Theme: None
- LAT Saturdays are always theme-less, though occasionally we have a
mini-theme, two phrases are placed in symmetrical spots.
Words: 66 - Pretty low. 70-72 are our norm. Just FYI, the lowest ever themeless word count is 50 (NYT by Joe Krozel).
Blocks: 28 - Average. The lowest is 17 for a themeless (Again, NYT by Joe Krozel.) Neat right?
C.C. here. Yeah, I'm surprised to find myself here also.
Today
is a typical themeless, total twelve 9's, with triple-stacks on top and
bottom, and two double 9's on Down, crossing by another pair of 9's:
31A and 37A, both important connective tissues.
I
myself have never made a 66-word. 68 is my lowest. Craig might have started with a 64. The
black squares after MONTE (27A) and before MAINE (42A) might not have
existed when he first designed the grid.
Across:
1. Arctic Winter Games gear : SNOWSHOES. Yes, PK, white stuff on our ground. 15F as I'm writing this post. We're having January-like weather.
10. Follows a cookbook direction : WHIPS
15. Apparent : EASY TO SEE. Also 31. Apparent : OSTENSIVE. I only know OSTENSIBLE.
16. Red River city : HANOI
17. Nomadic : ITINERANT
18. Pertaining to : AS FOR
19. Nucor and POSCO, industry-wise : STEELS. Wiki says Nucor is the largest steel producer in the US and POSCO is a steel company based in South Korea. Alas, I know neither.
20. Steak __ : TARTARE
22. Fragrant shrubs : MYRTLES. Must be how Myrtle Beach got its name.
24. Stretches out : EXTENDS
25. Try : TASTE
27. Con game : MONTE
28. Longtime foe of Rafael : ROGER (Federer)
34. Commotion : ADO
35. Rap sheet entry, perhaps : ARSON
36. Jar head? : LID. Nice clue.
37. Available employment : JOB MARKET. Senator vacancy here in MN.
40. Songwriter Green : CEELO
42. New Brunswick neighbor : MAINE
43. Propellant in ion thrusters : XENON
45. Patellar and Achilles : TENDONS
47. Hired help : SERVANT. In Hong Kong, many family have Amahs, who are mostly from the
Philippines.
51. Popular blend of seasoning : ITALIAN
52. Small 1-Down : TREMOR. OK. 1. Quake : SEISM. Jayce's expertise.
53. Ulyanov's alias : LENIN. Holy smokes! I always thought Lenin is his real name. This poster was everywhere when I grew up.
54. Unyielding : OBSTINATE
57. Player selection process : DRAFT
58. Browbeats : BULLDOZES
59. Long-eared critters : ASSES
60. Party decorations : STREAMERS
Down:
2. Like some dressers : NATTY
3. Flexible wood : OSIER. Learned from doing crosswords.
4. 1998 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee : WYNETTE (Tammy). Only know her "Stand By
Your Man".
5. Finer than fine : STELLAR. Been enjoying Picard's pictures. These Amazon ones are lovely.
6. Fools (around) : HORSES
7. Baja bear : OSA
8. Poetic contraction : E'EN
9. Roman numeral : SETTE. Followed by D-less Otto.
10. Penn's business school : WHARTON
11. Moves quickly : HASTENS
12. Childish : INFANTILE
13. Unfortunate one : POOR DEVIL. New phrase to me.
14. Many retired Kentucky Derby winners : SIRES
21. Forestry workers : AX MEN
23. Flier that delivers? : STORK. Babies.
26. County in four Northeast states : ESSEX
28. Indian filmmaker Kapoor : RAJ. Another learning moment. Wiki says he's also known as "the
greatest showman of Indian cinema".
29. Devices used on trips : ODOMETERS
30. Freak out : GO BANANAS. Another sparkling fill.
32. Lugs : TOTES
33. Old Tokyo : EDO
35. Air Canada Centre, e.g. : ARENA
38. __ crisis : MIDLIFE. Ahh, both Splynter and I have entered that age range.
39. Consecrates, in a way : ANOINTS
40. Bullfight : CORRIDA
41. "Did Hamlet so __ with his envy ... ": Shakespeare : ENVENOM. Our Ol' Man Keith'e milieu.
44. Aggravate : NETTLE
45. Alternative nickname to Mattie, perhaps : TILDA. Stumped me. They sound so different.
46. Hardly humble sorts : SNOBS
48. Knock over : AMAZE
49. Observant one : NOTER. Gluey entry. Much needed in a low-count grid.
50. Barrette target : TRESS
55. "__ I digress" : BUT
56. Type of camera, briefly : SLR
I'm
sad to tell you that Splynter (Richard Monsaythe) has decided to leave
our blogging team. He's been guiding us since March 2011, missing only
two Saturdays when he was sick.
I was stunned by his decision. Then I read his his last write-up again and again. Sad that I did not catch his hints last Saturday.
Splynter
has a wide-ranging interests, from film-making to game design to
wood-working. He's very creative, resourceful and subtle. I'm glad we
had the chance to get to know him and enjoy his work and creativity for
six and a half years.
Thank
you so much for your hard work, Splynter, please stay in touch and
check in with us from time to time. We'd love to know more about your
job, hobbies and life in general.
 |
| Splynter the Saturday Stud |
At
the same time, I'm also happy to inform you that the incomparable
Husker Gary has agreed to take up the Saturday helm. He'll be our guide
starting Dec 16th, 2017.
Happy Birthday to Hahtoolah (Susan), who's been with
our blog since 2009. She never comes to our blog without an
thought-provoking quote. And her quotes are never random. She's amazingly thoughtful and observant.
 |
| Gary and Joann |
|
Fine morning you Cor new riter types!
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, then I will do last things last.
Misty, Thur. 12-7 115P
-Mr. Romeo is RIPing in the back yard in "Long doggie" position. That is on his belly with front and hind legs straight out. His front feet are touching the bed of his sister, Callie, our calico cat who is RIPing curled in a ball. It is taking me longer than usual to type this message. I have to stop often to wipe my eyes and blow my nose. Thank you for bring these memories back to me.
-Mr. Romeo enjoyed a certain drive thru where he would get a treat, and the pet store where he could go in too. Callie, and he visit me often. I will see a shadow, knowing it is one or the other.
Thanks to Craig Stowe for creating this CW beast, Rich Norris for polishing it, C.C. for explaining it, and Splynter for splyting. W C.C.S.
To me this CW more than lived up to its billing. Whew! I would read and stare, repeating for each clue. At 14D I finally got a word, SIRES. Then the offspring began: 34A ADO, what I am making. 45A TENDONS, As a former PT, I had better get this one. And 59A ASSES which is easy for us to make of ourselves. First A pass complete.
the SW was the first to fill. The north still looked like Desper-ooto's Houston FLNM. Ever so slowly I made progress till there was no hope of new letters for NW, ergo time to BAV. I bought 4 today, at 15 E, 15/2 A, 10 W, and to complete the CW, 40 C. CEELO Green, and CORRIDA for bull fighting were new to me, but I have heard of -- "Corina Corina.
Dave 2
Rock on Splynter! Goodbye
ReplyDeleteohhh ritchie.....
ReplyDeleteMost of my puzzle was white just like the Sneaux on the ground down here that fell on Friday...... 3 inches on my table top outside..
ReplyDeleteCrepe Myrtles are trees down here in the south..... Not shrubs..
Matilda is a common ladies name in the south here in La. Mattie and Tilda = Matilda.
I put HOSSES for HORSES our dialect I reckon ... BLESSES for ANNOINTS that didn't work...
Well I guess the BAD Anons got to someone about the LEG pictures on Saturday's. I can re word ANONS with a word in the puzzle today..........
So I guess I won't be hanging around also. I enjoyed his taste......
Plus Tard from a very COLD Cajun Country..........
DNF. I did poorly on this one. Got the bottom half, everything from 31a onward, but only a scattering above that, and when I finally turned on red letters, nearly half of that was wrong! After those were erased, I managed to get the NE quad, but had to resort to cheating for the NW. Ironically, one of the last to fill was EASY TO SEE!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThe ground was snow covered from Washington state to Minnesota this morning. Nothing was working up there. Tried STIRS in the NE until I remembered WHARTON...oh, WHIPS! Anyone else try AXERS? Tried TILLY before TILDA snuck in. Back up north I decided MESSES had to go...then I could see INTINERANT and HORSES. And suddenly it was done. I found this to be one of the toughest Saturdays this year. Thanx, Craig for the mental workout, and thanx for filling in, C.C.
I'm glad ENVENOM never caught on. "Help, that rattler just ENVENOMED me!" Nope, that just doesn't cut it.
Happy birthday, Hahtoolah, and congrats on your upcoming retirement.
Onward, Splynter. I'm gonna miss your math exercises. Good luck and stay dry. Come back and visit once in awhile. Boo, I hope you were kidding, "So I guess I won't be hanging around also."
Thank you Craig Stowe and CC.
ReplyDeleteSad to see Splynter go. Always looked forward to the Saturday challenges and Splynter's review. Maybe sometimes a bit edgy for this august crowd, but that's one of the things I liked. I mean who else would link Metallica, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest ? If you are reading, Rock on Splynter !
D-less Otto was clever CC.
Mattie's alternate nickname ? OK, Matilda. I thought Tilly first.
TREMOR and SEISM - easy for Jayce
MIDLIFE crisis ? - I had better things to do.
Maine - Hi Hahtoolah ! Happy Birthday !
Our resident pizzelle maker and Alfa owner is proudly an American of ITALIAN descent.
OSTENSIVE - Cut a piece white pine with a handsaw. Do the same with southern yellow pine. It is apparent that SYP is a hardwood, even though pine trees are coniferous, and even though most coniferous trees are softwoods. That's an ostensive example of woods that can be both hardwood and softwood.
Whatever happened to NATTY Bumpo ? FOUL !
Six in a row. Now Sunday awaits.
Like DO, I explored the Canadian boarder and got Wharton. Since I could pry loose nothing else, I decided to cry "uncle" and get on with my day. I too will miss Splynter's Saturday contributions. Both as a victory treat on the rare occasion I actually FIR a Saturday offering, and as solace when I crash and burn. Best wishes, Splynter. Don't be a stranger.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Craig for this toughie. We need puzzles like this to challenge several Cornerites who don't have their abilities stretched often enough. They also give hackers like me windmills at which to tilt.
Thanks CC for filling in. Nice job on what I assume was short notice.
Good morning all!
ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since I've posted due to my health, vacation, preparing for the holidays and just overwhelmingly busy. I still work the puzzle every day but have missed reading the blog most days. I'm glad (and sad) that I read it today and found out about Splynter. I will miss your wonderful write ups! We're about the same age and I appreciate your taste in music and sense of humor :) Best of luck to you; please drop by here when you can!
Thanks to Craig and C.C. This was a pretty quick solve for me for a Saturday with only a few hiccups and unknowns. I tried Shake and Spasm before the light bulb came on with SEISM. My WHIPS were Stirs, TASTES were Tests and had no clue about ROGER, ENVENOM or that LENIN had an alias.
The TILDA/Mattie nickname reminds me of my paternal great grandmother. Her nickname was Mattie. My Grandmother (her DIL) never knew her real name for years. One day she ran into a family friend who asked about various family members. When he inquired how Samantha was doing, she said "fine" but only because it seemed she should have known who he was talking about but didn't have a clue! She got home and asked my Grandpa "Who the heck is Samantha?" He said "Well, that's my Mother, of course" She had no idea that was her MIL's real name, as she'd only ever known her as Mattie. My youngest daughter is named Samantha after her but we've never called her Mattie ;)
I hope everyone has been well- I've missed everyone's posts!
Husker Gary- glad to know you'll be our new Saturday guide :)
Happy Birthday, Hahtoolah- I hope you have a wonderful day!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteI found this one so tricky I had to see what the Cornerites posted today. Apparently others saw the difficulty too. Managed to finish, but it was trial and error and more error all along (no red letters, though, I usually don’t turn them on).
Splynter, if you’re tuned in today, I’m going to miss your style! I always admired your willingness to tackle Saturday toughness. Hang in there, and may the force be with you.
Morning C.C., thanks for pinch hitting. I didn’t know Lenin was an alias until hearing it mentioned in a Monty Python comedy skit some years ago. Not a solid history lesson, I suppose, but learning is a wide business.
Toughie for me! I could not finish on my own. Synapses were definitely not firing this morning. Just like the Civil War, the north proved too strong.
ReplyDeleteNW corner was last to fall. Would not give up snowboots.
ReplyDeleteWas I actually censored for my opinion? Wow!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Craig. I really struggled with this one. I have a lot to do today, and perhaps I wasn't focused enough. I had to resort to red letters. Thanks for the challenge.
C.C., thanks for the explication and for the coverage. Wow! That's a news hit!
Splynter, Thanks so much for all your Saturday help and fabulous links. I will miss you and wish you the best. Do stop by now and again.
Gary, thanks for taking over Saturdays. It doesn't sound like this will be a sub job!!
The snow this morning in the Chicago area was not much of a surprise after what all of you in the South have been through. Less than an inch and the plows have already been out. I know that's not so for all of you. Or should I say, Y'all!
Happy Birthday, Hahtoolah! Enjoy the day. I appreciate all the very thoughtful quotes you post.
Have a fine weekend, everyone.
P.S. I believe OSIER was used to make wicker furniture.
ReplyDeleteGood Saturday puzzle. Just difficult enough with some great words - ITINERANT, OSTENSIVE, OBSTINATE. Had trouble with NW corner, but once I got SNOWSHOES, it fell into place.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteA tough one, but doable with the perps and red letters.
We'll miss you Splynter.
Not much else to say today.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Splynter. WEES. I wish you fair winds and following seas.
Toughie today. Ran hard aground in the NW. Only right guess was EEN. Still, a good learning experience.
STORK - German Storche; L. Ger. Stork. My aunt in Bergenhusen (Schleswig) had a stork's nest on her roof as big as a load of hay.
ESSEX - County NW of Argyle. Lake Placid's county. Name of aircraft carrier class; USS Essex( CV-9). (USS Yorktown at Charleston, SC, is an Essex class carrier as is the Intrepid, now a museum in NYC.)
First of all, UNCLE. DNF. I could never complete the NW. The rest was fairly easy for a Saturday, only having to change AS PER to AS FOR and PRIOR to ARSON. But in the NW I only felt confident with OSO, STELLAR, & STEELS. I lightly penciled (in ink) SHOWSHOES but don't know the ITALIAN numbers, so SETTE would have only been filled by perps. For 'Quake' I don't know why SEISM wouldn't fill and I was only thinking SPASM & SHOCK. I also WAGged NATTY but wouldn't write it because my mind's ON THE MOVE answer for 'Nomadic' never gave ITINERANT a chance.
ReplyDeleteBut my wildest wrong guess was making TRYSTS a verb for fooling around, and not with HORSES either. The clues for the Great Northwest called for answers that were not EASY TO SEE ( I didn't get that one either)
Boo- I never thought of Crepe MYRTLES as fragrant either, only trees that shed their flowers and make a mess. I cut my all the way back every year so they won't get big. A local horticulturist called it Crepe MURDER.
Adios Splynter, I'll miss the 'legs'.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI filled in Snowshoes right away and followed that with Natty, 1-2-3, and then the pace slowed to a crawl for awhile. Slowly, but surely, the rest fell into place and I finished in slightly below normal Saturday time. Maine and Essex were gimmes but Nucor/POSCO were unknowns. Hanoi was a surprise as I was thinking of the Red River Valley song and a USA location. Mattie/Tilda was easy as I play WWF with an Australian woman who named her baby Matilda, but she calls her Tillie. (I like Mattie better) I had Olive before Osier but filled in Tartare quickly as it is a favorite of mine. Not familiar with ostensive and wasn't keen on Ax Men. Go Bananas made up for that, though, plus any other nits!
Thanks, Craig, for a challenging but doable stumper and thanks, CC, for stepping up to the plate, once again.
Happy Birthday, Hatoolah, 🎂🎁🍾🎉🎈and best wishes for a happy and contented retirement. (Today is my oldest sister's 90th birthday. Big party on Dec. 17th.)
Welcome to the Saturday slot, HG! We couldn't be in more capable hands!
Splynter, the best of luck to you in all future endeavors. May you one day find the right "one."
BunnyM, so nice to have you back.
Boo, I second DO's hope that you're only kidding; please stop by more often.
Have a great day.
SW corner came first. NW last as I didn't know OSIER and forgot that SEISM is a thing.
ReplyDeleteNo, Red River city has to be FARGO, right? Never saw HANOI coming.
Not a fan of STEELS or NOTER. Chuckled at LID and STORK.
Saturdays make me feel dumb.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I’ll miss your unique perspective, Splynter. Thanks for the memories.
-I’m happy to be appointed (hardly ANNOINTED) to do the Saturday blog. The list of what I would not do if C.C. asks me is blank!
-Errant AZAELAS, SHAKE, OAKEN, JOSHES, BALSA et al made for a NW sand trap that took many swings with the north end of my Paper Mate pencil
-OSTENSIVE made sense only after I thought of ostensible
-Oh, that RED RIVER
-3-card MONTE
-CEE LO’s R-rated version of Forget You substituted another F word. Believe me, the kids know both.
-STUDS didn’t, uh, get the job done
-A funny/poignant discussion of MIDLIFE and being OBSTINANT (1:57)
-Gotta get to decorating cookies. Joann gives me the jobs that require no skill
Spitz, Lexington is another Essex museum ship, located in Corpus Christi, Texas. I made the final WestPac cruise on another Essex carrier, Bon Homme Richard. After 20 years in mothballs, she wound up as scrap metal in '92.
ReplyDeleteAddendum - How gauche of me to not with Hahtoolah a Happy Birthday. Her QOD's always slow my speed reading as I try to figure out the meat of the quote!
ReplyDeleteIt took multiple passes to complete this one; needed a lot of the crosses.
ReplyDeleteHad to look up Nucor and Posco-I never heard of them, either. STEELS did help with a number of crosses.
OSTENSIVE is new to me; did find it Wiktionary after the blog confirmed it.
Had HARES before ASSES.
Cookbook direction: STIRS, MIXES, etc.; WHISKS and BLENDS don't fit. WHARTON gave me the W.
I, too, was looking for Red River in the US.
Thanks, Craig, for a real workout this am. NW totally stumped me until I took out BALSA and OER and replaced with OSIER AND EEN. Then ITINERANT worked, and got through with a complete puzzle! Whew!
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C., for filling in.
Best wishes to Splynter, and hope you continue to visit us. Thank you for your guidance in the Saturday toughies over the years! You truly will be missed!
HBDTY and many more Susan.
ReplyDeleteBe well Splynter, I know how many things you are interested in pursuing and hope they all come your way. I for one do not believe you retired because a leg picture was pulled. There were pictures of legs before you were here and there will be more after you are gone.
Thank you C.C. and Craig and good luck HG, Saturday is a different animal and Splynter had a way with the job.
There was a POOR DEVIL in HANOI
ReplyDeleteWho went out of his way to annoy.
His intent was OSTENSIVE,
To be so offensive
That Hell would leave him in Hanoi!
Instead he got transferred to MAINE!
BUT he still was an OBSTINATE pain.
There he caused such ADO
He was forced to SNOWSHOE
As an ITINERANT to Hanoi again!
{C+, C.}
Way above my pay grade, but I enjoyed the workout. Thanks Craig. C.C., you made sense out of my mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those who have said crepe myrtles are trees down here. I had one in a back yard once that was much taller than the house, at least two storeys tall. We couldn't see the flowers on the tree because they were too high up. But we sure could see them on the ground when they fell and made a mess. I love crepe myrtles in OTHER people's yards !
Hahtoolah, have a happy happy birthday! How are you celebrating? 👑🎂🎉🎉 I hope the snow and ice clear for you.
Splynter, you'll be missed! Gary, welcome to Saturday.
Wow...tough tough tough....this might be the toughest puzzle I was able to solve. My grid looks like my pen threw up.
ReplyDeleteNever heard "poor devil" -- please watch Casablanca this weekend:
ReplyDeleteClassic dialog with Peter Lorre and Bogie
Ugarte: But think of all the poor devils who can't meet Renault's price. I get it for them for half. Is that so parasitic?
Rick: I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one.
Well, I was pleased to get the whole northeast corner, but not until after I replaced STIRS with WHIPS. Also got SNOWSHOES, oddly enough, thanks to the OSA and EEN downs. But there wasn't much else and so cheating started early. My biggest problem in the southwest was putting ORDAINED--something I felt sure was right, even though it messed up what had to be MAINE. ANOINTED just didn't occur to me until much later. Did get TREMOR--well, we have earthquakes in California--but took longer to get SEISM. But my favorite clue was the one for STORK, which I got right away. So, a toughie but a very fun Saturday puzzle--many thanks, Craig. And thank you for subbing, C.C. and giving us the news about Splynter, who will be very much missed.
ReplyDeleteRoy, glad to see you too thought of STIRS.
Dave, sorry Mr.Romeo and Callie are not longer with you, but what sweet memories you have of them.
Happy birthday, Hahtoolah--have a wonderful day!
Liked your pictures, Picard.
Bunny M, enjoyed your Matilda story.
Have a great day, everybody!
Hi everybody! Happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why Splynter opted out, even after re-reading last week's column. I suspect it might have something to do with a certain anon's craven, gutless whinging about Splynter's LEG illustrations. Therein lies the danger of following the common advice about not feeding the trolls. If no one else steps in to disagree, a person might begin to feel that most of the other folks here agree with the anon's POV. I know I've felt insecure about some of my lunch posts after reading a spineless anon's carping criticism. So speak up I say. Don't let the cowardly anons carry the day.
I know Saturday columns are in good hands. Thanks Gary.
Splynter, good luck with everything, especially in finding the right girl you've been searching for.
Happy birthday Hahtoola! I always enjoy what you write about.
Thought I was going to skip any poesy today, especially with the disappointment of losing a regular blogger here. Went to sleep after my first post, leaving a half-full glass of ice and soda unfinished. About two hours of shut-eye later, I awoke with a scream! That D@MN*D CAT tipped my glass on me! The ice hadn't even fully melted! After cleaning it up as best we could, going back to sleep wasn't much of an option. Strangling a cat was contemplated, but instead I decided to make another stab at using a bunch of words from today's puzzle. POOR DEVIL doesn't usually refer to an actual imp, but I decided to treat the term literally.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know SEISM was a word, not just a prefix. I still can't remember German numbers, let alone knowing SETTE was ITALIAN for seven! And who are Rafael and ROGER?
Northwest got me. Even though I knew NUCOR from the stock market; itinerant and Tammy, easy to see wasn't and I sill don't know what "D-less Otto" means and how roman numerals equal sette ????????????
ReplyDeleteI should have gotten seism even though I never have seen the word used as a noun but osiers and myrtles were beyond my ken. oh well
6th straight day of wind but it has subsided a little. The northern part of SoCAl has been decimated almost literally. I'd wager at least 1 of 10 homes in the northern LA suburbs have smoke damage at the very least. I hope they will start letting the residents back in soon.
Chuck, the numerals aren't "Roman," they're Italian: "The Italian translation in words of the numbers are Uno, Due, Tre, Quattro, Cinque, Sei, Sette, Otto, Nove and Dieci." Thus the SETTE and (D-less) OTTO.
ReplyDeleteOh, my! I am not getting the hints of why Splynter is leaving us? I have enjoyed his write-ups, especially the images that caused some people to get upset! I hope he might reconsider. Perhaps just cutting back to once a month? Thanks to fellow physics person Husker Gary for stepping in.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you very much, CC, for the kind words about my photos. Special thanks for sharing my favorite Amazon photos!
This was indeed a challenging Saturday with all that white to fill! I was sure I FIR, but I was wrong. Had tEELO/tORRIDA for that Natick. Loved the clue for STORK! I have used the precious gas XENON for other purposes and I always felt it was a waste that it is needed for ion propulsion. Thanks for explaining ROGER and RAFAEL. Learning moment.
Learning moment that MATTIE and TILDA are nicknames for Matilda. My grandmother had the Hebrew name Tamar. When she came to the US and enrolled in school they demanded she change it to Matilda. Not nearly as beautiful.
Here are my photos of Mexico City a year after the horrific 8.0 1985 QUAKE. No mere TREMOR.
The lower left scene is especially memorable for me. The guy using a sledge hammer to break up an impossibly large structure.
If you read my letter I linked to on Wednesday, I was in Mexico City meeting my engineering brigade group on the way to provide assistance in Nicaragua. The guy taking a photo in the first image was another member of my brigade.
BunnyM 807A
ReplyDelete-You don't know me, but I'm a part of "All!" so I welcome you back to the Corner anyway. Please explain your picture. It appears to be a sanding wheel.
-Your Mattie story reminded me of one. I was a PT evaluating a man who was obviously an outdoors worker of few words. When I asked for the name of his wife, he called out to his daughter in the waiting room "What's Mom''s name?" He knew her only by the nickname of Cricket.
Madame Defarge 901A
- You used the big word "Explication." I know it's meaning, but for those who don't:
explication: a detailed explanation
explanation: the act or process of explaining
explain: make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to someone by describing it in more detail.
ex: without; excluding
plication: the operation of taking tucks in a structure to shorten it.
Plain: something free from artifice, ornament, or extraneous matter
I believe I have explicated explication.
Dave 2
Hi Y'all! Splynter's decision to quit has caused a major SEISM on the Corner. The whole puzzle should be edged in black in honor of his passing up the job. He has had some major changes in his life with the new job. Did I dream it or did he say his landlord has sold his home? Moving again so soon? I'm guessing he is at least "whelmed" if not overwhelmed. The carping about the leg show is probably just the straw that broke the camel's back. (Boo Hiss on you anonymous anti-leg troll.) Losing our reliable weekly STUD will have us all sad.
ReplyDeleteThank you, C.C. for all you do. Husker Gary will be a wise and interesting blogger. Feel free to throw in a few legs occasionally in memoriam.
Happy Birthday, Hahtoolah! I enjoy your posts.
I was shocked to find I had done the puzzle in shorter than usual Saturday time. I thought it was a bear. Thank you for the challenge, Craig. Hand up for having a blizzard in the NW until last. SEISM wasn't in my vocabulary. I finally had to red-letter every single block to get SEISM and make a start up there. Didn't think of SNOWSHOES. Never heard of Arctic Winter Games. Really? Is that a big event? Never smelled MYRTLE. I thought it was a viney shrub. We can't grow it here. My Aunt had some screening her front porch in Oklahoma. She'd sit there where she could see but not be seen and ogle the neighbors to gossip about.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the puzzle filled pretty easily despite some $20 words. Didn't think of ITINERANT for "nomadic". Well, sure I know about ITINERANT farm workers, but...
Did we have the Vietnamese Red River recently or was that on Jeopardy or The Chase? I wanted the Oklahoma state border river, but already had an "i" on the end. Didn't hesitate to fill in HANOI. Was so proud to have it remain black.
No idea who Rafael or ROGER were. "Cheats" blushed red before HORSES became apparent.
Hahtoolah - Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great day.
ReplyDeleteD-O @ 1104 - Didn't mean to overlook any. Just mentioned a couple that people could visit as museum ships.
There were 24 ships in the class. I have briefly served on the Yorktown, Philippine Sea, and Randolph. We also steamed with the Valley Forge, and the Essex.
The Oriskany's anchor is located a few miles up the road as part of a small Naval Memorial park in Oriskany, NY.
I actually filled in the bottom half of the puzzle
ReplyDeletewithout help, and the top half was almost completely blank
without help...
Happy Birthday Hatoolah, I tried to find a cake with your name on it,
but Google went in a different direction...
Saturdays without Splynter?
How are we ever going to go Onward!
I was always quite in awe that Splynter would tackle writing up
Saturday puzzles, I don't think I could successfully write up a Monday puzzle!
(HG, You have tough legs to fill...)
In fact, I think I will post a pic of legs every Saturday,
just to make Splynter come back and look in on us...
Today's post, is a single leg,
Sort of like the missing man airplane formation tribute...
Cute name stories. Someone once called my friend Betty by her legal first name Elizabeth. Her three-yr-old very indignantly said, "She's not Elizabeth!" "Well, what is her name?" he was asked. "It's Mommy," he replied. Those of us expecting him to say "Betty" lost it laughing. We all called her "Mommy" often after that for a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteHow many murders did those 5 men on that poster commit?
ReplyDelete1 million? 5 million? 10 million?
Mr. Stowe's challenging pzl offers a fine example of a pure NW to SE diagonal solve. (And a "mirror" solve" as well.)
ReplyDeleteIt was hard getting started on this one, but once underway, I made good progress. Somewhere past the halfway mark I resorted to cheating - in part because I was so excited & just couldn't wait to complete the diagonal solve.
At first I filled only the relevant words and inked in just the key letter in each word.
If anyone should ask, the letters in question are (from the top): SAIELSOSTNREAES !
Like Irish Miss and others, I was surprised by HANOI, cleverly clued as a "Red River city." The most amusing clue of all. (Not too soon?)
OSIER is one of those words that (always or only?) appears in Xwds.
CEELO is one of those new pop names that Xwd makers just love to spring on our ancient cruciverbal demographic.
________________
PS. Sad to learn of Splynter's departure. Thank you to our Saturday Squanto - our most helpful guide.
Ave atque vale!
And thank you, Husker Gary, for stepping into the vacated slot.
Thank you Craig for humbling me back to moron-status. I was able to nail the SW but bolloxed the SE. The entire tundra to the north requires SNOW SHOES... Alas, 1a had nothing to do with harpoons and 22a wasn't Juniper nor the like :-(
ReplyDeleteHand up: STIRS and I had STUDS xing it. Then I tried EXTENDING Sloan school of business into Sloanne just to fill the blocks.
Red River clue had nothing to do with the OU vs. Texas annual football game...
After an hour+ of staring at an empty / wrong North, I just TITT and looked to Splyter to entertain & enlighten me with a b*tch-slap of V8.
NO! Say it ain't so, Joe! (You either BooL)
Thanks C.C. for subbing today. Splynter... God Speed on your endeavors. Thank you for all you've fed the corner... I will miss your expos (hey, Picard had a good idea - think you could cameo once in a while?) and your many project highlights [and the music!]. //I still have the chess table blueprints for my next round-Tuit to come about.
HG - I, for one, now look forward to your Saturday-Leg selections - I'm into ankle TENDONS :-)
Dudley - I too learnt LENIN was an ALIAS (D'Oh! Not! @35a!) from Python. In fact, most of my knowledge of haute-culture is from that troupe. #NoShameInThat :-)
OKL - {C, B}. Sorry, but I LOL'd at the image of your agony awakening and subsequent making violin strings out of that cat (see: LEM's cartoon-clip yesterday).
TARTARE made by a master chef [6:22].
Happy Birthday Hahtoolah - I know I butcher your handle all the time (auto-correct just told me so) but I enjoy your puzzle-insights and QODs when you stop in. I didn't mention Bryson yesterday, nevertheless, I loved his At Home among others. I hope today is all yours!
Cheers, -T
I didn't know who ROGER and Rafael were either. That's one reason I turn to our Corner.
ReplyDeleteThank you, C.C. for explaining!
Now, yes, of course, I remember the great tennis competitors! Picard, you noticed too, but apparently some of our friends skipped right past C.C.'s blog today.
Toughie but enjoyable. Myrtles, ostensive, Ceelo, Nucor, Posco, itinerant....unknowns. Clues for stork and Hanoi clever. Thanks Craig and CC for a great mental workout.
ReplyDeleteCSO to Anonymous -T: Tony, you had the best line today.....”humbling me back to moron-status.” That’s why the corner is soooo entertaining and educational for me.
Cheers,
Mark
Late again and almost missed the sad news of Splynter's departure from our midst. Thank you for all your Saturday labors, Splynter, and good luck in all your endeavors. If you do find that certain someone, I hope you will chime in and tell us.
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah, a most happy birthday to you! I hope you've had a celebratory day.
Early this morning I did 3/4 of this puzzle, the eastern edge (surprised by HANOI, too)then the bottom and SW corner with no problems. At the top I would not budge on BALSA so decided to carry on with my work. I'm expecting company tomorrow so some clean up was needed.
Finally when I returned to the grid, after erasing BALSA, immediately in went WYNETTE, OSIER, NATTY, etc. Those had been in my mind but couldn't make them fit. Sans balsa, they flew in. OSIER has been used to make baskets, too.
I thought of Jayce at SEISM and TREMOR. ITALIAN brought AnonT to mind. And I forgot to change the E for N so MONTE appeared as MOETE. Huh?
LENIN is an alias? I wonder who he was hiding from?
MYRTLES are very definitely trees and are prevalent throughout North Carolina. They line the streets and almost every yard has one.
Gary, welcome to the Saturday line up! I know you'll treat us to some fine graphics and help us with obtuse meanings.
I hope all have been enjoying a fine day! No SNOW here, of course, but a nice 60ish day.
I am sad that you have decided to leave us, Splynter, and I will miss you. I wish you success in your endeavors, you complex, multi-faceted, intelligent, talented, caring man. I echo others in hoping you'll visit us from time to time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Husker Gary, for agreeing to take on the task of writing up the Saturday puzzles. I like that your list of things you would not do for C.C. is blank.
Happy birthday, Hahtoolah. May you enjoy many more in your retirement.
Please don't leave us, Boo LuQuette.
The puzzle I found to be very hard but satisfying. I immediately knew WHARTON, but seeing the NO in the Red River city name made me want MINOT and STUDS, which scotched WHARTON, which puzzled me. Eventually WHARTON won and HANOI and SIRES it was!
Although I think it is a weird word, I remember seeing SEISM in previous puzzles.
Only after finally filling LENIN did I remember that name was only an alias. He was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. It also happens that Stalin is not Stalin's real name either; he was born Ioseb Jughashvili and is of Georgian ethnicity.
On one of our road trips up the Oregon coast LW and I took a nice walk through some groves of MYRTLE trees, of which there are many on the southern coast. We were surprised at how small the "trees" were. I guess that's why you never see large pieces of furniture made from myrtlewood although many shops sell smaller items made from it. We still have a lovely myrtlewood-framed mirror, that we bought years ago, hanging handsomely on the hallway wall in our house. The smoked salmon and salmon jerky that we also bought then no longer exist, for some reason.
Good wishes to you all.
Amusings
ReplyDeleteI M 1030A
-I knew of the entree "Steak Tartare," but didn't know there was an "E" on the end so had to be forced to enter it. I also didn't know that the steak is raw. It is pictured with a raw egg yolk on top. i am glad you enjoy it, but I will pass, thank you.
-1248P Snowflakes outside my window.
AnonT 237P
-I especially appreciated the "Moo" at 4:57 and that David Letterman ate some and declared the entree prepared by Julia Child to taste good. I will still pass. I M may have my share.
Dave 2
I tried to start this puzzle at the shelter while letting a dog sleep on the blanket beside me A few volunteers and staff came in to say "Hi" to him so I didn't get to concentrate on it. I figured I'd just let Splynter explain it to me. What? He's gone? NO! Thanks for pinch-hitting, C.C. Lots I didn't know today.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes with your new adventures, Splynter! You will be missed.
H-G, thank you for taking over the Saturday Stumper. I look forward to your write-ups.
Today is my puppies' 8th birthday. She's contentedly sleeping on the couch next to me. Nothing special planned for her, but she gets just about everything she wants everyday.
Happy Birthday, Hahtoolah! I enjoy your QODs!
Hope you're having a good weekend.
Sheesh, that should be "my puppy's birthday".
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Pat's Puppy...
ReplyDeleteCED, Maggie said "Thank you very much!"
ReplyDeleteOops I forgot..........
ReplyDeleteBon Fete Hahtoola Have a great one ~!~!
Please click on Comments Section Abbrs (under Olio on blog main page) for some blog-specific terms.
ReplyDeletePlease Preview before you hit the Publish button to avoid typos and empty spaces.
Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.
No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.
I think if the last 3 words NO PERSONAL ATTACKS, were enforced on previous Saturday's like a few ANON posts were deleted today, then Splynter would still be here with us...... Just a couple put downs each Saturday over time and he was here for a LONG time... Will get to a person ~!~!
I want him back also... Splynter is a class act no doubt.. I am not going anywhere soon.. I see I have a few people on here that care what I say also..
Thanks Ya'll for caring ~!~! Oh I do see a few new names on here that I have never seen before, could these be the ANONS coming out the closet ??? Hmmmmmm........
First and foremost, I was so very surprised and saddened that we won't enjoy our ~Onward guy's blogs on Saturdays. A couple of leg-links were kinda beyond Victoria's Secret catalogs, but, hey, I enjoyed the anticipation of "Now, what's he going to link THIS week ;-)?" Thank you, C.C., for your quick link to last week's Splynter blog. I had no idea then, but after reviewing Splynters' links, I became even sadder. Well done, Splynter, for your artistic good-bye! Please check in every once in a while when you can. And definitely when you've found your long-legged, dark-haired lady with blue eyes. We will all miss you!
ReplyDeleteOn to happier comments: Happy Birthday, Hahtoolah!! I hope it was one special day for you and loved ones. I enjoy your daily quotes - they make all of us think for a bit how they might apply to our own lives.
WEES re Red River (HANOI), LENIN (heck ya say?), and EASY TO SEE. NW was a blizzard caused by my stubbornness in refusing to scrub the old cw stand-by "balsa" before I remembered the other one, OSIER. OSTENSIVE was a new one for me (is it the first time to appear in LAT cws?); ostensible wouldn't fit. Favorite clue/answer was MATTIE/TILDA. Like the name Matilda, guessin' cuz I love the song "Waltzing Matilda" and I loved, loved, my three-wk vacation in Australia. My first "solo" trip, well, disclaimer: I was with a eco-tour group. Where's Kazie?
HG, looking forward to your Saturday duties - always enjoyed your educational and humorous links, as well as your personal observation experiences. Thank you.
BooLuQuette....I am sooooo relieved you are still with us. We need your Cajun wisdom to balance the rest of us just posting what we think!
ReplyDeleteYou see, you do understand the no personal attacks prohibition. We need you!
We do have a few new names who are still suspect !
Did you get snow in Cajun land? There were flurries in the French Quarter but more on the north shore.
Anon T, I thought of Red River in Texas too.....or perhaps just Buffalo Bayou??
ReplyDeleteWatching "Mary Poppins" tonight, probably for the 10th time, and loving every second of it--especially because I can sing along with all the songs!
ReplyDeleteD4 - Yes, Letterman was esp. funny in that clip...
ReplyDeleteSwamp - Red River Rivalry is the OU/Texas game. The Red River is what divides TX and Oklahoma east of the panhandle. It runs into Shreveport IIRC. The game is played every year in Dallas (which also didn't fit 16a).
Dudley - I found it! Python introducing Ulyanov [@10s of 3m].
Mark S - good to know my ignorance is entertaining :-)
Cheers, -ITALIAN boy, aka, -T