Theme: Homophones. Five of them; enough for a limerick, eh?
17A. Legendary terror of the deep: SEA MONSTER
36A. Honor roll student's disappointment: C-PLUS
54A. "Doesn't matter to me": "SEE IF I CARE"
11D. "Forget You" singer who was a coach on "The Voice": CEE LO GREEN
27D. "Aye, lass," in Acapulco: "SI, SENORITA"
Argyle here. That last one; I picture Scotty from Star Trek beamed down into Mexico. A nice mix of wheelhouses in a classic pinwheel grid. Several CSO's.
Across:
1. Pet adoption agcy.: SPCA. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
5. West Indies tribe for which a sea is named: CARIB. Doubling the ending 'b' of Carib and adding -ean makes it an adjective, Caribbean Sea, as well as a noun.
10. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. This is the intro to his "Rhyme Pays" album, here.(6:30)
14. Boxers Laila and Muhammad: ALIs
15. Carne __: burrito filling: ASADA
16. Benelux country: Abbr.: NETH. (Netherlands) Benelux is the union Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
19. __ blocker: BETA
20. Action hero Jason in three Ludlum novels: BOURNE. The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum
21. Swedish vodka brand: ABSOLUT
23. Material: CLOTH
25. Prefix with space: AERO
26. "__ the Sheriff": Clapton hit: I SHOT. Live(8:28)
28. Under threat: IN DANGER
32. Like most people: ASIAN
33. Comic's perch: STOOL
34. Label for Elvis: RCA
35. "Supervixens" director Meyer: RUSS. Sexploitation films.
37. Fashion line: SEAM. Easy to overthink it.
38. Author's ending?: IZE. (authorize) Good misdirection.
39. Celebrated chef Ducasse: ALAIN. French.
40. Copycats: APERS
41. Lovers of wordplay: PUNSTERS
43. Get big on Twitter: TREND
44. Gumbo pod: OKRA
45. Sierra Nevada lake: TAHOE
47. Ginger's "Gilligan's Island" hutmate: MARY ANN. (Dawn Wells)
50. Repaired, as a fence: MENDED
53. Awesome, nowadays: EPIC
57. Old film dog: ASTA. (Skippy)
58. "Family Matters" misfit: URKEL. (Jaleel White)
59. Mirror shape: OVAL
60. Quantum movement?: LEAP. It was a TV Series (1989–1993).
61. Body of verse: POESY
62. Sunday benches: PEWS
Down:
1. Airline to Oslo: SAS. (Originally an abbreviation of its former name Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark–Norway–Sweden)
2. Working-class Roman: PLEB
3. Padua parting: "CIAO"
4. Even though: AS MUCH AS
5. Lacks what it takes to: CANNOT
6. Equipment, in a ledger: ASSET
7. Lab rodent: RAT
8. Brainstorm: IDEA
9. Rihanna's home country: BARBADOS. Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress.
10. Congenital: INBORN. (existing from birth)
12. Caesar's last question: "ET TU?"
13. The one over there: THAT
18. Lightweight synthetic: ORLON
22. Elite Navy fighter: SEAL. ((SEa, Air, and Land))
24. Names given to an assassin: HIT LIST
26. Rodeo automaker: ISUZU
29. Sentence subject, usually: NOUN
30. Birthday greeting opened with a click: E-CARD
31. Ewes' guys: RAMS
32. Give it __: swing hard: A RIP
33. Prep for fight night: SPAR
36. Tidies: CLEANS UP
37. Radar gun user: SPEED COP. Not a term I'm familiar with.
39. Big name in razors: ATRA
40. Rice-__: A-RONI. The San Francisco treat!
42. Airport porter: SKYCAP
43. 1986 horror film in which a man becomes an insect: THE FLY. I liked the 1958 version better.
46. Female French friends: AMIEs
47. Repast: MEAL
48. Church area behind an altar: APSE
49. Detective Wolfe: NERO
51. Roof overhang: EAVE
52. Sketch: DRAW
55. Just get (by): EKE
56. Golf Hall of Famer Ernie: ELS
Argyle
41 comments:
FIR, but I had a hard time closing it. 10a/11d had me stumped until I realized CPLUS was the unacknowledged reveal, so my choices were either S or C. I suppose it could have also been X. I finally parsed I-CET correctly, but the C gave no joy. Searched and found the British (Canadian?) spelling of AUTHORIsE, and got my ta-da!
Moe: A touch of prescience in using CLOTH embedded in the punchline of your second l'ick yesterday, full "dis-clothesure"!
I try to forget, but CANNOT,
A lawwoman named MARY ANN Knott!
Parsing double-double-U
Had me flirting, "ET TU?"
She's a babe! THAT sheriff IS HOT!
A reverent, intelligent sloth
Was consecrated a sloth of the CLOTH.
But his sermons were in mews,
And he slept in the PEWS,
Worst, in the APSE he would hang on the cross!
There was a SEA MONSTER near BARBADOS
Who would LEAP and FLY in tornadoes!
The local CARIB
Thought he was a dweeb
For his AEROSPACE antics with chaos!
{A-, A+, C-.}
Hi everyone!
Thanks to Sam and Santa!
Only a few unknowns were perped: BARBADOS, CARIB, RUSS, ISUZU and MARYANN.
Nothing new here!
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Good morning!
My SEA Serpent convinced me that Rihanna hailed from Botswana. That caused no end of problems. (New shipment of Wite-Out expected today.) If I'd gotten the theme, I would have fixed NEELOGREEN -- I didn't. DNF. Thanx, Samuel and Argyle.
The cluing for C PLUS seems odd. An honor roll student would be disappointed with a B PLUS.
Saw "Ducasse" and read "Lagasse." EMERIL wouldn't fit.
Quantum Leap was a vehicle for a young Scott Bakula. Was it really that long ago?
First a Monday FIW, now a Tuesday. I had ISUsU and authorIsE. Bad spellers of the world UNTIE!
My only erasure was writing TAHOE in the wrong place. I have a hard time seeing the numbers on the grid without using a magnifying glass, so if I lose synch I misfill. Like Santa, I've never heard of a SPEED COP. Other unknowns were ALAIN, URKEL, POESY, and CEEL O'GREEN.
My favorite pet adoption agency is Greyhound Pets of America (greyhoundpets.org). They have affiliates across the country including Orlando, where my dear Zoe came from.
PK - So many homes destroyed in the fires, but so far "only" 10 deaths. When I see pictures of the many road closures, I can imagine people trying to flee but not being able to get out. I fear the death toll may grow. I'm glad your family is safe.
Thanks to Sam and Santa for a fun Tuesday.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Sam Donaldson, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
Zipped through Tuesday's puzzle easily. Never caught the theme until now.
Problems were CEELO GREEN, RUSS, ALAIN. Thank you perps and wags.
Did this on the IPad, via cruciverb, which seems to be working this week. I am in Johnsonburg for a few days. A few things that need repaired. Garage door spring replacement, shallow well hookup, leaky roof, etc.
I flew from Chicago to Pittsburgh. Bought a ticket on line for the flight. Thought it said 9:23 AM. When I got to O'Hare Field and sat around for a few hours and wondered why the flight was not on the board, I checked with the help desk and the lady told me it was 9:23 PM. I looked at the ticket more closely and saw my mistake. I changed to another flight ($75). This put me into Pittsburgh 20 minutes after my connecting flight left. So, I bought a Greyhound ticket from Pittsburgh to Edinboro, PA. When I got to Pittsburgh, I caught the city bus (free for me) from Pittsburgh International to downtown (1 hour ride). Went to Greyhound and got on the bus. Since I had not slept in over 24 hours I fell asleep on the bus and woke up in Erie. Called my wife's cousin who was picking me up in Edinboro and told her to come to Erie instead. Got to Johnsonburg at midnight. Phew! Slept real good that night.
Anyhow, I got the well working yesterday and the garage door spring started. Hope to finish that this morning.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Abejo, sounds like a wonderful trip. I remember an old joke that begins with buying two pickets... and ends with Saint Finger.
Lemon, did Maryann really poop on the tv screen?
I could 'C' what the puzzle would be like after working down the left side filling SEA MONSTER and SI SENORITA. My wife if addicted to 'The Voice' so I knew who of jailbird CEELO GREEN but had no idea of any song he ever did. My only change was a grade change; B-PLUS to C-PLUS, which I would have gladly accepted for my freshman English classes. But with the grade inflation disease that every college seems to have caught they would probably be B's or A's today. Everybody is on the honor roll these days.
Mr. Donaldson was the entertainment constructor with this puzzle. Rihanna, Green, Clapton, RUSS Meyer, ALAIN Ducasse, URKEL, Ginger & MARY ANN. Jason BOURNE was on the HIT LIST in all of his movies but always survived, so they can make another BOURNE movie. And that's the ABSOLUTe truth. You don't like my C-PLUS critique? SEE IF I CARE. My wife says AS MUCH AS I try, I CANNOT help myself. It's an INBORN fault.
And what the hell is a SPEED COP? That's a new one.
CIAO
We called 'em "speed cops" in my ute. Maybe Samuel Donaldson is from the midwest? Those cops would park off to the side of the main road, and when you flew past, the bubble-gum machine on the roof would light up. Remember those things?
Easy Tuesday. I did not stop to look for the theme, but it seems obvious.
Cee Lo Green and Russ were unfamiliar, but easily perp-ed and wag-ed.
D-O, I was laughing at the Mary Ann typo, also.
With the C Plus fill, I was thinking of the students' anguish I have seen over an A Minus.
I agree that it seems college grade inflation is becoming more rampant. Even years ago I did not value my high grade point average in grad school in 1991 because there was no way of knowing how objective it was. Way back in my undergrad days, our grades represented something solid.
Abejo, what a traveler's nightmare you had!
I read just one of the Bourne novels. Although this is not always the case, I suppose I was not in the mood for all the mayhem.
I used to enjoy Urkel played by Jaleel White. The actor is normal, attractive and intelligent in real life. He almost was chosen to play Rudi on the Cosby Show.
The U.S. seems to have more than its share of natural disasters these last months with four hurricanes and the horrible fires in the west. I hope you and your stay safe.
I remember the outcry of that episode when Mary-Ann pooped in that disgusting scene on Baywatch.
Good morning everyone.
Abejo - some story. Can't get away from Erie. Like a moth to the flame.
Crunchy for a Tuesday. Too many proper names for me. Not my strong area. But somehow I persevered and got it done. Much WAG and perp help.
Had peon before PLEB and had AMIÉS spelt wrong. SEE IF I CARE fixed THAT.
Agree with others about SPEED COP.
Liked the long downs.
Like the euphemism MENDED fences. My Dad an I 'fixed fences'.
Good job Samuel and Argyle. Thank you.
Jinx, CEE LO GREEN is not Irish.
An opthamologist named Charles Foster could have a practice named C. F. Eye Care
Musings
-I gave a straight A student her first C+ in 8th grade because she couldn’t do well on my open-note, no memory required tests. She never spent a day in college
-CEE LO’s unsanitized Forget You contains the “F bomb” over and over. The kids all know both versions believe you me.
-The Benelux countries twice served German war machines on their march to Paris
-More people live in this circle than outside it
-APER, you go stand in the corner with ELHI
-Officiant: InASMUCH AS you__________, and you __________, have thus consented in holy matrimony…
-Don’t tax him, don’t tax me, tax THAT guy behind the tree
-Remember this HIT LIST?
Thanks to Samuel A. Donaldson! And many thanks to Argyle for helping me SEE the theme!
One of my friends loves the Jason BOURNE movies. Not I. After reading one book I decided that was enough.
This entire puzzle was a trip down memory lane: URKEL, MARY ANN, (QUANTUM)LEAP, ALIS (Mohammed and Laila). I loved the ewes' guys clue.
Abejo:
That was quite the trip you took! Are glasses in the future for you?
I'm off for a shopping trip with my BOURNE-loving friend.
Have a fabulous day, everyone! Prayers for those in harm's way, especially the dangerous fires.
Hi Everyone:
Late to the dance for the usual reason; I got sidetracked in 6 different directions. The puzzle was pretty straightforward but I needed perps in a few areas. Never heard of Russ Meyer and had a hard time coming up with Maryann as I never watched that show. I never watched "Quantam Leap", either, but I enjoy seeing Trubrit's son-in-law, Scott Bakula, in "NCIS: New Orleans." Had no clue about the theme until I finished and scanned the grid and, voila, I "saw" the light.
Thanks, Samuel Donaldson, for a smooth and satisfying solve and thanks, Argyle, for guiding us along.
Abejo, that was a trip to remember! (Or forget!) Before I logged on this morning, I was thinking that you have been AWOL, so it was nice to see you back in the fold.
I read "The Bourne Identity" when it was first published in 1980. I don't remember a thing about it but I never read any more of Ludlum's novels, so I must not have liked the genre.
Have a great day.
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Samuel and Argyle for making my day complete. Fast and fun puzzle.
I didn't "C" the theme until Argyle 'splained it. I put the last letter in the grid last night and the whole thing disappeared just as I was going to look for the theme. Aaargh!
I thought ABSOLUT was a Russian brand until a few perps gave me a hint.
Benelux: tried Belgium before NETH.
I knew Rhianna was from the CARIBbean and had a "B" so...
Lemonade: Oh, naughty Mary Ann! Don't typos stink sometimes? Best laugh I'm liable to have all day.
Abejo: after that wild trip, I'd suggest that your wife's cousin find a local handyman. That's one you have to laugh at to keep from crying.
Turned very chilly in the night. A week ago I made an appointment for the furnace man to check over my heating system today at noon. 65 in my house so I dug out more sweats and am comfy. Can't complain when my sister's town of Santa Clara has been burning. She evacuated to a motel. Last word I saw last night was that two motels had burned so my anxiety level peaked again. She has been estranged from the family for 30+ years. One brother hears from her every year or so. She texted him about leaving her home.
Gilligans Island on Baywatch?
(I had to check it out to see if MaryAnne really pooped on the screen...)
I give it a C-Minus..
Also, went looking to see if Scott Bakula ever pooped on the screen.
All I found was something the ladies might like...
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Two days in a row with no CWE's (cheats, write-overs, errors). A perfectly CLEAN grid, filled out with a Rolle gel pen, no less!
I was never in DANGER today; many clue/solves filled in via perps; and I never "saw the theme" until coming here to read Santa's usual, great recap. S.A.D. gave us a fun-filled trip back to Memory Lane (which, BTW, was the name of a street that paralleled the one on which I lived) with references to Gilligan's Island, RUSS Meyer, Family Matters, et al
A CSO to many of us here with the solve in 41a. Some of us PUNSTERS are more overt than others, but it all is good fun
After watching baseball for the first time all year (I can tolerate the playoffs, though the games are tediously long), and the ALDS (American League Division Series), I came up with this, silly, sophomoric POESY: (I also got the idea from Lemon's post about MARY ANN pooping up on the TV)
So I noticed a PUNSTER on Twitter,
Who keeps trying, 'cause he's not a quitter.
His new pun has a smidgen
Of humor. Can STOOL pigeon
Be known as a "designated shitter"?
And, this one, which is not nearly as punny, but is equally "baaaad":
Up in New Jersey, the trending disguise
For Halloween, is men wearing full-size
Costume, resembling a sheep.
Girls dress as Little Bo Peep,
So as to complement all of "ewes guys".
Moe is leaving the building ...
No problems today, but it played hard for me. Never seen CEELOGREEN, but the perps bailed me out (again).
Note: "I shot the sheriff" was indeed a hit for Eric Clapton in 1974, but it it was a cover version of the song written and first performed/recorded in 1973 by Bob Marley (and the Wailers).
The Clapton version was inducted into the "Grammy Hall of Fame".
An interesting historical footnote is that the 1992 ICE-T song "Cop Killer" has a similar theme but was highly controversial at the time. Draw your own conclusions.
Well, after yesterday's great start I was hoping for another success, but 'twas not to be. I did work my way through from the bottom up, but got stuck at the top of the northeast corner. I have to confess I hate it when a puzzle crosses one musician's name with another musician's name because I'm likely not to know either one, and it just messes up a critical word. I suppose I might have guessed ICE T, but by then I was so stressed that I didn't. Still, it was fun to get MARY ANN and PUNSTERS. And I still don't know how we were supposed to guess the theme. Did I miss a reveal somewhere? Anyway, thanks for explaining it, Argyle, and Samuel, my apologies for the griping.
Thank goodness for a doable Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble this morning--that helped a little. And I should be thankful for a beautiful California day of sunshine and perfect temperatures, and monarch butterflies still cruising around our milkweed.
Have a good day, everybody!
Happy Double Ten Day (雙十節)!
Somewhat tough-ish puzzle, I thought, probably because of the proper names. The last letter to fill was the "C" crossing CEELOGREEN and ICET; apparently I do not know the names of rappers, although I have seen Ice-T in that Law and Order show and LL Cool J in NCIS Los Angeles.
So tragic about the massive property damage from the fires in Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties!
Gotta go. Will post more later maybe.
I always thought Maryanne played number two to her hutmate Ginger.
Lemony confirms it
This was a Ta- DA! minus one - because of the nexus of two proper names. Looking back on it, I should probably have forced myself to add the "C" in I[C]E-T on my own (given that Mr. ICE-T is one of the few rapper names I know). But I admit I Googled him, cuz whenever I see any rap or hiphop clues the ol' walnut goes blank.
Sorry, Mr. Donaldson, but I'm one of those curmudgeons who support the banning of crossing proper names throughout Crosswordium.
(Are you with me, Jayce, at least as far as rapper names are concerned? And maybe Misty too - where musicians [of any stripe?] are involved?)
On other fronts, this was a handsome job, and I tender my respects to both its creator, and to Argyle, our elucidator.
BTW, I was engrossed in the showdown between Bugs & Yosemite Sam. Why, oh, why didn't we get to see what Sam drew?!
I'm with you on that, Ol' Man Keith. As Argyle pointed out, this puzzle has "a nice mix of wheelhouses." So I support the avoidance of crossing entries that are in the same wheelhouse, for the obvious reason that if one of them isn't in one's wheelhouse the other one won't be, either, so it becomes a Natick. So yes, please, constructors, avoid crossing two rapper's names, for example, or two 18th century Russian composers, or two nautical terms, or fashion or sports terms, or what have you.
On an unrelated note, seeing POESY in the puzzle brought to mind a French actress named Clémence Poésy who is currently starring in a European crime/cop show called The Tunnel which can be seen on PBS. It is a very intense drama, complex and gripping. LW and I enjoy it and are looking forward to season 3 to commence some time in 2018.
So, who here says "CaRIBBean" and who says "CariBEEan"? (I say it the latter way.)
Abejo, that was quite an, um, adventure you had.
Best wishes to you all.
Anon@2:03,
Oooh, I wish I had thought of that awful pun!
OMKeith, I am still looking for "what Yosemite Sam actually drew..."
In the meantime, & since today's paper announced there will be a "honeymooners Musical,"
(can you just imagine Jackie Gleason Singing?)
I thought a Yosemite/Bugs musical
might work...
(Note: we had Elmer Fudd/Bugs opera two weeks ago..)
P.S.
After I had copied the Liberty Valence montage,
YouTube recommended this video for me:
Hmm, interesting....
Has anyone heard from Jerome? With all the fire damage in that area, I hope he's OK.
The two parties that I know in the area are undamaged so far, but one of them was in the first evacuation.
Argyle: Nice write-up. I didn't "notice" the "C" theme.
Samuel: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle.
Jayce: I say Caribbean ... only been to about 30 of it's islands.
Cheers!
Thank you, Mr. S.A.D, for the fun puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for explaining the theme which went entirely over my head!
1a Pet adoption agcy-- I wanted LFAW (League For Animal Welfare) but I figured I'd be the only person who knew that one so went with the better known SPCA.
Peon/PLEB, but the rest I knew or perps filled in for me.
YR, I hope Alan continues to feel well.
Have a wonderful day!
Just to confuse those who read comments late:
Good morning:
Certainly an "A" puzzle, with much interesting fill for a Tuesday. I had not thought about Gilligan and Mary Ann until Sunday when I was flipping through the tv channels which now includes many old tv channels. My eye caught Gilligan (the late Bob Denver) on an episode of Baywatch from 1992. Then Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) out popped on the screen. The episode became a parody of the old series, with the crash of the Minnow II. The fun part - the episode was dubbed in Spanish! Of course, I live in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm Beach area.
I also enjoyed the reference to my old secret identity so admirably revealed by Matt Damon. Also including HIT LIST.
CARIB and Barbados
Ice-T is now more famous as NYPD Detective/Sergeant Odafin Tutuola on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Laughed at 31D. Ewes' guys: RAMS.
Thanks Sam and Scott
With spell check and my limited typing skills, I often double the wrong of two letters. Ah well, I hope it added to the daily fun.
I have not seen any comments from Jerome in a long time. I too hope he is well.
Lemony, forgive us all for having so much fun with your typo. It was the highlight of the day, despite our digressing to fifth grade boy level humor. I have good typing skills and I still have trouble especially with double "O's" & "P's". Most of the time my proof reading habits save me. Please don't let our rudeness discourage you from continuing to post daily.
I'm with Misty etal on those crossing Naticks. However, I certainly knew ICE-T, my brain wasn't working again.
And, I had the same thought about the actor who played Steve Urkel. Which I spelled with an E, not paying attention to CLEANS UP. I also liked the actor who played young Anikan Skywalker.
Owen, if you're ever going to hit an A+ that one was it. And C-Moe: not too shitty either. That Anon-203 pun went right by me.
WC
Argyle: From 0245 this morning on yesterday's comments - thanks for answering. That's a real stretch for "a literal description of the starts....", but OK, I give.
Hi All!
Sorry Samuel, my heart nor brain was really in it today. I figured, "A Tuesday? I can do this while I work." Nope, too many repeated mis-reads (e.g. 10d Congenial) and all the names. I get a C-MINUS - didn't apply himself. Xing ICE-T w/ who? while I was misreading... impossible - DNF.
Thanks Argyle for the expo. Loved Bugs & Yosemite Sam! I don't think Sam ever drew anything CED; a few false starts and broken pencil - but that was it.
Fav: c/a for MENDED
{A,A,C+} {cute}
Abejo - that's a hellova travel "adventure."
I hope the Corner's California Contingent are safe from the fires.
If they re-boot the franchise based on Ludlum's novels: In a world where Jason finds God... See:
BOURNE Again
Back to work. Cheers, -T
Hi everyone Been doing LAT for only 2 months and this is my first post. I really enjoy the experience. Except for Ceelo Green and IceT first album and the word poesy, I nailed everything else. Used perps to get the 3 I wasn’t familiar with. I see a lot of words I did not know 2 months ago being repeated like apse, ete, els, eel. Great learning experience for me.
Want to thank Kathy—�Yellowrocks—for helping me navigate these waters.
Welcome, Mark. Glad you are enjoying the LATs.
Jayce:
Thank you for pointing out double 10 day! I can't believe I hadn't heard of it nor its explanation. Very interesting!
Mark S:
Welcome to the Corner!
Thanks, Lucina
Mark
Coming very late to the party I appreciate the clarification about Mary Ann pooping. Learning moment about Baywatch Gilligan's Island episode.
The question I always remember: Which type of woman do you go for: Ginger or Mary Ann?
Mary Ann was definitely my type. Anyone else care to vote?
Hand up about ICET/CEELOGREEN crossing. I have had this parsing problem before regarding I-CET and finally getting that it is ICE-T who indeed is about the only rapper I know of.
Googled CEE LO GREEN and see that the first song that comes up for him is called "F--K YOU". Probably not on the radio stations I listen to. Although I do sometimes hear that word on the radio when they play the Who's "Who Are You" original version.
Got the theme about half way through. Otherwise would have had no chance in the NE with that crossing. Kind of a subtle theme which easily could be missed. I liked it!
Agree that THE FLY should have been noted to be a remake. I also prefer the original version. I cannot deal with more modern horror movies. And good that Nice Cuppa pointed out that I SHOT the Sheriff was also a remake. Original creators deserve credit!
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