Theme: Puff Piece - Items of light weight.
17A. Exploit a situation for personal wealth: FEATHER ONE'S NEST
27A. Textured overhead interior feature in some homes: POPCORN CEILING. Google pictures.
48A. Large final loan remittance: BALLOON PAYMENT
64A. Has little significance ... and to all intents and purposes, what the first word of 17-, 27- and 48-Across does: CARRIES NO WEIGHT
Argyle here with Gail's solo effort. Some entries will test your crossword knowledge.
Across:
1. Plastering strip: LATH. Not many plaster walls left.
5. Go here and there: ROAM
9. Performs a full-body scan on?: OGLEs. New clue for an old favorite.
14. "Wonderfilled" cookie: OREO
15. Arizona county or its seat: YUMA
 |
| Gateway Park |
16. Decoratively patterned fabric: TOILE
 |
| 1950's nautical toile cocktail dress |
20. Decorator's asset: TASTE
21. Black & Decker rival: SKIL. Power tools.
22. Membership fees: DUES
23. Embarrassing shirt-pocket stain: INK
25. Range above tenor: ALTO
34. Soup aisle container: CAN
35. Director Kazan: ELIA
36. Walk-on role: CAMEO
37. Feels remorse over: RUEs
39. Sock away: AMASS
42. Works on a seam: SEWS
43. Identity-concealing name: ALIAS
45. Yr.-end consultants: CPAs. (Certified Public Accountant)
47. "The fresh air is delightful!": "AAH!"
52. iPod download: TUNE
53. Tofu source: SOY
54. Dating from: AS OF
57. Give the band a hand: CLAP
60. Brings in from the field: REAPS
67. German steel town: ESSEN. Actually, a quite 'green' town.
68. "I've got the tab": "ON ME"
69. Like some art class models: NUDE
70. Places for laces: SHOES
71. Call for: NEED
72. Shocked reaction: GASP
Down:
1. Artist's digs: LOFT. They get the best light.
2. Flooring calculation: AREA
3. Drinks with crumpets: TEAs
4. Inside racetrack info: HOT TIP
5. Loaf in a deli: RYE
6. For you and me: OURS
7. Wild way to run: AMOK
8. Hit song from "Flashdance": MANIAC
'Firewind' is a Greek power metal band.
9. Extra NFL periods: OTs. (overtime)
10. Ski resort transports: GONDOLAs. Will take you where a t-bar could only dream.
11. "In __ of gifts ... ": LIEU
12. Otherwise: ELSE
13. Sinks out of sight, as the sun: SETS
18. Therefore: HENCE
19. Couture monthly: ELLE
24. Beverage nut: KOLA
26. Personal quirk: TIC
27. Former "American Idol" judge Abdul: PAULA
28. Roger of NBC News: O'NEIL. Roger O'Neil has been a reporter for NBC News for over 30 years.
29. Volcano edge: RIM
30. Anti-discrimination org.: NAACP. (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
31. "In other words ... ": "I MEAN ... "
32. Not experienced in: NEW AT
33. "Golly!": "GOSH!"
34. Clawed crawler: CRAB. I miss Sally.
38. Like foods for a low-sodium diet: SALT FREE
40. Body wrap offerer: SPA
41. Comes out with: SAYS
44. Not worth a __: SOU. A former French coin of low denomination.
46. Camper's dessert: S'MORE
49. On a single occasion: ONCE
50. Willie of country: NELSON
 |
| Willie Nelson and his guitar, 'Trigger'. |
51. Watching closely: EYEING
54. Golf rarities: ACES. A hole in one.
55. Beauty pageant band: SASH
56. Roughly: ORSO
58. Celebrity chef Burrell: ANNE
59. Fleshy fruit: POME. A fruit consisting of a fleshy enlarged receptacle and a tough central core containing the seeds, e.g., an apple or pear.
61. Isla surrounder: AGUA. Spanish for island and water.
62. Advanced degrees: Abbr.: PHDs. (Doctor of Philosophy)
63. Staircase unit: STEP
65. State Farm's bus.: INS. (Insurance)
66. Exchange rings: WED
Argyle
Dear Peg sent me these two pictures on Sunday morning (before they were pounded with more rain). She said this:
"Here’s a pic or two from all the rain we’ve gotten….. over 24” in the last 12 hours!
No water in the house but it came within
half inch. Receding slowly. First pic is of our front yard. Second is
neighbor’s house across the street!"
54 comments:
Hi everyone!
Thanks to Gail and Santa!
Fast puzzle.
Lemonade: Happy Belated Birthday!
Things that needed perps were: MANIAC, GONDOLAS and ANNE. Needed a letter to get YUMA, TOILE and SKIL.
Worked hard to get third place in world with my Word Solitaire entry. One new word, worth over 300 points, was "pasqueflower".
Have a great day!
Hey guys and gals. I am up early watching this storm over us now. I do feel for our friends over in texas.
I have quite a few relatives there and it is bad. VERY BAD !!!!
I went through many bad storms from the the 60's until now. We are getting effects from the system as I type this.
It is far from over for Tx. and La. Maybe Friday or Saturday we will get some relief from it.
My family is praying for all in the path of this destructive storm.
Please stay safe ya'll ~!~!~!
Bon Chance' from a VERY WET Cajun Country ~!~!
Erased piMA for YUMA, but no other trouble. Favorite was "performs a full body scan on" for OGLES.
I'll teach an advanced project management class all week. I'll probably just read Cornerites' comments the rest of the week.
Prayers for Texans and thanks to Gail and Santa.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This was a bit of a challenge for a Monday. It took me a while to get the northwest corner. It's not a good sign when I don't get 1-A and 1-D on the first pass. After getting the BALLOON, however, I easily got the CARRIES NO WEIGHT, which in turn helped finding the FEATHER.
I hope all of our Texas friends are safe and haven't suffered too much damage. We know only two well the damage done by flooding. The Cajun Navy is on it's way to assist.
QOD: The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become. ~ Johan Wolfgang van Goethe (Aug. 28, 1749 ~ Mar. 22, 1832)
Hi All!
No paper again today so I played at the Mensa site on-line. No Sir, I didn't like it. And, when I finished my computer made loud noises that my nerves didn't need (TA DA!).
Thanks Gail for the little distraction between Radar OGLES and looking for roads to evacuate thru. Playing online doesn't let me really step back and appreciate the grid so thanks Argyle. C/a for LOFT was cute.
Dang Peg that's a lot of water.
I'll post when I can. Now I need to sleep before we Run Away!. We're in a voluntary evac zone and even my buddy, the Firefighter down the block, is packing up.
BooL & Hahtoolah - Good to hear from yous. Hopefully Harvey moves faster north as it crosses LA.
Cheers, -T
Other than confusing TulLE for TOILE, and briefly siNCE for HENCE, this was pretty easy.
Hi Y'all! Another challenge from Gail that worked well. Thanks. Thanks, Argyle!
I was struck by the juxtaposition of some of the words in this puzzle: POPCORN near the SALT, EYEING crossing NUDE with a GASP underneath, AMOK by MANIAC, OREO followed by YUM -A.
POPCORN CEILINGS are apparently undesirable to many home buyers on HDTV. I liked them in my houses because they covered a lot of flaws. LATH: I personally tore a lot of plaster off of a bunch of these in remodeling a 100 yr. old house. Had piles of LATH. I would have left it in place under the drywall except for the variations in thickness.
Boo & Hahtoolah: good to hear from you. Hope your rain is in manageable amounts.
Tony: Are you evacuating with car or boat? Hope you and all our other Texans stay safe. Such an ordeal!
Good day to all!
I am often amazed how Gail can create Monday level puzzles with grid spanners and/or near grid spanners. Great clue for OGLE. Thanks for guiding us through her delightful offering today, Argyle.
YR--So glad to hear that all is well with Alan (and you!).
Bill G.--Good news about Barbara.
Fermatprime--Congratulations on your Word Solitaire accomplishment.
Misty--Beautiful photo of you and Dusty yesterday.
So much devastation created by Harvey. Wishing the best for all Cornerites in his path.
Enjoy the day!
Good morning everyone.
Saw Gail's name and I knew it would be OK. A little crunchy for a Monday. Had to WAG POME and ANNE. A tad of foreign: ESSEN, AGUA.
ESSEN - Also a German verb: to eat; and noun; das ESSEN, "food". Fressen means the same, but is used for animals.
ACES - On a par 3, an ace is an eagle. A couple weeks ago, a local golfer carded a double eagle on a par five hole. (In in two). Learned it's also called an albatross. Paper offered it was 10 times rarer than an eagle.
AMOK - A Malay borrowing.
Good to see Hahtoolah today.
Warm wishes and healing thoughts to Peg & neighbors.
I thought this was a little tough for a Monday puzzle, bordering on Wednesday difficulty, so I hope novice solvers weren't put off. I would think that it's the editor's decision, and not the constructor's, to pick a day, so I have only praise for the puzzle itself. Very nicely constructed and clued. Theme answers fit the grid and each other wonderfully.
It took a while to get going on Gail's good and tough puzzle. The across clues were difficult in many cases, but the down clues were very easy, which made for a fast solve today.
I have many friends in the Houston area who work at the Johnson Space Center. A number have flooded homes. At this point the Space center is an island surrounded by water. Backup facilities at other NASA centers are on-line and supporting ISS ops.
I hope you all are high and dry.
I must have been on Gail's wavelength today for this interesting puzzle. Quick solve for me. Like PK I loved the placement of OREOS next to YUM A. And OGLE over NUDE. I didn't know Flashdance, but perps took care of that.
OTS was a gimme at this time of year. We have four seasons - winter, spring, summer and football!
I was so glad to hear from Hatoolah and Boo Luquette. Stay safe! AnonT, I have no advice, but I would get out if I could. D-O, Peg and TxMs, how are you doing?
PK, We are still fine here in New Orleans. Forecast for today Cloudy and 81 degrees. It will probably rain, but no more than that. I'll keep in touch.
Didn't write any l'icks last night, and slept late this morning. Santa Fe is just the next state over from Houston, but at over a mile above sea level, we don't pay much attention to hurricanes.
But responding to Tony's comment, I like Cruciverb's Across Lite best, but I can get to the Mensa site a couple hours earlier, so use each about half the time.
Mensa's a site for folks who know a lot.
But their crossword interface, it's just shot!
It makes correcting a pain,
Space-bar makes heading change,
And the ta-da is a terrible sonic juggernaut!
Cruciverb has links to the puzzles of the day.
Well, at least, it's supposed to work that way!
But it so often makes me frown
When it answers, "File Not Found"!
It makes a crucial verb of an expletive I'll say!
{A, A.}
SwampCat: Thanks for the weather report. Glad you are okay.
Good Morning:
Well, Gail had me scratching my head for a bit wondering what Feather, Popcorn (Yum-a!) and Balloon had in common but then, AHA, says moi, at Carries No Weight. Gail has a knack for turning a simple theme into a clever and charming challenge which is not easy to do with Monday-level puzzles. No hiccups, just smooth sailing. Anne Burrell has opened a restaurant in NYC that is centered around Cheetos, you know, those orangey-colored snacks? I have no idea what the menu is like but, from what I've read, it has taken off like a rocket! Only in New York!
Thanks, Gail, it's always a pleasure to see your byline and thanks, Argyle, for being our gracious guide.
Bill G, so glad Barbara is doing well.
Glad to hear from Boo and Hatoolah and will keep our Texas contingent in our thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted, especially, you, Tony. It's heartbreaking to see the devastation and destruction in the most hard-hit areas. One of the saddest scenes was of several elderly people in wheel chairs, trapped in waist-high water inside their nursing home, desperately waiting to be rescued.
Have a great day.
Irish Miss, Anne Burrell has always been one of my favorites because she is so funny. She was Mario Batail's assistant when he was on Iron Chef and she was a scream. When he left the Food Network they kept her on! She will probably turn Cheetos into gourmet dishes and laugh about it.
For paper and pen solvers who must use Mensa, why not download and print? That'a what i do.
Good morning all ,
Gail's creations are always fun; loved her clue for ogles. Not knowing lath, Skil or Anne Burrell did not slow me down.Perps also helped me think of toile and kola.
Happy belated b'day, Lemonade.
Bill, so happy to hear Barbara is doing well.
Hahtoolah, loved today's quote-good timing.
Peg, the pictures were frightening and we know there is more to come.So far 15 trillion gallons of water have poured down on Texas. Bless the Cajun Navy and others who are able to help. Hopefully, any of you in danger will evacuate. Stay safe.
Thanks, Gail, for a nice puzzle this am that was worked during light rain.
We are still getting rain, but at most a moderate shower, with no flooding in the neighborhood, although some of the main arteries in League City are still impassable. Good news is that this is likely to bring more rain, but only a little at a time, which we can handle.
I pray for those in LA as this passes your way. I hope that you don't experience anything like Houston has in the last 2 days.
Anon-T, hope you get out safely. Keep us posted. D-O and TxMs, how are you faring?
This was a nicely clued Monday puzzle. Theme not needed to solve...I should trademark that
A hearty CLAP, CLAP, CLAP for Gail on this meaty grid! Easy and interesting, it filled very quickly.
YUMA is, I am quite sure, the only city that is also the seat of its county so it couldn't be Pima or Mesa of the familiar four letter word names. Pima isn't a city, it's the county's name of which Tucson is the seat.
I have POPCORN CEILINGs throughout my condo and I like that they muffle sound. We removed the POPCORN from our clubhouse and now the sound bounces around so that it's hard to hear each other.
LOL at GASP under NUDE and crossed by EYEING!
Hahtoolah and JD, how wonderful to see you both here. Boo Luquette, you too.
It's good to hear from some of the Texans and I hope the others can chime in later and that they are all right.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Thank you for storm pictures and updates, Peg, Anon T, and Boo, and others. How terribly sad and worrying. Will be thinking of all of you this week, as the tough recoveries begin.
Great Monday puzzle with a delightful theme--many thanks, Gail. The OGLES clue was also one of my favorites. And great pics this morning, Argyle. Loved seeing the TOILE dress, and was amazed by the photo of ESSEN. Thanks to crosswords, I always picture it with factories and smoking chimneys and the like.
MJ, many thanks for the kind words about the photo. Dusty thanks you too!
Have a great week, everybody!
The town of Taos is the county seat of Taos County in New Mexico.
In other states there are many county seats with the same name as the county. This clue was about Arizona.
Anonymous at 10:59 was C6D6 Peg... Don't know why it posted ANON.....
I liked this opus from Gail, for all the good reasons already mentioned.
Good to see comments from Boo luquette and Hahtoolah. And JD, nice to see you.
Misty, I had the same image of Essen that you had.
Good luck to all of you in Houston. Tony, please don't wait until you are at Wit's End!
Best wishes to you all.
Lucina, 9A was EYINF that NUDE too
Gotta run
WC
PS. We're getting an unnamed tropical storm n Tampa Bay and Bradenton/Sarasota
Smooth going today. I need that ONCE in a while.
Good luck to Peg. May the flood waters continue to stay below your home. Good luck to your neighbors! And may all our Texas friends stay as high & dry as possible during the Harvey crisis.
Ta- DA! - A fine pzl start to the week!
Thanks to Ms. Grabowski and Argyle. Today's challenge offered me the chance to do a double diagonal, with no gaps or pauses, first running from the NW to the SE, then from the NE to the SW, for a perfect "St. Andrew's cross" to start a Scottish day.
Book Recommendation: For fellow book lovers who may not yet have read Amor Towles' two brilliant novels, please drop whatever you're reading now and pick up his Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow. I just emerged from a Towles' weekend and have not enjoyed such fine reading in years. If you appreciate tales of character, of the formation of identity in the Fitzgerald tradition, this is the author for you. The milieu of the first is Manhattan in the late '30s, and the second is set in early post-revolutionary Russia, as the Soviets aim to reshape both character and culture.
I'd love to hear from others who have read Mr. Towles.
Wishing all a fine week...!
{LOL, A}
Well, running away didn't work out well. We got 10 miles away and, as updates of road flooding(s) along all alt RTS, we turned back home. It seems safer to slosh around the house (if that's what ends up happening) than brave the freeway. MIL & SIL are here, BIL is staying put in Mo. City w/ the dogs. We may try another evac tomorrow to get out before the Levee Breaks [Zeppelin]
Good to hear you're still OK Peg. TxMs, DO?
LOL Cajun Navy SwampCat... We will take all the help we can get here. We've not taken on any water yet but if we don't get a lull soon... [another 3.8" so far today; here's a local weather-station if you want to vicariously watch the deluge.]
Still Dry and the streets still draining... -T
OMK: I recently read A Gentleman in Moscow and loved it. I strongly second your recommendation.
Argyle: Good job on the write-up.
Gail: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle that made me think a bit.
Fave today, of course, was 13-d, I always have a "toast" when the Sun SETS.
Cheers!
Some crunch for a Monday. Thanks for the fun Gail and Argyle. Clever theme.
I had Tin before CAN.
DH wore nerdy pocket protector to prevent INK stain.
Family love POPCORN and S'MORES when camping.
This Canadian needed perps for NAACP.
I smiled at PK's comment about the juxtaposition of words.
Lovely photo yesterday, Misty.
YR, glad to hear Alan (and therefore you) is doing better.
Also glad to hear that Barbara is doing well, BillG
Belated HBD to Lemonade.
Thoughts and prayers are with all those in the middle of Harvey. Friend's husband with the US Coast Guard was dispatched to Houston to help. Stay safe and keep reporting to us if you can.
Fun puzzle - liked the theme.
Anon-T, I was thinking about you and your family all day. Vivid pictures of the Rita evacuation remain in my mind - 107 lives lost trying to evacuate. Glad you're back home, safe and sound.
I emailed D-O around 2:00, and he's not responded. I'm hoping he still has power, but then again I remember that he mentioned that he does have a generator. Hope he and his wife are safe.
Fingers crossed for all. I've been lucky so far, but there are at least two days of this wind and rain. I cannot bear to turn on the TV to see the horrors.
Hahtoolah - Thank you so much for your link to the Cajun Navy. I was amazed looking at all the trucks and boats congregating in the Academy parking lot in Dickinson at 3:30 a.m. this morning. I had tears of joy reading about the 73-yr-old lady who was found floating, face-down, in the water and how the Cajun Navy gave her CPR and with the 15th compression, she starting breathing. Such wonderful people out there.
Thank you, Gail, for an easy start to the week, and thank you, Argyle, for the expo.
No problems that perps didn't correct.
Belated happy birthday wishes, Lemonade. Hope the day was a good one.
YR, great news that Alan is doing well, making your life easier.
Thank you to the Texas contingent with updates on your status. You are all on my mind. Hopefully the NOLA crew will have few problems.
Have a great Monday.
TXMs - Good to hear from you. If you hear from DO b/f he posts please update us.
Hahtoolah - My bad - you provided the Cajun Navy link and Swamp let PK know her grand in NOLA is OK.
OMIGOSH (must be a word, we got it 2x last week!) we might as well be in a Tropical Storm right now. I hope the wind dies down before root-soaked trees lose their footing - those oaks won't Carry that WEIGHT - or, worse, we lose power.
The street can't drain anymore because the Bayou is full; pray for a lull*... This is not nice... Spitz - so where do I get Gopherwood again?
Thank you all for keeping us waterlogged Texans in your thoughts.
Cheers, -T
*They're right you know, there are no atheists in a foxhole. :-)
TxMs and AnonT glad you are OK. Look like we only have 24 more hours to go and Harvey will let us be. Be careful to all those here and Louisiana in the coming days.
Musings
-Early morning golf, call to afternoon sub on 4th tee box and finding out sub certificate had to renewed today (Hello State Dept. of Education) made me very late.
-Puzzle was fun and my only comment is that Joann loved our D.C. hotel but remarked it had some age to it since it had POPCORN CELINGS.
-Gotta go grill chicken!
Anon T and Hahtoolah....we all cheer on the folks in the Cajun Navy. Very special group of people.
Houston saved so many of us from N'Awlins after Katrina, we are all eager to help you now. No, I don't have a boat anymore. I certainly take no CREDIT....but I have friends who go out and I feel somehow connected.
PK, we had hard rain here for a couple of hours this afternoon, but Loyola seems to have fared well. No flooding in their neighborhood. Don't worry!!
Thank you for the kind words about our pic, Canadian Eh. And glad you too thought of Essen in that way, Jayce.
SwamoCat: the Cajun Navy helped so many after Katrina and the flood on the Baton Rouge area last August. Many people I know who own boats have taken time off to head towards Texas with their boats and fresh supplies from community members. We all know what it is like to go through a massive storm.
Hahtoolah, we are all in this together! I, too, have friends with boats who worked in Baton Rouge, and are now headed to Texas. I'm so glad you posted the link to the Cajun Navy. (I don't know how to post links.). Very special group of people. Glad you seem to be safe this time. I worried about you! It's not over for us....
Anon -T - Sorry you and the other Houstonians have to go through all that travail. You are all in our thoughts and hope you stay safe.
Anon T....prayers...
As I watch the news and see the catastrophic floods in TX I can't help but think of our Texas contingency. Thank you for checking in, AnonT. I hope others are soon able to report on their status as well.
In my first post I was referring to county seats in Arizona and failed to note that.
Please stay safe and dry Texans. I'm praying for you and thinking of you.
anon to AnonT, Peg, Tom, TxMs, et al:
I sense your mood. I have recently suffered. You lean on to all that you can. The ones that lean back are the best! Family, friends, churches give it all at times like these. Lean on us!
Quick post... Street is flooded and water is slowly creeping up the front walk but it looks like we may stay dry for at least 6 more hours if rain falls stays at current rate (<0.5"/HR) and none of the levees break. Compared to others in Houston, we've been lucky.
See you in the AM. -T
Anon-T, caught the news feed too late tonight, all I got was "Flooding...Evacuations in Sugar Land." Please let us know as soon as you can if you/family are ok; I hope you're not "sloshing" around your home but, as you said, it's safer than being on the freeways. May all your area's trees possess "firm-footing." Also, I sent you an email using your profile email, is that address still good?
Re D-O, His email to me on Sunday @ 1:49pm... "All of the nearby creeks have overflowed their banks, so there's no escape from our little town. Time to hunker down and hope for the best." Hoping he's just having having Internet problems.
Light rain all day, then torrential rains tonight - 4.8" @ midnight. Hoping the meteorologists are correct in advising that evenings will be worse, but we should see improvement tomorrow during the day. Over and out...
Anon-T, thanks! I was typing while you were posting. Glad y'all are OK.
Anon @ 12:02, thank you. Loved (but forgot) that song by Bill Withers - circa 1972. Yes, as other Texan cornerites have, I've received so much support from family and friends - it made Harvey bearable for sure!
Peg, have you escaped Harvey's destructive path now that he's getting out of Dodge finally?
Boo'quette, so glad you popped in! For the last several days, I've been meaning to ask if others might have heard why you might not check in on a regular basis, since I don't lurk every day. The Cajun Navy rocks!
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