Theme: None
Words: 72 (missing Q,X)
Blocks: 29
This
puzzle gave me a mental wedgie. It didn't help that I
massacred two sections with constant overwrites - had I done this one in
pencil, there'd be no paper left. I thought I had enough to solve this one,
but most of the clues just didn't give me anything to work with, and
then some of the answers didn't look right anyway - I'm looking at you,
17a & 45d.~!! Caved in to red-letters. No exceptionally long answers, and that might have
contributed; just triple 9's in the across, and triple 8's in the down;
17. Florida beach ranked by TripAdvisor as #1 in the U.S. in 2017 : SIESTA KEY - Argh~!! siestakey~? Had I parsed this properly, it might have made sense - but the furthest south I have ever been is Jacksonville, FL, and "key" never occurred to me
14. Construction protection : HARD HATS - clever plural misdirection
60. Insect world raiders : AMAZON ANT - ah, the wonders of nature - the Wiki
34. Curse deterrent : SWEAR JAR - if I had one for this puzzle, I could have bought my own vineyard; here's a picture of the vines surrounding the owner's house - see below, too
34. Curse deterrent : SWEAR JAR - if I had one for this puzzle, I could have bought my own vineyard; here's a picture of the vines surrounding the owner's house - see below, too
Rainy Day
VINEWARD~!
ACROSS:
1. Takes a risky leap : BASE JUMPS - I got the JUMPS part, but 'HIGH' was all that came to mind
10. Teensy bit : SKOSH - learned from doing crosswords
15. Baked fruit dessert : APPLE TART
16. Actress Campbell of "Martin" : TISHA
18. Furry fish eater : OTTER - seemed to simple, so I waited
19. Drink with a polar bear mascot : ICEE - dah~! Not COKE - this ad mascot
10. Teensy bit : SKOSH - learned from doing crosswords
15. Baked fruit dessert : APPLE TART
16. Actress Campbell of "Martin" : TISHA
18. Furry fish eater : OTTER - seemed to simple, so I waited
19. Drink with a polar bear mascot : ICEE - dah~! Not COKE - this ad mascot
20. Mag wheel? : HEF - R.I.P.
21. Let loose : UNTIED
22. Dishonorable sort : CAD - Dah~! Not CUR - the NW corner was the first disaster area
23. Without breaks, as a tennis set : ON SERVE - in desperation, I tried "ONE-LOVE", and the "O" and "N" remained after I switched to red-letters. That helped.
25. Degree of uncertainty : NTH - again, I hesitated
26. One hanging around in the forest? : SLOTH
28. Eurasia's __ region : URAL - I had aRAL, which made it almost impossible to make sense of 7d.
29. Cantina snack : TAPA - ugh. Not TACO
30. Tombstone shootout participant : EARP - Yay~! I got one~!
32. Natural home : HABITAT
34. Domino's competitor : SBARRO - knowing this was a huge help in the SW
37. Fruits often cubed : MELONS
38. Hopeful : WANNABE
40. Acted like : APED - I think this is better than the "Did" clue we had about two weeks ago
41. Lighting hrs.? : ETAs - think "a"-lighting, as in landing
42. Eye care brand : ReNu
44. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - filled via perps
48. Hawaiian yellowfin : AHI - a good WAG, since it could have occurred at 39d., too
49. String around the collar? : BOLO TIE - I so wanted NAME TAG here
51. Harley Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG - knew it
52. Prayer string : ROSARY
54. British society page VIP : NOB - I tried FOP; this was the start of my "four corners from hell" - I was missing the "N" and "B" and those choices were not at the top of my list; "M" and "Z" from 60a. were the other pair in the across clue
55. Tiny particle : MOTE - Rrrr - not ATOM
56. Interim ruling group : JUNTA
57. Entertainment for the whole gang : FAMILY FUN
59. Many a Pacific resident : ASIAN
61. Tears : RENDS - tEErs or tArEs~? I can never tell in a blank grid
62. Ceremony with a Best Female Hip-Hop Artist category : BET AWARDS
DOWN:
1. First things to learn : BASICS - "THE ABCS" didn't fit
2. Forming a summit : APICAL - new word for me
3. Tight-fitting suit : SPEEDO - ah, that kind of suit. I'm an equal opportunity sexist....
4. If-then-__: programmer's flow : ELSE
5. Fast flier : JET - not SST
6. Roseanne Barr, for one : UTAHN - F%$#ing not COMIC
7. Partner of kisses : MAKES UP - HUGS didn't fit; then I wondered what went with Hershey's Kisses; the phrase "kisses and makes up" did not cross my mind
8. Choose over, with "to" : PREFER
9. Farm dwelling : STY
10. It may be skipped : STONE
11. Talking Trans Am of classic TV : KITT - Knight Industries Two-Thousand - the Wiki
12. Repeated melodic pattern : OSTINATO - filled via perps
13. Bit of bakeware : SHEET PAN
21. Tanning aid, for short : UV LAMP
23. "Ten North Frederick" author John : O'HARA - again, perps
24. Motivational speech component? : "RAH~!"
27. Beach birds : TERNS
29. "Michael Clayton" Oscar winner Swinton : TILDA
31. Whisky cocktail garnished with skewered cherries : ROB ROY - whiskey~? I'm into "merlot" these days. Here's another pic of the vineyards, taken from the second floor of the owner's house (which I have access to, since I upkeep that place as well)
33. Early bathysphere user William : BEEBE - vague
35. Safe haven for cave dwellers? : BAT HOUSE
36. "Delta of Venus" author : ANAIS NIN
39. Sushi fish : EEL
40. Early fast-food eatery : AUTOMAT
43. Unpopular sort : NO NAME - this clue/answer was unpopular with me; the missing "N" and "M" from the Across clues
45. Instrument made from a ram's horn : SHOFAR - can you tell I'm not Jewish~? The Wiki
46. Stout : ROTUND
47. Spies : AGENTS
49. Fiber-rich cereals : BRANS - spellcheck doesn't like the plural
50. Spanish vacation island : IBIZA - and the final "B" and "Z"
53. Minimally : A TAD
55. Avian motormouth : MYNA
57. Swell : FAB
58. Like a carefully kept profile : LOW - reminds me of George Clooney's line from this scene in Dusk Til Dawn - caution~! - strong language. I am going to find me a '68 Cougar just like theirs and restore it some day
21. Let loose : UNTIED
22. Dishonorable sort : CAD - Dah~! Not CUR - the NW corner was the first disaster area
23. Without breaks, as a tennis set : ON SERVE - in desperation, I tried "ONE-LOVE", and the "O" and "N" remained after I switched to red-letters. That helped.
25. Degree of uncertainty : NTH - again, I hesitated
26. One hanging around in the forest? : SLOTH
28. Eurasia's __ region : URAL - I had aRAL, which made it almost impossible to make sense of 7d.
29. Cantina snack : TAPA - ugh. Not TACO
30. Tombstone shootout participant : EARP - Yay~! I got one~!
32. Natural home : HABITAT
34. Domino's competitor : SBARRO - knowing this was a huge help in the SW
38. Hopeful : WANNABE
40. Acted like : APED - I think this is better than the "Did" clue we had about two weeks ago
41. Lighting hrs.? : ETAs - think "a"-lighting, as in landing
42. Eye care brand : ReNu
44. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - filled via perps
48. Hawaiian yellowfin : AHI - a good WAG, since it could have occurred at 39d., too
49. String around the collar? : BOLO TIE - I so wanted NAME TAG here
51. Harley Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG - knew it
52. Prayer string : ROSARY
54. British society page VIP : NOB - I tried FOP; this was the start of my "four corners from hell" - I was missing the "N" and "B" and those choices were not at the top of my list; "M" and "Z" from 60a. were the other pair in the across clue
55. Tiny particle : MOTE - Rrrr - not ATOM
56. Interim ruling group : JUNTA
57. Entertainment for the whole gang : FAMILY FUN
59. Many a Pacific resident : ASIAN
61. Tears : RENDS - tEErs or tArEs~? I can never tell in a blank grid
62. Ceremony with a Best Female Hip-Hop Artist category : BET AWARDS
DOWN:
1. First things to learn : BASICS - "THE ABCS" didn't fit
2. Forming a summit : APICAL - new word for me
3. Tight-fitting suit : SPEEDO - ah, that kind of suit. I'm an equal opportunity sexist....
take that you misblogynist~!
5. Fast flier : JET - not SST
6. Roseanne Barr, for one : UTAHN - F%$#ing not COMIC
7. Partner of kisses : MAKES UP - HUGS didn't fit; then I wondered what went with Hershey's Kisses; the phrase "kisses and makes up" did not cross my mind
8. Choose over, with "to" : PREFER
9. Farm dwelling : STY
10. It may be skipped : STONE
11. Talking Trans Am of classic TV : KITT - Knight Industries Two-Thousand - the Wiki
New movie in 2018~? I think I've seen that clip before....
13. Bit of bakeware : SHEET PAN
21. Tanning aid, for short : UV LAMP
23. "Ten North Frederick" author John : O'HARA - again, perps
24. Motivational speech component? : "RAH~!"
27. Beach birds : TERNS
29. "Michael Clayton" Oscar winner Swinton : TILDA
31. Whisky cocktail garnished with skewered cherries : ROB ROY - whiskey~? I'm into "merlot" these days. Here's another pic of the vineyards, taken from the second floor of the owner's house (which I have access to, since I upkeep that place as well)
35. Safe haven for cave dwellers? : BAT HOUSE
36. "Delta of Venus" author : ANAIS NIN
39. Sushi fish : EEL
40. Early fast-food eatery : AUTOMAT
43. Unpopular sort : NO NAME - this clue/answer was unpopular with me; the missing "N" and "M" from the Across clues
45. Instrument made from a ram's horn : SHOFAR - can you tell I'm not Jewish~? The Wiki
46. Stout : ROTUND
47. Spies : AGENTS
49. Fiber-rich cereals : BRANS - spellcheck doesn't like the plural
50. Spanish vacation island : IBIZA - and the final "B" and "Z"
53. Minimally : A TAD
55. Avian motormouth : MYNA
57. Swell : FAB
58. Like a carefully kept profile : LOW - reminds me of George Clooney's line from this scene in Dusk Til Dawn - caution~! - strong language. I am going to find me a '68 Cougar just like theirs and restore it some day
Splynter
Had to resort to a red letter check. S'BARRO has been in puzzles before, but it's unknown in this part of the country. OSTINATO, SKOSH I've never heard of. IBIZA, TISHA, TILDA, BEEBE were unknown names, SHEET PAN, AMAZON ANT, NO NAME were unheard of, but after red letters cleared ISH > NTH and incorrect WAGs, they were deducible.
ReplyDeleteThe BASE JUMPER known as ROB ROY
Kept a ROSARY in his employ.
It served as his rip-cord
When the ground he went toward
So he'd shoot like a prayer to the sky!
An OTTER, in his HABITAT
Is quite a little acrobat!
He'll MAKE UP strokes
That awe provokes!
He doesn't wear a SPEEDO or a HARD HAT!
{C+, B-.}
Uff-da!...er...Good Morning!
ReplyDeleteTough, tough, tough. Got 'er done, and surprisingly my only overwrite was SST/JET (Hi, Splynter). This one felt very Silkie-ish. I miss his Saturday stumpers. Remembered SBARRO from previous cwds. Was looking for a plural for "Insect world raiders" (nit -- would've been simple to omit the s). Thanx, Daniel and Splynter.
NOB doesn't rhyme with knob and SKOSH doesn't rhyme with Oshkosh. They both have that long O sound.
As they say at the frat party after the first six-pack, "SHOFAR shogood!"
Watched a cute Nature about OTTERs last night.
Tough one. Thought I had it all correct but found one mistake when checked answers. All-in-all a good week with only Thursday and today as a blemish. Thursday was a total fail...just not on the same wavelength.
ReplyDeleteROBROY was the name of my HOG
Who acted like a WANNABE dog
He was quite ROTUND
So it was FAMILY FUN
To see him fail to leap a log
I imagine many of you already know this old joke:
ReplyDeleteTwo rich girls compared their holiday way.
The Jewess says, "We blow the SHOFAR on that day."
Said the other, "To my mind
That's awfully kind --
We usually just add a bonus to his pay!"
And this is an old one from my archives:
A good word is Formication,
Which describes a distinctive sensation.
Note: it's spelled with an M,
And not with 2 Ns!
It's a tingling, like ants on your bare skin.
Nope. Nada. No way. As usual I scanned the puzzle today before printing it out. Most Saturdays I just pass on by, but today's looked possible so I made a hard copy. WAY to tough for my ability, but I did enjoy Splynter's write-up. Maybe someday I'll be worthy.
ReplyDelete<<3. Tight-fitting suit : SPEEDO - ah, that kind of suit. I'm an equal opportunity sexist....>>
ReplyDeleteIt's still a disturbing trait, Splynter. You seem to find humor in it and proud of it.
Finally got a tough challenge. The clock on the page shows it.
ReplyDeleteSome type overs that slowed me down: BASElineS before JUMPS. RObUst before ROTUND. TAco before TAPA.
Excepting OSTINATO, the top half came easily. Only had to guess at the S in that obstinate word, and TISHA sounded correct. OH, and APICAL as well, but that only needed the I and SIESTA was obvious.
The SW was a quick fill as well. Wanted EveS for Lighting hrs, but BAT HOUSE was rock solid and ANAIS NIN was a gimme.
The SE was the downfall. No idea on BEE?E, but I was certain that the city on the Shatt al-Arab river was going to be accRA or BASRA, so BEEBE made more sense than BEEaE. I stared at SHOFAR and tried to parse it for awhile, and then rethought the entire corner. Finally accepted it as a total unknown.
I also accepted the ON in ON SERVE earlier, not knowing the author, but confident of UTAHN. So ON SERVE means no service breaks. Did not know that.
Of all things to trip me up, it was NO NAME and AMAZON. Had most of the letters in both, but IBIZA and NOB were as unknown as SHOFAR. Probably should have stuck with it for a bit longer, and then only the B in IBIZA would have needed to be guessed.
My dad wore his BOLO TIEs more often than his regular ties.
Damn Skippy~!
ReplyDeleteSplynter
I can’t find the home page so I can find out what your terms are - WAG, reveal, perp, etc. was told to go to the Home page, but can’t find it. Help! Love all your comments - wendy
DeleteI'm with D-O on this one - felt like a Silkie - at first I only had TILDA and a few other for sures, but it very slowly came together! Had SST for JET as well. Took awhile with perps to get SBARRO as I started with only the first R and I was trying to think of pizza places that deliver rather than the mall food court type- but only to be expected with a Saturday!
ReplyDeleteAll of a sudden it is cold here - was 81 on Thursday and then yesterday high of 49 and low of 29!
Went to see "Same Kind of Different as Me" at the movies and really enjoyed it- we had read the book several years ago for book club.
Thanks Splynter and Daniel!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Congrats if you blew through this! It took me a while but I got ‘er done.
-APICAL, OSTINATO and SHOFAR coupled with marginal names…
-I remember the British having a big contingent in BASRA during the Gulf War
-We did most of these (plus Sorry!)
-A crude but accurate programming diagram
-I’ve never watched Knight Rider but KITT was my first fill
-The OSTINATO in Ravel’s Bolero was a great way to learn the concept
-Doris Day’s friend Audrey Meadows worked in the AUTOMAT in That Touch Of Mink
-Good defenses with no stars are sometimes called by this name
Inanehiker, Same Kind Of Different As Me is a Lee Ann Womack song from 2015. Makes me wonder, was the song based on the book? Was the book based on the song? Was the movie based on either? Or was it just a qwinkydink?
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI guess I was on Daniel's wavelength this morning as I finished this w/o help in near-record time. Not that it was without several hiccups along the way. The NE corner was the last to fall due to the unknown Tisha and the definitely unknown Ostinato. I think my only w/o was Taco/Tapa. I don't equate Sbarro with Dominos as Sbarros are mall centric, as least in my local area. As usual, cracking open several of the long answers really helps with the solve. Nice to see Miss Nin's full name for a change.
Thanks, Daniel, for a tough but doable challenge and thanks, Splynter, for an enjoyable tour.
Inanehiker @ 9:44 ~ The movie you mentioned was not one I'd heard of, so I checked it out. The review was half pan-half praise but the presence of Greg Kinnear is enough for me! He stole my heart in "As Good As It Gets", as did his adorable dog, Verdell.
If my memory is correct, MadameDefarge should be back from her Maine vacation any time now. I can't wait to hear all of her "Lobster Tales!"
Have a great day.
Learning moment: MisBlogynist
ReplyDelete2nd learning moment: From Dusk Til dawn...
Thinking, I must watch this movie...
read IMDB, Vampires?
(I avoid vampire movies like the plague...)
(however, my Daughter made me watch Zombieland, & I did enjoy that...)
OK Splynter, I will check it out, on your say so...
Face it...crossword puzzles aren't about knowing word meanings anymore! Obscure persons in various fields and weird geographical references top the lists.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the kind words about my MEL BLANC and SAMBA photos from Rio Carnival yesterday! PK: That is quite surprising indeed about the store processing X rated photos. There was usually an official policy that prohibited it. Which gave business to Polaroid! I did once process some photos of a former girlfriend and me on a Hawaiian nude beach.
ReplyDeleteToday's puzzle was brutal and I will also say unfair. The NW was hard. Hand up for trying to think HUGS then Hershey's kisses before getting MAKES UP. Hand up for ARAL before URAL. Tried TUXEDO before SPEEDO. TEXAN, IOWAN before UTAHN.
But the NE was just unfair. Crossing KITT, TISHA and OSTINATO?! Total unknowns. And "Classic TV" was the 50s and 60s, not the 80s. I had T--HA and did what I never do and used Mr Google to fill in those two letters. Otherwise it would have been a DNF for me.
BASRA is etched in my memory forever. In the 1990s the Archbishop of BASRA spoke in our small city about the horrific conditions in Iraq due to the US blockade. "Dual use" items were blocked. That included chlorine for the water treatment plants and a wide range of medical equipment and parts. Also fertilizer for growing food. Tens of thousands died each year as a result. I wrote a letter to the newspaper about this and I was rewarded with a harangue from our company lawyer.
War is hell. But it turns out that blockades can kill more civilians than war. By the way, the Archbishop also explained that the blockade actually strengthened Saddam's popularity against a foreign power that was strangling the people.
I rarely solve a Saturday or Sunday puzzle ...
ReplyDeleteGlad I did this one.
Two gimmies:
SIESTA KEY, a beautiful Florida beach.
ROB ROY, a wonderful whiskey cocktail.
Cheers!
FIR! Thanks, Daniel, for a challenge this am. Slowly, but surely, the bits came together..... much like a Silkie, which I, too, miss!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Splynter, for the great write-up, and lovely pics of the vineyard!
While I didn't exactly blow through this, the southern hemisphere bloomed easily. We've seen IBIZA before and BOLOTIE is our state tie. BASRA was in the news almost every day during the Iraq war. And once I had NIN her first name flowed in place. ROSARY? A given, of course.
ReplyDeleteBut the northern sector really gave me fits. JUMPS filled in nicely and I knew Roseann was a UTAHN then APPLETART came. SIESTAKEY was totally unknown but perped. I finally limped toward the finish there. But the NE was another struggle. TACO/TAPA was my first erasure and that gave me HARDHAT. It took a long while to recall SKOSH and KITT. Whew! It was done. I had to verify TISHA since I don't know the name. Never watched Martin.
Thank you Daniel Nierenberg and Splynter! This was a Saturday worthy challenge.
Have a marvelous day, everyone!
"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDelete2 C's and 1 W - not too bad for a Saturday puzzle. The C's were at 16a and 50d; the W was at 5d when I had SST > JET.
Lots of words and formal names with which/whom I was not familiar. Did not know that Rosanne Barr is a UTAHN; with her potty mouth it came as a surprise. If she had a SWEAR JAR it would be filled and emptied daily.
Owen, your first lim was better - B+
Coach J ---> welcome to the LA Times version of the "Dead Poets Society"!
My sophomoric Moe-ku:
Naked yoga class
Has renamed a common pose:
Upward facing puss
Sorry! 😜
Well, Saturday puzzles are always toughies for me, but this one felt about the same as the Friday puzzle yesterday, and I got over a half before I had to start cheating. The middle more or less filled in first, and I got items like HARDHAT and HABITAT early on. This made me think we were going to have an H theme, forgetting that Saturdays don't have a theme. I got the Florida KEY, but never heard of SIESTA. Got EARP and MELONS and WANNABE, but never heard of SBARRO. Catholic background helped me get ROSARY, and I got BOLO TIE, even though I'm not sure I've ever seen one. At the end also got JUNTA and BATHOUSE, but that was about it. Not bad for me, on a Saturday--so, many thanks, Daniel. I kind of agree with others, though, that SKOSH, SBARRO, and SHOFAR were toughies.
ReplyDeleteSplynter, your write-up was really kind this morning because it helped us feel less dumb having trouble, and many of us had the same false starts you did.
Have a great week-end, everybody!
The homepage is
ReplyDeletehttps://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/
Wendybird--Click on "Comments Section Abbrs" under OLIO on the right hand side of the blog page.
ReplyDeleteWelp, I had to get a lot of help on this one, with which I was able to finish, but without which I would have been stumped. So many things I simply did not know and that would have taken every single perp to get, such as TISHA. Another example, even after getting ---EJUMPS I would not have figured out BASE JUMPS because I have never heard of it. Man, I gotta get out more!
ReplyDeleteAt least I knew if-then-ELSE, ROSARY, and HOG with certainty. ORANG didn't end up working, and eventually SLOTH emerged.
You're "Oh...that was the word" joke from last night made me laugh, desper-otto. It may be an old joke but I hadn't heard it before.
After retiring and moving to Tucson, my dad often wore a BOLO TIE and accumulated quite a collection of them.
Best wishes to you all.
Jeez, I can't believe I wrote "You're" when I meant "Your."
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteA typical Saturday slog solve for me, enabled by many trips to Google. The NW was the last to fall. On the other hand, I was able to finish without red letters, so there is some satisfaction there. Thanks for the expo and links, Splynter. Such lovely photos of the vineyard.
Yellowrocks--I am keeping you and Alan in my thoughts and prayers.
Picard--Such colorful and exotic photos from the Samba parade. Thank you for sharing.
Enjoy the day!
Hi Y'all! Mental gymnastics day, thanks, Daniel! I can commiserate with your solving woes, Splynter. That moaning sound in the distance wasn't a SHOFAR being blown, it was me blowing the puzzle. Perseverance & red-letter runs filled it finally.
ReplyDeleteAPICAL? red-lettered every single square. Couldn't believe it was a word. When SIESTA appeared, I had read enough Florida-based novels to know that KEY was a good bet WAG.
I remember the first BOLO TIE I ever saw. My dad's sister sent him one for a gift with a polished agate slide she had made herself. (Her craft du jour.) Aunt was wintering in Texas where they were all the rage. No one in our family in Kansas had ever seen one. When I was cleaning out Mom's house, the BOLO was still in the gift box unworn.
I call a NATICK for 25A with 12D. Never saw OSTINATO before, and I’m a music student. I put in a W for 25A as I thought WTF.
ReplyDeleteStill do. Also, this is no Silkie, he didn’t put Naticks in his puzzles. They were hard but fair, this one not so much, IMO. I thought myself lucky for the 1 error.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI stuck with this thing for ~3hrs and still DNF'd & FIW. Same false starts (see: SST) as others and I had a SpOre hangin' in the forest, so that's at least 3 other FIWs. I WANNA BE a Sat solver but I'm still not worthy.
The solve: ESLE, ssT, STY, KITT, SKOcH, OTTER, ICEE, Cur, NTH, APED, EARP, BRANS, HOG, TART, BASIC, APPLE (fix SST) - then the slog began.
Thanks Daniel for a mind-bender to play with whilst listening to Wait, Wait and Ask Me Another, and Fresh Air.
Thanks Splynter for the Expo and finishing my SE corner. I had EBB @57d and, other than 46d, 47d, 58d, and 62a, didn't have anything right. SHOaAR was close but no cigar.
WOs: I always confuse Sapporo pizza w/ SBARRO and MIX their spellings. I had SpAARo for a long time - I finally Googled the 1st 1/2 of NIN. There's many other WOs - TACO, EDTs @41a, e.g. but I won't bore you with 'em.
ESP: OSTINATO (is that like ostentatious?) and most others... What I got came through square-by-square
Fav: Spies == AGENTS just 'cuz it made me think of Get Smart. More classic TV.
{A, B} {cute} [Coach J - you get a cute too]
Jayce - blame it on you're AUTO correct. :-)
Wendybird - Here's the direct link to Abbrs.
Y'all have a great Saturday and Go 'Stros!
Cheers, -T
Thanks to Picard for injecting his political opinion into my otherwise enjoyable Saturday morn. I have several counterpoints to offer to him but, alas, this is obviously not the forum.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI didn't think today's puzzle was unfair by any means. A tough Saturday challenge for a change. If I only wanted relatively easy puzzles, I'd stick with the USA Today puzzles. Which BTW, are much much better since Fred Piscop took over.
Anon T, I know of Sapporo beer, but not pizza. I googled for it. None around here. Found a Sarpinos and a Sopranos though. I do know of SBARRO pizza though. There was one in the commuter rail station downtown. Made for a quick bite on the ride home on so many nights after having to stay late at the office to meet next day deadlines. I don't miss either in the least. Go 'Stros !
Lucina, you are correct. We have had IBIZA a few times before here. Most recently, as an answer Tuesday Sept 26th, and Friday Oct 13th in the clue. But as clued for British society page VIP and similar, I couldn't find any prior references to NOB. We have had it as Head, slangily, and as in San Francisco's NOB Hill.
Jayce, I was in downtown Houston the morning a couple of guys BASE jumped off a skyscraper in the early 80s. Big news at the time. Don't know why I thought it was BASE lines instead of JUMPS today.
Chariman Moe, I didn't know Roseanne Barr was a UTAHN either. Perhaps an ardent fan or relative would, but that's one of the reasons I like puzzles. Perps help solve so many unknowns.
oc4beach is probably watching and happy with the early goings in the Penn St / Ohio State matchup. Me, not so much.
Splynter ? Who is Skippy ? I don't get it.
TTP - It was a typo me thinks... Splynter meant Skimpy(?)
ReplyDeleteRe: Sapparo - yeah, dyslexia sucks. I know I've seen S--p--O pizza at the mall and it wasn't SBARRO (or was it?). #LetterPatternsMatter.
Sapporo is a good beer with AHI & EEL. Though, I always seem to confuse that too and ask for SappAro... At least the waiter knows better and I don't get a slice of pie on the side :-)
Cheers, -T
I swear these pzls are tracking me!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that TripAdvisor did beach rankings. (Never even heard of TripAdvisor til now!) And now I learn that it ranked SIESTA KEY as the #1 beach in the whole country!
SIESTA KEY is off Sarasota; it's a tiny isle where we rented a beach house through the summer of 1968. We lucked into a lovely home, where our rear french windows opened right onto the Gulf of Mexico. This was the home where I shot myself in the leg with a spear gun - and where a visiting cousin, fishing off our dock, caught me with his *#@! hook in my #@*! thumb!
And much else happened. The parties we gave.
Oh, my masters, the tales I could tell of the long-ago summer...
Today was a toughie, no question. I didn't have much heart to see it all the way through, but in the end I managed with only one cheat (the spelling of IBIZA) and a couple of confirmations (APICAL, OSTINATO).
But the rest was all on my own.
Maybe more to the point is that I managed the crossing of KITT, OSTINATO, and TISHA with no more help than the single confirmation (see above). Sometimes we may suspect a Natick when two or three perps are actually solvable, just unfamiliar.
My suggestion is to use a confirmation (only half a cheat) when you've got one in your sights and, if all is kosher, proceed.
While I did not manage a pure Ta- DA!, I'm pretty proud of what I got.
- 30 -
TTP:
ReplyDeleteWhen it came to NOB as clued, I let the perps take over though once it was in, NOBle made sense and I agree we've seen it clued better.
The reason I remember that Roseann is a UTAHN goes back to when the Biography channel existed and she was featured. I recall thinking at the time it was a strange place for her to be from then it was explained that many non Mormons also live there, especially in Salt Lake City.
Splynter, I forgot to thank you for the nice Beefcake.
SHOFAR remains in my memory from an otherwise long forgotten documentary and BETAWARDS only because I've seen it in the TV schedule. BEEBE, believe it or not, surfaced from my 5th grade book when biographies of famous people were described. For some reason the Bathysphere made a huge impression on me. Such are the trivial bits of information that reside in my brain!
I recall the first time I saw SBARRO take over some prime real estate in Times Square, and how on a subsequent visit I tried the food.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed and never went back.
It stuck in the Ol' Walnut for violating English spelling.
Apologies if I posted this before. Here are a bunch of photos of the ISS transiting either the sun or the moon. ISS TRANSIT
ReplyDeleteTalk about typos! - my first post I had ESLE instead of ELSE re: 4d. I musta read it 4x and didn't notice until now.
ReplyDeleteOMK - DW visited that exact SBARRO in Times Square. We were in NYC in '02 or '03 for the Girls' Baptism @ St. Marks(?) - the same Episcopal Church DW & BIL was Christened. [It was the coldest winter on record in NY if that helps nail the year.]
Anyway, we're stuck in a cab late at night and DW was hungry. She jumped out of the cab, ran into SBARRO's, and got a slice of pie for free!. She contends the guy behind the counter was nice (naive Southern Girl)...
Re: the pizza - meh.
OK, I was (am?) a dork and loved Knight Rider. KITT was easy fill. If you listened to Wait, Wait this AM you'd know that there's now a car that will talk with you. Why?.
And now you need to know KARR for the xwords :-)
Bill G - I've seen one of those before but not the one w/ ISS looking like dots across the MOON. Cool! Thx. eSee ya' tonight at the game - maybe Gurriel (dumb-ass/jokester(?)) will be allowed to play.
Cheers, -T
Lucina, I was on a bus trip that stopped in Salt Lake City. We had a "step-on" city tour guide who turned out to be a Newark-born New Jersey Italian Catholic. Very strange having him explain all the local buildings and Mormonism, especially since he obviously didn't like that religion. He said he originally came to Salt Lake when he was in the USAF assigned to the nearby base, married a local non-Mormon girl and stayed. Sold real-estate when he wasn't giving tours for the Chamber of Commerce.
ReplyDeleteMan, this was a toughie - filled most answers lightly with a pen except for knowns: SBARRO (horrible mall food), IBIZA, ROTUND, ROSARY, HEF?maybe, SLOTH, and AUTOMAT. Rest were confirmed with perps. Had enough after 45 minutes, and googled Campbell (had T--HA). Never have heard of her and won't remember her tomorrow, as others occasionally post. OSTINATO??
ReplyDeleteSplynter, great review and thanks so much for posting pics of your new workplace - boy, is it ever a far cry from the UPS gig! Beautiful place! Does your job entail carpentry and mechanics, in addition to general maintenance of the property?
Anon-T (fln), thanks much for the SWA clip - it was hilarious - shift happens (in the overhead compartments). I'll be watching last night's game while I record tonight's. In the two games I watched in real time the week before, they lost both, so it's my weird superstitious way to help the 'Stros.
Not happy with Gurriel! Maybe he was overcome with excitement, but I thought it was totally uncalled for. He's lucky the MLB is suspending him five games in 2018 and allowing him to complete the series, but I'm wondering what the Houston fans' reactions will be when he steps up to the plate. Houston is in the top 3 U.S. cities as to diversity, and shift like that doesn't happen here (well, at least among the people I know). Sorry for my rant.
At the risk of overposting says...
ReplyDeleteTxMs - keep delaying the game! It's working! I've got my lucky 'Stros cap :-)
I'm going to give the Cuban who played in Japan a sideways-snarl pass on this. I don't know what Gurriel said nor meant. And for a guy who's haircut looks like a Troll doll, I'll cut him a little slack. If he was being ugly then, well, we don't need that in our Beautiful City. I'm a Sugar Lander by zip-code (and Ft. Bend is the most diverse county in the US) but I work and play in Space City. Houston Strong!
-T
Splynter, I also had a '69 Cougar--powder blue with white vinyl on top. First new car I ever had. I was driving it back to Chicago from LaCrosse WI as I listened on the radio to Armstrong and Aldrin's landing on the moon. I loved that car!
ReplyDeleteAs to the puzzle, I agree it was tough but I was able to finish in about my average time for a Saturday (~20 minutes). WEES about the NE corner.
Sorry AnonT, but you're way off base on this one.(see what I did right there?)
ReplyDeleteThe hometown, he's an "ignorant foreigner" bias is so loud it hurts.
Gurriel knew exactly what he was doing. No "heat of the moment" excuse is valid. No "he's Cuban" works either. This is a grown man who is world traveled and well aware of prejudice and racism. He is like 33 and a millionaire. He is a troglodyte.
What was the term everyone agrees he uttered? Chinito? What does it mean in Spanish? What is the equivalent in American slang? Jap? Chink? Gook? I don't know but an example should have been made.
Can't imagine the blow-back if it was McCann, Verlander or Reddick that committed this faux pas. Maybe we hold white Americans to a higher standard.
That being said, the pre-game and seventh inning celebrations put forth by the Astro organization(LA and MLB too) have been nothing short of beautiful.
ReplyDelete"Chinito" is "little chinaman." It is slang, but supposedly not as offensive as some of the other epithets. Not as bad as our English terms.
ReplyDeleteGurriel is Cuban, and I have been told that Cubans refer to all Asians as Chinese.
what the he**. Anyone that uses Mexicu**ts should be banned forever from the blog !! This is not only vile and racist it is offensive to almost everyone. (anon two above)
ReplyDeleteAs for the puzzle.... how could I have lived all of 67 plus and never heard of "mote".
After a great golf pitching lesson I came back to puzzle and somehow got sbarro. We don't have them here in Orange county California so the clue didn't help much. still I must be getting better at this as Saturday's aren't just blank spaces anymore.
So I did a little fact checking on what exactly Gurriel did and said after the fact... Um, not cool. Mia culpa for yapping before researching.
ReplyDeleteBill G. Good game. It was tight for a while but you got us in the 9th. We're tied for the series. See ya' tomorrow.
Cheers, -T
Hi Yall,
ReplyDeleteAnonymous T, The phrase is "Dang Skippy", And it means "Amen Brother!!"
I felt the puzzle was a fair Saturday challenge.
Have to check out that movie, Loved "As good as it gets".
AnonT: "Good game. It was tight for a while but you got us in the 9th. We're tied for the series. See ya' tomorrow."
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!
It's tough to lose any of these hard-fought games between two evenly-matched teams. Yes, See you all tomorrow.
The thing with most mall food -- Sbarro's the current example -- is that it is just nutrition, definitely not cuisine.
ReplyDeleteOld Man Keith, you seem to really blend into old school Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteAlso, good on you AnonT for the me culpa.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you censored my posts yet left the most insensitive racist comment visible.
ReplyDelete735p OMK
ReplyDelete@11:12 - AUTO correct got both of us... Mea Culpa
ReplyDeleteBigJ - Oh, I thought he was talking about the SPEEDOs. "Amen Brother"? I learnt something new. That's 6 so I'm over and out. -T
BigJ, thanks for the meaning of "dang (damn) skippy." Guess I gotta spring for an "urban dictionary." How in the heck do these expressions evolve, lexicographers out there?
ReplyDeleteWow, santa. You have regrets?
ReplyDelete