Theme: Special - Festival of Lights.
17A. Potato __: 61-Across dish: PANCAKES
19A. Items in a 59-Across lit for 61-Across: CANDLES
37A. Traditional 61-Across surprise, aptly boxed, and spelled with the only four letters of the alphabet that don't appear elsewhere in this grid: GIFT
59A. 61-Across centerpiece: MENORAH
61A. Two-millennia-old tradition that begins at sunset tonight: HANUKKAH
and an added hint to the center answer. 36A. Pack in cartons: BOX UP
Argyle here. 15x16 pangram. Visual grid.
Across:
1. 1960s presidential monogram: LBJ
4. Gremlins and Pacers: AMCs. (American Motors Corporation) Cars from the seventies.
8. Lands' End rival: L.L.BEAN
14. World Cup cry: OLÉ
15. Naked: BARE
16. Cross-referencing phrase: SEE ALSO. Very apt for today's puzzle.
20. Novelist Ferber: EDNA
21. Key with four sharps: E MAJOR
23. Wife of Jacob: LEAH
24. Fervor: ZEAL
25. Rebecca of "Risky Business": DE MORNAY
27. Relaxed condition: LOOSENESS
29. "¿__ pasa?": QUE. "What's up?"
32. One lacking manners: BOOR, not 32D. Dutch South African: BOER
34. Cowboy boot attachments: SPURS
38. Range dividing Europe and Asia: URALS
39. "You gotta be kidding": "YEESH!"
40. Rx items: MEDS
41. Coffee server: URN
42. Long-finned tunas: ALBACOREs
49. Nash priest, not beast: ONE 'L' LAMA
50. Roughly: OR SO
54. Make __ dash for: A MAD
57. Expired: LAPSED
58. Contented sounds: AAHs
63. Football rushing plays: END RUNS. Offense.
64. Greek love god: EROS
65. December 24, e.g.: EVE
66. Figured (out): SUSSED
67. Suffix with ransom: WARE
68. Org. with narcs: DEA. (Drug Enforcement Administration)
Down:
1. Pop icon Jennifer: LOPEZ. J.Lo
2. Razor insert: BLADE. I barely remember.
3. Barbara Bush's twin sister: JENNA. On left.
4. Legal org.: ABA. (American Bar Association)
5. Manage somehow: MAKE DO
6. Sweet liqueurs: CRÈMES
7. Bagel seed: SESAME
8. Finds out: LEARNS
9. Actor Cariou: LEN. Wiki. Canadian actor currently playing Henry Reagan the TV series Blue Bloods.
10. In a shoddy way: BADLY
11. She, in Paree: ELLE
12. On an ocean liner: ASEA
13. Quick snack: NOSH
16. Music for a film: SCORE
18. Hardhearted: CALLOUS
22. Actor Voight: JON
26. Take for granted: ASSUME
28. Annie, notably: ORPHAN
29. Campus hangout: QUAD
30. Addresses beginning with "http://": URLs. (Uniform Resource Locator)
31. Letter before tee: ESS
33. Plow-pulling team: OXEN
35. Washing machine cycle: PRESOAK
36. Mormon sch.: BYU. (Brigham Young University)
43. University founder Stanford: LELAND. Father of Stanford University in in Stanford, CA.
44. Malaise, with "the": BLAHS
45. Swiss peak: ALP
46. Kidney-shaped nut: CASHEW
47. 1998 Masters champ Mark: O'MEARA
48. Philadelphia suburb: RADNOR. An unincorporated community I've never heard of.
49. Smells: ODORS
51. Gathered leaves: RAKED
52. Trim whiskers: SHAVE
53. Actor Milo: O'SHEA
 |
| Milo O'Shea in Ulysses in 1967 |
54. Home of Iowa State: AMES
55. Diner handout: MENU
56. Added stipulations: ANDs
60. Regret: RUE
62. "__ as directed": USE
Argyle
Good morning, בוקר טוב and Happy Hanukkah, חנוכה שמח,
ReplyDeleteMay we celebrate the Festival of lights with this light CW by Bruce Haight. Thank you sir for my fun this AM.
"Argyle here. 15x16 pangram. Visual grid." I believe this means the CW has 16 squares top to bottom, and is 15 squares wide. The CW uses all letters of the alphabet, and some are in a box in the center, the "Visual grid." Please Argyle, correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks for your review.
The Puzzle
-It was so easy I didn't even make any notes. My last square was at 49A / 43D E. I can't even call this a natick even though I didn't see "ONE 'L' LAMA" until the note by A+.
-I admit that I know little about Judaism, and yet in my ignorance I respect those who are Jewish. With this in mind, please allow me some fun.
-The first two videos need some set up. They represent the film "Spaceballs" 1987.
A princess in the film is from the planet Druidia. There is a line "Funny she doesn't look Druish." I couldn't find the quote but I did find this.
From the Leggos film: Funny she doesn't look Druish.
From the Spaceballs film: More Druish
-Now to Mariah Carey She wants You
-Then the parody All I Really Want for Christmas
Too much said.
Dave 2
New type of puzzle for me, with the four letter "across only" fill. I also don't know much about Judaism, and would like to know more. I thought that the holiday started with "Ch".
ReplyDeleteDidn't know DEMORNAY, YEESH, LEN Cariou, RADNOR, nor LELAND Stanford. I did, however, know that the school's name for its sports teams is "The Cardinal", one of the few singular words used for college squads. (It is for the color, not the bird or priest, I'm told.)
Thanks for Bruce and Santa. I'm off to the classroom. My voice already feels the strain.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI was certain the word in the box was going to be Jewish/Yiddish, and the only 4-letter word which came to me was BRIS. Well, that would be a surprise! Bzzzzzt! DNF. YEESH! (Don't think I've ever seen that before. I do remember Art Carney's, "Sheesh, what a grouch!" Thanx, Bruce and Argyle.
Where's my closing parenthesis? ) Oh, there it is...
ReplyDeleteGood Morning, Argyle and friends. I just Loved, Loved, Loved today's puzzle. As soon as I saw the grid I knew it would be special (and I am generally oblivious of the grid formations).
ReplyDeleteI hesitated a moment for the answer to 61-Across since there are several transliterations of the word HANUKKAH. I generally spell it Chanukah because of the guttural pronunciation of the word, but both forms are "correct" in the English alphabet.
My favorite clue was Nash Priest, Not Beast = ONE L LAMA. I was recently at the Lama in Beijing.
Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate.
QOD: May the lights of Chanukah usher in a better world for all humankind. ~ Author Unknown
What a fun holiday tribute puzzle. I have missed Bruce's puzzles and loved this one. As I have often said, I love visual grids. I am very impressed with the patience and skill to create a puzzle with GIFT in its own little box and no G, I, F or T in the remainder of the grid. The totality an early week pangram. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteWe can see LEAH and NOSH in the grid and Rebecca as a clue as added fun.
I agree RADNOR did not ring a bell, but it was all gettable.
Thank you, Bruce and Argyle.
My first thought for in the box was GELT but not to be. Close but no chocolate.
ReplyDeleteOnly knew RADNOR because I’ve driven to a basketball game at Villanova University
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Seeing the unique grid made me think, “The middle fill better be obvious with no perps”. Well this gentile still had to ferret out the missing letters. Oy Vey!
-I agree with Lemon’s summative paragraph
-The only famous PACER, ever
-This beautiful LEAH song (2:44) shows the operatic range of this fabulous “Caruso of Rock”
-BOOR/BOER needed BORE and BOOER for a mini-theme
-No bargain could get me out to make a MAD DASH for on Black Friday
-A few years ago my BIL discovered his driver’s license had LAPSED two years ago. He had to take the exam and drive with a state tester to get a renewal.
-As a child, our poverty forced us to MAKE DO but I only saw that later
-A sub soon LEARNS not to alter BADLY prepared lessons without permission
-JON Voight’s reconciliation with his famous daughter this year
-For some reason my mother ASSUMED I loved CAHSEWS and gave me a huge can every Christmas for years. I hate them but…
-Leaves – RAKED or mulched with my mower? Not a hard question.
Enjoyed the fun puzzle today- I'm with Argyle - originally was thinking GELT - as Splynter would say "50 % right" until the stipulation that the letters couldn't appear in any other part of the puzzle. My neighbors when I was growing up, that I babysat for, always gave me a little bag of Hanukkah gelt chocolate coins during the season along with my babysitting money.
ReplyDeleteOff to work- Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!
Thanks Argyle and Bruce!
Delightful Hanukkah puzzle. No unknowns, but I needed the DEM----- to jog my memory for DE MORNAY. I, too guessed GELT at first, but LBJ nixed that.
ReplyDeleteI guessed GIFT about one third of the way through. The Jewish children here receive a gift on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. My fifth graders wrote about it in their fluency journaling, which I read and commented on weekly, No correction of spelling, grammar or syntax. We worked on those issues with other types of writing.
Here we see menorahs in many windows and in many places of business, along with Christmas trees.
hanukkah
Potato pancakes were my favorite potato dish when I was a kid. They were a German or European dish. When I met Jewish people I was surprised that their latkes were so similar to our potato pancakes. There are many crossovers between European gentile and Jewish words and cooking.
CSO for my grandson who attends Villanova U in Randor, PA, but I wanted to spell it with ER instead of OR. ERES is a love god? Whoa! EROS.
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate, and especially to Barry whom I miss.
The puzzle was an easy fill for a non-Jewish person except for the four-letter word in the middle, which I didn't bother with. Letters left out? Corny? Absolutely. But some people take 'what is not to be discussed here' way too seriously. And I am talking about ALL of the 'not to be discussed heres', not just the ones emphasized in the puzzle. But for those who care:
ReplyDeleteHappy HANUKKAH
Unknowns- YEESH (is that a word?), RADNOR, DEMORNAY & LEN Cariou- perps for all four.
AMC'S Gremlins & Pacers make the list of the 10 worst cars ever. Chrysler bought AMC for the JEEP label and shut down the rest of the company.
I saved the GIFT for last, and was impressed that these four common letters weren't used by the constructor. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of YEESH.
Well done on the BOOR/BOER cross.
Just a very nice theme.
How marvelous it would be if Chanukah was three days from now. GIFT anagrams to TGIF.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a menorah. Wouldn't know how to properly use one. I'd like to believe that millions of candles lit throughout the world are a flame in the hope of peace.
D4- I'd love to hear how "Druish" in the context given is humorous.
I was a bit surprised that Rich went for a puzzle with unchecked squares- he called it "quirky, in an appealing way". I consulted with David Steinberg and some other people to see if anyone could come up with something better than PANCAKES as an eight letter entry to match HANUKKAH but no one could. Happy holidays!
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteKept track of the letters used so at the end I had the letters for GIFT. Not particularly hard, but had to be approached a bit uniquely. Didn't note the 16 letter width, but an even number makes sense. I suppose a gift box for an odd number of letters, say 'present' could have been done. I liked GIFT. And it's a pangram.
A couple letters prompted RADNOR, which I kinda knew from when our son lived in the Philly area.
BOER - Means 'farmer' in Dutch. German Bauer; L. German Buer.
And Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate it.
ReplyDeleteGood morning all. Thank you Bruce and thank you Argyle. Slept in late again today after MNF.
Had to find the four letters and then figure out the jumble.
fgit - GIFT. DOH !
Thought my winning streak of eight-in-a-row was going to end. Unlike the Patriots, who also had an eight game winning streak on the line, I was victorious ! What a game last night, eh Chairman Moe ? We still have to win next week, but lessons learned...
LEN Cariou - I can now associate the face with a name. Thanks Argyle. Blue Bloods is a favorite program. I never heard of RADNOR either, but it had to be.
URLS because unencrypted website addresses wasn't going to fit. WWW and HTTP are prone to man-in the-middle attacks and eavesdropping. Dash T's Tip: Never ever enter credit card information or personal and confidential information on www or http sites.
The first car of one of my high school track and football teammates was a used Gremlin, but he totaled it. Then he got a used Pacer. YEESH ! He later married one of my cousins. I'll give him one for three on those decisions.
Today is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 300,000 will make the pilgrimage to the shrine in Des Plaines today, the largest outside of Mexico City.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI'm not fond of referential puzzles; they, along with Roman Numerals, make me want to run the other way! Normally, I love BH's puzzles for their clever word play but I found this one a little sluggish, especially when I had to do an alphabet run to fill in Gift. My gloomy-Gus feelings disappeared, though, when I finished and could appreciate the grid's visual and symmetrical construction. Mea Culpa, Bruce, you done good! I immediately thought of Jayce when I filled in Yeesh, and then I realized he says Sheesh. I had Cars before AMCs and Slob before Boor. I like Len Cariou in his role on "Blue Bloods", i.e., Charming Curmudgeon. I don't think the Bush twins look anything alike nor do they favor their parents, IMO.
Thanks, Bruce, for a timely and unusual offering and thank you, Argyle, for the grand tour.
YR, that was wonderful news about Alan.
Ferm, I hope you start feeling better soon!
Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate.
Have a great day.
Wrote GIFT in right away due to clueing “aptly boxed”. Impressed that a constructor could make a puzzle without a T or an I.
ReplyDeleteMy brother has done a lot of family tree stuff. Coupling this info with DNA testing indicates link to Mediterranean heritage that is found in high percentage of Jewish peoples. Very interesting.
Happy Hoildays to you all.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWhat Dan said. I’m impressed with the design of this puzzle, particularly the part about avoiding those letters outside the box. Clever!
Morning, Argyle, thanks for ‘splaining.
-T, not sure if you caught my message in recent days (‘cause it was late). I spotted your Python post. Well done!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot through the puzzle fairly easily. Never noticed the boxed in GIFT until I got to the middle. Saved it for last, of course. Ran through the alphabet until I found the four letters missing. GIFT came to light.
I also am not a Jewish expert. However, I do admire and respect the Jewish religion and people. Their history goes way back to Abraham. I have read many books where the Jews were a central part of the story, i.e. WW-II books. My fraternity, the Masons, is based on Jewish history. I love POTATO PANCAKES, with sour cream.
Some tough words were: DEMORNAY, JENNA, LEN, JON, and OSHEA.
Also liked ONE L LAMA
Yesterday I finished the Sunday puzzle. It was pretty tough. I may report in for Sunday if I get a minute.
see you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Yeesh!
ReplyDelete( Well, that sums it up pretty well...)
Lots of WAGs, one wrong. Laland
(I really thought Nash Priest was on A Llama...)
And yes, I had to go thru the entire alphabet
because Dreidel wouldn't fit...
(Spellcheck doesn't like Dreidel? WTF?)
Oh well, This would not be complete without...
What an amazing Tuesday puzzle, Bruce! I took one look at the grid and said "Wow!" before even starting. It felt a bit tough, as I began, but I was surprised that even with unknown and tricky clues, it slowly filled it. Nice to see the Hanukkah theme emerging, but then came the crisis: could not think of a final four letter word that would fit the theme. So like others, I too had to check all the letters against the alphabet, and thank goodness the gift of GIFT emerged and I got it, and actually got the whole thing! Yay! Many thanks, Bruce, for this terrific GIFT, and you too, Argyle, for the great write-up.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was 'Actor Milo' O'SHEA, which I got instantly. I first saw the 1967 film of James Joyce's "Ulysses" when I was still an undergraduate, and I loved it so much it made me read the novel and eventually become a Joyce scholar. Milo O'SHEA plays the role of Leopold Bloom in the film. Then in 2004 Cork University Press wrote and asked if I wanted to write a "wee" book about the film, and I was thrilled. My little book was published that year, and it has a picture (much sweeter than the one Argyle posted) of Milo O'Shea and the actress who played Molly Bloom on the cover. So this clue was a real GIFT to me--thank you, Bruce!
Have a great day, everybody!
Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! What a fine GIFT Bruce gave us.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle itself was an easy fill from LBJ, JENNA, the Bush twin, to SUSSED, a word I often use. RADNOR was unknown but perped easily. QUE pasa? Of course I got it. Then came the center word. That was tough because I depend on words connected to each other to suss other words but going through the alphabet to find the unused letters, GIFT appeared!
Thank you, Bruce and Argyle. You each offered us a treat today.
I hope you are all enjoying this day!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate this. Shalom!
Second, congrats to Bruce H for constructing a very clever xword puzzle. I danced all around 37a; never looked at the clue until the rest was filled in. And like IM and others said, I did the alphabet run to get FIGT and SUSSED GIFT. Notwithstanding the fact that you could construct a 15x16 so cleverly, but to do so without using the letters "I" and "T", is pretty amazing
I'm like Harrison Ford (in Adam Sandler's song clip that CED linked); 1/4 jewish, but never really knew until I was an adult. My grandfather on my dad's side married a Gentile, and my dad was raised Methodist. In the area where I grew up, there were scores of people with our last name who were "Christian", but when I got to Pittsburgh to begin college, I was mistaken for being Jewish because of my last name.
TTP ---> I too watched MNF with a keen eye. If the Steelers are to win they'll need to abandon the Cover 2 defense and man-up on the Patriots. Of course Gronkowski will be back from his suspension, but then, so will Juju. Should be a great game
I came up with a limerick and a Moe-ku for today's offering:
The AMC prez was a gambler
Who also liked word games; unscrambler.
His car called the Pacer
Was merely a caper
To make folks forget they built the Rambler.
Jewish brewery
Made lo-cals for Hanukkah:
Festival of Lites
To those who didn’t know DEMORNAY.....nobody saw Risky Business? I thought everybody knew that film.
ReplyDeleteClever puzzle, and nice that a holiday theme had a different orientation. This from a guy who doesn’t care for themes.
Here is my new avatar. Butterflies are my totem. For me they symbolize joy, color, lightness, freedom. I have tons of pieces of butterfly jewelry, decorations and even dishes.
ReplyDeleteMy second choice would be angels. I have just unpacked my huge angel collection, dozens and dozens of them. I leave eight or so out all year round. I seem to favor wings and soaring.
I loved this puzzle for its creative originality! Hand up for being impressed how he constructed a puzzle without I or T. And pleased when it came together that the word in the middle is the only dictionary word with those letters! Yes, TGIF indeed would work, too. Yes, GELT would be ideal, but non-Jewish people might find that frustrating.
ReplyDeleteWe were not religious growing up, but we always lit the HANNUKKAH MENORA. We got one penny the first night on up to eight on the last night. Plus a small additional BOXED GIFT. Potato PANCAKES are called "latkes" and my mother made them and served them with sour cream and applesauce.
When I was a child we lived in Denmark and they celebrated a similar Festival of Lights holiday. Most cultures have some variation of celebrating the end of the darkest season at this time. The Romans had Saturnalia. It is widely believed that the Christians created Christmas to co-opt that Roman celebration.
In Peru I got to see plenty of TWO L LLAMAs. But I also have seen the ONE L Dalai LAMA who came here twice to Santa Barbara.
During the Dalai LAMA's visit, his monks created this amazing Mandala
As a reporter for the local paper, I was honored to be invited to photograph the intricate process of creation. It was sad to see the end of the ritual: Its destruction and dumping in the ocean. Meant to symbolize the Buddhist belief that all is transient.
Unknowns today: O'MEARA, O'SHEA, LEN, EDNA, RADNOR, DE MORNAY
Hi Y'all! Enjoyed this HANUKKAH puzzle but didn't think it had two "K's". Thanks, Bruce! Thanks, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteHand up for wanting GelT, no? GilT, no? Finally had to red-letter "F". Aha! GIFT Duh!
Didn't know DE MORNAY, LEN, CREMES, OMEARA, OSHEA, or RADNOR. PREwash before PRESOAK.
Argyle: Good job on the write-up.
ReplyDeleteBruce: Thank you for a FUN HANUKKAH theme puzzle.
Fave today, of course, was 6-d, Sweet liqueurs, CREMES. I do like "booze" in the grid.
Also liked BOOR crossing BOER.
Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get the Philadelphia suburb RADNOR ...
a "Learning moment" I have already forgotten ...
Cheers!
Really late for me today. I still have only limited Internet, no idea why¡ My LW said she has the same problem at work, less than 2 miles away, but I've seen no news articles about what might be wrong, nor any chatter about it on any of the few sites I can access! This may be the norm for everyone if net neutrality is nixed, but boy, is it frustrating¡
ReplyDeleteAnyway, no website with the puzzle was accessible, so I had to wait for the paper and do it by hand, for the first time in years! Arthritis in my thumbs makes that slightly painful¡ Plus shaky hands makes it difficult to stay within the lines¡ (No, not Parkinson's, I think, just poor manual dexterity ever since I was a kid, though it's gotten worse with age.) I did FIR with no write-overs, but it's still early in the week. Had to wait for crosses on HANUKKAH, since there are eleventy-some ways to spell it. And search for the missing letters in the center, since I could think of multiple possibilities.
Moe, I've got to break my silence. Festival of Lites? **G*r*o*a*n*!**
BYU was a CSO to me, since I spent my freshman year there.
Hi Everybody!
ReplyDeleteBruce - this puzzle was a masterpiece! I thoroughly enjoyed and got the theme right away, although I had to wait to see how to spell HANUKKAH. Love the boxed GIFT! I ran the alphabet in my head then unscrambled to find it. A whole puzzle without an I or a T? Yeesh!! You are amazing.
Thank you for sharing Adam Sandler, CED. That song is on my list of favorite holiday songs!
Iconic Risky Business scene (and best Bob Segar song)
Off to work - Happy Hannukah!
t.
Argyle 735A
ReplyDelete-Gelt is a new word to me. Because I did not know it, I was free to recite the alphabet. When I came to F and G, I sussed the rest. It was a GIFT, Jewish Lagniappe.
Anon 853A
-Knowing that we are advised not to feed the anons, I'll answer your question anyway. "I'd love to hear how 'Druish' in the context given is humorous." Naturally when I explain what makes this humorous, it will no longer be so. Keep in mind that this is a quote from a movie. People from the planet Druidia many light years from Earth, are referred to as Druish. This word rhymes with Jewish. Wait, that can't be funny. It demeans an entire religion. The jury is ordered to disregard the previous testimony.
Bruce Haight 907A
-It was nice of you to visit the Corner. I am unsure what "Unchecked squares" are. Who can enlighten me?
I - M 933A
-She said "I'm not fond of referential puzzles." Who can help me understand "Referential puzzles?"
Abejo 1025A
-Reading about Chanukah, and comments today have helped my education re. Judaism. That feels good.
C E D 1034A
-I believe Adam Sandler included every Jew in Hollywood. One more earworm. They are starting to sing to one another. This worm sang bass, that one sang tenor etc.
Picard 102P
-...."the Buddhist belief that all is transient." Your pics display another major religion of which I know so little.
Dave
You don't look Druish is very funny. No explanation needed. Actually, Carrie Fisher once sang, "I've got Jews under my skin" to a friend of mine. He thought it strange, I thought it funny. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Adam Sandler song. He came out with a later version, and no, the first one did not include every jewish person in Hollywood. The above quote from Carrie is sung to the tune of "I've got you under my skin" in case no one sussed that out.
ReplyDeleterb also known as Becky
Hello Bloggers. Haven't checked for awhile. I loved this Cw. I was surprised at how much I knew about Jewish religion. Probably because I playedn in "Fiddler On The Roof". The Director (who was Jewish) told us we would all feel Jewish when we were through. I wanted to put Latkes before Pancakes.
ReplyDeleteIM be sure to watch NCIS NOLA tonight, Chelsea is in this episode, I believe.
Happy Hanukkah.
OKL @ 1:14 ---> I sort of figured that would elicit a groan or two from the posters here! ;^) No comment on the 'lick? I thought that was kind of clever, given that I used the anagram of Pacer --> Caper, as well as the erstwhile "Rambler" connection to the old AMC stable of cars. FWIW, I grew up living nearby the local Rambler car dealer's family. They always drove a brand new Ambassador - the top-of-the-line model
ReplyDeleteSheesh! I say that with a big smile, because I liked this imaginative and visually striking puzzle. I'll chime in with the others who admire Bruce's ability to make a puzzle without the letters I and T in it. Love the boxed GIFT next to BOX UP. Chuckled at BOOR crossing BOER. Knew RADNOR because I went to Villanova for a semester and dated a Swarthmore girl. My family has roots in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. Also, having gone to Stanford University, I also knew LELAND. The name of the university is a little weird: officially "Leland Stanford Junior University." For far too long I thought it was a junior university, whatever that is, until I learned it was named after Leland Stanford Sr's son. And yes, "The Cardinal" is another example of the quirkiness of Stanford, along with the apparently totally undisciplined Stanford band. A heck of a place to be during the Vietnam war protests.
ReplyDeleteGood wishes to you all.
When I first saw the grid, I was thinking oh no...I don't like gimmicky puzzles. But this was amazing...to be able to have all the answers without an I or T is incredible. Fun, fun!
ReplyDeleteWhoops, there goes a post down the drain.
ReplyDeleteJust kudos to Bruce, Argyle, Moe and Owen
Misty. You are going to make me a Joyce
fan. Also, Owen had a link to the original of NATICK. Don't bother looking for it: Rex Parker in 2008 got frustrated with crossing obscure proper nouns. The Clue was "Town on the 9th mile of Boston Marathon".
I always was curious since the clue could have been "Hometown of author of famous Hail Mary of 1984".
Nufsed meant SHUT TF UP!!! in Mcgreeveys 3rd Base bar near Fenway park. I'm descended from Royal Rooters I've been told.
Okay, I'm running out of ink. Thanks for Roy O. Link.
TTP, my Parrish is O L of G.
Most famous Pacer?: Dan Patch.
D4- ignore the churl. Druish is funny. .
Owen, try ALOE VERA * gell caps.
Like Superbowl I gave up on Pats. No come back this time I'm hearing. Neither Pats nor Steelers will be playing in the Superbowl. Nufsed.
Finally, speaking of Ulysses. didn't we have an Odyssey clue awhile back?
WC in the daytime.
* Capped since it's an ubiquitous xword clue. Also it really helps my stiff hands.
WC ---> I'd still wager a bet that either the Steelers or Pat's will get to the SB this year. Who else in the AFC is worthy, do you think? Hope next week's game will be entertaining. They usually are when these two "rivals" meet.
DeleteYou've got the new guys on the block. Jville, Chargers...
DeleteI got your anagram l'ick. I've got to reread Owen's since YR liked it so much. Speaking of...
YR, you had those 5th graders writing? I'm wowed. And... Six weeks for Alan. How time flies. I thought I detected that your stress level had improved.
Time to tackle the Skyway bridge
WC
Just posting to keep my place...
ReplyDeleteChairman! (@12:30) I thought your last name was Moe!
Only disapointment: Radnor was clued incorrectly...
(Sorry, best quality I could find.)
P.S. Some Spaceball links would be appropriate...
Also, for years I have been looking for Yellow Submarine Links Re:
"You dont look Blueish!"
to respond to some Anons,
but it is copy protected..
Picard at 1:02 reminded me: the One L Lama visited the aforementioned Smith College in recent years. His lecture was well attended, but it was an invitation-only affair; apparently there are security concerns when he appears in public. I’d like to have heard his address, but alas my invitation was lost in the mail.
ReplyDeleteCED @ 2:43 ---> 😀
ReplyDeleteActually, my Grandpa's nickname was Moe; short for Maurice. But that has nothing to do with the origin of "Chairman Moe". Believe it or not, it's a reference to an old Wine Spectator Bulletin "Moe"-nicker I used. I called myself: Moe Vedre (after the grape varietal "Mourvèdre". My friends shorted it to Moe, and later added the "Chairman" to parody the Chairman Mao, but also because I was the instigator and coordinator of many wine gatherings among those of us who partook of the grape-inspired alcoholic beverage ...
So now you know "Moe" than you probably wanted!! 😜
"Oh, it's beer, beer, beer
ReplyDeleteThat makes you want to cheer,
On the LELAND Stanford Junior Farm..."
Growing up in San Francisco, we were surrounded by the fight songs of our two major university rivals - Cal Berkeley & Stanford - hence knew all the words, and double-hence were always aware of the name of Stanford's great benefactor.
And over time, we came to know his real first name was Amasa! We learned too that he was a former governor of California and one of the infamous "robber barons" of railroad chicanery/tycoonery.
He was also known for breeding race horses, producing his own wines, and - would you believe it? - selling life insurance!
BTW, it's true, as Jinx in Norfolk avers, that Stanford's teams are now called "the Cardinal," but this is a replacement for the original Stanford "Indians." The name was changed in 1972 in response to many objections.
(Among the new names being seriously considered was - yep, my favorite! - the "Robber Barons.")
I quite enjoyed Mr. Haight's imaginative HANUKKAH pzl, with its surprise centerpiece. It was a happy Ta- DAH! with the central GIFT coming right at the end.
Argyle's commentary was nicely informative, using a color map to prove that RADNOR is a legit place, a sort of real-life "Natick" if we're to heed our many colleagues who claim no prior knowledge of the place.
Thank you, Wilbur--I always enjoy your posts!
ReplyDeleteAnon 141P
ReplyDelete-Becky, I suspect that you chose "Anon" 'cause you don't know better. True Anons do not sign their work. Anyone who laughs at my jokes is alright by me. Below I copied my first two posts, one month ago. Just above the block you used today is one marked "Name/URL." Select some name that you want to see when you post, and put it in said box.
-I forget how I got to blue. I know it is thru blogger.com but I went there just now, and it didn't look right. It seems to me that a window opened to me with the entry blocks. Can someone help Becky find that port.
Dave 2, CrossEyedDave = Dave 1
Anonymous said...
testing, testing, 1,2,3. My first comment. I like each of you. I have found a new home. Caught the theme early on 23A, very punny. D4E4H, the letter are my initials, and 44 is 73 years ago.
Ta Ta from Derby City
November 12, 2017 at 2:58 PM
D4E4H said...
My comment went thru, but I'm D4E4H, not anon. One more comment to see who am I.
November 12, 2017 at 3:07 PM
Well this was a lovely HANUKKAH GIFT. Thanks Bruce and Argyle. (And thanks Bruce for showing up here to comment.)
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, I am in awe of this CW's construction, theme and use of GIFT only once in the whole puzzle. (Plus the BOOR,BOER cross and O'SHEA and O'MEARA.
I had Zest before ZEAL, nude before BARE, and tried to fit Musical into ORPHAN's location. The rest filled in with no blots (although my first thought for 17A was Latkes before PANCAKES). I noted a CSO to myself at 40A.
Misty - wonderful story about your book.
Lemonade - smiled at LEAH, NOSH and Rebecca (but should be Rebekah!)
C Moe - I groaned at the Lites too.
YR - love butterflies and angels!
Picard - that Mandala is amazing!
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate it.
Referential puzzles? We had a double today. 17A. Potato __: 61-Across dish: is a single. You need 61-Across to get 17-Across. 19A. Items in a 59-Across lit for 61-Across: is a double. You solve 61-Across to solve 59-Across to solve 19-Across.
ReplyDeleteUnchecked squares? Normally you can't have a square with out anything perpendicular to it. 37-Across has all four squares unchecked. In this case, it was integral to be an exception to the rules.
Fabulous puzzle for Hanukkah! Thanks, Bruce for the holiday tribute and all the fun (GIFT!) in solving it. Argyle, thanks for walking us through. Me thinks you are working too hard at being kind.
ReplyDeleteMay the light of the world be increased by the lighting of our menorahs.
Thanks A+
ReplyDeleteArgyle AKA A+ 557P
-I'm composing on the Corner directly, opened on Google. Thanks, with C.C. for getting me out of purgatory thrice today. Thanks for 'splaining referential puzzles, and unchecked squares. I understand each concept now.
Dave 2
In accord with today's meta-theme of Light-in-darkness, the local Hallmark outlet had a bunch of wall signs. One of them said,
ReplyDeleteTweet others as you want to be tweeted.
So apropos today.
Shalom All!
ReplyDeleteHappy HANUKKAH!*
Thank you Bruce. WEES - very nicely done, cool theme, and impressive non-use of GIFT's letters. I too had to eliminate the rest of the alphabet to fill the box... G-F-I (oh, FIGs! - oh nos - EROS has an S,... T!)
And then to top it off with so many Jewish Easter-eggs (wait, that sounds wrong): Potato PANCAKES (wanted Latkahs too TrueBrit), LEAH, etc. Crossing BOOR & BOER was cute. And, since no one brought it up, the mirror of Razor BLADE and SHAVE in the grid - something male Hasidic Jews don't do... Ok, I'm gushing; Just a great puzzle Bruce. And thanks for stopping into the Corner.
Thanks Argyle for putting faces to names I didn't know, the expo, and kicking-off the 1st night of light after party.
WO: Brain-fart @4d; had AMA...
ESPs: All the names and spelling of the Tuna - too many letters to keep straight in my head.
Non-theme Fav: ONE L LAMA as clue'd.
{LOL 'eleventy-something ways to spell it'...} {LOL, A++ - I liked it :-)}
Dudley - I always read FLN before moving on to today. Glad you enjoyed Python.
Picard - It's neat to have a photographer at the corner w/ so many cool pix. I'm not Jewish, but I'd have gotten Gelt. //funny, Argyle, "close but no chocolate."
D4 - what makes Druish even more funny is that Mel Brooks promised Jews in Space at the end of History of the World Part I.
D-O: YEESH! Bris, ouch! And, wrong rite.
CED - I had Adam Sandler all QUEued up; you beat me... Great minds and all that.
Cheers, -T
*even for those who don't celebrate! I hear Merry Christmas thrown around, so, why not? The Girls, when at Montessori, would celebrate Christmas, HANUKKAH, Diwali, Tet, Chinese New Year, you name it. My bro visited their school once, "Dude, your girls' school looks like a United Colors of Benetton ad." :-)
Close but no chocolate - priceless!
ReplyDeleteFestival of Lites - priceless!
Rebecca - I mean Becky - how nice to see you here regularly. Were you BB in high school? How cool to have a Carrie Fisher story just before the new Star Wars movie opens.
It also is fun to watch the Corner revitalized by new posters and continuing as we chug toward the tenth anniversary of Zhouqin's creation.
Canadian Eh- transliteration like Hanukkah or Chanukah - Yehuda or Judah - or Rebecca or Rebekah has no right answer IMO, but thanks for agreeing with the observation.
Bruce, call me next time. MACCABEE is 8 letters. Thank you for visiting again.
Lemony 840P
ReplyDelete-I miss read "Bruce, call me next time. MACCABEE is 8 letters." as one sentence. Hasn't it always been 8 letters. Then I saw a period, and it made all the difference.
The word Maccabee has become synonymous with the small band of Jewish freedom fighters who freed Judea from the Syrian-Greek occupiers during the Chanukah saga in the Second Temple period.
This term originally applied only to Judah, who led the group following the death of his father, Matityahu, and is referred to in early writings as “Judah Maccabee” (Judas Maccabeus in Greek).
The name is commonly spelled מכבי, but sometimes מקבי as well. What does it mean?
“Who Is Like G‑d?”
Perhaps the best known explanation is that the word “Maccabee” is composed of the initial letters of a verse the Jewish people sang after G‑d split the sea: “Mi kamocha ba’eilim Hashem (מי כמוך באילים י׳), “Who is like You among the mighty, O G‑d.”
Mighty or Hammer
Some explain that the word “Maccabee” is related to the Greek word meaning “strong” or “fighter.”
Others explain that it comes from the Hebrew word for “hammer,” makav, either because Judah was the “hammer of G‑d,” his features somewhat resembled that of a hammer, or because his earlier occupation was that of a blacksmith.
Dave 2
Maccabee! not bad! and it doesn't have a g,i,f, or t in it either! What's your phone number?
ReplyDeleteBruce - since you're still up... Did you do BLADE / SHAVE on purpose? -T
ReplyDeleteD4:
ReplyDelete"“Who Is Like G‑d?”"
Nope, that's Michael ... Michael-El
Blade and Shave......symmetrically placed....something to do with a brit milah (bris) maybe.......nice pick up!
ReplyDelete