Theme: Chin up, bucko - No need to abandon all hope ye who enter here, so long as you parse 37-Across as AB and ON.
37. Leave high and dry ... or, when divided into three parts, what the answers to starred clues are encompassed by: ABANDON. AB-AND-ON
16. *Bath towel material: ABSORBENT COTTON
22. *Bart and Lisa's grandpa: ABE SIMPSON
49. *"Falcon Crest" actress: ABBY DALTON
59. *Book that's been shortened: ABRIDGED VERSION
Argyle here with our fearless leader. Two grid spanners and a couple long climbers are practically her signature.
Across:
1. Accessory for Supergirl: CAPE
5. Volkswagen Routan, for one: VAN. Model years: 2009–2014
8. Put into words: SAID
12. Andes animal: LLAMA. The Andes Mountains are the longest and one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. They are located in South America and stretch 4,500 miles from north to south, along the west coast of the continent.
14. Belgrade native: SERB
15. Pinnacle: ACME
19. Pilates class need: MAT
20. Note from the boss: MEMO
21. Data storage media: DISKS
26. Washroom bowls: BASINS
28. "People are saying ... ": "RUMOR IS ... "
32. Saudi's neighbor: OMANI
33. Neeson of the "Taken" films: LIAM
35. Rare Hawaiian goose: NENE. The Hawaiian name nēnē comes from its soft call.
36. Huff Post owner: AOL. The Huffington Post. AOL acquired the Huff Post in 2011.
40. One of a golfer's pocketful: TEE
41. Mex. ladies: SRAs. (señora)
43. Loosen, as laces: UNDO
44. Spew lava and ash: ERUPT
46. Online live-stream lecture: TED TALK. TED(Technology, Entertainment, Design)
48. __ Rico: PUERTO
52. "Haven't the foggiest": "GOT ME"
55. "It's __": "Nobody wins": A TIE
56. Cookie fruit: FIG
63. Male with a thick mane: LION
64. Totals: ADDS
65. "Yes and no": "SORTA"
66. Bluesy James: ETTA
67. Believe, as a story: BUY
68. Tuckered out: BEAT
Down:
1. Chowder ingredient: CLAM
2. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA. A fish monger?
3. Picnic side dish: PASTA SALAD
4. Revealing rock genre: EMO
5. Scorpion's poison: VENOM
6. Gallery showing: ART
7. "The Voice" network: NBC
8. Audited, as a class: SAT IN ON
9. Circus performances: ACTs
10. "Everything's fine": "I'M OK"
11. Many man caves: DENS
13. Country south of Georgia: ARMENIA
14. 18-wheeler: SEMI
17. "Porgy and __": BESS
18. Former NBA forward Lamar: ODOM
23. Coal holder: BIN
24. Museum with a Goya Gate: PRADO. Puerta de Goya (Goya Gate), at Prado Museum's north façade, features statue of famed painter outside.
_Madrid_01.jpg/240px-Monumento_a_Goya_(Benlliure)_Madrid_01.jpg)
25. Sport with silk-clad referees called gyoji: SUMO
26. Brag: BOAST
27. Love, to Casanova: AMORE
29. Shoot back: RETURN FIRE
30. Ham-handed: INEPT
31. Take care of: SEE TO
33. Tall and lean: LANKY
34. Gary's st.: IND. (Indiana)
38. Onion or shallot: BULB
39. Fixes, as Fido: NEUTERS
42. Mountain climber's need: STAMINA. This had me thinking of equipment. I blame it on PITON from the other day.
45. Rock's __ Speedwagon: REO
47. Still in the sack: ABED. A word, sorry.
48. Ballet knee bend: PLIE
50. Papa: DADDY
51. Off-road rides: Abbr.: ATVs. (all-terrain vehicle)
52. Wind warning indicated by two red flags: GALE
53. "In memoriam" piece: OBIT
54. Relaxed gait: TROT
57. Bitty bit: IOTA
58. Bitty biter: GNAT
60. Shoot the breeze: GAB
61. Academic URL ending: .EDU
62. Have a good cry: SOB
Argyle
45 comments:
Hi everyone!
Thanks to C. C.and Santa!
Nice puzzle. Cute theme!
Had no problems.
Going to have k-laser back treatment tomorrow. (It would be great to be able to walk again, but that's probably expecting too much.)
Have a great day!
Spotting the gimmick was easy, but I failed to guess how the reveal would be phrased.
As the camelid said, "hrump"! I just used LLAMA in a poem yesterday!
Poems rated PG-13 today. {B, B, A-.}
The stranger looked like he'd been sucking a lemon.
He looked LANKY and mean and full of VENOM!
RUMOR IS, he's an outlaw
Whose aim is without flaw --
Till he BUYS adult diapers; ABSORBENT COTTON denim!
The BOAST of a SERB in ARMENIA:
"My people are known for our STAMINA!
We last longer ABED,
At least, till we wed,
Then we must tell our lovers 'I'll phonē ya'!"
The Black man was bragging of the SOBS of a virgin
With the size of his junk, when a small Hebrew person
SAID, "Mine was bigger than his
That's why Jews have a bris --
We're only allowed to use an ABRIDGED VERSION!"
I love CC puzzles.
I didn't speed through. After one pass across, I had 12 clues unfinished. Only once reading down clues and puzzle was complete, though, so nice Tuesday solve. I could not think of the word BOAST even with the B and ST! OMANI took awhile and being sent there meant my youngest son could say he had been all the way around the world. Different son went South of Georgia to Azerbaijan for work, but letters didn't fit, so ARMENIA it was.
I got the AB of the theme and parsed AB and ON, but missed connection for the theme. Thanks for your explanations, Argyle.
Montana
Good morning!
Nicely done, C.C. and Argyle. Yes, I completed the puzzle. No, I didn't get the theme. No, I didn't read the entire reveal clue...again.
Why did the Hawaiians pick a rare bird as their state bird?
Good morning all.
Thank you CC. You are so creative. To look at the word abandon, break it down as AB and ON, and then build a puzzle with it demonstrates your creative talent.
Argyle, hand up for thinking equipment and PITON first.
Hi Y'all! Fun and fast nice Tuesday level, C.C. This was one where perps took care of most guesswork, but fill wasn't trite.
Good going, Argyle. Always like your clear maps. I was so proud to get ARMENIA on first try. I'm getting better on geography in that part of the world. I hope. Maybe. We'll see...
Never heard of TED TALK or gyoji. WAGd the "U" for S_MO. Had forgotten PRADO so tried "H" not R on the way down.
Hand up for wanting a tool for STAMINA.
OBIT today for a Bob Dicks. Poor guy died fairly young. Didn't tell the cause.
Revealing rock genre: for some dumb reason tried "ore" first. As Splynter says, 66% right but the letters were in the wrong holes.
Read that ODOM's successor Tristan Thompson dumped Kloe Kardashian. T.T.'s Cleveland Cavs think that will give them a better chance of winning the playoffs a second year. Those girls haven't been good for basketball players.
Terry cloth didn't fit in the towel slots.
RETURN FIRE: Too !@#$% much of that lately. We've had four murders and a suicide in our city's usually quiet neighborhoods in the last two days. SOB! Another 4 murders in one house last week.
Fermatprime: good luck with your K-laser treatment tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed for the best outcome.
Me too re: piton. One erasure - I spelled ABSORBaNT, but SEMI fixed that.
I had a VW microbus in my early 20s. Took out the middle bench seat to make a bed for camping. Went to pick up a date with it and her DADDY said "no way". No problem - I drove home and returned with my Honda 750 (motorcycle), and her DADDY said "HELL no". We never did go on that first date.
Verizon bought AOL, so I guess HuffPo belongs to them now. I read that they are rebranding AOL and Yahoo to "Oath".
I was CERTAIN that a sport with silk-clad referees MUST have been invented by Hugh Hefner. It came as a big surprise (pun intended) when SUMO emerged. Other unknowns were TED TALK and Abby DALTON.
Two SQUARE red flags is a hurricane warning. Also known as "Maggie's drawers".
DO - Kentucky's state flower is a weed - the goldenrod. Don't know what these legislatures are thinking when they designate an official state - anything.
Thanks to CC for another fine puzzle. I also knew it was your creation before I read the credit at the top of the page. And thanks to Santa for your usual good job on the narrative.
Musings
-What a wonderful Tuesday puzzle!
-I fell in love with ABBY DALTON in this show
-One 2-hr podcast I like also has an ABRIDGED “Best Of” version everyday
-We got many MEMOS that SAID, “We’re using too much copier paper”
-Arianna Huffington as ARI was supplanted by AOL
-FIG Newtons are a love ‘em or leave ‘em cookie. I’m in the former camp
-SIRI ADDS very quickly when you tell her the numbers
-Golf league starts in an hour. Gotta get a handful of TEES and split!
Easy Wednesday puzzle. TED TALK and ABBY were new to me but perpable. I didn't remember GYOJI, but it is obviously Japanese, so a four letter Japanese sport must be SUMO. The clue made me think of think of Japan and the Silk Road. Wiki says,"The practice of harvesting silk began in Japan in the 3rd century, when the technique was adapted from their Chinese and Korean neighbors. They refined the techniques, and Japanese silk became widely known as being of very high quality."
SRA, senora, is now crosswordese, but it reminded me of the SRA Reading Lab, which I used when I taught. There was a pretest for placement. My son was using the SRA in his class, too. I was amazed that he was on the lowest level. The teacher was kind of insulted when I asked about that. She started everyone at the lowest level, no matter how adept they were. I wasn't supposed to know. It kept the kids busy longer.
Good luck on your back procedure, Fermatprime. I'm wishing for optimum results.
Good Morning everyone.
Got it solved and the theme understood without too much hassle. No searches or erasures were needed. Favorite fill were for the 2 'Bitty' clues in the SE. Agree with Argyle about C.C.'s "signature".
SAT IN FOR - While in grad school I audited a course in Glacial Geology. Being a denizen of NYS, (all of which was glaciated except for the area around Allegany State Park in the SW) it has served me well to keep alert and interested in the scenery while driving its length and breadth all these many years.
Good day to all!
Such a clever theme today. The reveal in the middle helped with the last two theme answers. Needed all perps for ABBY DALTON. Even after seeing her photo I don"t recognize her. Needed most of the perps before I remembered TED TALK. Thanks for a fine puzzle C.C., and thank you Argyle for the expo.
Best wishes for your laser treatment, Fermatprime.
Enjoy the day!
Typical intriguing CC puzzle. Well done. And with a sparkling expo from Argyle as well. Great day in the morning.
One question. I thought Gary's state was Nebraska, no?
Talk of the Huff Post / AOL / Verizon merger reminded me of another merger rumor I heard lately. Maybe Splynter can confirm or deny. I heard that FedEx and UPS are merging. They're going to call the new company "FedUp".
Good to be back.
Cya!
Easy Tuesday. I didn't catch the so-called theme but I rarely look for a theme. If it jumps out, ok. I just try to fill in the words.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Good Tuesday level puzzle. A couple of stumpers thrown in.
Liked the theme. Very well done and with a couple of grid spanners.
Got ARMENIA easily. I have had, and still have, Armenian friends. I was glad to see that country get its independence back. They sure were put through the ringer years ago.
TED TALK was unknown to me. Perps. As was MAT for pilates class need. No idea what a pilates class is or was.
This puzzle was a great start to the day. Just got back from guarding the crossing. It was cold and windy. Unbelievable.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I expected a bit more crunch today, but the thene haelped me with two of the starred entries. I enjoyed viositing the Prado when I was in Madrid in 2003. I highly recommend the Reina Sofia museum nearby.
Tinbeni here ... (Still working on Computer SNAFU, using one at the business center).
Alas ... NO Avatar, LOL
C.C. Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle. Enjoyed the AB-AND-ON theme.
Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get TED-TALK ... a learning moment I will forget by noon.
Fave was 58-d, Bitty biter, GNAT ... we do have those here in Tampa Bay ... and the do like me.
Finally we have some rain today ... so I guess the "beach-walk" will be tomorrow.
A "Toast-to-All" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Another fun puzzle by C.C., who never ceases to amaze me with her creations. So talented!
Thanks, Argyle, for the explanations (TED TALK)..... you're supposed to learn something new everyday!
No worries withthe puzzle,breezedright throughit.
However,I never saw the theme! Ingenious play on words,
"when divided into three parts" had me dividing up the long answers
instead of the reveal... Oh well...
HG, you had me LOLing at the memo about copy paper!
(ditto BlueHen @ UPS and Fed-X merger!)
But the major learning moment for me was"Siri can add?"
I immediately asked Siri (twice, louder and slower the second time.)
"What is an 18% tip of $63.00"
& in a flash,it gave me not only the tip amount, but added it separately to the total!
This is amazing! revolutionary!
No longer will I look like an idiot trying to figure out the tip at a restaurant!
Instead I will be repeatedly yelling at my phone what the tip amount sh.......
(Oh, never mind...)
Re:Yest, Re: Tinbeni
Really?
He listed all the alcohol related CSO's except "on me?"
Hmm,
(i may have to rethink my visitation plans...)
(we are too much alike, it might get awkward.)
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Just a quick visit as I am going fifteen ways from Tuesday ...
Great puzzle theme, CC! As others have said, the whole AB AND ON theme was a winner. Argyle gave his yeoman-like recap and explanation. Fun solve!
Only write-over was SLAV > SERB but ART and VENOM corrected my error
TED TALK was an unknown but the perps made it fit.
Not feeling creative for limericks so my daily dose of punning will be in my Haiku:
Japanese wrestler
Filed charges against Stooge:
Wanted to SUMO
Hi Everyone:
Late, late, late. If awards were given for getting side-tracked, I would win by a landslide! Today's offering was just the latest example of CC's creativity and craftsmanship. I marvel at her ability to develop an entire theme by parsing a commonly used word into Ab and On. Such a clever and catchy idea! No problems with this smooth solve.
Thanks, CC, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Argyle, for the entertaing expo.
Ferm, best of luck with your treatment.
Bluehen, nice to see you back.
Jinx, how goes it with Zoe?
Misty, good news about your dad!
We had a ferocious storm last night, but I think other local areas had it worse. May is getting off on the wrong foot, methinks! 🌺🌸🌷☔️💦
Have a great day.
Brilliant Tuesday puzzle, C.C. I was afraid I was going to sound overly effusive to say that, but was pleased to see that everyone thought this was a really special and clever puzzle this morning. I needed your reveal to get the theme, and just loved it when I got it, and then noticed the two grid-spanners! Amazing! And I too really like your maps, Argyle. So, a great start to the day!
Your haiku cracked me up, Chairman Moe.
Hope you get help walking, Fermatprime, that would be wonderful!
Have a great day, everybody!
C-Moe, how do you come up with them. I liked that one from last night.
Jinx, I could have let you borrow my 1972 Pinto.
Owen: PG?? Loved em.
No. I didn't notice it was CC, my bad. Ran right through; I caught the AB and N, missed ON. Had LITHE before LANKY.
Thanks too, Argyle.
Did I tell you my Maggie's drawers story. In the Corps it signified missing the target all together.
So, I couldn't distinguish my #19 from 18 and 20. I was sighting on the crooked number, 17 and moving up two.
I snapped in, squeezed and waited for the"Bull(s eye). Nada.
Then chaos ERUPTS on 17 as my pal Marty is about to shoot, the Bull pops up. And I'm hollering"Where's my bull!".
Yep I'd shot at 17. Maggie's drawers shows up on 19. Lot's of pissed off Marines.
And Marty ended up taking the Bull and qualifying by one point.
I might have scored expert. C'est la vie
WC
Back to the party at a better time of day after lurking at 10pm for the past 3 days. Loved the AB AND ON theme. Thanks C.C. and Argyle.
TED Talk was all perps. Hand up for Lithe before LANKY, and smiling at bitty bit and bitty biter. I also had Apex before ACME.
Another A word, ABED, for Wade's list. (We Cornerites just seem to hate most of these A words for some reason!)
I remembered ODOM today (although I needed perps to correct from ODEM).
ABRIDGED VERSION reminded me of Readers' Digest Condensed Books that cannot be given away.
RUMOR IS reminded me of Adele (with proper spelling LOL!)
RumourHasIt
Good wishes for best results with k-laser treatment fermatprime.
Glad to hear that your dad is home, Misty.
Have a great day.
Speaking of spelling, I loved this joke printed in my May Reader's Digest, Laughter, The Best Medicine section.
REGIONAL RULES:
CANADIAN: Spell colour.
AMERICAN: No, you spell color.
CANADIAN: U.
AMERICAN: No U.
FUN!
C.C. led me a merry chase. I don't think I've ever had a short fill morph on me in so many variants before landing on the correct answer. Witness 57D. I was only sure of the 56A perp - FIG - to get me started. Only the initial "I" survived. The sequence that followed - ITSY, ITTY, ITTA, and finally IOTA - lasted the entire length of my solving session.
That's a new personal record. Thanks, C.C. And Argyle too, for 'splaining the theme that should have helped me, if I had let it...
PS. Good news about your Dad being out of the hospital, Misty. Trust his cooking was first rate!
Loved the "bitty bit / bitty biter" pair! But quite surprised at how unknown the Ted Talks appear to be. I watch several per week on YouTube; there is such a huge variety of subject matter from which to choose.
Fermat: I don't know the K-Laser treatment but hope it goes well for you. I have had three surgeries on my neck (I can stii shake my head 'no' but it's tough to nod 'yes').
Drat! That's "still", not "stii". Now, if I can just find someone to blame...
I enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks CC and Argyle.
~ Any thoughts about why 'impacted' seems to be replacing 'affected'?
~ The ladies of The View seem to say 'oftentimes' instead of 'often.' I wonder why?
~ As we've commented on before, hardly anybody associated with teaching has ever said ELHI, or even heard it used, except in crosswords. One reason might be it doesn't save any syllables or characters compared to the much more common K-12.
~ For several weeks now I have been able to feel a bridge in my mouth shifting around a little bit depending on what I'm chewing. It came off yesterday. The dentist reglued it just now and I'm good to go again. Easy peasy.
I'm going to test my repaired teeth with a little lunch...
Bill G.
Some people really have a well-developed knack for constructing high quality crossword puzzles, and C.C. is definitely one of them. I like Bruce Haight's work yesterday, too, and Gale Grabowski's the day before that. It is a huge pleasure to have such good material to spend time on.
Bill G, good question about impacted. I don't know the answer. One thought is that 'impacted' sounds somehow more sophisticated and, um, impactful. I mostly hear it on TV news, not in real life conversation.
Impacted sound like someone needs an enema
Irish Miss, CanadianEh, and Ol'Man Keith--thank you all so much for your comments on my Dad. It's really helped to be able to report on my worries about him to blog friends in the last few weeks, and it is wonderful that he's home again. I talked to him on the phone today, and he's cooking ham and brussel sprouts tonight, Ol'Man Keith. Unfortunately, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so I won't be able to join him for supper.
Thanks again for your kindness, everybody!
Missed a few today. Need to research NENE, Etta James and Abby Dalton. Thought mtn. climbers needed stamins (?).
Bill. G. Impacted bothered me at first, but I have accepted it as another sign of our ever evolving language. C'est la vie.
This was a fun puzzle! 1a--mask or CAPE? Checked 1d for CLAM chowder which is what I made for supper tonight! Thanks, C.C. for the great time. Argyle, for a change I didn't need you to point out the theme to me. Thanks for the expo!
W/Os: Apex/ACME, ABRIDGEDvErsION/ABRIDGEDEDITION, hod/BIN. Perps did a good job of correcting things.
Misty, glad to hear Dad is home.
Fermatprime, I hope your laser treatment works wonders!
Welcome back to all who have been on hiatus!
Pat
Thank you too, for your note about Dad, Pat.
Hi All!
WEES - Creative fun! Thank you C.C. The theme was completely unobtrusive until figuring out the connection at the end. Nor did I run through the grid with ABANDON; just the right amount of crunch. I also liked all the IDIOMS.
Thanks for the pix Argyle. No clue who ABBY DALTON was - now I have a face.
WO: I put ACTS in @ 10d. Oops.
ESPs: ABBY DALTON
Fav: LIAM Neeson(s) is my S***!
I'm surprised so many didn't know TED TALK. I listen to NPR's TED Radio hour every Sunday on XM.
{A-, A, A+} {Funny!}
Misty - Sounds like your Dad's eating well. Good to hear he's home.
I know as much as WikWak re: k-laser; good luck Fermat.
C,Eh! - Adel vid is blocked in the States for copy-right reasons.
HG - I second CED's LOL on the MEMO. You too BlueHen w/ FedUP.
Irish Miss - Keep Ridin' the Storm Out [or, for cool storm pix click this version -- REO Speedwagon].
Cheers, -T
Misty, I know how hard it is to be so far from your aging parents. It happened to me. I was working and going to grad school so I could only visit once a month while they were declining. So hard. When I retired I was more help to my MIL who lived closer to me, only 90 minutes away.
It is encouraging that your dad is up to real cooking, more active than many seniors I know. Spunky. I hope it continues for both your sakes.
Redsox and Orioles are continuing their beanball war. The Masons and Rosicrucians would tip their caps at the secret society that is inner baseball when it comes to retribution.
Then again this may be a repeat of 1964-67 which culminated in the beaning of Tony C which ended a promising career.
WC
WC @ 2:07
Haikus are much easier for me to do as they are 40% shorter than limericks! 😜
Seriously, thanks; glad to bring you a smile. Dittos to Misty and -T
Although I am so open minded and accepting about variations in our English language I feel that I am a haiku snob, or at least a traditionalist. This is my feeling about haiku. Much modern haiku leaves me flat.
my kind of haiku
Thank you for the kind support about Dad, Anon T and Yellowrocks. I greatly appreciate it!
Yellowrocks - I realize what I am doing is not haiku in the traditional sense. I'm building a 17 syllable pun. Maybe there needs to be a new name for this. Allow me to sleep on this and see if a name pops into my head 😀
To your end about haiku, I am a stickler for a properly constructed limerick. And I think limericks have evolved into a form that's less traditional. Not certain but I think limericks are supposed to be risqué.
Mr. Moe, I agree about limericks. They should be funny and risqué. And I think their meter and rhyme scheme is almost sacrosanct in order to maintain their comedic punch.
Another enjoyable puzzle by CC, thanks! And thanks, Argyle, for the report.
But even more important is the learning moment possible for so many people regarding TED TALKs. I am also surprised how many people did not know of them. We got rid of our cable TV connection and TED TALKs are one of the main things we watch now.
If you haven't watched any, Google TED Talks and just start watching. So much more educational and interesting and entertaining than the nonsense on corporate TV. The top people in so many different fields have to pack their work into just a few minutes. They each do it in a way that holds your attention and leaves you knowing something new!
Thanks, CC, for getting out the word!
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