Theme: Office Space - Four corners, four varieties of offices - as the reveal succinctly explains:
38A. With 41-Across, corporate status symbol ... and a hint to the circled letters : CORNER
41A. See 38-Across : OFFICE
Four corners, four offices and two paired reveals across the center. The four offices are clockwise from noon: HOME, TICKET, POST and OVAL. Quite lovely. A couple of years ago I tried to construct a circle puzzle based on OFFICE in an oval shape. I messed around with that idea for way too long and then abandoned it. Peter went in another direction and nailed it.
A "hidden" theme like this is extremely hard to pull off. Kudos to Peter for that - and let's see what else jumps out.
Across:
1. Sheepish? : OVINE. Bugger. Why do I always confidently go with USINE which has nothing to do with sheep? First misstep at 1A. Go Steve! Now this is a thing of beauty! Those border collies are quite amazing,
6. Seeks information : ASKS. "Excuse me, what is the descriptive adjective for sheep?"
10. Wave back? : ECHO. Nice. Was playing with EVAW for a while.
14. Fashion flap : LAPEL
15. Eliza Doolittle's creator : SHAW. George Bernard. "Pygmalion" and thence "My Fair Lady". The wonderful Audrey Hepburn.
16. Noah's firstborn : SHEM. Confidently tried SETH first. That didn't help a lot.
17. __ blank (was stumped) : DREW A
18. Big East hoopster : HOYA. If you'd have told me 25 years ago I'd even know that there was a thing called College Basketball I'd have been stumped. 25 years later, not even a thought about the Georgetown U athletics program.
19. One of many on a sweater? : PORE. Great clue. That was me yesterday at my periodontist. Google British Dentisty 1960's and you'll know why my pores were getting a workout. My first dentist (I was five years old) drilled my teeth with a foot-treadle-operated drill and no anesthetic. This was way before Novocaine was available.
20. Headshot, e.g. : PIC
21. Rapper-turned-actor in "NCIS: Los Angeles" : LL COOL J
24. Tiny, made tinier : LIL. Rapper designate also. 'Sup, Cool J?
25. Collect : REAP. As ye sow. so ye shall reap ....
27. Cake grain : OAT ... cake grain? No thanks, I'm inventing vodka!
28. Decadent : EFFETE
30. Perceived Hollywood oversight : OSCAR SNUB. Loved this. Unhappy that Daniel Day Lewis decided this week to hang up his boots. What a fantastic actor. Never snubbed.
33. Gold standard : KARAT
34. Univ. aides : TAS
35. Luau fare : POI. FOOD! It's really good if it's made well. That's a big caveat.
37. Joyful dances : JIGS
43. Hindu title : RANI
44. Modeled for a portrait : SAT
46. See 54-Across : OUT. Cross-reference haters rejoice! Here's one with the second word first! Have at it in the comments section!
47. Tennyson's "__ Arden" : ENOCH. Crosses all the way.
49. Character who debuted in "First Blood" : JOHN RAMBO. I can never remember his first name.
54. With 46-Across, quit working : CONKED. See 46A. Personally, I like it.
56. Fam. member : REL. We say "relation" here. Brits say "relative". Discuss.
57. Spotted : SEEN
58. Terminate : END
59. Genuine, for real : SYNONYM. LOVED this clue. I wish I was so original when I'm cluing a crossword.
62. Bloke : LAD
63. "Rich men sin, and __ root": "Timon of Athens" : I EAT. Obscure? Yes. Gettable with crosses? Yes.
65. Princes, but not princesses : SONS
66. Advice to sinners : ATONE. Not "Don't be a knucklehead and don't it again"? That would be my advice before starting the whole atonement process.
68. __ stick : POGO
69. "Beetle Bailey" pooch : OTTO
70. Slice-and-dice product suffix : -MATIC. Don't. REALLY don't. REALLY DON'T order anything from the TV called -MATIC anything. Period.
71. Crimean War leader : TSAR
72. Lamp gas : NEON
73. Walter White's Pontiac model in "Breaking Bad" : AZTEK Easily one of the ugliest cars designed - ever.
Down:
1. Hardly a neophyte : OLD PRO
2. Fluctuates : VARIES
3. Emetic drug : IPECAC. Completely ineffective and, as it transpires, quite dangerous.
4. Never used : NEW
5. Airline since 1948 : EL AL. "To the skies" et al. Sorry, I meant el al.
6. Rubbish bin : ASH CAN. Do we have these anymore? Genuine question.
7. Have a growth spurt : SHOOT UP
8. Drop to the canvas : KAYO. Variations on Knock Out, KO or crosswordese KAYO. Sorry, didn't like this.
9. Marshy hollow : SWALE. I'm not seeing this. A marsh is flat, wet and reedy. A swale is a lovely dry haven in a meadow. Ne'er the twain shall meet.
10. Mentalist's gift : ESP
11. Ill-tempered : CHOLERIC. Word of the day.
12. Ancestry : HERITAGE. Wine style of the day: Meritage. C'mon, I have to get my food/wine hat on sometimes!
13. Morning orders : OMELETS. Food! Mushrooms, cheddar cheese, spinach. Thank you.
22. Setbacks : LOSSES
23. 35th pres. : JFK
26. Indy racer Danica or sportscaster Dan : PATRICK. I watch the Dan Patrick Show most mornings on NBC Sports. Dan has a life-sized stand-up of Danica in his studio. There was an ongoing debate about whether it was Danica, or a stock model of a guy with Danica's face Photoshop'ed onto it, due to the size of the hands. The jury was out - either it was Danica, who has "Man Hands", or it was a Photoshop fake. Very entertaining.
29. Sizzling Tex-Mex dish : FAJITAS. Food! SoCal favorite.
31. Conducted : RAN
32. Didn't say __: had no comment : BOO
36. Words of regret : IF ONLY
38. Camera named for a goddess : CANON EOS. I gave my daughter one for Christmas one year, I made sure it worked first, She almost didn't get it.
39. Five Nations tribe : ONONDAGA. Thank you, crosses
40. "The Big Bang Theory" astrophysicist : RAJ. Thank you, crosses, I know this is a show I should have watched but .....
42. Pelt : FUR
43. Register printout : RECEIPT
45. Home city of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper : TORONTO. One of those two better be syndicating the LA Times puzzle, or there will be trouble, eH? Don't have any doot aboot it. Canadian Eh! may need to mediate..
48. Cock and bull : HES. Masculine plural - wasn't sure how to punctuate it, so you get it in the raw form.
50. Muppet master : HENSON
51. Giant in Cooperstown : MEL OTT
52. Small cap : BEANIE
53. Next up : ON DECK. Lemonade, tomorrow
55. Bagless vacuum pioneer : DYSON. I love how he sounds so British. And all balls, too.
60. Staff member? : NOTE
61. Crib cry : MA-MA
64. Craggy peak : TOR
67. Tornadic Looney Tunes spinner : TAZ
It's been a long day, so I'm done (put a fork in me) . Grid below. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thursday. Those of you in tornado territory - be careful. Those of you in insanely hot territory - look after yourselves.
Steve
38A. With 41-Across, corporate status symbol ... and a hint to the circled letters : CORNER
41A. See 38-Across : OFFICE
Four corners, four offices and two paired reveals across the center. The four offices are clockwise from noon: HOME, TICKET, POST and OVAL. Quite lovely. A couple of years ago I tried to construct a circle puzzle based on OFFICE in an oval shape. I messed around with that idea for way too long and then abandoned it. Peter went in another direction and nailed it.
A "hidden" theme like this is extremely hard to pull off. Kudos to Peter for that - and let's see what else jumps out.
Across:
1. Sheepish? : OVINE. Bugger. Why do I always confidently go with USINE which has nothing to do with sheep? First misstep at 1A. Go Steve! Now this is a thing of beauty! Those border collies are quite amazing,
6. Seeks information : ASKS. "Excuse me, what is the descriptive adjective for sheep?"
10. Wave back? : ECHO. Nice. Was playing with EVAW for a while.
14. Fashion flap : LAPEL
15. Eliza Doolittle's creator : SHAW. George Bernard. "Pygmalion" and thence "My Fair Lady". The wonderful Audrey Hepburn.
16. Noah's firstborn : SHEM. Confidently tried SETH first. That didn't help a lot.
17. __ blank (was stumped) : DREW A
18. Big East hoopster : HOYA. If you'd have told me 25 years ago I'd even know that there was a thing called College Basketball I'd have been stumped. 25 years later, not even a thought about the Georgetown U athletics program.
19. One of many on a sweater? : PORE. Great clue. That was me yesterday at my periodontist. Google British Dentisty 1960's and you'll know why my pores were getting a workout. My first dentist (I was five years old) drilled my teeth with a foot-treadle-operated drill and no anesthetic. This was way before Novocaine was available.
20. Headshot, e.g. : PIC
21. Rapper-turned-actor in "NCIS: Los Angeles" : LL COOL J
24. Tiny, made tinier : LIL. Rapper designate also. 'Sup, Cool J?
25. Collect : REAP. As ye sow. so ye shall reap ....
27. Cake grain : OAT ... cake grain? No thanks, I'm inventing vodka!
28. Decadent : EFFETE
30. Perceived Hollywood oversight : OSCAR SNUB. Loved this. Unhappy that Daniel Day Lewis decided this week to hang up his boots. What a fantastic actor. Never snubbed.
33. Gold standard : KARAT
34. Univ. aides : TAS
35. Luau fare : POI. FOOD! It's really good if it's made well. That's a big caveat.
37. Joyful dances : JIGS
43. Hindu title : RANI
44. Modeled for a portrait : SAT
46. See 54-Across : OUT. Cross-reference haters rejoice! Here's one with the second word first! Have at it in the comments section!
47. Tennyson's "__ Arden" : ENOCH. Crosses all the way.
49. Character who debuted in "First Blood" : JOHN RAMBO. I can never remember his first name.
54. With 46-Across, quit working : CONKED. See 46A. Personally, I like it.
56. Fam. member : REL. We say "relation" here. Brits say "relative". Discuss.
57. Spotted : SEEN
58. Terminate : END
59. Genuine, for real : SYNONYM. LOVED this clue. I wish I was so original when I'm cluing a crossword.
62. Bloke : LAD
63. "Rich men sin, and __ root": "Timon of Athens" : I EAT. Obscure? Yes. Gettable with crosses? Yes.
65. Princes, but not princesses : SONS
66. Advice to sinners : ATONE. Not "Don't be a knucklehead and don't it again"? That would be my advice before starting the whole atonement process.
68. __ stick : POGO
69. "Beetle Bailey" pooch : OTTO
70. Slice-and-dice product suffix : -MATIC. Don't. REALLY don't. REALLY DON'T order anything from the TV called -MATIC anything. Period.
71. Crimean War leader : TSAR
72. Lamp gas : NEON
73. Walter White's Pontiac model in "Breaking Bad" : AZTEK Easily one of the ugliest cars designed - ever.
Down:
1. Hardly a neophyte : OLD PRO
2. Fluctuates : VARIES
3. Emetic drug : IPECAC. Completely ineffective and, as it transpires, quite dangerous.
4. Never used : NEW
5. Airline since 1948 : EL AL. "To the skies" et al. Sorry, I meant el al.
6. Rubbish bin : ASH CAN. Do we have these anymore? Genuine question.
7. Have a growth spurt : SHOOT UP
8. Drop to the canvas : KAYO. Variations on Knock Out, KO or crosswordese KAYO. Sorry, didn't like this.
9. Marshy hollow : SWALE. I'm not seeing this. A marsh is flat, wet and reedy. A swale is a lovely dry haven in a meadow. Ne'er the twain shall meet.
10. Mentalist's gift : ESP
11. Ill-tempered : CHOLERIC. Word of the day.
12. Ancestry : HERITAGE. Wine style of the day: Meritage. C'mon, I have to get my food/wine hat on sometimes!
13. Morning orders : OMELETS. Food! Mushrooms, cheddar cheese, spinach. Thank you.
22. Setbacks : LOSSES
23. 35th pres. : JFK
26. Indy racer Danica or sportscaster Dan : PATRICK. I watch the Dan Patrick Show most mornings on NBC Sports. Dan has a life-sized stand-up of Danica in his studio. There was an ongoing debate about whether it was Danica, or a stock model of a guy with Danica's face Photoshop'ed onto it, due to the size of the hands. The jury was out - either it was Danica, who has "Man Hands", or it was a Photoshop fake. Very entertaining.
29. Sizzling Tex-Mex dish : FAJITAS. Food! SoCal favorite.
31. Conducted : RAN
32. Didn't say __: had no comment : BOO
36. Words of regret : IF ONLY
38. Camera named for a goddess : CANON EOS. I gave my daughter one for Christmas one year, I made sure it worked first, She almost didn't get it.
39. Five Nations tribe : ONONDAGA. Thank you, crosses
40. "The Big Bang Theory" astrophysicist : RAJ. Thank you, crosses, I know this is a show I should have watched but .....
42. Pelt : FUR
43. Register printout : RECEIPT
45. Home city of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper : TORONTO. One of those two better be syndicating the LA Times puzzle, or there will be trouble, eH? Don't have any doot aboot it. Canadian Eh! may need to mediate..
48. Cock and bull : HES. Masculine plural - wasn't sure how to punctuate it, so you get it in the raw form.
50. Muppet master : HENSON
51. Giant in Cooperstown : MEL OTT
52. Small cap : BEANIE
53. Next up : ON DECK. Lemonade, tomorrow
55. Bagless vacuum pioneer : DYSON. I love how he sounds so British. And all balls, too.
60. Staff member? : NOTE
61. Crib cry : MA-MA
64. Craggy peak : TOR
67. Tornadic Looney Tunes spinner : TAZ
It's been a long day, so I'm done (put a fork in me) . Grid below. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thursday. Those of you in tornado territory - be careful. Those of you in insanely hot territory - look after yourselves.
Steve
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Peter and Steve!
Nice puzzle! Needed perps for: HOYA AZTEC, F ONLY, I EAT and ONONDAGA. WAGged CANON EOS, OSCAR SNUB and SWALE. Also had "Seth" first. Couldn't parse IF ONLY for a while.
Over 100 degrees today. (Not quite Phoenix.)
Have a great day!
FIW big time¡ In the NW, a minor error, DRaW > DREW / IPaCAC > IPECAC. But in the SW, didn't know the camera or goddess, didn't know how to spell the tribe, didn't know the Hindu title, didn't know the Tennyson title, didn't know the Timon quote. And wagged them all incorrectly¡
ReplyDeleteDid the corners first, so had the 4 circle words, but failed at figuring out their connection without the reveal¡
{B.}
HE told her only that he had a CORNER OFFICE,
Competition was tough, he had to be cautious.
But it was all just bluster
He was really a busker
Panhandled on a corner, where his music could draw us!
Never watching television shows causes some problems on these puzzles. LL COOL J & RAJ were perps. But correctly filling the SW was pure luck with I EAT, ENOCH, and ONONDAGA all unknowns. But I did know the CANON EOS.
ReplyDeleteOwenKL- I originally wrote DRAW A but IPECAC changed it. I used to sell pharmaceuticals.
'Didn't say BOO? 'sh*t' wouldn't fit.
SWALE- in So. LA some people refer to ditches as SWALEs. But I've heard Cajuns refer to boyfriends as 'swains'.
Pontiac AZTEK- Steve my wife agrees with you. My neighbor had one.
Well, Tropical Storm Cindy has gone west and currently at the LA-TX state line but where it affected me was that yesterday all the governments in the New Orleans area closed and I was supposed to play Pickle-Ball at the MEL OTT Gym. Cancelled. But it did rain a lot yesterday.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't sleep last night with tropical storm Cindy's howling winds, crashing thunder and raindrops pelting the roof and windows. Oh wait, that didn't happen. We got sprinkles.
This was a nice challenge from Peter, plus there was a theme that I didn't get. Natch. My sweater had many PURLs (Hi there, Madame Defarge!), and CHOLERIC began life as CHURLISH. That E in I EAT was my final fill. Look up "obscure" in the dictionary and "I eat" will be listed there.
Dan PATRICK is also a Texas pol. He wants to push his bathroom bill during this summer's special session. Claims it's necessary to keep Texas safe. Are all politicians born insane, or do they just grow up that way?
Steve, fortunately I'd finished my coffee before I got to your "all balls" comment on those Dyson vaccuums. Saved me from having to clean my monitor.
I enjoyed finding the four offices in the corners. Very Clever.
ReplyDeletePATRICK was perps and wags. The only other unfamiliar fills were I EAT and EOS. I missed that E, I EAT just seemed weird. I found the poem- still weird. Who knows Shakespeare? Please help.
“Immortal gods, I crave no pelf;
I pray for no man but myself:
Grant I may never prove so fond,
To trust man on his oath or bond;
Or a harlot, for her weeping;
Or a dog, that seems a-sleeping:
Or a keeper with my freedom;
Or my friends, if I should need 'em.
Amen. So fall to't:
Rich men sin, and I eat root.”
― William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
My son has a swale in his yard. It is far from dry. Dictionary says, "a low or hollow place, especially a marshy depression between ridges."
Today's ashcans hold trash, even though they still use the no longer appropriate term ASH. Synonyms, dust bin (not essentially for dust), trash can, garbage can.
Time for Alan's commuter run. TTYL
I got stuck at LAD for bloke. Maybe in England, but never in Oz! I did get the theme though and it helped in the corners. As usual I needed all the perps for many of the names.
ReplyDeleteI think of SWALE as a feature of corduroy. But is it the ridge or the furrow?
Clever puzzle with some really good clues e.g. 19a and 59a. Also some that I certainly wouldn't get without perps and suspect few if any others would: 47a,63a,39d. There was just enough to get it done in the SW. Still, the best part of any Thursday is Steve's wonderful write-up. Hot and humid in Chicago today but a nice weekend on tap. Have a great Thursday everyone. JB2
ReplyDeleteKazie, you're thinking of the corduroy wale (no s)-- the raised rib.
ReplyDeleteDNF,
ReplyDeleteI think the reason I will never be a constructor
is because I do not think I could foist the crossing
of Hoya/Kayo/LLCoolJ on anybody...
What is a Swale? And why you need one...
Take that Momma!
Musings
ReplyDelete-What fun! CHOLERIC and ONONDAGA laid siege but were overcome
-My first fashion flap was a LABEL
-I stumbled onto this 1938 film version of that SHAW work.
-After teaching for so many years I DRAW A BLANK very often when they say, “Do you remember me, Mr. Schlapfer?”
-A Golden Globe Award SNUB means you didn’t pony up enough cash
-Hondo and I know who was ON DECK when Bobby Thomson hit the most famous home run in baseball history in 1951
-Hot today but in the 70’s/low 80’s for the next few days. Perfect for the College World Series
-Now, where is that RECEIPT? I have to take back these horrible shoes I bought yesterday.
-I WALKED OUT first to quit working
-The Crimean War always brings to my mind another Tennyson work telling of the stupidity/heroism of war - The Charge Of The Light Brigade
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis had some bite but nothing perps couldn't handle. I, too, had Seth/Shem but Onondaga was a gimme to a New Yorker. Clever theme and a pleasant solve, if a little more drawn out than usual. Fashion flap=Lapel threw me; I was thinking flap, as in a tiff or set-to.
Thanks, Peter, for a fun Thursday and thanks, Steve, for the super summary, especially the Border Collies link. I believe I read that they are the smartest of all breeds. Thanks, also, for the Audrey Hepburn clip; a favorite of mine and ditto for the movie.
I caught a glimpse of Holly Hunter on the Today show this morning and I don't know what she did to herself but had they not announced her name, I wouldn't have known who she was.
I'm going to flex my newly discovered italics muscles:
Have a great day!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Peter A. Collins, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle! Theme was outstanding. Must have been a lot of work to put all that together. My hat's off to Mr. Collins.
Some tough ones: LL COOL J, ENOCH, SYNONYM, IPECAC, CHOLERIC, ONONDAGA, DYSON. However, with perps and wags I succeeded.
I had watched a lot of Breaking Bad, encouraged by my daughter, but could not remember the car. However, with a couple letters it fell.
I have to run. Lots to do today. Then work tonight.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeletePeter delivered a great puzzle. Neat theme, clever cluing, and lots of fresh fill. ONONDAGA is the only one of the Five Nations with eight letters; the others all have six letters. Not into rap but from watching NCIS LA, I'm glad I finally had learned LL COOL J's name. Perps were timely. No searches or white-out were needed. Don't think I've seen IPECAC for a while.
TORONTO was a gimme.
For the Great White North: Song(3:02)
ReplyDeleteGood Morning!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. That was fun. Great clues with some nice crunch. I especially liked LAPEL as a fashion flap. D-O is right on my wavelength! You bet I began with Purls for one of many in a sweater. PORES made me chuckle as it is one of the many clever fresh clues here.
Thanks for the superb run through, Steve. Perfect as usual.
Irish Mist: Umm, I am seriously inspired by your new found prowess with text. My ability to vary text on this site relies on the Shift Key for caps. TEE HEE. . . .
Everyone, do be cautious in this weather, but have a fine day.
Good morning all
ReplyDeleteClever theme from Peter. I got it pretty early on but the circles in the CORNERs helped.
Thanks Steve for a great review. I also really enjoyed the sheep herding video- what an amazing perspective of the Border Collie's work. My neighbor had one. Such a beautiful, intelligent breed.
Hand up for Seth before SHEM and I also had Label for LAPEL.
DREW A blank on a few and other I just didn't know so thank you perps for : HOYA, EFFETE, IEAT, IPECAC, KAYO, SWALE, ENOCH and ONONDAGA.
Loved the "Breaking Bad" reference with AZTEK as that's one of my all time favorite shows. Has anyone else been watching the spin off "Better Call Saul"? It's excellent, too but the season finale was a few nights ago, so will have to wait until next year for its return. DH and I were just saying last night that we may rewatch BB through the summer. But I agree, that vehicle is one of the least attractive I've ever seen. My BIL had one but I never shared my true feelings about it with him :)
YR- thank you per yesterday. Yes, chronic pain is ... well, a pain! I try my best to not get discouraged but sometimes it's difficult. I have good days and bad days, so I try to focus on the good as much as possible :)
Irish Miss- I'm so glad we got the email situation fixed! Thanks to d-Otto for your help.
Have a great day everyone. Stay safe if you're in the path of bad/hot weather. DD#1 is going to Vegas with friends later today. I'm worried about them being in that terrible heat as it sounds unbearable!
Home Office?
ReplyDeleteThe ticket office explained:
Argyle directs grumpy Anons here...
If the Oval Office does not affect the shape of the adjoining rooms,
what is in the extra wall space...
Post Office required an extra post, um er, postage...
ReplyDeleteAlso, (for extra silliness) Men in Black II
revealed the inner workings of the Post Office....
Desperotto,
ReplyDeleteThanks for wale...When I thought about it after posting, it hit me too. But you cleared up the ridge ditch question. Thanks again!
CE Dave, interesting article about a gardening swale. My son's swale is just a shallow man-made semi-trough or dip in the lawn covered with grass. In heavy rain storms it catches the runoff and directs it away from the house. For a high end house in a high end neighborhood, it seems strange. I sometimes wonder whether the landscape designer made a mistake in providing drainage and set up the swale upon realizing this.It would be extremely expensive to correct now. Except for during heavy rains it causes no inconvenience and is not that noticeable.
ReplyDeleteGary, "Remember me?" is difficult when I see a 5 or 6 year old ten years later and must mentally sift through hundreds of names.The kids change so much. When they are accompanied by their parents it's easier. Adults do not change as rapidly.
EFFETE always brings to mind Spiro Agnew. "A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an EFFETE core of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.” Even more memorable is his phrase, "nattering nabobs of negativity."
I heard of ENOCH Arden, but it took long to dredge it up.
I haven't heard of IPECAC in years.
Maybe Misty can enlighten us regarding "I eat root."
Thanks, Peter, for a fun puzzle. Nice theme and fill!
ReplyDeleteSteve, great job on the write-up. Loved watching the sheep and dogs!
TS Cindy turned out to be about 4" rain here overnight, but nothing else. Off and on rain today, I guess.
YellowRocks,
ReplyDeleteTo me a Swale will always be what went thru my daughters High School.
Full (& unnecessary) linkage here:
Also, I eat root to me translates to I am Groot... (60 seconds mercifully...)
Oh, with all the leaning linkage, I almost forgot why I was posting...
I have a Swale in my backyard!
I did not know it was a Swale until today.
It seems my property is downhill from the entire neighborhood,
and the town (in its infinite wisdom) created an easement between my, and
my neighbors house. This easement includes a storm water drain...
When it rains more than 1 inch per hour,
the water from the entire block cascades thru my backyard,
and passes between my garage, and my neighbors garage on its way to
a storm drain in my front yard.
I have seen days when the 20 yard space between our garages
was wall to wall water!
Yet, so far, we have never had any water damage!
Thanks to Peter Collins for a fine challenge today. And thanks to watching NCIS Los Angeles I also know LLCOOLJ. JOHNRAMBO almost spelled defeat but then I recalled that "First Blood" was a Stallone movie and the name popped out. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteONANDAGA came through as well but I spelled it wrong as ONANDeGA so missed the I EAT cell. Since my Shakespeare studies were more than half a century a go nothing comes to mind and I never read Timon of Athens but I'll do some research on it later.
The SE gave me fits until TAZ reared his head and MATIC as well then AZTEK, new to me, also emerged. I agree about the unattractive appearance and throw the Scion in with it. The four CORNER OFFICEs were clever and cleverly placed. Kudos Peter Collins.
Thank you, Steve for your amusing analysis and I'm glad you had some food in there too.
Have a lovely day, everyone, despite whatever weather surrounds you. The heat is bad but tolerable. Today's forecast is for only 111.
Re: Timon of Athens
ReplyDeleteTimon is a wealthy Athenian who, because of his benevolence and generosity to his friends, is made destitute when his debts increase above his wealth. None of his so called friends will help him and he is forced to leave his lavish home and live in a cave where he is reduced to eating roots.
So the "I eat root" is meant literally.
Perhaps OM Keith can shed more light on this play.
Good day to all!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautifully constructed puzzle! Didn't have circles, but didn't need them to see the four CORNER OFFICEs. Many unknowns, but perps to the rescue. Favorite clue/answer was "One of many on a sweater?" for PORE. Thanks for the grand write-up and links, Steve.
Enjoy the day!
Nine ball in the CORNER pocket. Good puzzle! Everything was gettable.
ReplyDeleteI would never make an OAT cake, but I guess OAT bran muffins are common.
I didn't know ENOCH and couldn't get the camera, so a big fail today.
ReplyDeleteMonster in a Sheep's Pelt
ReplyDeleteI knew OVINE instantly, so that gave me an unearned early spurt of confidence. In the end I needed several cheats (3 or more) to finish this sly monster.
My early sticking point came when I planted RUT in place of OUT at 46A. It seemed such an appropriate word to serve as half of 54A's "quit working." That slowed my tempo and naturally turned my previously aggressive focus self-consciously inward. That was about the time I abandoned my wishful solving strategy (a diagonal run from NW to SE) and now allowed any fills anywhere.
Even that failed to close the grid. I couldn't remember Jim HENSON's name or which crazy L Tune character began with a "T." My world was crumbling. Even as I smiled over the image of a modern TSAR actually leading troops, I took the first fateful steps by summoning Nexus on my iMac screen. From there it was all shame, abject dishonor, and humiliation.
But, as is our wont, I thank Mr. Collins for his torment. And Steve for not calling me out in public.
PS. Steve, in re. 48D, my choice for rendering unusual plurals is to leave punctuation out, just as you decided to do. Same with couples (the Fowlers & Smiths) and decades (1940s).
Cross-EYED Dave- My mother had a problem similar to yours whereas all yards from behind and from the side ( she lived on a corner) drained onto her property.
ReplyDeleteI solved it by having a dump truck load of dirt dropped in her yard; then with the help of my nephew we built a 'dam' just inside the property lines, 75 feet across the back and 150 feet from the back to the sidewalk. No more water drained onto her property.
Did it cause water to back up in her neighbors' yards? Yes. Did I care? NO. Let them put their own drainage systems in.
Very community-minded, BE.
ReplyDeleteD-N-F ...
ReplyDeleteDidn't know ENOCH Arden or Noah's firstborn, SHEM ... and I WALKED OUT and never changed that ...
Oh well, tomorrow's another day ...
Cheers!
Steve - sadly, the only paper in Toronto I can find with the LA Times crossword is the Toronto Sun.
ReplyDeleteHi everybody! I enjoyed that as usual. Another excellent product from the LAT creative crossword manufacturing company. Thanks Peter and Rich and Steve. I didn't have circles since I used the Mensa site but I figured out the theme anyway except for the fourth corner with TICKET. I was looking for another four-letter theme answer and got confused when I didn't see it right away. Silly me!
ReplyDeleteCED, I enjoyed the link to East Hanover NJ. However, the article mentioned being "extremely unique." Since unique means one of a kind, I was taught not to modify it since it doesn't really make sense to say something is 'extremely one of a kind' or 'very one of a kind.' What do you think?
Vidwan and everybody else: Here's another little puzzle. Like the others, it doesn't require any sophisticated math, just some clever insight.
Humphrey gets big!
Humphrey has gotten big! When Humphrey, who weighs 199 pounds, joined Mira Costa High School’s football team, the average weight of the team increased from 177 to 178 pounds. Then Humphrey’s sister joined the team too, and the average weight increased again from 178 to 179 pounds. How much does Humphrey’s sister weigh?
What a workout today. Thanks for the fun, Peter and Steve.
ReplyDeleteAnon@2:54 - Do we have another Canadian here??
Steve, the Globe and Mail is the name of only one newspaper and apparently it does NOT have the LA Times Crossword. (Don't bother to buy it Misty)
I don't read it but my newspaper did not arrive yet today and I was on the Mensa site - no circles again! I resorted to the LA Times site (ads and all) to see the location of the circles and found the CORNER OFFICE.
Hand up for Seth before SHEM and Swamp before SWALE. I had Magic before MATIC (prefix rather than suffix).
I misread 54A as "quilt working" and Sewing Bee fit nicely into it and 46A. CONKED OUT filled in with perps and I could not understand it. I did not see my mistake until I got here. V8 Can moment!
Timon of Athens was one of my possible choices to see at Stratford this year but I chose Romeo and Juliet. Fortunately ROOT filled with perps.
Loved the clues for LAPEL and NOTE. HES, not so much!
Stay safe all of you in the path of bad weather. We are fine here with just some needed showers passing through this morning. Hopefully it stays sunny for concert in the park tonight.
I had a tough time with the puzzle. But I appreciate the constructor's efforts and cleverness and erudition. Thank you Steve, for a very charming and amusing angle on the solutions. I enjoyed that very much, as well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBill, I happened to be on the blog today - and miracle of miracles, another puzzle !!@!
The solution was easy, ..... routine simultaenous equations.
If the number of players, before H is 21, H's weight has to add the average for the prior players PLUS the new number of players, in pounds, (for the new number for the total no. of players )--- to raise the (new) average weight by one. The same rule would apply when his sister joins the team ... her weight should be the just-prior average plus the new no., including her, for the team roster. Though this is the defintion of averages, it is still a great insight and a way to learn, as I did. Thank you !!
The weights being discussed above, have had the unfortunate effect of causing my guilt complex to act up, in regards to my own weight .... which is unfortunately, up there. And I don't even have the excuse of having ever played football, of any kind.
BTW, if you haven't read - Count Down, by Steve Olsen, by Houghton, Mifflin ISBN 0-618-56212-5, International Math Olympiad, stories, jokes and problems w/solutions ... will charm your socks off. Thanks again, most grateful. Please excuse my longwindedness.
Vidwan, the book you suggested is out of print and I couldn't get it for my Nook. However, I found a used copy online and ordered it. I'm looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteVidwan, n, the number of players on the team is unknown, apparently the formula is (n*178+199)/n+1=179.
ReplyDeleteFun theme! Got it right away!
ReplyDeleteFor quite a few years I had a CORNER OFFICE at our company at two different locations! I appreciated it very much!
Learning moment that IPECAC is not recommended for any use at all. Thanks, Steve!
Never heard of either PATRICK.
ONONDAGA I could WAG because my parents met at Syracuse University. Their yearbook was called the ONONDAGAN. Hand up that I did not know JOHN RAMBO's first name. Not my kind of movie. SHEM unknown, but I guess we have had this before. Hand up for trying SETH first.