TITLE: THE GREAT ESCAPE
Husker Gary in the cockpit for one more Friday. Alex's puzzle today has the word GREAT escaping the puzzle on all sides! Alex has taken ten phrases that start with the word GREAT and has put them on the perimeter of the gird sans that leading word. I have decided to try to show both ideas with the grid below where I have chosen a graphic that illustrates the entire phrase and placed it so that it abuts (a fav word here) the word that would follow GREAT.
Here are Alex's GREAT themers starting in the NW and going clockwise.
1. "Holy cow!" : SCOTT - SCOTT had to be correct but the implied GREAT didn't hit me until the next fill. I sometimes confuse Doc Brown's phrase with what Clark Kent's boss used to say on TV.
6. "Atta girl!" : JOB and 13. Considerable achievement : SUCCESS - Both remind me of our lovely blogmistress C.C.!
9. Like thinkers : MINDS - The GREAT ones here often do think alike and then there's yours truly
49. Scotland's island : BRITAIN - Scotland's division with Britain is the Cheviot Hills seen here and not Hadrian's Wall as I thought
74. Wheeler Peak's national park : BASIN - Defined as being a contiguous watershed between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas and Cascades with no outlet to the sea as you can see in the yellow part of the map above
73. Bonobo, for one : APE - A word I appreciate greatly as a noun and not as a verb
72. Dogs in the AKC's Working Group : DANES - GREAT is a pretty good adjective here
42. Oldest of the Seven Wonders : PYRAMID - Using cosmic rays, scientists have recently discovered evidence of a hidden chamber in the GREAT PYRAMID where Khufu is 53. Lay to rest : ENTOMBed
1. Blue Ridge range : SMOKIES - Our only trip through the beautiful GREAT SMOKIES range was in a driving rain storm.
and the reveal
39. Landmark that, in a way, is a border feature of this puzzle and a hint to what's missing from 10 answers : GREAT WALL - Finally we see our word escapee that is forming an implied WALL around the grid!
 |
| The FLOTUS touring the GREAT WALL last week |
Across
14. Group that bestows a "Select" distinction on five board games annually : MENSA - The 2017 winners
15. Barnyard mother : EWE - Not so much on HEN, COW or SOW
15. Barnyard mother : EWE - Not so much on HEN, COW or SOW
16. Paris parting : ADIEU
17. Arkansas' __ National Forest : OZARK - Kind of a gimme doncha' ya think?
18. X, maybe : TEN
19. Something to talk about : TOPIC
20. Kit__ bar : KAT
21. Ones responsible for paper cuts, briefly? : ED.S - Clever!
23. Comedian Rogan : JOE - I've never seen him work
25. 39-Acr. locale : PRC - Of course that wall in the reveal is located in the Peoples Republic of China!
26. Like Vivaldi's "Spring" : IN E - In the puzzle I blogged last Friday, I showed Ray Charles's great Mean Woman Blues also written IN the key of E
27. More diverse : MOTLIER - This is one Shakespearean word that has stuck with me
29. Suffix with brom- : IDE
30. "Bambi" doe : ENA - ENA and her daughter Faline are on the right. ENA is Bambi's aunt and becomes his mother-in-law
31. Jane of fiction : EYRE
32. __ Island: NYC prison site : RIKERS - A destination for many a bad guy on Law And Order
34. Blood fluids : SERA - Plural for serum. Getting diptheria SERA/antitoxin to Nome in 1925 was done by dogsled in a heroic effort
36. Director Riefenstahl : LENI - Adolph's favorite filmmaker
38. Buenos __ : AIRES
42. Gumby's pony : POKEY
45. Othello, for one : MOOR - Olivier and Dame Maggie Smith as Othello and Desdemona
46. Workers' rights org. : NLRB - National Labor Relations Board - a 1935 board established by FDR
50. "... through __ window breaks?" : YONDER - Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes as Romeo and Juliet
50. "... through __ window breaks?" : YONDER - Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes as Romeo and Juliet
52. Together, in Toulon : UNIE - Notre famille a besoin d'ĂȘtre unie (Our family needs to be united)
54. Back to front? : IER - You can put IER on the back of front to get FRONTIER
55. Line score initials : RHE - Baseball fans will recognize this 1956 line score as perhaps the most famous in baseball history
56. Taken (with) : SMITTEN
58. Egg: Pref. : OVI
59. In the manner of : A LA - Next Friday's blog should be A LA Lemon
60. P.O. box item : ENV
61. Short order? : BLT -BLT and mayo started out as diner lingo but are now mainstream
62. Badminton need : NET
63. Familia member : MADRE
65. Tuna variety : AHI
67. Tippett's "King Priam," for one : OPERA and 69. "King Priam" is based on it : ILIAD - Nice juxtaposition
70. "Kidding!" : NOT
71. Argentine soccer superstar : MESSI - Lionel MESSI plays for FC Spain for $42,000,000/ year
Down
2. "The Card Players" artist : CEZANNE - What does it say about a Qatari family who can spend $250,000,000 for this painting?
3. Winning steadily : ON A TEAR
4. Train syst. across Russia : TSR - Trans Siberian Railway - Dr. Zhivago inspired great interest in this railway but the train scenes were actually shot in Finland
5. "I wanna go too!" : TAKE ME
5. "I wanna go too!" : TAKE ME
6. LAX-to-JFK flight shortener : JET STREAM - LA to NY takes about 40 min. less
7. Be shy : OWE
8. Dog star : BENJI
9. Stand-up's need : MATERIAL
10. Words often heard after "shall live?" : I DO - "...as long as we both shall live" (or decide we can't do this anymore)
11. Colder : NIPPIER
12. Tragic heroine of Irish legend : DEIRDRE - New to me but I like the painting
22. Watson's creator : DOYLE - No, I am not going to say "Elementary..."
24. Anthem preposition : OER - It is sung five notes before the real test of hitting the note for "FREE" without going into falsetto
28. Offered free use of, as a library book : LENT OUT - They LENT OUT every Hardy Boy Mystery to me in my ute!
33. Pottery oven : KILN
35. Treated like wine : AGED
37. "You're safe with me" : I WON'T BITE - Unless...
40. Some field starters : RYE SEEDS - RYE is used as a winter cover crop here
41. Red-headed Disney princess : ARIEL
43. "TrĂšs chic!" : OOH LA LA
44. Add, as raisins to bread dough : KNEAD IN - As this cute little kitty is learning to do
47. Elsa or Nala : LIONESS
48. Game with two-toned discs : REVERSI - When I played this game, it was known as 45 Across
51. Watergate pres. : RMN - It's usually the coverup that gets 'em
51. Watergate pres. : RMN - It's usually the coverup that gets 'em
57. Donald Jr.'s mom : IVANA
64. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE
66. Hip follower : HOP - The rhythms are infectious but some of the "lyrics" are so offensive
68. Green sphere : PEA
As Tony the Tiger would say, we are ready for your GRRRRREAT comments:
51 comments:
Easy puzzle and theme, but I had to read the reveal to understand why PRC was a 39-acre locale! China is a lot bigger than 39 acres!
Patents so often cause inventors strife!
Calculus to telephone to radio mic!
Even something as simple
As a cheesy utensil,
There's contention because GRATE MINDS think alike!
The rube from the OZARKS bid fond ADIEU,
As he left to go YONDER to something new!
Bye-bye MADRE and Pa,
But mostly (OOH-LA-LA!)
A tearful farewell to his favorite EWE!
{B, B-.}
Difficulty is in the mind of the beholder. What was easy for OKL was hard for me. I did not see to add Great until I was finished, and I needed help in several places.
Thanks to Alex for the challenge, and to HG for the exceptional review. The visual Greats helped me see, and that was just the start.
72A Great Danes reminds me of one who lived next door. When I was out with Romeo after dark this horse would suddenly run into me with a slobbery head at my shoulder. Startle
17D I know O"s"ark, not.
21D ED.s Editors?
57D Is there also an Ivan"C"a in the mix?
Whew,
Dave
Good morning all!
Took me a minute to get the theme, but I got there eventually and am impressed (as always) with Alex's work. Great write up HG - loved all the visuals! (And I'm taking back the misplaced credit I gave you yesterday and giving it to Lemony where it belongs. C-Eh was correct: I was very tired!!!).
I really enjoyed reading all the stories of happenstance from yesterday. How awesome that Abejo and MD would meet because of a license plate?! I'm quite sure I would have made a fool of myself making the introductions. Anyway, I'm frequently amazed at how small of a world we really do live in. Technology is making it smaller everyday. Thank you all for sharing!
So awhile ago I did a puzzle by Natan Last and I really liked him - then I read more about him and liked him even more. Then I found his book 144 Puzzles that Prove it's Hip to be Square. Since I enjoyed it so much, I've bought copies for my younger friends that are new to puzzling. It's a cheap book and everyone has thoroughly enjoyed it. The themes are aimed at the younger crowd, most of the puzzles are 1 or 2 starred, and it has some classic clues/fill as well. (Although I feel obligated to share that I have had to google some answers that were far hipper than myself!) Thought some of you might want to look into it for kids/grandkids/etc that you think might want to get started on puzzles...or for fun-zies for yourself!
That's all for now - good night all :)
t.
PS - @anon-T that salad looked delish, especially next to the puzzle! well staged, my friend :)
One has to rise early I say
To comment before the Owen K,
Oh, L.
With this I tell
My limerick for today
It's Ian"K"a, the FDOUS.
T 5:39 I need all my life's experience, and often ask moi "how did I know that?" I've lived through many of the clue eras.
Dave
Good morning!
I was thinking literally (a bad thing to do on a Friday) and inked in CANIS where BENJI needed to go. Some new folks just moved in down the street along with their pair of Great DANES. We see them when we walk by, hoping that their fence is strong. ENTOMB, because INTER was too short. Thanx for the workout, Alex, and for the expo, Husker. (BTW, I was ready to take you to task for claiming that Khufu was 53. Then the penny dropped.)
Too much for me today. Had I been able to grasp the GREAT theme I think I would have gotten close to finishing, but I'll never know. Congrats to everyone who tamed this challenge.
The University at Albany Great DANES beat Maryland in the first round of the NCAA soccer playoffs last night. Great Danes are known as the world's largest lap dogs. Like dachshunds, they don't seem to comprehend their size compared to everyone else.
The puzzle was a little crunchy this morning. The TSR was a WAG but it was the only thing that allowed SCOTT to appear, and 'his' homeland-Scotland- appeared as a clue in 49D. I figured out the GREAT WALL mainly from perps after P and C were in place in the PRC. No way DEIRDRE would have ever found her way- I know zilch about 'Irish legend'. But ultimately I finished the puzzle NOT, at the intersection of REVERSI and BASIN. I've never heard of the game or Great BASIN National Park, so REVERSE looked like a better word. BASEN didn't seem right but I thought it was a decent guess.
My last correct fill was the cross of BENJI and JOE Rogan, who was unknown to me. I was thinking star in the sky, not on the screen. Duh! POKEY and MESSI were unknowns filled by perps.
It would be hard to find a MOTLIER crew than my fellow 'cornerites'. ADIEU.
TSR is like three times the distance from LAX to JFK. FYI
I'm not sure what I think of this one. Clever, no doubt about that. And some of the clues I just loved, like 21 A..ones responsible for paper cuts? What fun!
But I didn't get the theme and didn't really appreciate it when HG explained. Oh well. Thanks to Alex and Gary for the workout.
Good Morning:
This was one of those puzzles that I appreciate more after completion than I do while solving it. My unknowns were Joe Rogen, have only heard of Seth; have no idea who Gumby is, let alone Pokey; not at all familiar with Priam, as either an opera or being based on "The Iliad." My only w/os were Reg/BLT and Ova/Ovi. Motlier is a bit clunky, to me, anyway. Back to front=ier had me baffled until the expo. It took awhile to catch the theme but, once I figured it out, I was impressed.
Nice effort, AES, and excellent expo, HG. I can't imagine how much time and effort it takes to create such an array of links and visuals. Bravo, Blogmeister Extraordinaire! PS, I loved the "kneading" cat!
Have a great day.
This was not easy for me. Some of the fill seemed quite off, until at the very end when I added GREAT to the edge words.
Benji held me up for the longest time. The dog star is Sirius and JOB seemed weird without the GREAT. I finally got it.
The SE did me in. I was missing BASIN BRITAIN REVERSI and IER. I never heard of REVERSI. We called it Othello.
I looked up Great Basin National Park and the penny dropped. The theme made sense and I was able to fill in the missing parts. I liked everything except BACK TO FRONT/IER.
ATTA BOY/ GREAT JOB, Gary. I loved the kitty learning to knead.
Fun theme and, once I figured it was a GREATWALL, not a WATERFALL (thinking of Victoria Falls as a border feature), the wall came tumbling down, so to speak. Other than TETON instead of BASIN, a fairly easy Friday fill (but challenging nonetheless).
Happy weekend everyone!
C.C. created today's NYT. I found it easier/quicker than today's LAT.
Good morning everyone.
Quite a trek today but the rewards were worth it. Biggest misreading was 39 acr. locale. since I took acr to be acre. Now, what municipality is a mere 39 acres? Perps finally gave me PRC, and I finally made the connection to 39a GREAT WALL. D'uh. But I had to come here to appreciate the full dimension of the theme. Well done!
Many good clues but I vote for the one for EDS.
I don't eat much candy, but usually have 1 or 2 Kit-KATs on Bridge night.
SMOKIES - I am reading "American Ulysses - A Life of Ulysses S. Grant" by Ronald C. White. On pg. 380 he describes the Shenandoah Valley as being situated between the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east and the Alleghenies on the west. Doesn't quite square with the clue, but I guess the specific names or references can vary a little.
TSR - Re: Gary's comment about Dr. Zhivago train scenes having been filmed in Finland. I think Finland has the same rail gauge as Russia, so that would make sense.
Clever crossword. Great answers and pictures!!!!!!!! I enjoyed everything about it today.
This was a Friday workout. Thanks for the fun Alex and HuskerG (I loved the graphics around the puzzle).
Lightbulb went on with SCOTT (we need GREAT!) which helped me to see the theme and the GREAT borders. But there were still many unknowns that required perps (RIKERS, MESSI, REVERSI, NLRE, POKEY).
OPERA and ILEAD came to mind with just a few letters to remind me of the story of PRIAM.
I entered IN and waited for E to fill and reveal the key of Vivaldi's "Spring".
I smiled at the clue for EDS (D4E4H@5:37 - Editors make cuts in the newspaper articles), FrontIER, I DO (new clueing). I was working on the MENSA site today.
I liked the cross of ALA and OOH LA LA.
Shy was about money not bashfulness. PRC took a few minutes to dawn (I rarely hear that full name for China) and RYE SEEDS was a stretch.
Some Shakespeare today with Romeo and Juliet's YONDER and Othello's MOOR. (Olivier played Othello in blackface in that 1956 version. Times have changed and that would not be acceptable now.)
I did not understand RHE (runs-hits-errors) (although I think we have seen it before) until I saw your scoreboard HG. To save other non-baseball fans from having to Google, the photo is from Game 5 of World Series in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched a perfect game. Wilbur C (and C.C. of course) probably knew this!
Scotland's Island sent me looking for an island that is part of Scotland like Skye, Mull not the island of GREAT BRITAIN of which Scotland is a part. Seems backward to me.
Speaking of BRITAIN, I was using the Leant spelling which is more familiar to me and had to erase "Leant to" and change to LENT OUT.
Re CEZANNE painting that sold for 250 million: a Da Vinci painting (supposedly) was just sold to an undisclosed purchaser for 400 million US (plus approx. 50 million in fees)!
SalvatorMundi
Enjoy the day.
The Blue Ridge Mountains cover a huge amount of territory,"located in the eastern United States, starting at its southernmost portion in Georgia, then ending northward in Pennsylvania." Wikipedia
"The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province." Wikipedia.
The Smoky Mountains are much farther south than the Shenandoah Valley in VA.
Getting the theme earlier would have made the puzzle much easier. I did have Great Wall early on, but didn't stop to think that on Fridays we sometimes have add-a-word.
Thanks, Alex, for a challenge this Friday. Clever theme and almost a FIW.... but finally came up with DOYLE!
Seems like we've had a lot of "border" puzzles, lately, or is it just me?
Thanks much, HG, for another great write-up. Love your pics and links!
Thank you, Alex E-S, for a tough challenge today!
I also found some of the cluing a bit awkward but saw the theme at GREATWALL and that helped with some of the periphery, especially JOB and MINDS. I enjoyed the classics, though: MOOR, YONDER, OPERA, ILIAD. Somewhere in the inner reaches of my memory DEIRDRE resides though I can't recall why.
On last night's news when they discussed the sale of Salvator Mundi, The Card Players was also mentioned as the second most expensive painting. Otherwise, CEZANNE would have been a slow slog for me. Maybe.
The SE had three Naticks. REVERSI/MESSI/NLRB. I finally saw LIONESS and had BRITAIN/BASIN but had never heard of the game so had to Google it. I hate that! (Looking up)
BENJI was a big surprise as I was thinking of a star in the sky, too. POKEY, a complete unknown. I learned a lot today and shall write it in my crossword dictionary.
CSO to our own GREAT SCOTT, Argyle!
Have a gorgeous day, everyone! Nail salon day. I'm treating myself to a full spa pedicure. Aaah.
No cheating on this puzzle! You can't get around it!
But I did get Confucius in places?
Hmmm...
Thank you, as well, Gary, for your voluble review with beautiful graphics. GREAT JOB on the WALL coverings!
Thanks Alex and Gary. That was a very enjoyable puzzle once I sussed out the trickery.
Re. the 'kneading' kitty. I have always assumed that this behavior is something kittens are born with and that it is designed to help with the milk supply when nursing.
Jordan and I play Othello often. I did know its other name though.
Good afternoon,
Thanks, Alex. Your very excellent construction was over my head. The pieces were fitting together for me, but I never saw the complete picture. Nicely done. After the OZARKs crossed the SMOKIES, I was looking for a geological theme. I liked OWE and EDS once I transitioned from my first thoughts. And KNEAD IN, duh! What was I thinking??!!
Terrific tour, Gary. Thanks so much.
TTP from yesterday: I'll bet you're correct. Pasta Mia!! That was one of my grandmother's "swears."
Have a sunny day, no matter what. Old Sol is sure trying to get out here in Chicago! Not too much luck, though.
The only way I got 1a was by first filling some of the downs, and then I thought, "How can SCOTT mean Holy Cow? Now if it was great SCOTT..." but I still didn't get it until the reveal. Now I very much admire that construction. Great JOB!
Some other things I didn't get at all until reading Gary's terrific write-up were IER and RHE. I guess mine has not been a great mind today. Well , at least I knew MESSI since LW and I enjoyed watching him play in the World Cup last year.
Overall a nice solving experience to round out this Friday morning.
ćșć „ćčłćź
I enjoyed the Husker Gary write-up more than the puzzle.
D-N-F ... and I am glad I put it down.
Tenth Straight TADA ! I didn't get the theme until I was done either. I had never heard of " Reversi and although I came from a "Gamey Family" ( my French Canadian catholic paternal Grand mother called my Evangelical Welch/Scot Irish Grandmother that one day), I never played Othello either (sorry, Parchesi, monopoly, chutes and Ladders, Checkers...).
I only got Cezzane because he was the only painter I knew with a "Z" in the middle.
my final fill was crossing out RBI to fit 43 and 44 d.
Joe Rogan became famous 10 years or so ago by hosting a TV show where the contestants ate bugs and laid in bins full of snakes. Don't recall the name. I have heard his stand up on sat radio a couple times.
My guess is the streak ends tomorrow,
@Chuck - "Fear Factor" was the show you are thinking of...
Hi Y'all! Whew! Tricky challenge, Alex. That's okay, it is Friday after all. Isn't it? I think so but my brain drained. I definitely wasn't SMITTEN with this puzzle. WALL that was a GREAT expo, Gary! Thanks.
The top line was like snow on the mountains until most of the rest of the puzzle was finished. Had to go down a ways to start filling and work back up. SCOTT, JOB, MINDS made no sense when it did fill until the GREAT theme was built around with the WALL.
Last to fill was the RE in REVERSI/IER. Never heard of the game. We weren't a game playing family. Other unknowns WEES except I did know POKEY. My girls were Gumby fans when they were little.
I used to be a newspaper EDitor but couldn't come up with it from that clue for a long time! Duh!
Didn't think of BRITAIN as an Island at first -- well second or third either. Took a red-letter run to get "B" for the light bulb to come on.
"The Card Players" wasn't a picture of dogs playing poker? Glad Gary showed the painting or I would have forever thought Cezanne painted those silly canines. Duh!
At long last, I have learned the meaning of MOTLey. I thought it was the name of someone in the band. Duh!
Man, a three Duh day! Dooduh, dooduh! But the sun just came out so things are looking up.
IER got me.
Well, not really: I mean I got it, but truly wanted IRR in its place. Only HuskerG's silver-tongued explanation brought any illumination.
I appreciate clever cluing, but wasn't this "too clever by half"?
Otherwise Mr. Eaton-Salner's pzl was a Ta- DA! for me, with only one exception. I almost filled MESTI for 71A, thinking the soccer guy's handle was a clever play on the volcano's nickname. I confess to looking on line, but just for confirmation, and that's when I accidentally stumbled onto his real name, MESSI.
So it warn't my fault that a cheat happened to occur! Was it?!
Choosing to look the other way from today's single accident, this has been quite a run of Ta- DAs for yrs trly - from the first of the month.
I have to expect a killer Saturday pzl tomorrow.
I mean, this run can't last forever, can it?
I've been ON A TEAR for longer than ever before.
Hubris is gonna catch me! I just know it...
In the world of Xwd coincidences, I have to note that just after posting (above) about how I stumbled across MESSI's name, I picked up my unfinished NY Times Magazine pzl from 11/12 and - sure enough! - the first clue I found was "What Lionel Messi wears" (answer: TEN).
Ay ay ay yay
PK @ 2:03 ~ I, also, thought of the picture of the dogs playing cards and I was wracking my brain for the artist's name. I finally thought of Wegman but that wouldn't fit. Besides, I think he paints only non-playing cards Weimaraners. (I'm not even sure Wegman is his correct name.) Once I filled in the Z, the light bulb came on. Lesson learned: read the clues more carefully. DO, are you listening? đ
My unforgettable experience with mountains is having to exit the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway way before our destination due to my acrophobia. Years later, a trip up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia Park, Maine brought on the same sheer terror. Why I even agreed to that venture is beyond me!
Trubrit ~ I've been watching NCIS: New Orleans but haven't seen your daughter. Is she scheduled to be on soon?
CC sent me some info about switching from my unwanted Google account to my old Blogger account with my original name of Bill G. I don't know it it worked but I'm hopeful. I'll check now...
Well, I just signed out from Google and I'm not sure what to do next...
I had a great workout today and that was at World Gym. Then came this crossword puzzle. Wow!!! Great learning experience. Lots of unknowns. And my list keeps growing. Since I own every L&O episode, 32a was a gimme. Time for a nap.
Thanks for a great workout, Alex.
Cheers,
Mark
Aarg, it still looks like my same Google account with the Google email address. Rats.
Bill G - Your last 2 posts at 319 and 320 came in under "Bill G"
Once again Friday overwhelms me. DNF. I came here to find out the theme and even that didn't help. Thanks for the challenge, Alex E-S. Thank you very much for the expo, H-G. I needed it.
My Maggie looks like BENJI.
The Iditarod dog sled race commemorates the relay to get the SERA to Nome. "Winterdance THE FINE MADNESS OF RUNNING THE IDITAROD" by Gary Paulsen is about Gary's decision to run the race and his training for it. Some of it is laugh-out-loud funny, and there are a couple bad experiences. I recommend it. If someone wants to borrow my copy you're welcome to stop over and get it.
Happy Friday!
Pat @3:52
Your Maggie dog is a sweetie (assuming that's who's sitting on your lap)!
You inspire me to share a pic of my Dog Maggie. Her formal name is "Magnificat," but you know how it is with our K9 pals. Around the house, she is just plain Maggie.
Here she is as a pup, sharing a nap with Yrs Truly...
Ol' Man Keith, yes, that's my Maggie on my lap. Her name was Shaggy at the shelter--I think Maggie fits her perfectly. Your Maggie is adorable.
Got the theme early with GREAT SCOTT. This helped with key theme answers BASIN, DANES, PYRAMID.
But nothing could save me with the unfair cross of REVERSI/MESSI. I did a WAG REVERTI/MESTI which seemed just as good. I tried every letter of the alphabet and nothing made sense. Other than that I enjoyed the theme and the puzzle.
I was thinking WATSON of IBM so I was slow to get DOYLE. Unknowns: RAE, JOE, LENI, DEIRDRE had fair crosses. Our newest lab member calls himself BENJI and I mean to ask him if he knows of the dog star. Hand up for CANIS first.
Here are a few photos my father took in SCOTLAND in 1972. He had a work conference in GREAT BRITAIN and it did not cost much extra for us to tag along in those days.
The 13 year old with a camera around his neck is me. The woman in red in the last photo is my mother. I need to find the photos that I took with that camera. I went places they did not go.
Thank you again, CC, for including photos of me in the blog archives! And thank you Lucina, PK and AnonymousT for the kind words about my photos. Glad the Spanish Steps brought back good memories, Lucina. Those were on Kodachrome and scanned recently. Back then there was only one Kodachrome processing facility in Europe. Now there are none.
Yes, PK, the photos of the ARC DE TRIOMPHE while bicycling were a challenge! My Sony RX10 was fairly new then. I held it in one hand and kept the other hand on the handlebars. Paris drivers used to be notoriously nasty, but times have changed for the better. Only one motorist was nasty to me. It is a crazy circle with many "lanes" of traffic going every which way, but no painted lines. It works because people keep moving and watching out.
Well, I got the solve with no joy or fun attached. This puzzle was apparently designed to show how clever the author is. Too clever by half, IMO.
I intensely dislike this type of theme puzzle....unlike the the other themers this week, this is an example that REQUIRES you to get the theme in order to solve or make sense of the answers.
I say “blech” to that. Also blech to 3 French references, one Italian and one Irish. Is this a European puzzle?
Finally..Reversi??? Really? I’ve played hundreds of games of Othello....or GO, the game it’s based on, never heard of Reversi. Ever.
Tomorrow has to be better...right?
IM: I googled and found out the dogs playing poker were painted between 1894 & 1910 by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. Some were commissioned. Lots of dog lovers down through the ages. Copies are still available according to the ads. I spent time in a home in Texas where regular poker games were held around the round kitchen table. That was back in the days of the popularity of knotty pine panelling which was wainscoting on the walls with a pack of those dogs playing poker completing the charming decor. No avacodo green and gold with rooster wallpaper for that lady.
-Eh. I think it was game six. LIU you say? Ok. Whoops, you're right. Perhaps I mixed it up with Jim Bouton's shutout in game six, 1960 which preceded the famous Mazeroski home run game Seven.
Problem was getting home in time to catch the Series. In 1950s I was playing baseball during the Series games.
WC
The Mongols had a disastrous attempted Sea invasion of Japan, circa 1300.
WC
Ohhhhh PK! Knotty pine panelling, harvest gold and avocado green ! What memories ! I'm sooo gold we've moved on!
All my comments were made such as the Z in OZARK yielding Cezanne. After I finished I searched the grid for answers which might go with GREAT.
Gary revealed a lot that I missed. I think I got RHE just before reading the blog.
Btw, Picard, you're right. Even strange stuff like REVERSI is better than nothing. Of course MESSI was easy for me.
I found this easier than Thursday. I never really got stumped. I like that (for me) Alex supplied perps for the Naticks.
OMK, Phil, my son was consulted on POKEY and REVERSI. I have complicated"cheat" rules too. Family doesn't count. đ
WC
Pretty much WEES said; at first I thought it was a NYT cw (I never know what to expect from the Hou Chroncle) then confirmed on LAT "Play" that it was an LAT, so I decided to give it a go - what the heck. I hate the NYT when it has cells that require three letters in each to complete the puzzle. But when perps appeared to give me G-EAT---L, the puzzle fell pretty much in place. Never heard of REVERSI, but I knew MESSI. Totally guessed at ILIAD, having only the IAD. Favorite answer: MOTLIER. Use the adjective, motley, a lot, to describe events/people down here.
OMK - loved your photo of you and young'un Maggie. She looks exactly like my DaisyDawg did at that age. Could you please post a pic of adult Maggie? DD turned out to be a golden/cocker mix kinda - even my vet couldn't figure it out - but she was such a beautiful dog that she got lotsa compliments on her walks.
~Onward~ to Saturday and Splynter!
I looked back at the write-up and read the newspaper from Nome. I recognized Balto the heroic lead dog. Was he in a Disney pic?
And the scoreboard from 1956 came through. Bauer, Richardson, Mantle, Yogi, Skowron etal. Stengel used different lineups. I think Sal 'The Barber'* Maglie pitched for Brooklyn
Well. Good night
WC.
*So named because of his penchant for giving batters a close shave
D-O said, "because INTER was too short."
To that, I say spell it like I did... INTURE [sic] and take the FIW. :-)
Hi all!
This was a bugger. I didn't grok the theme until trying to unlock the SE. That's when I had to change the literal response of SHOOT (cuz SH*T was a letter short) @1a to SCOTT. Then tried to think of any GREAT park that started EAS--. I finally remembered REVERSI and filled BRITTAN [sic] all the blocks were filed and I didn't look back. Sure, some were going to be wrong somewhere else and I've spent way to much time already to care :-)
Sure enough: SyRA[sic] (Arg! Again I did that.) and SUCsESS [if it wasn't for spell check, I'd prove to my coworkers that I am an idiot daily.]
When I first heard of REVERSI, years ago, I thought it was a knock-off of Othello and lawsuits would ensue. Today I learnt it was just a name change. Thanks HG!
While I'm thanking HG - what a fantastic expo! That had to take hours upon hours to put together. As did, I suppose, this puzzle - so I'll extend my thanks to Alex.
Alex it was a bear and some of clues where 'know 'em or you don't.' E.g. Pele didn't fit so I had nuthin'. Ditto "King of Priam" - ILIAD was a guess based on perps and OPERA never stood a chance of MATERIALizing. Overall cute theme with oddness (success could stand alone as clue'd IMHO as could PYRAMID and MINDS. I filled all w/o the thought of GREAT).
PK - LOL inre decor past. Grandpa had the knotty-wood panel & mom had the avocado green! I wonder when Stainless Steel will be passé to keep up the tradition? :-)
Cheers from Norman, OK, -T
Terrific write-up and pictures, Husker Gary--many thanks!
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