEI today - aber kein Spanisch.
ZEE is Dutch for 'sea'.
ODER - The Germans call the city Frankfort an der Oder to distinguish it from Frankfort am Main, the financial center.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this type of theme, maybe because it's not over used. It's fun and challenging at the same time trying to figure out the various meanings. Had no hiccups and finished in less time than usual for a Thursday. New York State has a Cairo (pronounced K-ro) also, but no Memphis that I know of.
Thanks, Mark, for a fun solve and thanks, Steve, for a fun tour.
Lemony, good to see you; hope you're feeling better with each passing day.
Ferm, keep up the good work!
Have a great day.
There is indeed a Memphis, NY. It's a hamlet west of Syracuse near where I grew up. I now live in Glenville, and always enjoy your contributions from Troy on this blog and in crosswords. Thanks IM!
DeleteWelcome back, Lemon. Glad things are looking up, Ferm.
ReplyDeleteCassock and Agni were gimmes. Fang before Cape. Q was my last fill.
I also located Cairo/Memphis in the USA. I knew of Memphis in Egypt but it didn't occur to me.
I enjoyed both the novel and the movie, Cider House Rules.
I like the pupu platters in our Chinese restaurants. They're made for two diners so you need someone who wishes to share. No Spam here. We eat Spam, but not in pupu platters. We will have Spam spread for lunch today.
Jinx and Bunny, happy traveling.
My fridge is covered with magnets, notes and pics.
Finally a day to spent at home. I'm way behind. I'd better get cracking.
ReplyDeleteGround this one out but it sure was no walk in the park. During my career I had a couple of times when my business in LA was going to go into the following week. One time I drove to Vegas on I-15, but I do not remember BARSTOW.
The SAGINAW CAIRO crossing were two cities that appeared OK, but I wasn't sure. Lucky wags.
The XAX IS has me stumped. The A was a wag for BARSTOW. I can't recall using an A when solving Algebra equations.
TATA
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the puzzle this morning. Although I knew the words to America, I had no idea how to spell SAGINAW so it tripped me up for a bit. The Q in ERIQ always gets me - I know it's something different, but what is it?? (Omar Epps is our "House" actor) Great write up, Steve. I still love INXS - great band with a ton of talent. Asked the DH about Eddy Duane and he promptly gave me the lowdown of the Rockabilly genius that strongly influenced generations of guitarists.
I did have time to do the puzzle yesterday and loved every minute of it - well done IM and C.C.! I wanted to post but there just wasn't time. We are having a small get together tomorrow evening so DH is cooking and I am cleaning. If you ever need to really deep clean your house, have a party or invite people to come stay with you. It's great incentive to scrub baseboards and purge clutter.
Yesterday was "test the tornado sirens" day here. Here is a video of two of my lovely dogs singing along...turn your sound up :)
Happiest of Thursdays to you all,
t.
Hondo, I can't tell if you're serious or pulling our collective legs. We're talking about the X AXIS on a graph. I am at a loss over Big Easy's y=mx+b, but I decided it must be a bicycle, because a vest doesn't have sleeves.
ReplyDeleteTawnya - I love how the one dog looks over to the other one to see if it's alright to howl or keep howling. Likes to be cued.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark, for a fine puzzle. I didn't see the theme at all (no shocker) until CHEWING GUM. Eeeeww! I never grabbed the desktops in my classrooms when I had to move them around--always by the seat back, which I inspected first! CAIRO was easy both geographically and literarily. It's where Huck and Jim left the Mississippi for the Ohio and Twain took a hiatus.
We also have Mar-sails, and VI-enna in Illinois--where the S is ALWAYS silent, unless it's possessive. It's French, doncha know, for "of the Illini."
Loved the tour, Steve. I especially enjoyed your apt description of the non-stick WOK.
Hub and I are going out to visit the semi-invalid and take her to a Greek restaurant for lunch.
Have a very fine day.
Hondo: read it as "X-AXIS". Look familiar now?
ReplyDeleteThe southern tip of Illinois has always (going back into the early 1800's, at least) been known as "Egypt". Local paper is the Daily Egyptian and there are a number of towns named after ones in the real Egypt. There are several theories as to why this is so, but no consensus.
Y=MX+B is the formula for the slope of a line.
Inanehiker: You're in my old stomping grounds, nearly. I grew up in Jacksonville.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Me too, Steve!
-We had a glass-covered walkway in my old school and during the summer it got so hot in there the 20 yr odd CHEWING GUM melted and dripped off desks stored there
-Valuable POSTAGE STAMPS (2:00) from Charade
-Oh, That Memphis! Yup, it is too!
-My SIL says their Dish TV can have a service interruption in bad weather
-I did SEEK my billfold this morning trying not to wake Joann but I drove to sub without it
-She turned down Cary Grant’s proposal but said yes to CARLO
-MEADE was the commander in what many think was the Civil War’s most important battle
-A note from my daughter yesterday greatly upset me. I expect an “I MEANT” note…
-Historical fiction novels and TV sagas like Downton are my favorites
-EBERT called The Da Vinci Code a preposterous novel but said the movie was preposterously entertaining
-Great to see Lemon rise from the ashes!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteI really like this theme. Most of the puzzle is top notch. "Crazy consonant" is awful, though.
OTOH, "Major in astronomy" is excellent.
Cool regards!
JzB
I found it "sticky" going today, Mark doesn't like to give away those easy perps. INNUENDO was slow coming. DUANE EDDY was in the back of my mind but I thought they'd want Eddie Money.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, I like Shepherd's pie too.
I associate CAIRO with Mark Twain. Perhaps the literati will illuminate. BARSTOW is not exactly Natick but it's East of the Mississippi. Or as the Boston Jesuits would say: East of Worcester.
WC
Ps. Liked all those l'icks and Steve always does an entertaining write-up.
I just read this again. Duh. I MEANT West
DeleteThanks, Mark and Steve! WEES about the puzzle. It was entertaining if a bit sticky. DUANE and INXS were almost a Natick for me but luckily I had heard of INXS. AGNI is a common reference in RC liturgy.
ReplyDeleteRUSSIA filled in when I glanced down and realized TSAR was the ruler.
Lemonade and Ferm, it's good to know you are making progress.
Have a spectacular day, everyone!
Tinbeni at the Library ...
ReplyDeleteD-N-F ... At least I admit it straight up. No hemming an hawing ...
Couldn't get my brain out of Tennessee when thinking "What city is North of Memphis?"
CAIRO never came to me ... and I couldn't remember CASSOCKS, though I wore one for 10 years as an Alter-Boy 50 years ago.
Also had no idea the name of the I-15 city, BARSTOW, between LA and Vegas.
At least I got the Paul Simon's "America" city, SAGINAW.
And now I am heading for a 4 to 6 mile walk on the "Dog Beach at Honeymoon Island."
Cheers!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteQuite solvable and fresh (meaning new words) but surprisingly easy for a Thurs. No cheats or write overs today. Thanks to Mark and Steve
Welcome back Lemony; hope you're mending well
Just a couple of Moe-kus today:
The FAKE SCAM artist
Loved using INNUENDO;
A real "chic" MAGNET
I often wonder
If poet, Robert Frost,
Had trouble with RIMEs?
Hi everybody! I enjoyed the puzzle. I resisted the urge to turn on red letters several times and depended on the V-8 can instead. It all worked out with a few temporary glitches. I agree with JzB in not caring for "Crazy consonant." Also, the X-axis is the horizontal line through the origin on a Cartesian coordinate plane. Y is equal to zero everywhere along that line. The equation y = mx + b is the slope-intercept form of a linear equation where m is the slope of the line and b is the point at which the line crosses the y axis. I agree with D-O that Big Easy's response really doesn't much help answer PK's question though.
ReplyDeleteTawnya, I loved your dog video. We used to have an Old English Sheepdog. When a police car or fire truck went by with the siren blaring, Sammy would run upstairs, look out the window overlooking the street, throw back her head and howl like a wolf, trying to communicate with her lupine ancestors I'm guessing.
Tawnya, loved, loved that priceless video! Is Trace the lead "singer"?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice write-up and comments about this puzzle. I have actually been to CAIRO, Illinois and stood on the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi River where they come together. But in all honesty, I was thinking Africa when I wrote the clues, and mine was "Largest African city". I'll give credit to Rich for the confusing "City north of Memphis", and perhaps he was thinking Illinois since Memphis, Egypt isn't around anymore. But then CAIRO, Illinois is actually NNE of Memphis, now isn't it? I will take credit (blame?) for the "Crazy consonant" clue for ZEE - would you have preferred "Amazing center?"
ReplyDeleteTawnya @ 9:18 ~ Loved your video! We had a Beagle who used to "sing" along when I would be practicing my piano lessons. I'm not sure which one of us sounded the worst!
ReplyDeleteUnknown @ 10:50 ~ Thank you for your kind words and thank you for my learning moment of the day re Memphis, NY. I suppose there are hundreds of towns and villages throughout the vast state of New York that I've never heard of. We have our share of uniquely-named hamlets right in our own backyard: Scaghticoke, Valatie, Coxsackie, Corinth, to name a few.
Breezed through thiis one, but I'm not sure why. It didn't feel like an easy puzzle, but it went quickly.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle this morning--I got the whole thing--and on a Thursday! Woohoo! Many thanks, Mark, and you too, Steve.
ReplyDeleteBusy day, so I have to run, but glad to see you back Lemonade, and have a great day, everybody!
Very nice puzzle today, and, at the risk of raising the hackles of others, I'll say one of the easiest Thurdays in some time. Seems as if lately Thursday has been harder than Friday and nearly as hard as Saturday.
ReplyDeleteA nice Thursday puzzle, it seemed harder but got easier. Didn't know there was a theme, I liked that.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Mark McClain and Steve for a fairly easy Thursday pzl. Ta-DA! The only truly sticky corner for me was the NW sector. I'm just not up on my rock guitarists.
ReplyDeleteMark: Thank you for stopping by and providing more insight into the creative process and relationship with the editor. I really enjoy watching the growth of each constructor.h the editor.
ReplyDeleteEpoxy resin?
ReplyDeleteFun with fridge magnets...
5 cents for your troubles?
And, just plain Eeeewwwww!
Are the others who use the adjective"Sticky" also referring to the theme?
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I found this a challenging Thursday, especially since we've had it real easy this week.
Apparently, there is no consensus on"difficult" vs "easy". Of course, I can't remember so far back as last Thursday.
WC
Gender of German Rivers -
ReplyDeleteEarlier I commented about Frankfort an der ODER, and Frankfort am(an dem) Main. Main is a river as is ODER.
So, as is my wont, I started ruminating on why the different article. An takes the dative case, so the dative of die(feminine) is der while the dative of der(masculine) is dem. After some checking,, it turns out that German river names are either masculine or feminine; no neuter.
Some examples:
der Rhein
der Nil (Nile)
der Mississippi (Father of Waters?)
der Niagara
der Amazonas
der Sankt-Lorenz-Strom (St, Lawrence)
but
die Aare
die Donau
die Mosel
die Schelde
die Rhone
die Elbe
die Oder
die Wolga
Cool puzzle, distinctively Mark McClain's touch. Mark, I like your work.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I like your write-ups.
We've driven through and past Barstow many times.
Whenever we have a DSL outage and call AT&T to report it, the recorded voice always starts out by suggesting we go online to att.com.
Fridge:Frigidaire::judge:judgment.
Abejo, there used to be a step-by-step electro-mechanical telephone exchange in Lincoln, Nebraska, too. Lincoln used to have it's own AT&T-compatible company called LT&T.
There's a VA hospital just outside of Sturgis, SD, on a site that used to be an old Army post, called Fort Meade. Yeah, there's a Fort Meade in Maryland, too. That Meade guy sure left a big footprint.
Best wishes to you all.
Tom Cruise was a lawyer in the JAG
ReplyDeletecorps.
Thanks for the comebacks, y'all! Y=mx + b is a formula that I haven't needed in my 76 years of life, so probably won't use in the near future either. X AXIS was vaguely familiar once perped. So much knowledge to be gained here!
ReplyDeleteD-O: Thanks for the link. DUANE Eddy wasn't familiar at all. He must not have been played on the radio stations my friends and I listened to during those years. Didn't listen to country at all most of those years. And I made seven long-distance moves in that period. Probably a lot I missed in my travels. Didn't have a working car radio part of the time. No car A/C either. Good old days? Well, my body worked better.
I just thought of a few of these that I knew. How many can you remember without Google?
ReplyDeleteCat Feline
Dog Canine
Horse Equine
Cow Bovine
Wolf Lupine
Fox ??
Sheep ??
Crow ??
Deer
Donkey
Duck
Snake
Pig
Eagle
?????
Bill:
ReplyDeleteFox vulpine
Sheep ovine
Crow corvine?
Deer cervine
Donkey asinine
Duck anatine
Snake serpentine
Pig porcine
Eagle aquiline
Wheel of Fortune Answer is. I think on the Spot Decision.
ReplyDeleteRe: The Big Bang Theory...
ReplyDelete(Specifically, a Blog rebuttal.)
OK, I just finished watching the season finale.
Yes, things have been a bit dragged out lately.
Yes, the laugh track is ridiculously loud.
Yes, getting a million dollars per episode is obscene...
However, I just witnessed a very entertaining display
of wit by a very creative team of writers.
What seems like a never ending monologue of hilarious one liners
is actually a continuous plot, and a marvel of funny storytelling.
The only part I did not like was the cliff hanger ending...
Very late to the party today. Thanks Mark and Steve. I enjoyed this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWEES. NW was the last to fall because of cross of DUANE and INXS. PUPU did not come to mind easily also.
Enjoy the evening.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteLooks like TIN and I only need a dingy to be in the same boat... DNF. The NW was the Sticky wicket; I did not KNOW 1d, 3d, nor ever heard of DUANE Eddie [now I have, thanks D-O; though I don't think of that as Rock, more like Rock-a-Billy].
C, Eh!, I did know PUPU and INXS (and remembered to refresh b/f post!) but in the end, 13a was -U-NE and I'd not a snowball's chance in hell of guessing right [1d=O(random consonant)ER and 3d=T(h|r)Os were all I could think of.
Thanks Mark for a fun puzzle. I liked 'sticky place' theme and fill. Re: 5d - cEE, ZEE, or (for Steve and C, Eh!) ZEd, only the E could go in at 1st. 'Amazing Center' (I like it) would have eliminated CEE :-)
Great Expo Steve; I always enjoy your wit. You got the GINSU knife commercial right can, shoe, tomato... Mr. Popeil invented / hawked many "Life Changing" devices on infomercials. Never seen 'em...? You must not stay up 'till 2a flipping channels - the last time I did I saw the Man Himself hawking the Showtime Rotisserie [39m - you only need the first 40sec but, warning, you'll get mesmerized!].
WOs: iNE @59d, but that was an easy fix; eek b/f EKk b/f EKE.
ESPs: BARSTOW, ZWEI, CARLO, AGNI
Sparkle: QUELLED, INNUENDO [took a lotta guesses to get the vowels right], SAGINAW
Fav: c/a for URSA
CAIRO was a double-aha! I started in TN, got enough perps, and realized Egypt! then double-realized Cairo, IL [I think we stopped there once - it was Cairo or Cape Girardeau (hometown of Rush - the talk-radio one not the Trio from Toronto) for food on the way from SPI to Memphis, to NOLA, back to Houston].
{B,A,A}, {nice, LOL!}
Cute pooches Tawnya. Just for sharing - I'll send some INXS (Devil Inside) your way. The '80s did have some fun music. [We've had INXS before - now y'all have no excuse not remembering 3 months from now :-)]
D-O: You're on a roll... 'Must be a bicycle 'cuz a vest doesn't have sleeves' - Our floor's admin thought something was wrong w/ me for randomly busting out in laughter.
WELL, if I think of anything to SEEK OUT, I'll be back to PESTER. [leaving CED hanging... :-)]
EXIT, stage left [@:31], -T
Hmm,
ReplyDeleteLeave me! hanging?
(Well)
I went looking for a Snagglepuss, exit stage right,,,
(& there are none,he always went stage left...)
Which left me in a no win situation...
PSA for educators and those with kids/grandkids in school.
ReplyDeleteMany schools use Edmodo for lesson plans and for kids to turn in homework; they (Edmodo) got hacked. Fortunately, it seems, Edmodo does password storage 'right' (salted-bcrypt) but we know kids choose passwords like 'puppies!'
If your district uses Edmodo, have your loved one(s) change their pwd - I just told my kids to.
Apparently, someone's selling the trove of 78M uid/(encrypted)pwds for $1000 - I can't imagine what kinda person (pedophile?) would buy kids' pwds; there's not much money in kids, changing grades is passé - heckLightman's already been graduated and learnt his lesson.
HG, I'm curious - do you pull your lesson-plans from Edmodo when Subbing?
CED - Reared on Cartoons, I coulda told you that re: EXIT stage right is wrong :-). Cheers, -T
-T
ReplyDeleteGreat link to the Ronco commercial
I wonder if those are still operational? I never bought one (or any other Ronco product) but he was quite a hawker ...
C. Moe - Ronco or the Rotisserie? :-). Ronco still exists; I think I read his Son took over after Ron passed. It's silly to know this, but that's American Culture! for ya'.
ReplyDeleteI recall Maternal-Grandpa had a "smokeless ashtray" [mom bought it for him and Grandma] and a pocket-fisherman that he thought would be perfect for ice-fishing... I don't think that he ever ice-fish'd 'cept ice, with his fingers, out of his Shasta diet-cola. And Mom wonders why I'm warp'd :-) -T
Never heard of DUANE Eddy, so thanks for the link! It sounds vaguely familiar, but maybe others copied that sound, too.
ReplyDeleteHand up for thinking Eddie MONEY.
Other unknown names: ERIQ, CARLO, MEADE all gotten with ESP. Learning moment that Ft MEADE, MD named for him.
Did not realize PUPU was Hawaiian. I have only gotten it in Chinese restaurants. Another learning moment.