Theme: None
Words: 68 (pangram~!)
Blocks: 27
This one looked like it was going to be brutal, but I must have been on
the Mr. Diehl's wavelength, because I ended up sailing through after
the first DOWN run. A lot of my success had to do with being
open-minded about two-word answers,
and there were a lot of those this week(*). Several answers were squarely
in my wheelhouse, too - like 50a. A crushing amount of 6-, 7-, and
8-letter answers - nothing longer - and a mere four 3-letter answers.
Here's some corner connector answers;
19. Former Haitian president : ARISTIDE - Unknown, filled via perps; his Wiki
47. Immortal Kiev-born pianist : HOROWITZ - LIBERACE fit, but Bzzzt
10*. D, P or S, on quarters : MINT MARK - I put in MINT CITY, which in retrospect seems odd, if not correct
:fill(transparent,1)/about/Mint-Mark-Coin-569445415f9b58eba4954722.jpg)
ACROSS:
1. The punch in Planter's Punch : ETHANOL - I guess I must be getting sober-er, because ALCOHOL never crossed my mind, even if it was the wrong answer
8*. Set overly easy goals : AIM LOW
14. Disk problem : SCIATICA - my first thought was SCRATCH, like a Compact Disc, but it didn't fit, and so I switched mental gears and figured it referred to one's back
15. Curly-haired "Peanuts" character : FRIEDA - not a big fan of the strip, this filled via perps and a WAG
16. Foreshadows : PORTENDS
17. Like rattlers : FANGED - ah, the snake, not the baby toy
18*. Drawn : IN A TIE - ah, not sketched or saddened
21*. Policy at certain clubs : NO MEN
22. Display some guns : FLEX
- the "20-inch biceps" kind of guns; curiosity got the better of me, so
I measured my own - a little over 12 inches. Now you try doing it with
a standard metal tape measure....
23. "Wuthering Heights" setting : MOOR
24. Gulf States leader : EMIR
25. Taylor of "American Crime" : LILI
26. Wedding announcement : BANNS - I knew this from doing crosswords, and yet I was unsure of the origin, so I went looking for an answer - here - ironic that one outcome could be that the marriage is "BANNed"
27. It's in many poems : 'TIS
28. Sachet filler : LAVENDER - FRAGRANCE was too long
30*. Informal passing remark? : 'SCUSE ME
32*. Repository for spare or unused parts : JUNK BOX - more likely to be a junk DRAWER around here
36*. Cheerleading outfit? : PEP SQUAD - nailed it (and that helped a lot because I am familiar with 37d.)
38. Lummox : APE - oops, not OAF
39. Covered carriages : SHAYS
42. Reverse of a knit : PURL - the 'mechanics' of knitting, if you will
43. Selfish sort : USER
44. Be the first to say : COIN - I "coined" STOG two weeks ago, and Dennis gave us "clecho" long before I got here
45. Pâté base : FOIE
46. Month after diciembre : ENERO - good guess on my part
49. Company whose name appears in an odometer in its logo : CARFAX
50. Commonly seen brown vehicle : UPS VAN
- my UPS days are numbered, one way or another - I have come to the
conclusion that the benefits are not worth the aggravation, and the pay
is pitiful; I've already got an interview set up on Monday - it's at 9:30am, so I guess I'll
have to take the day from UPS....
51. Gross out : NAUSEATE
53. It may be rolled up on a farm : SLEEVE
54. Like the praying mantis : ONE-EARED
55. In Tupperware, say : SEALED - clever; I got it
56. Ready to ride : SADDLED - I just got "saddled" with a $60 "use tax" on my work van's registration; what, I need to pay more to USE my registration~?
DOWN:
1. Cost-effective : ECONOMIC
2. Dessert with a kick : TIRAMISU
3. Mad __ : HATTER
4*. Took courses at home : ATE IN - meals, not school courses
5. West Coast ZIP starter : NINE - the show "90210" (CA) helped here; goes all the way to Bellingham WA, 98229 and beyond
6. Neatnik's possible condition, briefly : OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
7. Mississippi explorer : LaSALLE - perps
8. Tack on : AFFIX - I had ANNEX; 100% 40% correct
9. Line 32 items on 1040 forms : IRAs
11. Vast multitude : LEGION
12*. Had way too much of : ODed ON - life itself
Blue Öyster Cult
13. Angler's gear : WADERS
14. Grand children? : SPINETS - piano offspring~?
20. Pull over, say? : RE-INJURE - think 'pull a muscle', again
22*. Fin : FIVE SPOT - cash, moola, money
25. Lighter : LAMP - I don't associate light-er with lamp, but I guess I'll just have to....
26. Give a little : BEND
28. Wranglers alternative : LEES - jeans
29. Part of DINK : DUAL - Income, No Kids
33. Ride cost before taxes and such : BASE FARE
34. Ran : OPERATED
35. Ran off : XEROXED - Scrabbly
37. Subway alternative : QUIZNO'S - hero sandwich shops
39. Speed down a slope : SCHUSS
40. Rockers Mott the __ : HOOPLE
41*. Like some offshore rescues : AIR/SEA
43. "Are you kidding me?!" : UNREAL
45. Punished in court, in a way : FINED
46. Let up : EASED
48. Parade greeting : WAVE - my parents were born and raised in England, so....
49. Helped on stage : CUED
52. Literary assortment : ANA - learned from doing crosswords
Splynter
58 comments:
Not a good puzzle for my ego¡ The SW corner completely defeated me¡ The rest I surprised myself by filling completely and correctly, but that SW corner, ugh. HOOPLE was totally unknown, SCHUSS and AIR-SEA mostly unknown, SHAYS and SEALED were uncertain, and COIN and SLEEVE were cutely clued answers I'm ashamed of not getting¡
Do you recall the deacon's old one-hoss SHAY,
Or the surry with the fringe on a wedding day?
When BANNS were declared,
The loser despaired
On a bicycle SADDLED in a tandem way¡
{B.}
Greetings!
Thanks to Mark and Splynter!
Hooray! I did it! (Didn't work Friday. Stuck on word game.)
Things that required a few perps: MINT MARK, FRIEDA, FLEX, CARFAX, RE-INJURE, DUAL and HOOPLE (all perps).
SPINETS was cute!
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
I have not done the puzzle yet or peeked at the solution or the blog. But I have a big question.
Just as I was leaving the house last night I got a ransomeware notice. I am sure that have not opened anything strange. Norton warns me about dangerous sites.The notice would not turn off. I restarted my computer and the notice was gone. Then I shut the computer down and left. This morning I can find nothing amiss. The computer runs well and nothing seems to be lost. Am I okay?
Hi Y'all! Thanks for the challenge, Mark. Thanks, Splynter.
This was like pulling teeth the whole way through for me. I definitely was not on Mark's wavelength. First pass through I had only six entries: OCD, ODED ON, JUNK, BEND, PURL, UPS VAN (thanks to Splynter's job). I had to resort to a few red-letter runs to get any start at all.
The Punch in Planter's Punch: Rum, Alcohol, nope. When "E" showed up, I tried Everclear. Red-lettered a second time and got "T'' so tried ETHANOL. Aha! I never associated ETHANOL with human consumption. Knew it as a gas additive. Duh! Learned something. ETHANOL and alcohol seemed interchangeable in the googled definition.
Then there was the startling revelation that a praying mantis is ONE EARED. How can they tell? I knew several other things about the insect like females eat their mates. Probably belong to the club with NO MEN allowed.
Some very vague clues like "Pull over, say?" = REINJURE. Hunh? I wanted sweater.
Hand up for MINT city. Well, the MARK denotes the city in which the MINT is located.
Who knew Mott the HOOPLE is an English rock band? Not I.
I was going down the slope fast when I tried ski___, sleding, sliding to no avail. Thought of SCHUSS, but couldn't spell it with 3 come-back tries. Needed a "C" and 2 "eSes".
But being stubborn I persisted to Tada!
Good morning!
This one was the real Diehl: clever, tricky and still doable in better than normal time. CSOs to Splynter (hand up for ANNEX) with the UPS VAN and to Mme Defarge with PURL. ETHANOL, because rum was too short. I knew both ARISTIDE and TIRA MISU, but wasn't sure of the spelling of either of 'em -- perps to the rescue. My rolled up SHEAVE morphed to SLEEVE, and it was done. Thanx, Mark and Splynter.
The praying mantis is ONE EARED -- who knew?
Thought the "passing remark" was going to be OBIT, or something similar.
BANNS -- immediately welled up from somewhere. No idea where or why.
I've got Horowitz on Deutsche Grammophon performing "Mozart Klaviersonaten." Mike Wallace had a ball interviewing him for 60 Minutes.
YR -- The answer to your question is "probably." That same thing happened to me several months back. For ransomware to work your files must be encrypted so you can't access them, or make backup copies. The encryption needs to complete before you're aware anything is wrong. Since your files are still there, I'd say it's a hoax, or in the current parlance, fake news.
Good Morning:
After the first pass across, I had little to show for my efforts but, slowly, the dominoes started to fall, one by one. I was impressed by a lot of the fill, excluding Junk box (drawer) UPS van (truck), but was more than a little frustrated by some of the too-clever-by-half cluing. I got my tada w/o help and in sub-normal time but I can't say I enjoyed the solve.
A for effort, Mark, and a job well done, Splynter.
Have a great day.
1A. Had darkrum for the longest time, the light dawned when I gave it up.
YR: I also had that happen to me a while back. Rebooted and it was gone. I use a freebie anti-virus which keeps popping up annoying ads to upgrade to a paid version, and I'm suspicious it might have been something they sent to scare me into paying, since I don't know where else it might have come from. I'm pretty cautious with my web surfing.
Good morning everyone.
Good job Splynter - thinking of you with UPS VAN. God luck with your interview.
I thought RE-INJURE stank. Most fill was fine and not too difficult.
SCHUSS - I've heard skiers who speed wildly down hill scaring other skiers referred to as SCHUSS boomers.
BASE FARE - I had bare FARE at first; guess I was thinking of bare-boat charter. I overthought it.
DINK - I always thought the D stood for 'double'. DUAL works for me tho.
Have a great day.
Good Morning,
Ah, a mental workout with many reps--same run over and over. Unlike Splynter, I was nowhere near Mr. Diehl's wavelength. Nicely done, Mark. Thank you for the challenge. Like Bob Niles, I confidently began with dark rum, and that set the slow tone for my morning. I missed so many that turned out to be favorites once I gathered some of the low hanging fruit: SPINETS, ATE IN, REINJURE, LAMP, XEROXED, and QUIZNOS. PURL was ceertainly on my wavelength, along with LAVENDER, which I use to keep little flying friends out of my yarn.
Ah, LA SALLE. There is a very handsome statue of him, which serves a a kindly windbreak, at the corner of La Salle and Clark in Lincoln Park off Lake Shore Drive in the Windy City.
Thanks for the tour, Splynter. Good Luck on Monday!!
It sure is hot here!!! Is it not the Autumnal Equinox?! Mother Nature is not happy with us!
It took two sessions to finish-not- today's puzzle. I rode a fast (for me) 10 mile bike ride and then tried to complete the puzzle. The NW was blank with the exception of LA SALLE and EMIR. Mott the HOOPLE and Vladimir HOROWITZ made the SW's UPS VAN (driven by Splynter) an easy fill. The middle muddled my brain because I originally filled KIDS for the Double Income No KIDS, instead of DUAL "INK". Misspelling FOIE as FOIS didn't help. But I blew it on my WAG on 26D, filling LEND for 'Give a little' instead of BEND. Neither LANNS or BANNS made any sense to me. Never heard of it.
FRIEDA, LILI, BANNS- unknowns and unheard ofs.
ARISTIDE- wanted PAPA DOC or BABY DOC but they needed one more letter.
ONE EARED- that's a new one for me; never knew that. VAN GOGH was one letter short.
Musings
-I’m typing extra loud to compensate for roofers on our house replacing spring damage
-REINJURE was a hoot but ANNEX/AFFIX held up NE
-Did anyone else jump at DUVALIER for Haitian head?
-SCUSE ME?
-SEALED – SWAK
-Many FB teams claim to have “BEND, don’t break” defenses
-That BASE FARE is a joke if you are sitting in a traffic jam unless you’re an Uber customer
-QUIZNOS took the worst possible location here and never had a chance
-After Sherriff Andy assessed Danny’s ability to pay, he AFFIXED a higher FINE
-Can you name the ground breaking TV show whose theme song contained, “Gee, our old LASALLE ran great!”
-YR, I ignore anything that demands an action and have never suffered. Joann used to answer and give them a piece of her mind which was their desired reaction. It’s called “phishing”
Husker, that'd be All In The Family. Jean Stapleton did her darnedest to pronounce it clearly, but people still didn't get it.
Thanks for relieving my mind, DO. I know ransomeware encrypts files, but I wondered whether it could be done partially or at a later date. It seems not.
OKL, I have had the same kind of pop-ups from McAfee. My sister answered a pop-up to improve her computer and ended up needing expensive tech support to counter it. I never answer.
Hello Splynter and Madame DeFarge. I thought of you both immediately. Splynter, good luck on your interview. SCIATICA, unfortunately is a CSO to many of us.
I taught the early American explorers so many times. Finally I dredged up LaSalle.
BANNS were read at our church when I was a kid. I haven't heard of them since then, except in novels.
For Subway substitute Shank's mare (walking) was too long. Oh, Subway sandwiches.
MAD HATTER. Origin from The Free Dictionary:
"Mad as a hatter - Crazy. The standard explanation comes from the effect to the brain caused by mercury nitrate used by 18th- and 19th-century hatmakers. Another view holds that “mad” originally meant “poisonous” and “hatter” is a corruption of the Saxon word “atter,” the adder snake, the bite of which affects the brain. In any event, the Mad Hatter character in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is a testimony to eccentricity bordering on madness."
I like the first explanation. IMO most people associate the idiom with the Alice in Wonderland character. Few know about the poisonous snake.
Real slugfest today. Took some early jabs to the chin but didn't go down. Hung in there and it paid off. More times than not I get KOed on Saturday, but today was the exception. "Down goes Diehl!"
PS: favorite entry was REINJURE...very clever clueing. Thanks for a great puzzle.
An article on American vs. cryptic crosswords I ran across some of you might find of interest.
I was just not on the wavelength today! Some of the clues were clever...PURL, LAVENDER, PEP SQUAD (I was looking for a skirt of some sort. ) Thanks, Mark.
But some were awkward. RE INJURE?? I appreciate your comments here, and sorta, kinda understand now, but not really.
I've never heard of a club which allowed NO MEN. In the olden days there were men-only clubs, but this clue was over my head.
And I still don't get ETHANOL for Planters Punch. Sounds yukky!
Splynter, I do appreciate your tour. I just couldn't keep up. Your picture of the Queen made sense of WAVES. Parades in New Orleans evoke screams and hollering , not waves!
Owen, I laughed out loud at your ode to transportation. So many funny images came to mind. Thanks!
Thanks, Mark, for a fun Saturday. Quickly finished after the first pass across and down. Loved the "Grand children?" clue!
Thanks, Splynter, for a fine write up. Good luck on Monday!
Have a good weekend, all!
Yellowrocks....
If you don't have it already, I suggest you download Malwarebytes and do a scan. It's a free program (there is a paid version also which I use) and is quite good at detecting and removing bad things. Also, the puzzle was a fun sponge to me. Good write up though. Heat is still on here. Have a great day all!
JB2
44A: I coined the word ORTHOS as a synonym for PERPS in xword puzzle use. Can you guess the correlation?
37D: I would never eat at Quiznoz's because of their early TV ad's with singing rats. What were they thinking? Who advertises a restaurant by using rats?
This is not the one I remember but it's just as bad.
Watch this ad
Would you eat there?
The Red Hat Society is a women's club that has no male members. I don't know whether they would reject men as a policy, but what male would want to join? Not my cuppa tea, either.
women only
"Ethyl Alcohol. A clear, colorless, and flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon. The type consumed as alcoholic beverages (brandy, rum, whisky, etc., and called just 'alcohol') is produced by the natural process of fermenting grapes, malt, sugar cane juice, etc. The type used as octane enhancer or alternative automotive fuel is derived from grain, corn, or catalytic hydration of ethane gas. High concentrations of ethanol in human body can interfere with the brain functions and can cause poisoning. When mixed with gasoline (usually in the proportion 85 percent ethanol to 15 percent gasoline), it is known as gasohol." businessdictioanry.com
Learning moment: The Praying Mantis
And, an ear closeup
Splynter, re: Metal tape measure
just turn it upside down, wrap it around your bicep, place a finger
where the end meets the tape as a marker, flip it right side up
& read the measurement.
Of course, when you let go of the body of the tape measure because
you need three hands to do this, it will unspool and hit you right in your big toe...
Hi All!
What AnonJB2 said, a fun sponge. I got NINE, OCD, NINE, OCD, NINE... ODED ON, MINT city [bzzzt], EMIR, ECONOMIC, TIRAMISU and then found other things to do.
Basically I was beaten LAVENDER and blue by Mark; thanks for the effort but you were above my pay-grade.
Thanks Splynter for the expo so I could move on today. Good luck Monday - hopefully you can toss the UPS VAN key and find more fulfilling work. Your handy work always looks good - Pop tossed the keys to his boss years ago and became a full-time Handy Man... Just sayin'
YR- What DO said. It was likely a pop-up ScareAd. Do you have a screen shot? If so, email it to me. OKL - drop the AV. Windows' Defender is good enough (finally) as any AV snake-oil. If you need serious protection check out Cylance - I was an early adopter and haven't had an incident in 4 years on >4000 machines. $5/mo for personal use and Eldest has yet to call for support :-). Again, what AnonJB2 said - Malware Bytes is good; just be careful where you download it from... CCleaner tries to install too sometimes and its code has been compromised for years
Swamp - Beads, nor horns, nor HS Band Drumming Snares fit 48d either :-(
{A+} - Bicycle Built for Two
Cheers, -T
I do believe Mark Diehl gave us a pangram today and a tough one at that. I see that you got your name in there, MARK. Thank you for the challenge.
Initially it was really slow as molasses but with a letter here and there, I got momentum but not before many erasures. Yes, DUVALIER was my first Haitian president, thanks to Graham Greene's novels, but ARISTIDE overtook him.
SCHUZZ recalled Marty and of course, Splynter at UPSVAN. PURL immediately came to mind as did Madame DeFarge. It took a while to decide if Fleming was the writer or the scientist and since I had SHEAVE that took a long while to finally finish with SPYNOVEL.
Whew! The only HOOPLE I know of is the Major in the comics.
Thank you, Splynter. I must be the only person who doesn't know DINK so I'm glad you explained it.
Have a joyous day, everyone! Our September family birthday party is today so it will be joyous and fun.
Thanks, Anonymous T and JB2, I just checked and I see that my Norton 360 has anti-malware protection.I have never had a real problem. It does not allow CC Cleaner. I think I am covered. Norton 360 was installed by a computer tech almost 7 years ago and automatically renews. I'm glad I checked. I am paying for 3 devices and only have one. I will change that when it renews in May. I deleted the Scare ad last night.
BTW, Microsoft keeps advising me that Edge is better than Chrome. Is it worth changing?
A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. D, P, and S are the actual marks stamped on the coins.
YR - Edge v. Chrome... I actually use 4 browsers - each for different things. For example, all my banking is done in Chrome, Firefox w/ Ghostery is for general browsing, IE/ Edge for work stuff and Safari for the blog... Gotta keep 'em separated...
To answer your question - stick w/ Chrome.
So, does everyone know what the D, P, and S mean? I'm sure most Cornerites do but... I learned this w/ my Abe Lincoln penny-collection books when I was a kid. Cheers, -T
Denver
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Well, after the crisis of having my computer make a shushing noise and become very hot on the side with the vent, I had trouble sleeping last night. My tech support person came at 8 and thinks the problem was just having my calendars too close to the vent, and so far it's all been okay this morning, thank goodness. But as a result this Saturday puzzle pretty much eluded me, and I had to cheat massively to get it done. Clever clues but just too difficult for my rattled state this morning.
Think I'd better get a nap this afternoon. Have a good weekend everybody.
SwampCat- the only alcohol that can be safely ingested is ETHANOL, aka ethyl alcohol. Methanol, aka methyl alcohol, will make you blind, even absorbing it through your skin. Isopropanol, aka rubbing alcohol, will cause all kinds of problems. Butanol, aka Butyl alcohol, can be used instead of gasoline.
When booze is distilled the first time, various alcohols are created from the mash. The second, third, & fourth distillations ( not done in rot gut whiskey) further purifies it.
AnonT- I use both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, as I am currently doing with a split screen. Reading others' comments on the left side of the monitor and typing on the other side.
Whoo, this puzzle totally defeated me. I did finally manage to fill every cell with the correct letter, but needing to do many lookups and needing to have red letters turned on pretty much took the satisfaction out of it. And that's how it ended up looking to me: every cell filled with the correct letter but still having little meaning to me. Okay, I did eventually figure out how the clues had any relationship to the answers but I guess I'm lazy: it was just too much work. Hand up for over-confidently entering DARK RUM at 1a and DUVALIER at 19a. Also OAF at 38a. It was all downhill from there. TIRAMISU has a kick? Does anybody say ECONOMIC? (Economical, sure.) Pulled over means "I hurt myself again"? Jeez.
At least I got PURL, EMIR, SHAYS, FOIE, ENERO, and CUES right the first time. I know, I know, elementary level stuff.
I use the free Malwarebytes to scan my computer approximately once a week, and let Windows Defender deal with the background stuff. Firefox serves me well as my all-purpose browser, but sometimes I have to use Edge to access some sites that Firefox blocks even though the sites are benign. By the way, the LA Times crossword puzzle site (http://games.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword/) sometimes really bogs Firefox down because it gets so cluttered dealing with video ads. I should be inured to it, but I'm still amazed at how many websites are so badly cluttered with junk that they become frustratingly useless, defeating their own purpose and driving eyeballs away rather than attracting them. The various Yahoo sites, including Yahoo mail, are notoriously bloated. You can't even read your email until after all the ads have loaded.
Hmm, after reviewing what I have written above, it sure looks like I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. The cure? I think I'll go back to bed, grab a nap, and get up on the good side.
Best wishes to you all.
I’m thinking the kick from Tirimisu is from the caffeine in the espresso.
A really tough Saturday puzzle that I was quite relieved to solve after some time at it. Very misleading - but fair - clueing.
Anon T @ 12:04. Spot on! I tried to enter "Throw me sompin' mista!" But I couldn't make it fit.
Re : your penny collection, did you have a 1943 steel penny?
YR: "When mixed with gasoline (usually in the proportion 85 percent ethanol to 15 percent gasoline), it is known as gasohol." Gasohol normally contains no more than 10% ethanol, not the other way around.
CED ~ A belated thank you for the many canine clips yesterday. They were all cute and added an extra dose of smiles to the ones induced but JW's paw-some puppy puzzle! 🐶
Anon@1:07p - Yep for S, D, & P.
Swamp - yes I did (still do) have the steel pennies (4, I think). I love them for what they represent - "we are at war and will sacrifice copper for the front." I recently read US is considering mercenaries for Afghanistan and shake my head...
Re: COINs - It's not an elaborate collection. Just something Mom's Dad gave me to be on the lookout for wheat-backs. I don't know what to do with 'em but don't want to get rid of either. Grandparents (Pop's side) had matchbooks from pubs they'd visit on trips and Pop couldn't bring himself to toss them after they passed. The matches will be my problem one day; I'll probably be like Pop and keep 'em too. Then my girls can figure out what to do w/ all of it :-)
//hair-brained idea - melt the pennies to make an URN for our everafter... I'll see what DW thinks about this (she's already not keen on fusing our rings embedded in an urn; thinks I'm morbid. I'm just planning ahead. I've got 30 years (+/-) to change her mind... Her bod will be continue to be Smokin' Hot is my next ploy (thanks PK!))
Speaking of pubs -- Dirty Nelly's in San Antonio is where I learnt Bicycle Built for Two during AIT (Advanced Individual Training, 1EA). These are the words left out of Cole's recording I linked earlier. It sums it up:
Danny, Danny, here is your answer true.
I'd be crazy
To marry the likes of you.
If you can't afford a carriage,
You can't afford the marriage
And I'll be Damned
If I'll be Crammed
On a bicycle built for two
Cheers, -T
Many tiramisu recipes call for coffee liqueur, such as Tia Maria or Kahlua. Yum. Tiramisu used to be made with uncooked egg yolks. Nowadays, because uncooked eggs are considered unhealthy, recipe writers have found a way to cook the egg yolks. I am considering making tiramisu next week for my square dance treat.
Instead of the same old, same old, recently I have been using all my party appetizer recipes to great acclaim at the square dances. In the 60's we had frequent house parties and I miss these recipes.
Alan prefers very simple fare. I love being a more creative cook for guests.
May I postulate to Mr. Diehl that entomologists do not refer to hearing organs of insects as "ears" and "in a tie:DRAWN" is a mixing of tenses. Otherwise, an interesting challenge today - a great excuse for avoiding housework!
The nastiest pzl in memory.
A DNF after more than enough time for civilized entertainment.
Obviously I was not on Splynter's WAVE length, nor up to the (MINT)MARK of several colleagues. I managed to chase down some of the more elusive words (even trying several types of Rum and then ALKINOL before reaching ETHANOL) but ultimately giving in with three mis- and unfilled.
(Sigh) Wish I had the time...
I'll be ba-ack.
Yellowrocks,
Glad things are OK for you. I know how scary it feels to be in suspense as to whether to log back on or not. I had a similar experience on my iPad last week.
It was confined to one program, an app that I share over different devices. The good news was that nothing appeared to be encrypted. Desper-otto is right that that seems to be a tell-tale sign.
Still, the imagination runs wild wondering if terrible things are happening before you log back on to see.
In chess a draw is the result of a game ending in a tie. According to Chess Corner: "Stalemate - if the King is not in check but it is unable to move to a safe square we say that the King is stalemated and the game is drawn."
National Wildlife Federation writes, "Scientists long thought that praying mantises were deaf, but now biologists know that the insects have a single ear that enables them to pick up sounds far beyond the range of human hearing."
Science Direct writes, "Anatomically, insect ears could be regarded as being simpler than their vertebrate counterparts, yet functionally they are no less sophisticated. Using very small structures, insect ears can be exquisitely sensitive to faint sounds, display frequency selectivity, and perform remarkable directional acoustic detection. " Many references discuss insect ears.
Hola mi amigos!
Like others, I eventually made my way through. Took longer and cheated more than usual for a Saturday, but I don't mind. I have the day off so I'm happy to spend the time and hope I remember some of it. I think I always assumed it was BANdS of marriage but now I know! Thank you for the write up!
I have a JUNK drawer. DH will tell you I have several boxes of junk, but I call it memorabilia.
Well exCUSE ME!
Anon-T said ya gotta keep separated
Have you seen the PEPSQUAD of today? Crazy intense.
I did Friday's dog puzzle before undertaking today's. Now I'm going to read the blog and I'm super excited! I'm not always a fan of Jeff, but now he's given me a peace offering about dogs so all is forgiven. All that was missing was Chihuahua and Golden Retriever :)
Happy Saturday -
t.
Didn't enjoy this puzzle at all!
What I would have shared yesterday - for all the dog people (IM, Jinx, OMK, et al): Enjoy! It changes daily and I always get a giggle out of it!
t.
Tony: The words I learned in my youth for the second verse were
Michael, Michael, here is my answer true.
I'll not marry up with the likes of you!
If you can't afford a carriage,
Then call off your bloomin' marriage,
'Cuz I'll be blowed
If I'll be towed
On a bicycle built for two!
Owen and Anon T, my childhood memories yielded this version:
Henry, Henry, here is my answer true.
You must be crazy to think I would marry you.
If you can't afford a carraige
There won't be any marriage
Cuz I'll be damned
If I'll be crammed
On a bicycle built for two.
The outcome is the same. No carriage, no marriage!! Women are all gold diggers ! Heheheheeee
WEES, the NW/SW filled in quickly along w ODEDON (I remember one of the Cornerites doesn't like this word), but then had to insert my Saturday brain for the rest. Heard of Mott the Hoople (where, I have no idea). Knew of Banns, which made me realize MINT would not be the end-word of Mint Mark.
Splynter - I hope you ace the interview on Monday - let us know how it went. When I see the UPS drivers zipping around the neighborhood in unairconditioned trucks, delivering heavy boxes, I always give them a smile and a wave. Hard, hot work and then having to deal with crazy Houston "non"-drivers. Yes, it's time, Splynter, to move on to greener pastures.
Tawyna, thanks for the cheerleading clip - unbelievable what those kids could do! I couldn't even do a cartwheel in my youth. I loved the Dogshaming.com clip also; dogs are the best - my respectful apologies to you, CED.
Speaking of computers, thanks to all for your tech knowledge. Almost every day, I get this email in my Spam folder: (from) THaNK YOU. (subject line): Your Amazon order #------ might arrived. [sic] Just curious - who ARE these nuts? thx
The last stanza I learned for Daisy Belle was "I'll be switched if I'll be hitched to a bicycle built for two."
Lucina, I had no idea what DINK was either.
D-O: Thanks for the input on gasahol percentages. I was pretty sure most mixes were mostly gasoline. Our farmer corn growers convinced the local farm cooperative filling station to stock gasahol in the 80's fuel crisis years. I was driving an old police car with a V-8 interceptor engine and the gasahol made it ping and buck like crazy. My husband thought the alcohol was cleaning out all the old crude in the engine and making it misfire. I went back to high octane gasoline and lost the problem. Didn't tell DH.
Tawnya: all the girl flipping looks so dangerous I can hardly watch it. I saw an article once about all the concussions and other injuries cheerleaders are suffering these days. Not hard to see why. I'd be happier if my favorite TV dance shows would quit throwing the girls around too.
Interesting article in the New York Times today about Praying Mantises with pictures. Says they will eat humming birds. Also touched on why the females eat their mates. Theory is laying all those eggs causes them to need the extra protein.
Tony, I thought you'd like that T-shirt inscription.My sons would think it is funny too. My daughters would be horrified if I showed up in it. When I told my daughter who is named as co-exec of my estate that I wanted to be cremated (for real), she got so upset, I dropped the subject. My son was okay with it. Probably because it is a cheaper way to go. Who knows what they'll do with me.
STUPID puzzle. LAME.
PK, yes, I've read about more and more cheerleader concussions - no wonder! I think the dangerous "pyramid" they started doing years ago was the start, and I think now the squads are now in the "out-do" mode.
Thanks for the NYT info re praying mantises. My sister/brother-in-law live on a hilltop in Wimberley, TX, and they have numerous hummer feeders along with birdfeeders spread out on their house-length-wise deck. One day, she noticed a praying mantis in the cedar tree "holding" something. Curious as to what it could be, she googled and discovered the mantises prey on hummers! Well, hummer won, and mantis got zilch - she was furious.
I somberly agree with and understand your final wishes (mine too), but chuckled when I got to "My son was okay with it. Probably because it is a cheaper way to go. Who knows what they'll do with me."
I'll agree that this was a long slog with many misfires most of them noted. I had a bunch of vowels on that course clue(Did anyone catch Click n clack this morning on NPR?)*
I finally had my comics, bridge, dear Abby etc read, an hour to get started and realized I'd left my newspaper behind at McDonald's. I decided to skip it.
Then when my day was done, about six I was gassing and decided I could afford another paper. I skipped the sports and peeked. OCD popped in, I was hooked.
Sachet read as Sachel. Btw, I started "I'm a DO-TARD..." since that Beatles song was worming in my brain. I admit that my late pinch-lick for Owen was a W-MINUS.
Anyway LAVENDER got me to finish. I'd spelled XEROX with a Z.
I'll give MARK a W on clever cluing and pissing off the right people. Splynter, thanks for your write-up. Each day we hope to get "soberer and soberer". It sounds like you're ready for bigger and better things. Talent, exudes from your bones.
So, after two sloppy FIRs I get this toughie. Good luck on Sundays riddler.
WC
* They suggested a shipment of vowels to Serbia. Yep, you had to be there
Tawnya caught it :-)... I buddy of mine went to the Offpring / Sublime concert in the Woodlands Thurs. I didn't know they were in town until it was too late for tickets (not that I wouldn't seriously consider - "The Woodlands? That's an hour away!"). 25min of Steve Martin was a hoot too. Thx.
The many endings to Bicycle is interesting. Swamp said it best, it all ends with the same idea -- no cash, no a** :-)
CED - thanks for the links to the Mantis pics. All I could think at the clue / Splynter's answer was - so all records are in MONO for them?
Cheers, -T
Ran across this poem today:
~><~
Autumn
The leaves are falling one by one.
The sunny days will soon be gone.
Yellow, orange, brown and green,
the colours of Autumn can be seen.
The wind, the rain, the sun shines through.
It's colder now for me and you.
~><~
Uh, one and gone don't rhyme. And green isn't really a fall colour. Let's try
The leaves are falling, one by one.
The sunny days will soon be done.
Yellow, orange, brown, and gold
The colors of leaves that have grown old.
The sun gives way to wind and rain,
Then comes some damned hurricane!
Falling leaves? Holy hell!
The whole damn tree is what just fell!
Owen, excellent. A big improvement...
On my bike ride next to the Pacific, there was a definite chillier feeling to the air.
Did you see the crescent moon tonight? Very pretty.
OKL - another A+ {revised}
TxMs - The typos and poor grammar are intentional in general phish campaigns - it separates the intelligent from the rubes; they want the rubes / those NOT paying attention. The good ones (spearPhishing campaigns) are very well designed but targeted to only a special few (i.e. EXECS).
Misty - computers need to cool - keep those vents clear. If electronics get to hot the smoke gets out of the little chips. (Little know fact, computers run on smoke - let the smoke out and they stop working!).
PK - I'm with you. Cremation is the way to, um, go.
WC - The emergency USAID vowel shipments to share with everyone.
Cheers, -T
WC - One of my favorite Car Talk call. The caller was about 200 miles North of Hawaii. CARFAX didn't register the SN on the ODO. -T
We live in a NINE ZIP code, so that was easy!
Hand up mis-spelled FOIE as FOIS which made REINJURE hard to see. Last to fall.
BASE RATE before BASE FARE threw me off for a bit, too.
SHAYS/HOOPLE cross seemed a bit unfair. Otherwise it was challenging but do-able. Only know BANNS from these puzzles, otherwise that would have been a deal breaker.
Learning moment about ONE EARED mantises. I thought such insects mostly "hear" through their legs.
Am I the only one who thinks "QUEASY" when I hear "QUIZNOS"? Seems like this must NAUSEATE potential customers.
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