Theme: The RAT's nest. Each theme answer has the word RAT comfortably snuggled deep inside.
18 A. Swimmer who medaled at five Olympic Games : DARA TORRES. She competed in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008. In 2008, at age 41, she became the oldest American olympic swimmer. She won silvers medals in her three events that year.
24 A. Subjected to harsh criticism : UNDER ATTACK. Verbal attack. Topical, but let's not go there.
Across
1. "MasterChef" tools : PANS. Cooking tools used on the TV show.
18 A. Swimmer who medaled at five Olympic Games : DARA TORRES. She competed in 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008. In 2008, at age 41, she became the oldest American olympic swimmer. She won silvers medals in her three events that year.
24 A. Subjected to harsh criticism : UNDER ATTACK. Verbal attack. Topical, but let's not go there.
36 A. Soccer deadlock breaker : EXTRA TIME. Overtime in American Football and basketball.
51 A. Many a Sports Illustrated cover figure : STAR ATHLETE. Well sure, sports magazine, star athletes - a perfect fit. Not always how it works out, though. I was unable to locate an SI cover of DARA TORRES. So this will have to suffice.
And the unifier -- 58 A. Suspicious comment ... and a hint to what's hidden in 18-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across : I SMELL A RAT. This is the comment of a suspicious person - perhaps in a noirish movie - rather than a comment one should be suspicious of. The expression goes back to at least 1851, and might be based on a cat's ability to detect a RAT by scent, even if it is out of sight.
Note that the letters R, A and T are broken across two words in each answer, and, as a nice touch, the break point alternates between after and before the A.
Note that the letters R, A and T are broken across two words in each answer, and, as a nice touch, the break point alternates between after and before the A.
Hi, gang, it's JzB, who actually has been a lab RAT, of a sort, in the distant past. Let's put on our lab jackets and see if we can find any other RATS in the labyrinth that C. C. has set out for us today.
Across
5. Street shader : ELM. The once great shade source on many American streets, long since devastated by Dutch Elm Disease. Resistant varieties are now available.
8. Very dangerous : TOXIC. Poisonous - as related to certain substances or persons in relationships.
13. Maker of Anew skin care products : AVON.
14. Have to have : NEED. In my marketing class many years ago, I learned that advertisers do not distinguish between wants and needs. My protest that I need transportation, but want a Porsche Carrera went unheeded.
16. Cuban dance : RUMBA. The term has long since lost whatever specificity it may once have had, and is applied to many styles of dance and music with a latin flair. Here is a modern example from Mexico.
17. Fancy wheels : LIMO. Usually stretch versions of vehicles for transporting partiers, prom goers, bride's maids, et. cet.
20. Apparel : GARB. Clothes.
22. Exodus peak : SINAI. The mountain where Moses received the 10 Commandments. It took no time at all for them to get broken.
23. Actor's rep. : AGT. Agent.
26. Turn a different color : DYE. Did you see that red head Harry was with? Yeah, that's his wife. I thought he was married to a brunet!?! He was, but she DYED.
27. Belgian detective played by Ustinov, Welles, Finney and others : POIROT. Hercule, an Agatha Christie character who appeared in 33 novels, over 50 short stories and one play between 1920 and 1975.
28. Knight in shining armor : SAVIOR. If being saved from a fire-breathing dragon counts as salvation.
30. Fast Company magazine competitor : INC. Titles of business oriented magazines.
31. Nobelist Bohr : NIELS. He received his prize in 1922 for contribution to the understanding of quantum theory. Some of Einstein's friends thought that Albert was interesting, but NIELS was a Bohr.
35. Pot promise : IOU. Promise to pay in a poker pot.
39. "Bad" cholesterol, initially : LDL. Low Density Lipoproteins are the culprits; cholesterol gets the bad rap.
41. Battery-free calculators : ABACI. Not only that, they're also digital! A competent operator is also lightning quick.
42. Mama bear, in Chihuahua : OSA. Spanish.
45. Home to about 740 million : EUROPE. includes Spain.
48. Christmas cupful : EGG NOG.
50. Fort Myers-to-Orlando dir. : NNE.
55. Grazing spot : LEA. An open field.
56. Oohed and __ : AAHED. As at babies - human and otherwise.
57. Bottom : TUSH. The posterior of a person.
61. Connected (to) : TIED.
63. Cook, as dumplings : STEAM. Or vegetables.
64. "Game of Thrones," for one : SAGA. A long story of heroic achievement. GoT is certainly long. Whether anyone lives long enough to actually achieve heroically is very much up in the air [as are the dragons.]
65. Architect Saarinen : EERO. [1910-1961] Born in Finland, he grew up in Bloomfield Hills, MI.
66. Fruity desserts : TARTS. An open pastry, often filled with fruit and/or custard.
67. Butterfly catcher : NET. At the end of the day, a butterfly catcher records his NET gain.
68. "Got it" : I SEE. Comprendo!
68. "Got it" : I SEE. Comprendo!
Down
1. Best bud : PAL. Amigos, not flowers. These days: bestie.
2. French city on the Rhone : AVIGNON.
3. Inclined to wander : NOMADIC.
4. Noisy sleeper : SNORER. Guilty
5. Go "pfft" : END. Disappear in a puff of smoke?
6. Bare minimum : LEAST. It's the bare minimum I could do.
7. __ badge : MERIT. Boy scout's symbol of achievement.
8. Three-horse vehicle : TROIKA.
9. "__ Song": Taylor Swift hit : OUR. On YouTube for anyone who is interested.
10. Satellite service for road trips : XM RADIO. They might also play it there.
11. "Pretty please?" : I BEG YOU. Can I - huh, huh?
12. Furniture wheel : CASTER. Mounted in such a way that it can roll in any direction.
15. Fox's "X-Files" partner : DANA. Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, partner of Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovney.
19. Tic __: mints : TACS. Candy or breath mint? You decide.
21. Borough bordering Yonkers : BRONX. The northernmost of New York City's 5 boroughs.
24. Wire service co. : UPI. United Press International.
25. Butting heads : AT IT. Vying, perhaps.
29. Go toe-to-toe : VIE. At it again, maybe.
32. Stretch in history books : ERA. A time period notable for some characteristic.
33. Research site : LAB. Also home to some RATS.
34. Metro stop: Abbr. : STAtion.
36. Symphonic rock gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.
37. "Law & Order: SVU" actor : ICE-T. Tracey Lauren Morrow.
38. Power : MIGHT.
39. Ambien alternative : LUNESTA. Sleep aid drugs.
40. Starry-eyed sort : DREAMER. LUNESTA user?
42. Baby's bodysuits : ONESIES. Or adults'.
43. "As I predicted!" : SO THERE. Told ya'!
44. What candles may signify : AGE. Well - that takes the cake!
45. Volunteer, in a way : ENLIST. In the armed forces or other organization.
46. Bible book with 150 poems : PSALMS. I recently had a chance to play this beautiful Russian Hymn based on psalm 74.
47. Footnote shorthand : ET AL. And others - a list shortener.
49. Muscles strengthened by lunges : GLUTEI. Is this a mini-theme, or am I getting a little behind?
52. Cries of discovery : AHAS. Or Eurekas.
53. Showed once more : RERAN. As a TV show.
54. Maxim : ADAGE. An old saw.
59. Fast no more : EAT. Slowly. Eat slowly. Chew every bite.
60. Parlor art, for short : TAT. Body art, applied at a tattoo parlor
62. Girl in a forest : DOE. A deer, a female deer.
That wraps another Wednesday. C. C. gave a fine puzzle to while away a few well-spent moments. Hope you made it through OK. Now - who moved my cheese?
Cool Regards!
JzB
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks to C. C. and JzB!
C. C.: David Suchet is my favorite POIROT! He was going to play in all of the stories. Don't recall whether or not he did.
Some unknowns here: DARA TORRES, INC and NNE. Finished OK though.
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Thanks for allergy suggestions. Shall try both products!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you CC and thank you JzB.
Don't know about you, but I think CC's midweek puzzles always present a bit of a harder challenge. That northeast corner was tough for me. Went way over what I would consider to be a normal Wednesday time.
Had DARA ThomaS for the longest time. But Thomas didn't feel right, and I was fairly certain she had a Spanish surname. Truly a STAR ATHLETE, DARA TORRES was the subject of many pre-olympic tv shorts and features.
Pot promise meant nothing to me until I finally thought of the pool of money at a gambling table. And it didn't help that I couldn't get off of reputation rather than representative with the actor's clue.
But then it all fell in a flurry. Still, the longest Wednesday solve in a long, long time.
Was I the only one that read lungs ?
Fun, easy puzzle today. Thank you, JzB, for including Gogi Grant and the Wayward Wind clip. Love that song, and it used to be one of my karaoke staples. Have not heard that in ages!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteGuess who failed to read the complete reveal clue...again, and failed to get the theme...again? Yup! Nicely done, C.C. and very punny JzB.
Should've remembered DARA TORRES, but drew a complete blank. Even the photo didn't help.
Around here the "street shaders" are loblolly pines. Most are upwards of 80' tall.
Why do you suppose that furniture thingee got named "CASTER?" Seems an odd choice.
I've heard of "glutes," but GLUTEI was a new one for me.
Thank you, C.C., for a quick and easy puzzle today!
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I recalled both DARA TORRES from her many interviews and DANA from the X-Files which I didn't watch but know the name.
Like d-o, GLUTEI is a new one for me. And the return of EERO makes me smile.
Thank you, JazzB, you also make me smile with your funny remarks.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot through this fairly well. I did finish. The NE corner was my last and took me a long time. Did not know DARA TORRES, or XM RADIO, or TROIKA. Finally got them with perps and wags. I did this on the iPad so it told me when I had it all correct.
Theme was easy once I got 58A. That helped with the puzzle.
AMBIEN and LUNESTA are unknown to me.
I believe GLUTEI is plural of GLUTEUS.
POIROT was easy. Years ago I read a lot of Agatha Christie novels.
Jazzbumpa: I was recently in the Detroit city and area. I had a good time there.
Have to get ready for the steak fry tonight. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
The borough bordering Yonkers is legally "The BRONX", coextensive with the County of BRONX. Capitalization of "The" is in some dispute.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed C.C.'s puzzle. Got most of it unassisted, but needed help with the D & A of DARA TORRES. Never heard of her.
Nice intro, JzB, and I enjoyed the trombone piece. Thanks for sharing.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteTTP, you took the words right out of my mouth with your comment about the difficulty and the time expended. The NE section was particularly unyielding and took forever to break through. I've heard of Dara Torres but couldn't come up with the Torres and Toxin took forever to surface. I did finish without help but It took me more than twice as long as usual for a Wednesday. (Interesting that Lucina and 61 Rampy thought it was easy.) I liked Lunesta next to Dreamer and Tush crossing Glutei. Also liked the hidden reveal and coincidence or not, there were two rats in my dreams last night, sans Lunesta!
Bravo, CC, for a tough challenge but enjoyable solve, nonetheless, and thanks, JzB, for your witty, wise, write-up.
Lucina, I think anise/licorice flavors are in an either you love them or hate them class. I have heard, however, that when anise itself is cooked that it takes on a sweetness and loses the licorice-y taste. It just dawned on me that it's fennel, not anise, that becomes sweeter when cooked. In any case, I'll pass! 😉
Happy first day of summer everyone!
Have a great day.
Another C.C. special. It is amazing how many puzzles she has published since her solo debut June of 2012. LIMK . We used to count them for a while.
ReplyDeleteGLUTEI is just the standard Latin plural of GLUTEUS. -US becomes -I.
Dara Torres went to the University of Florida for her college experience.
According to wiki on January 13, 2011, XM Satellite Radio, Inc. was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into Sirius XM Radio, Inc. We only have SiriusXM here.
Thank you C.C.and JzB.
David Suchet was the only actor who captured the Poirot that Agatha Christie created. The others were too busy trying to create their own character. Much like the absurd Robert Downey, Jr/Jude Law Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson. The movies were fun but not about Cona Doyle's creation.
Enjoyed JzB's wonderful and punny write-up more than the puzzle which had some meh moments eg. aahed crossing ahas. WOS re glutei. Learning moment with troika which I only knew as referring to 3 people. To me Suchet is the definitive Poirot!! Nearly perfect weather day in store for Chicago today. Hope you enjoy your Wednesday as well! JB2
ReplyDeleteGood morning all
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle from C.C. even if it was a tad crunchy for me for a Wednesday. I also had trouble in the NE corner since I didn't know TROIKA and had Sara/DARATORRES. Of course, Ens/END made no sense and I immediately recognized Dara when I saw the blog.
Got the theme and reveal early- nice work, C.C.!
Thanks JzB - loved your funny, informative write up. The GLUTEI/TUSH cross had me smiling as did your link in Italian . I tried Glutes first. ISEE that my GLUTEI are more grande than they used to be. Oh well. AGE will do that (along with a love of sweets!)
Nice to see POIROT. I love Agatha Christie and have read all of her books. Looking forward to the remake of "Murder On the Orient Express" that will be released in November. This time Kenneth Branagh will be playing the famed detective
TicTACS- I'll never think of them the same way again after that infamous tape from the bus starring our current CIC.
Re: my email comment to IM yesterday- lol at Husker Gary and do's comments! Guess I should have worded that differently. I don't resent it but will resend it ;)
Thanks for the well wishes regarding my epidural from those that commented. @Holistic alternative - acupuncture is the only thing I haven't tried but will keep it in mind. I saw a story about it on the local news the same day as my epidural regarding its effects on chronic pain. They talked to a doctor who practices family/integrative medicine (evidently if you go through one of these insurance will most likely cover it?) Here's the story if anyone is interested.
Hope everyone has a great day. It's lovely here today for the official start of Summer! Off to run errands and get a much needed haircut.
Like anyone else who has ever done lunges in a class, I also filled in GLUTES first.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Seeing C.C.’s name on a puzzle is a big boost to my day! She never disappoints.
-The three “in the language” themers seem findable but how did she find DARA TORRES?
-A great AVON mosquito repellent. My detasseling buses reeked of it.
-In 1956 Charlton Heston was plenty upset when he came down from SINAI and saw his people worshipping a golden calf led by this unlikely actor of “You dirty RAT” fame
-Me too, Lemon, This POIROT is part of a Netflix obsession of mine
-SAVIOR:SAVIOUR as GLUTES:GLUTEI
-AAHS crossing AHAS was fun
-“…with NETS of wonder, I chase the bright elusive Butterfly Of Love”
-Hawkeye Pierce – “Never let it be said I didn’t do the LEAST that I could do”
-Ms. Anahà to whom Jazz linked appears to have lovely GLUTEI
-Unfortunate ADAGE - When the axe came into the Forest , many of the trees said : "Don't worry, the handle is one of us".
-Well done as always, Jazz!
Samba b/4 Rumba, and the "D" in Dara was last.
ReplyDeleteTroika was just the luck of the perps...
No need to say Rats! on this puzzle...
Abaci are also digital... Heh Heh! Very punny Jzb!
Which reminds me, where is Owen today?
Nice going, CC. Fine expo. JzB.
ReplyDeleteI hear,"I smell a rat," about a too good to be true offer or a come-on. Yesterday I received a call from someone who was proporting to be my grandson, stranded and in trouble in the state of Delaware. I smelled a rat immediately. The voice was so dissimilar, who would be fooled by that?
Bunny, I hope the epidural relieves your pain. Chronic pain is so debilitating.
Ferm, I have been taking chlorpheniramine maleate, generic for Chlor-Trimeton, for decades. It works better for me than more expensive allergy meds. Good luck finding relief.
I agree that ads encourage people to conflate needs and wants.Even worse they encourage us to believe we "deserve" whatever they are selling.
About average speed for a Wed. The NE was the last to fall. Guessing RUMBA helped me to recall TROIKA. The last fill was the X. I had forgotten about XFM.
I love anise. I still like Good and Plenty. Choo Choo Charlie
I dislike every brand of packaged eggnog and eggnog products, including ice cream.They all taste fake to me. My friends and family like them, so the time and expense of making it homemade is not worth it. I just pass.
Have a great Wednesday.
Skin So Soft? Eeek, let me outta here! Bring on the Chlor-Trimeton. I often had to trail yards behind my fellow hikers reeking of Skin So Soft. I am so allergic to it. I use Off! Deep Woods.
ReplyDeleteI knew TROIKA as a administrative triumvirate. Having the ----IKA from easy perps and thinking of that threesome, led to my wagging TROI.
Yesterday and today are just lovely, temps in the high 70's and clear skies. I sat outdoors and read last evening. I think I will do so now. Reading is good therapy and provides a ready bank of crossword fill. I have been reading novels by British authors lately and have greatly increased my store of "Britishisms."
For all of the PBS fans: Starting Sunday, June 25th, there will be three 90 minute episodes of "Prime Suspect" which features a young Jane Tennison (hope I got that name right), apparently when she is just starting her career. I believe it is on from 10:00-11:30 PM.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, all.
ReplyDeleteThis was grand fun. Thanks, C. C.. It was just testy enough to provide exercise for my summer brain. Nicely done. My favorite was Battery Free Calculators: wanted solar before ABACI. Doesn't work grammatically, but it was on my brain.
Thanks so much JazzB for the tour. Excellent!
Have a good day all. Hope you can stay dry along the Gulf.
Anyone annoyed by the animated banner ads recently added on the tablet edition of the LA Times crossword site? Maybe a call to their offices at (213) 237-5000 could help curb this puzzle disrupting practice.
ReplyDeleteAbout half way through I had an AHA moment and, yep, this is a CC. NE scared me, DNF on a Wednesday?
ReplyDeleteThen SAVIOR popped and I ditched SALSA despite DW loading up her burrito with it "They call This HOT!!". The rest fell easily.
CC needs no kudos but JzB gets mine. Loved your"poesy". BFF wouldn't fit. BTW, they say SSS works on the black FLIES that plague NNE NE this time of year.
There's FRODO Bohr again. Mr Underhill.
Father Tony was talking about the trinities of life so I told him about TROIKA.
I wonder if the ABACI masters knew about"The rule of Nines".
Btw. No copyright on my poesy. Use "Who GNU" to your hearts delight.
WC
billocohoes@8:02:
ReplyDelete"The borough bordering Yonkers is legally "The BRONX", coextensive with the County of BRONX. Capitalization of "The" is in some dispute."
That's because the Bronx itself is, IMHO, in some dispute.
Once upon a time, we took the #4 train into Manhattan, and riding through the Bronx was like riding through Berlin in June of 1945: block after block after block of the utmost devastation we Californians had never seen before.
Maybe it's gotten better by now, but that memory of the Bronx abides.
ReplyDeleteI agree.... midweek puzzles from CC are usually a bear and today's certainly was no exception.
Never heard of DARA TORRES, was thinking Michael "what's his name". NE & SE corners were the toughest for me. Was it Samba or RUMBA? XM Radio or Am or FM? Toxic came late, but saved the corner. Wanted Gluten but nsee made no sense. ISEE did but GLUTEI didn't....I was sure something was wrong.
Loved TUSH.......so much better than Arse.
Forgot about LUNESTA, another one I never knew about. Niels Bohr hasn't been part of my readings
21D, using BRONX as an adjective would have eliminated the need for THE before Bronx.
ReplyDeleteThe clue might read "from the borough bordering Yonkers."
Usage example:
"Some diehard Edgar Allen Poe fans are helping to preserve the former Bronx home of the famed and mysterious poet."
The Gramarrist tell us that THE is needed in the place name, but not in the adjectival form.
The Bronx
Michael, the Bronx has undergone quite a bit of urban renewal.
"In 1997, the Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League, acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century." - Wikipedia
Thanks, C.C. and JzB for a great puzzle and write-up.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party, as Tropical Storm Cindy made us get up and get the lawn mowed before 3-6 inches of rain hits later tonight and tomorrow.
Stay safe for everyone in Cindy's path!
Irish Miss:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the alert about Prime Suspect which, I see, starts here, too. That isn't always the case. Sometimes our schedule is different from other states.
I don't know why some thought today's puzzle was crunchy though, I suppose, DARA could be a problem if you don't know the name. And I would not have readily known XMRADIO except that TOXIC set the stage for it. And like Yellowrocks, thanks to extensive reading, words like TROIKA soon become familiar. Then there's ABACI and GLUTEI which their clues clearly indicate plural form.
I'm not always this awake, especially sans coffee and so early, but today was different for some reason and a C.C. puzzle always perks me up.
OFF is also my preferred mosquito repellent. Those critters love me.
This was a midweek workout (perhaps my GLUTEI will be improved!). Thanks C.C. and JazzB.
ReplyDeleteLots to smile at today.
I liked the "butting heads" and "toe to toe" clues next to (abutting!) each other.
Like HuskerG and unlike Anon@9:07, I smiled at AAHED crossing AHAs. (OOH and AAH was my Natick the other day.)
ABACI clue was the best. TUSH was second.
Like others, the NNE corner was the last to fall. I had Tan before DYE; DARA who??; SiriusXM won't fit! I did get TROIKA but like Yellowrocks I think of it "as a administrative triumvirate".
But wait, I still did not have a TADA. UPI crossing INC was my Natick today.
Beautiful weather here for the first day of summer.
Enjoy!
From whence Troika
ReplyDeleteEarwig: ZZ Top, Lookin' for some TUSH.
Nice write-up Jazz.
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle.
I agree with TTP, THAT northeast corner was unknown, tough stuff.
(Then you go "OUCH!" when the V-8 Can hits you as you enter CASTER).
Not a clue why 25-d, Butting heads, is "A TIT ... oh well ... LOL
Cheers!
Hi Y'all! Thanks, C.C. & JzB!
ReplyDeleteI had trouble with most of the top half although the middle worked out first. Did better on the bottom and worked back up. I finally had to do red-letter runs on squares #1, 8, 16 to get a start in those blocks. Never heard of XMRADIO. Tried Sirius.
Tried Olay before AVON. I'm allergic to most AVON products. My mother loved AVON and used to give my daughters & husband gifts of the stuff when we were altogether. I'd beg her not to. I just had to dump it all because I couldn't get in the car with them wearing AVON without getting an Avon-induced migraine. Was almost afraid to fill it in the puzzle. No problem.
Didn't know how to spell AVIGNON, tried AVInyon. Couldn't remember DARA's last name.
"Lara's Theme" from "Dr. Zhivago" started playing in my mind as soon as TROIKA became apparent.
I got NIELS, EERO, & POIROT immediately. Yay, me!
Not only cats can smell RATS, JzB. When I lived on the farm, I could always smell them when I had an invasion on my back porch or in a vehicle. Quick, get the DeCon.
When my scientist brother moved from Pennsylvania back to Kansas, he had some lab RATS that had to come with him for his cancer studies. Not only that, but they had to come in the one air conditioned vehicle they owned. Greater love hath no woman than his wife who opted for the A/C station wagon with RATS if her husband would take the old pickup and their very active 5-yr-old son.
Some hard spots in the puzzle today, due to gaps in my knowledge. By that I mean I simply did not know DARA TORRES, and I know XM RADIO by a different name, which made that area hard for me. Yeah, I too was trying to squeeze Michael Phelps in there. Needed the perps to determine whether the dance was RUMBA, SAMBA, or SALSA, but needed the perps to the perps to get the perps.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, re your question yesterday about how to italicize. When you type your comments in here, it doesn't make any difference if you are using an iPad or other device, the method is the same. Type in <i> in front of the word(s) you want italicized, and </i> at the end. In effect, the <i> "turns on" italicization and the </i> turns it off. Like this.
I just talked with a friend who works in Fountain Hills, just east of Scottsdale, Arizona, and her advice was "Don't walk barefoot on the pavement." Hmm, good advice in this heat, but who does that?
Best wishes to you all.
A very witty response today from JzB to C.C.'s fine, ratty pzl!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that the SI photographer must have caught the cover girl hurriedly pulling on her suit. Any other direction would be barely thinkable...
My lunges - by which I mean the movements we actually called "lunges" - were confined to my undergrad years as a competition fencer. I can't say whether they did much for my GLUTEI, but they usually knocked opponents back. My favorite lunges came at the end of a balestra. That's the leap one takes towards a rival, used when he is trying to back away. It's effective for closing distance quickly.
It is a dramatic gesture, worthy of the same motto we yell when finishing a pzl in good style: Ta-DA!
Wonderful imagery, Ol' Man Keith!
ReplyDeletePretty easy for a Wednesday since I knew everything except DANA, and that came out by perps.
ReplyDeleteHi everybody. I think I saw a photo yesterday of a thermometer in Death Valley reading 130. I know it has been really hot everywhere inland in this area for the last couple of days. Often, when there are hot Santa Ana winds kicked up, it gets pretty warm here at the coast too because the high pressure area cancels out the sea breeze. But not now. It's well over 100 in many place inland (115 in Palm Springs), but it's a pleasant 70 degrees here. I'm thankful since we don't have AC.
ReplyDeleteI'll been there aren't many people outside in Lucina's area.
Jayce, I agree. He does have a wonderful way with words, doesn't he.
No luck, Jayce. I must be doing something wrong but I don't know what.
ReplyDeleteIM, leave no spaces between your italicized word and . I just left space after and before so mine did not italicize.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, let's see if this works.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it did. I just followed Jayce's directions. I typed the funny little symbol with the 'i' in the middle, then followed it with the text I wanted to italicize, then the same funny symbol with '/i' in the middle at the end of the text to turn the italics off.
Then check 'Preview' to see if everything looks okay. Here's hoping...
Test to see if my blogger acct is back.
ReplyDeleteBill:
ReplyDeletePeople have been in and out of the swimming pool most of the day. It's a good way to stay cool. However, they don't linger. I'm just now working up the will to go to the mail box!
OMK:
I agree with Jayce about your imagery. I can see it all in my mind's eye.
Thanks to Jayce, Anonymous, Bill G, and DO for solving my italics problem. DO also solved the mystery of Bunny's missing emails; my email address in my profile was incomplete and has been corrected. As Misty would say, Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jayce & Lucina!
ReplyDelete... although I'm not quite sure whether the imagery you enjoyed was my fencing thrust or JzB's modest Sports Il lass.
In truth, either merits a Ta-DA!
~ Kf
Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
ReplyDeleteBill Graham:
ReplyDeleteTo see how honest you are.
OKM:
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, the barely clad model does nothing for me but cause me to wince; however, my imagination jumps at the vision of you parrying your epee.
Argyle: Are you aware that "whence" means "from where" so that "from whence" is "unnecessarily redundant"? But thanks for the TROIKA link!
ReplyDeleteHand up for thinking TROIKA referred to a trio of people. I associated it with some kind of inner circle of secret power, but maybe that is just me?
Having TROIKA cross the unknown of DARA TORRES made the NE the last area to fall. Sorry I hadn't heard of her. She indeed is quite a STAR ATHLETE. Learning moment!
Never heard of Hannah Davis, either. But thanks for the lovely image, JZB!
Had no idea that ICE-T is a Law and Order actor now. I did not even parse his name and did not understand ICET, but the crosses were solid.
Fun puzzle with several learning moments! Thanks, CC!