Theme: Hidden Critters: Some charming little folk nesting in the theme entries:
18A. *Acting like the locals : GOING NATIVE. Gnat. I'm in India this week. I've eaten nothing but curry this week, so I guess I've gone native. I love Indian food.
61A. *Try not to look bored : STIFLE A YAWN. Flea. Many meetings. Yikes, check out this guy!
3D. *Google Code of Conduct motto : DON'T BE EVIL Bee. Some people say that they've gone away from this ideal just a tad.
30D. *"The Imitation Game" subject : ALAN TURING. Ant. A brilliant man and a sad outcome.
Reveal:
54A. Software glitches ... and, in a broad sense, small things hidden in the answers to starred clues : BUGS. Of course, I never introduced a bug into any code I wrote, ever. Well, maybe one or two.
39D. Trial run designed to catch 54-Across : BETA TEST. The net is never fine enough, a bunch always slip through.
Second Thursday in a row for C.C. and a nice-looking grid, especially top and bottom of the across theme entries. Nary a clunker to be found either. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. It doesn't go off : DUD. Happily for someone, I'm sure.
4. Dugong or manatee : SEA COW
10. Friskies sister brand : ALPO
14. "Lookee here!" : OHO!
15. Turkey's second-largest city : ANKARA. I'm not sure if I can think of a third-largest. I know Galatasaray are Turkish soccer team, but when I looked them up they're in Istanbul, so I'm still stuck.
16. Enjoyed People : READ. Note the capital "P" in "People".
17. Singer Fogelberg : DAN. Now why on earth did I want to put ANN in here?
20. Toughness : GUTS
22. Stage great Hagen : UTA. Thank you, ghosts of crosswords past.
23. White __ : NOISE
24. Site of Napoleon's exile : ELBA. "Able I was, ere I saw Palindrome." No, wait ....? I didn't know until fairly recently the pint-sized Emperor didn't stay exiled on Elba. He had a Bonaparte 2.0 reboot and returned to Paris as head of state, but that didn't work out either and ended up as a prisoner of the British and banished to the island of Saint Helena, his final abode.
25. Accessories for many lawn mowers : GAS CANS
27. Engrave with acid : ETCH
29. Dalai Lama, for one : TIBETAN
32. Sport with clay pigeons : SKEET
34. Canapé spread : PATÉ
35. Husky follower : SLED
37. Part of SASE: Abbr. : ENV.
38. Wartime prez : ABE. Not HST, which is the first guess.
40. Sci-fi aviators : ETS
42. Shapiro of NPR : ARI
43. Exertion : TOIL
45. Suburban trees : ELMS
47. Picker-uppers? : HANDS
49. Hole's starting point for skilled golfers : BLUE TEE. I wanted BLACK TEE, because that's the tee at the very back. I generally play from the blues, and I'm certainly not skilled!
51. Many a college graduate's burden : DEBT
52. Reel : STAGGER
57. Trouble greatly : EAT AT
59. LG competitor : RCA
60. First name at Woodstock : ARLO
64. Lithium-__ battery : ION
65. Pakistani tongue : URDU
66. Scoresheet slashes : SPARES. Bowling. Boomer would have had this filled without a thought. I don't bowl, so waited for some help from the crosses.
67. Find fault to a fault : NAG
68. Mandarin discard : PEEL
69. Siberian expanse : TUNDRA. "The Frozen Tundra" is an affectionate name for the Green Bay Packers field in Wisconsin. You can see why:
70. Some hot rods : GT'S
Down:
1. Sidestep : DODGE
2. Penske rival : U-HAUL. I had U and through UNSER for the motor racing teams, but something made me hesitate.
4. Succumb to gravity : SAG
5. "Cut it out already!" : ENOUGH
6. Curly-tailed dog : AKITA
7. Rummy game played with two decks : CANASTA
8. Suffix for NPR's website : ORG. Two NPR mentions today.
9. "You sure of that?" : WANNA BET?
10. Gallery VIPs : ARTISTS
11. Hawaiian wedding rings : LEIS
12. Tar : PAVE
13. Neruda's "__ to My Socks" : ODE
19. Top-ranked : A-ONE
21. Make full : SATE
26. Credits as a source : CITES
28. Commuter org. in the Loop : C.T.A. The Chicago Transit Authority, which is how these fellows started out before they decided it was too much of a mouthful:
31. Comic-Con attendee : NERD
32. Ready : SET
33. Door opener : KNOB
34. Pequod co-owner : PELEG
36. Belittle : DIS
41. "__ Walks in Beauty": Byron poem : SHE
44. Satyrlike : LUSTFUL
46. "You've Got Mail" co-star : MEG RYAN
48. "Fernando" pop group : ABBA
50. Letters replacing unlisted items : ET AL
51. Bureau unit : DRAWER
53. Internet greeting : E-CARD
55. Be a bad sport : GLOAT
56. iTunes downloads : SONGS
57. Raison d'__ : ÊTRE. ÊTAT fits nicely in there too, but it's usually clued as COUP DE ___, not RAISON DE ___
58. West Wing staffer : AIDE
61. "How're things?" : 'SUP?
62. "The Simpsons" clerk : APU
63. Fort Meade org. : N.S.A.
As I mentioned, I'm in India this week. I'm taking a break from the Delhi smoke (AQI 188) for the Mumbai smog (158). This is the historic Mahalaxmi Racecourse from the Star TV building, not that you can see much. It's about 500 yards to the cellphone tower in the foreground according to Google Maps:
My lungs think I've smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since I got here. I can't believe in hindsight that I actually did used to smoke a pack a day, thank goodness I kicked that habit.
Have a good day all!
अलविदा
And here's the grid!
Steve
18A. *Acting like the locals : GOING NATIVE. Gnat. I'm in India this week. I've eaten nothing but curry this week, so I guess I've gone native. I love Indian food.
61A. *Try not to look bored : STIFLE A YAWN. Flea. Many meetings. Yikes, check out this guy!
3D. *Google Code of Conduct motto : DON'T BE EVIL Bee. Some people say that they've gone away from this ideal just a tad.
30D. *"The Imitation Game" subject : ALAN TURING. Ant. A brilliant man and a sad outcome.
Reveal:
54A. Software glitches ... and, in a broad sense, small things hidden in the answers to starred clues : BUGS. Of course, I never introduced a bug into any code I wrote, ever. Well, maybe one or two.
39D. Trial run designed to catch 54-Across : BETA TEST. The net is never fine enough, a bunch always slip through.
Second Thursday in a row for C.C. and a nice-looking grid, especially top and bottom of the across theme entries. Nary a clunker to be found either. Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. It doesn't go off : DUD. Happily for someone, I'm sure.
4. Dugong or manatee : SEA COW
10. Friskies sister brand : ALPO
14. "Lookee here!" : OHO!
15. Turkey's second-largest city : ANKARA. I'm not sure if I can think of a third-largest. I know Galatasaray are Turkish soccer team, but when I looked them up they're in Istanbul, so I'm still stuck.
16. Enjoyed People : READ. Note the capital "P" in "People".
17. Singer Fogelberg : DAN. Now why on earth did I want to put ANN in here?
20. Toughness : GUTS
22. Stage great Hagen : UTA. Thank you, ghosts of crosswords past.
23. White __ : NOISE
24. Site of Napoleon's exile : ELBA. "Able I was, ere I saw Palindrome." No, wait ....? I didn't know until fairly recently the pint-sized Emperor didn't stay exiled on Elba. He had a Bonaparte 2.0 reboot and returned to Paris as head of state, but that didn't work out either and ended up as a prisoner of the British and banished to the island of Saint Helena, his final abode.
25. Accessories for many lawn mowers : GAS CANS
27. Engrave with acid : ETCH
29. Dalai Lama, for one : TIBETAN
32. Sport with clay pigeons : SKEET
34. Canapé spread : PATÉ
35. Husky follower : SLED
37. Part of SASE: Abbr. : ENV.
38. Wartime prez : ABE. Not HST, which is the first guess.
40. Sci-fi aviators : ETS
42. Shapiro of NPR : ARI
43. Exertion : TOIL
45. Suburban trees : ELMS
47. Picker-uppers? : HANDS
49. Hole's starting point for skilled golfers : BLUE TEE. I wanted BLACK TEE, because that's the tee at the very back. I generally play from the blues, and I'm certainly not skilled!
51. Many a college graduate's burden : DEBT
52. Reel : STAGGER
57. Trouble greatly : EAT AT
59. LG competitor : RCA
60. First name at Woodstock : ARLO
64. Lithium-__ battery : ION
65. Pakistani tongue : URDU
66. Scoresheet slashes : SPARES. Bowling. Boomer would have had this filled without a thought. I don't bowl, so waited for some help from the crosses.
67. Find fault to a fault : NAG
68. Mandarin discard : PEEL
69. Siberian expanse : TUNDRA. "The Frozen Tundra" is an affectionate name for the Green Bay Packers field in Wisconsin. You can see why:
70. Some hot rods : GT'S
Down:
1. Sidestep : DODGE
2. Penske rival : U-HAUL. I had U and through UNSER for the motor racing teams, but something made me hesitate.
4. Succumb to gravity : SAG
5. "Cut it out already!" : ENOUGH
6. Curly-tailed dog : AKITA
7. Rummy game played with two decks : CANASTA
8. Suffix for NPR's website : ORG. Two NPR mentions today.
9. "You sure of that?" : WANNA BET?
10. Gallery VIPs : ARTISTS
11. Hawaiian wedding rings : LEIS
12. Tar : PAVE
13. Neruda's "__ to My Socks" : ODE
The moral
of my ode is this:
beauty is twice
beauty
and what is good is doubly
good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool
in winter.
21. Make full : SATE
26. Credits as a source : CITES
28. Commuter org. in the Loop : C.T.A. The Chicago Transit Authority, which is how these fellows started out before they decided it was too much of a mouthful:
31. Comic-Con attendee : NERD
32. Ready : SET
33. Door opener : KNOB
34. Pequod co-owner : PELEG
36. Belittle : DIS
41. "__ Walks in Beauty": Byron poem : SHE
44. Satyrlike : LUSTFUL
46. "You've Got Mail" co-star : MEG RYAN
48. "Fernando" pop group : ABBA
50. Letters replacing unlisted items : ET AL
51. Bureau unit : DRAWER
53. Internet greeting : E-CARD
55. Be a bad sport : GLOAT
56. iTunes downloads : SONGS
57. Raison d'__ : ÊTRE. ÊTAT fits nicely in there too, but it's usually clued as COUP DE ___, not RAISON DE ___
58. West Wing staffer : AIDE
61. "How're things?" : 'SUP?
62. "The Simpsons" clerk : APU
63. Fort Meade org. : N.S.A.
As I mentioned, I'm in India this week. I'm taking a break from the Delhi smoke (AQI 188) for the Mumbai smog (158). This is the historic Mahalaxmi Racecourse from the Star TV building, not that you can see much. It's about 500 yards to the cellphone tower in the foreground according to Google Maps:
My lungs think I've smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since I got here. I can't believe in hindsight that I actually did used to smoke a pack a day, thank goodness I kicked that habit.
Have a good day all!
अलविदा
And here's the grid!
Steve
70 comments:
How are a dresser and an art school alike?
The ANT and the FLEA are the infantry
The air force is flown by GNAT and BEE.
"They are manned," says the ant!
"No, they're bugged," says the gnat!
"Whatever, just be brave and don't flee," says the flea!
The DALAI LAMA in Vegas had a plan,
He wagered an even-score game would stand!
The odds-maker demurred,
Such a bet was absurd,
But the TIBETAN insisted, "I'ma tie bettin'!"
They're both full of DRAWERS!
{B+, B+.}
Greetings!
Thanks to C. C. and Steve!
Fun puzzle! Only hangup was BLUE TEE, but that filled in quickly.
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Good morning!
This was suitably arcane for a Thursday. No, I didn't find the bugs. I did notice the homage to Boomer with the SPARES. Nicely done, C.C. Steve, "wear a gasmask and a veil. Then you can breathe, long as you don't inhale." [Cough, Tom Lehrer]
Wartime Prez: ABE. Another tricky clue could be "Prez with no middle name." No, not HST, ABE.
MEG RYAN: She was big in the '80s/'90s. Haven't heard much from her this century.
ALAN TURING: The cleverest crossword puzzle I've ever seen was a tribute puzzle to Alan Turing. It was a rebus puzzle with different letters down than across in the rebus squares. These squares provided a "substitution key" for decoding H R HALDEMAN into ALAN TURING. Brilliant!
Dental cleaning today. Fun times!
Was watching PBS the other day and was informed that Napoleon wasn't really that short. Apparently he was 5'7" while the average man was 5'5". So he was actually tall for a man in his day. Several theories as to why he was mistakenly mislabeled.
Had backtee, blue tees are not the furthest back (hardest) on some courses. The perps straightened me out.
Tanx to C.C. and Steve . Enjoyed the puzzle . Some key words that kept the game going were Ankara, Tibetan, lustful and drawer. Drawer reminded me of my younger sister's wedding years ago when the M. C. At the reception made her blush by saying " May your weddiing night remind you of the kitchen table - four bare legs and no drawers" . At 49A looked for black tee but no room . Thought maybe back tee but waited and lustful took care of it. Had no idea about Arlo it filled last with gloat. Drive safe
Sparkling puzzle today. Thanks, CC. My favorites were "picker-uppers" for HANDS and "Penske rival" for U HAUL. I wanted Rahal but held off too. I erased Grit for GUTS and Nih for NSA. I liked the CSOs to Boomer and melissa bee.
DW's ode to my socks is subtitled "Get 'Em Out of Here".
Ironic that the Screen Actor's Guild consists largely of people who have had so much augmentation that no lip, breast or bum could SAG if they were in a 4-G fighter maneuver.
Steve, thanks for your fun review. I try to pick tees that give me a chance to reach at least one par 5 in two and the shortest par 4 with a drive. I think it makes the game more fun, and it is definitely faster.
When I was programming, our mottto was “it’s not a BUG, it’s a feature”
Hand up for anN Fogelberg, don’t know why
Started Golf too late in life, never was a long enough hitter to use the blue tees, now after losing five yards off my drive every year I’m almost ready to start using the senior tees
Good Morning you who have a Corner on the CW,
Yes I slept better last night, thank you. I had 4 hrs, and 2 hrs of actual sleep. That may not sound like much, but it is for me. Thank you "Tibetan Music." see my post FLN 430P.
When I saw C.C. today I knew I was in for an enjoyable CW. Thanks Steve where ever you are. Say hi to Rajesh Kootrapoli for me. I was able to FIR.
You folks are slipping, only 86 comments FLN.
Dave 2
CC, fun puzzle. _UE TEE seemed to ask for BLUE, but I refused to accept it until the end, which gave me KNOB and a hint to finish up that last section. I was so glad to FIR that I forgot to look for the bugs.Always interesting expo, Steve.
I didn't know that golf had different starting points. Please explain. I read about different sets of tee boxes. What does that mean?
I have heard of ALAN TURING, but not The Imitation Game. After a few perps I could WAG it.
Dave 2 , glad you got some sleep.
Devito, I always thought Napoleon was short. You aroused my curiosity so I LIU. Thanks.
Napoleon
Steve and C.C., thank you for a nice work out and review. I now realize I knew of no other Turkish CITIES . The only people I know from Turkey lived in Istanbul.
I have never seen Black Tees, here the Championship ones are Gold, which has the same number of letters as Blue. I have not been able to swing a club in about 18 months, but I am trying exercises and stretches and plan to go to the driving range with my oldest soon.
Have a great day all.
She Walks in Beauty
by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Good Morning, Steve and friends. This seemed like an easier puzzle than our usual Thursday fare. I caught all the BUGS in the starred answers. I learned that Google has a Code of Conduct = DON"T BE EVIL. Shouldn't that be a part of all honor codes?
My favorite clues were Husky Follower = SLED and Picker-Upper = HANDS.
Still very cold here, but most portions of the interstate are open, so travel is possible. For those of you outside of Louisiana, much of Interstate 10 is elevated (ie, bridges), hence freeze more easily. In fact, Louisiana has four of the top 5 longest Bridgest in the United States.
QOD: Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them. ~ A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne, Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956)
Musings
-An always challenging and worthy trip with C.C.
-GRIT/GUTS and UNSER/UHAUL made for a bad start
-ALAN TURING took a while as I kept seeing ATLANT…
-This is an ingenious GAS CAN pour spout
-Here you can see the BLUE (for best players) and White TEES (for average players) on the 1st hole at my course but the Reds (For ladies and men over 75) are another 50 yds closer to the hole
-The Brooklyn baseball team was originally the Trolley DODGERS
-Why do I think A-ONE sauce is not on Steve’s list of condiments?
-Britain – “Ready, Steady, Go!” USA – “Ready, SET, Go!”
-MEG RYAN – still a beauty at 56
-Any open DRAWER is an invitation for our kitty
When I brought in the newspaper this morning I told my wife that I could finish the puzzle before she read (or should I say skimmed)the rest of the paper. I should have said WANNA BET. I would have won. Well I C C.C. has constructed another winner today. I never looked for a theme, as I STAGGERed to complete it. That's ENOUGH about my win.
ALAN TURING was all perps.
BLUE TEEs- Steve, I actually wrote BLACK and stopped because I knew TEE wouldn't fit. These days I play from the WHITE TEES but my game tells me I should be teeing off from the REDS.
STIFLE A YAWN- many years ago, DW & I attended a play in the French Quarter and about half way through, the lead actress (a good friend of ours) stopped in the middle of some scene and said: "C'mon George, you can't be that bored". I was.
DEBT- One of my friend's grandson just got married the last week of 2017. The bride had over $300,000 in college DEBT. No way she will ever be able to pay it back.
Hahtoolah- looking at your bridge lists, #5 & #3 are actually ONE bridge, going from Kenner on I-10, veering right at the I-10 I-55 split, and you don't go back to ground level until well past Manchac close to Pontchatoula. So if you add the 22.8 miles of the I-55 and the 11 miles of mis-named "Bonne Carre Spillway Bridge" (I've NEVER heard anybody call it that), it's over 33 miles between ground level driving.
A puzzle constructed by CC is always fun and solvable, no matter which day it is!
Thanks!
Montana
YR, there are no "standard" tee colors, but the most common scheme I have seen (from furthest from the green to closest) is black, blue, white, red and yellow. The idea is to make play doable but challenging for all levels of competence by changing the length of the hole.
The blacks are also called "the tips" and are for expert golfers who reliably hit the ball a "mile". BLUE TEES are indeed for skilled (but not expert) golfers. Average skilled men should play from the white tees and average skilled women should play from the red tees. Gold tees are for senior and otherwise physically challenged golfers.
You may remember a Geico commercial starring a "cave man" golfer who crashes his golf cart into those of his playing partners, then says "so, are we playing from the tips?". This is every golfer's nightmare - being behind a duffer playing from the black tees. Turns a 4-hour game into a five or six hour one.
I’ve seen courses with as many as seven different tee boxes, usually the Championship tees (AKA The Tips) are black or blue. Other tee colors vary and may be labeled Men’s, Women’s, Seniors, “Family” with the idea of keeping the players moving at an acceptable pace. Some courses avoid sexist labels and ask you to choose tees according to your handicap. I play one course that has up to 150 yards between the regular men and women tees.
A book I have Why you suck at golf says if you’re not shooting in the 70s your tees aren’t too short
Everything went Ok today until I reached the South and my mind went blank. I never have heard of ALAN TURING, had Melanie instead of MEG RYAN. Knew I was wrong, but I did not remember Ms Ryan. And I always enjoyed her movies and good looks.
NERD for Comi-Con attendee is bothersome. Having been active in sport cards for over 20 years, I have a lot of adjectives to describe the collectors, but NERD is sure not one of them. And the same goes for Comic Book collectors. Pains in the rear, A Holes, real nice people, are a few that come to my mind and I the comic collectors are no different. Some may be nerdy, but as long as they come up with the $, all is good.
Hi Y'all! Enjoyed the mind-taxing puzzle, C.C. Thanks. However, I missed the reveal clue entirely somehow and didn't get the theme until Steve's great expo. It's a wonder those BUGS didn't bite me. I saw the word BUGS filled in but I don't know how I got a "U". I've never heard of "Imitation Game" or ALAN TURING -- ESP. One of the great mysteries of cw solving.
White: not house (of course, silly me, no politics) but NOISE.
CEDave: FLN When I clicked on one of your links, I got a strong message from Google to change to their Email service. What's that all about. And the last three days, I've had half a dozen pieces of mail & emails from my present server that I need to up my security. Is Google the reason for that. Cox sent me a step-by-step directive on how to incorporate security. Might as well be in Greek for me to actually install it. Duh! Nothing in my email to steal.
My driveway cleared of ice during the night in 17 degree weather. I don't know how it does that. All the other driveways in the block are still iced over. I didn't run down with my trash can though since the last 10 or so feet are still icy. Having injured myself for life twice falling on ice, I no go there.
PK, if you use a mail client (such as Outlook) you will have to comply with Cox's port selections. In my case I was already using the right one for incoming mail, but I had to change the port for outgoing email. Took about a minute for each email address that I use (I use eight for various purposes). If you just use a browser such as Chrome to write and read your email at cox.net there isn't anything to change.
Pretty straightforward puzzle for a Thursday, not too much trouble. I'm glad there were no circles in the grid for the answer within the answer, which seems to be the norm of late. Gimmicky IMO, plus makes the solution a little too easy. Good puzzle CC!
Thank you, C.C., for a bug-laden grid! It was easy to see them embedded in the long fill.
I've never heard of BLUETEE and will go back to READ the various explanations later.
Today I'm GOING to attend a funeral. It's for one of our former Deacons, 98 years old.
Thank you, Steve. Enjoy India but wear a mask.
Have a warm cozy day, everyone!
Thanks CC for a fun theme puzzle and thanks for the review all the way from India, Steve. your lungs are getting what we had from the Thomas Fire. Hope you don't get our mudslides!
Hand up with billcohoes that a BUG can be a feature. My engineering mentor told us it is all about changing the instruction manual.
In our theory of computation class, we learned to prove Godel's Incompleteness Theorem using TURING machines. TURING was a mathematical genius and also gave us the IMITATION GAME idea of defining artificial intelligence. He also was crucial to winning World War II. His reward? Being hounded to death by the UK government for being gay. Sad indeed, Steve.
devito: Thanks for the learning moment about NAPOLEON.
Here our Solstice Parade float of MANATEES is being completed!
The 2017 theme was "Unity". What is the connection? Scroll to the lower image where you see a Unicorn. Unicorn + MANATEE = Unity. A bit of an inside joke. But the art by Laura Smith was brilliant! Notice the "Rainbows and Unicorns" theme as well.
Learning moment about BLUE TEE.
Thanks, Jinx. I think I get it. Makes sense. Silly me. I thought everyone started from exactly the same place at every hole. Besides miniature golf, the only golf I ever played was in college phys. ed. where that was the case. The class was at 8:00 AM in the dew and the early morning mist. I was half asleep and my hair was shot for the day. The way it was taught was as boring as all get out. I never had the urge to try it again. My son loves golfing.
I didn't pick up the different tee boxes from watching pro golf on TV.
I just returned from a mammogram retest. This week I also had a routine GYN exam and a deep dental cleaning. All of my favorites. Yeah! I've been poked, scraped, and squished, but the good news is I have a clean bill of health.
Hello Puzzlers -
Speed run today, no unknowns, except “don’t be evil” which perps made obvious. That’s a corporate ethos I can support as long as it’s genuine. Thanks C.C.!
Morning Steve, you globe-hopper you. Keep the respiration at a minimum! :-)
M Bee from yesterday - I just reviewed the later posts, and learned of your mission. Well done! My hat is off and my head is humbly bowed to you.
Good Morning:
I love seeing CC's byline because I know I'm in for some fun, learning, and, definitely, some tricky cluing, all adding up to an enjoyable solve. My only w/os were Sat/Sag (I ignored the obvious tense clash) Loan/Debt, and Ari before Ira. I'll never get those two straight. FDR was my first thought, but held off until Abe showed up. No real stumpers but perps were needed in many spots. As usual, CC's theme was cleverly concealed until the reveal.
Thanks, CC, for a Thursday treat, bugs and all, and thanks, Steve, for your great summary. Hope you can leave that smog behind you soon.
Have a great day.
OHO. S'UP? WANNA BET that a C.C. puzzle will not be a DUD. ENOUGH!
Thanks for the fun C.C. and Steve (enjoy your travels but DODGE that smog!)
No baseball from C.C. today, but we got golf, bowling (CSO to Boomer) and SKEET. CANASTA if you don't want to move around.
I found all the BUGS. Evade changed to DODGE, Aha to OHO.
ODE to Socks was a pleasant alternative to a Grecian Urn.
Finally moving from World War to Civil War gave me ABE.
Favourite cluing was for DUD.
Enjoy the day.
I believe the group Chicago had to shorten their name after their debut album. The real CTA told them to cease and desist using Chicago Transit Authority.
Wohoo! Woohoo! I got a C.C. Thursday puzzle without a single cheat or look-up! Yay! Thank you, C.C. for a wonderful, clever, doable fun puzzle! And great write-up, Steve, with lots of your interesting travel info, and for giving us the fun Neruda poem and the information on Napoleon.
But lots of unknowns for me in this puzzle. Got ALAN TURING, but couldn't remember who he was. Thanks for the information, Picard.
Never heard of BLUE TEE--you can tell I never played golf. But I did get SPARES because I was in a bowling group on my first teaching job. Thanks for all the golf explanation, Jinx.
I figured PENSKE was probably a politician, and was flabbergasted when UHAUL filled in.
I liked your first limerick, Owen.
Glad you're in such good health, Yellowrocks.
Have a great day, everybody!
Good morning everyone.
What Dudley said. Had to skip the NW at first except for ELBA, and went around clockwise. Wanted Sirenia for SEA COWS, but CANASTA and WANNA BET said otherwise. Favorite was cluing for DUD. Didn't get the theme until coming here, but no matter.
ABBA - Have been enjoying Benny and Bjorn's post ABBA offerings. Genius stuff.
KNOB - Akin to German Knopf and L. German Knoop, both meaning 'knob' or 'button'.
RE: "Chicago":
"When they released their self-titled debut in April 1969, they were still called the Chicago Transit Authority--a name they'd soon be forced to shorten under threat of a lawsuit from the city's mass transit operator..."
Read the entire article
Thanks to Steve and C.C. again. Damn they do a lot of work! But the puzzle seemed easy for a Thursday. Easier than yesterday. My story of the week. It’s a long one.
Apu Uta sat across from me stifling a yawn. He was a Tibetan originally, but lived in Ankara and could read Urdu well enough. He and I were going native in a U-Haul north of the Arctic Circle, where Akita pulled sleds in the frozen waste of the Tundra.
We were to meet up with an NSA operative in a dive bar with a slanted sign that read, “Eat at Ion Guts.” Arlo Abe, that’s pronounced Ah-bee like the Japanese MP, sat at a table playing canasta with a sea-cow of a woman. She was wearing a blue tee, with a set of knobs sagging like debt.
They called Abe “Bugs,” but my assignment sheet didn’t say why.
The place had a lot of “Atmosphere.” Seriously, there were etchings from artists on the walls and enough noise like a CTA train coming from an old dishwasher.
He saw us come in; we shook hands and sat down. I turned my head away from a guy at the next table eating out of an Alpo can, lustfully. It was the Prime Cuts variety but it didn’t look too bad. Like pate.
“This is Meg Peleg,” said Abe. “Meg this is Dan Ryan and Apu Uta.”
“We going after the ‘Dodge’?” I said. By this, I meant the man we were supposed to tail.
“Tonight,” she said. “His name is Ari and we uncovered him buying up hundreds of gas cans. He’s a programmer and we monitored his computer. We think he’s going to blow up the pipe line with an encrypted message.”
“Fine,” I said. “Where do we find him?”
Abe spoke up, “He’s right next door. Movie house – there’s only one film playing – ‘Imitation Game’.”
“This Ari fellow,” said Meg Peleg, “he’s probably going to do a Beta-test of the program tonight so you two better get going.”
“Alan Turning,” I said. “I can’t compete with that kind of computer skill, but just show me where he’s stashed those gas cans.”
“That’s what you’re dressed for Dan,” said Abe. “Go find it!”
Apu and I entered the movie house and picked out the guy from Meg and Abe’s description. We waited until the film was over and befriended him in the parking lot posing as grunts for hire. He said he could use us in his fueling operation service.
After a few weeks of work for him filling gas cans and delivering the gas to customers in out of the way locations, we were able to follow him and his truck filled with about fifty gas cans. We watched him set the cans under a length of pipe at the edge of town.
That was all we needed. We set upon him. But it looked like he wasn’t going down without setting the damn thing off. He took out a device that looked like a skeet disk and he pushed a button. We covered our ears in horror.
Thank God, it was a dud.
We yanked the device away from his hands. As I ripped his jacket off, I noticed his shirt; under it was a Tee-shirt saying, “Don’t Be Evil.”
Apu looked at it and then at me and said, “Wanna bet?”
Rick.
Well it is after noon here in Tarpon Springs and only up to 45 degrees.
It was 29 degrees when I woke up this morning ... Brrrrrr !!!
4-a Manatee / SEA-COW was a CSO since I see them frequently when I am at my favorite "Watering Hole" Capt'n Jack's on the Anclote River.
At this time of year they gather in some springs just north of here where the "Spring Water" is a constant 72 degrees.
(They don't like the cold weather either.)
Cheers!
Wasn't until I read the Blog that I realized I forgot
to look for the bugs!
PK@9:16
I was just curious if anyone could see a link that derived
from my email instead of the internet. I had no idea what would happen.
When I click on it, I see cute puppies and kittens in need of foster care.
Probably because I am already signed into Google.
Sorry if you were assailed by ads...
25a accessories for many lawn mowers?
I had to get a tractor when my yard proved too big for even a powered lawn mower.
My old one gave up the ghost, and the new one has a cup holder!
Personally, I think it's a dumb idea because it makes your beer all fizzy.
I use it to hold the key when it's off...
For the Teachers on the Blog!
"Puzzling Thoughts";
Brief absence; it's "season" here in S FL so little time for things other than work. Making hay while the sun shines ...
Always enjoy CC puzzles; when her's show up on Thurs, Fri, or Sat, I know I'm gonna be in for a few write-overs. I had RAHAL > UHAUL; BACK TEE > BLUE TEE; and BAGS > BUGS, as ALAN TURING meant nothing to me. Sorry. But all worked out despite a few smudges
As I said the last time I posted, my creative skills (if indeed I have any) to come up with new haikus and limericks has been in check. But I penned one today that got a "cute" "👍" from my mom, so here goes. Has nothing to do with the puzzle ...
NASCAR driver was having some fits;
So he thought about calling it quits.
"Other jobs?" He'd inquire.
They said, "Why not re-tire?"
But he thought, that would just be the pits ...
HG 828A
The picture, worth 1000 words, chose ones that did not explain. Does the Genie living in the can open a safety valve on the spout when it is inserted in the receiving container/vehicle?
Oh great, now when I say "I'm teed off about something" I have to specify what color it has made my balls, and when I make a hole-in-one I have to specify from which color. Has anyone heard the urban legend that "GOLF" is an acronym for Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden? And discuss.
I watched the full "When Harry met Sally" after it came to our attention the other day, and was enamored with Meg Ryan's face. She was, and is beautiful.
Big Easy 829A
Wrote "Well I C C.C. has....." Is C a new one letter verb?
Picard 1018A
Thanks for PICS today, and in the past. Why is the equinal creature not called a UniHorn? Blame it on the Romans. Unicorn is the combination of uni - one, and cornus - horn.
CanadianEh! 1054A
Kudos to your words. Well written. The other day you retired from the medical field. What position did you play. and if Dr. what kinda?
Dave 2
CED, when I clicked on that link it took me to my own gmail account.
MB, FLN, congrats on your work with the innocence project. Well done.
Tinbeni, I thought the manatees gathered at power plant coolant pipes in the winter.
Forgot to say that I loved the BUGS theme, C.C. and got every single one of the critters in the long answers.
I thought your limerick was cute, too, Chairman Moe.
Spitzboov 1128A
Used "Sirenia" as if we should obviously know the word. Here is a selection from --Serinia--.
Rick Papazian 1139A
You may have missed one word in your TOIL. You deserve to rest under the ELMS!
Dave 2
desper-otto
Yes, the Manatees do gather around the power-plant cooling canals.
But they prefer the Springs where the water is always 72 degrees and has abundant sea grass for them to eat.
Over by the Tampa Power Plant they have built boardwalks for people to stand and watch manatees.
(And there are hundreds of them to see.)
When I see them in the Anclote River there are usually 2 or 3, Mother & Calf, Sister and Boyfriend.
But in the Spring to the North there are probably 300 to 500 at a time ... in crystal clear fresh water.
Cheers!
D4E4H at 12:42 PM
I missed a lot. Time and space constraints. I can see Napoleon resting under the elms planning his comeback. Actually I could have added more "atmosphere" at the dive bar. "A nerd was playing Abba songs on an RCA victor." Maybe.
I thought 30D, "The Imitation Game" was going to have something to do with Atlantis at first. (from bad penmanship.) Turned out to be ALAN TURNING. I've got to see the movie someday.
Favorite clue: Enjoyed People.
I miss my 145b. akita. Gone 8 years now.
AS for 51A, My bills for having 2 in college right now are astronomical
D4E4H,
It may be Golf to you, but it's more like Flog to me....
Speaking of being Flogged, and Bugs,
being the kind of guy that takes pride in fixing things,
(the icemaker is still broken.)
when the furnace sprung a leak in the autovent last week
I immediately called a pro. ($400-)
Exactly 6 days later, after the whole gas fired hot water baseboard
furnace would not work! (new water pump $1400-)
(DW still thinks they guy last week rigged it to fail!)
In fact, this entire year so far has been a technological nightmare.
So, when I saw this video, (20 minutes, I only watched 5 so far...)
I got some solace in not feeling so alone.
Nice puzzle. Didn't notice the theme until I got to the reveal.
Seemed easy for a Thursday.
D4E4H, I wondered about the gas can, too. HG, what is special about it?
CE DAVE @11:48, that was my experience when I taught a combination first and second grade class. The school had two full classes for each grade with ten students in each grade left over. They were given to me. I had six reading groups, three in each grade and six math groups. The three groups were immutably preordained and absolutely no rationale to combine any of them was acceptable. PS. The next year that policy was changed. In addition I had a non English speaking ESL student. I loved the ESL students and considered them my specialty, but I needed time to devote to them. I had a weak student teacher to "help" me, but she was just another responsibility. STRESS!! with all caps.
51A, or the parents' burden. My grandson turned down a generous college scholarship in order to go to a school of his choice with no scholarship. Then at the end of October my son in his mid 50's lost his six figure job. With three college years left to go, the expenses will come out of retirement savings unless something comes up. Terrible timing. David thought he still had those three years of employment. And these days the assurance of a well paying job for new graduates is not high.
CE Dave, how expensive and how exasperating!
On a positive note, Alan is doing very well for more than 10 weeks with only minor glitches.
Musings
-YR This GAS CAN can be turned upside down and no gas will come out. When the can is upside down with the spout in the tank opening, you lower the can down until the flange on the spout hits the edge of the tank filler cap and then continue on and that flange opens the spout as it slides up into the spout. Pulling the spout out stops the flow immediately. Cool!
-Tin, seeing your Florida temps makes me glad I don’t have 100 kids down there today as I usually did around MLK day.
Nifty puzzle, a pleasure to solve.
Very nice puzzle but I also wanted BACKTEE as BLUETEE is not necessarily a given starting point for skilled golfers. For instance, my course offers five sets of tee boxes and none are blue. I also looked at the scorecards for the last six courses I played and only one offered blue tees and it represented the second shortest yardage. Certainly, many courses do offer blue colored tee markers and some might even be the longer yardages. Perhaps adding "on some courses" would have been more appropriate cluing. Thanks for a fun Thursday challenge.
D4 @ 1242 - From Merriam:
"Definition of Sirenia. : an order of large aquatic herbivorous mammals including the manatee, dugong, Steller's sea cow, and several fossil forms that have the tail horizontally flattened and expanded into a broad rounded or bilobed fin, the hind limbs rudimentary or wanting and the front ones paddle-shaped, and jaws with horny plates on the front part and usually numerous flat-crowned molar teeth."
Four out of 6 letters are vowels and so, being Thursday, a word a puzzle creator might have considered using.
Oddly, while the dugong and manatee require tropical waters, the Steller's sea cow was a denizen of the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea. I believe they were hunted to extinction in the 18th century, not too long after they were discovered by the Bering Expedition.
I too wondered about that gas can HG posted,
I even went on YouTube to find it.
(There are a couple of vids on how it works)
But YouTube doesn't like "Ameri-Can."
You have to type in Ameri-can Gas Can.
I did find an 8 minute video from a guy that hates them so much,
he shows you how to convert them back into the old vented style cans.
(but again, I did not find it link worthy...)
I haven't bought a new gas can in many years, I am very happy with
just using a funnel and trying to be careful not to splash gas on the hot engine.
Besides, I love the smell of Gas!
I always take a wiff whenever I refill the tractor.
Although, I think that in years past, when it was leaded,
it did have a nicer bouquet.
Here are 7 more minutes of technological mishaps...
Ta- DA!
A nice Thursday romp from our C.C.!
That picture of a Flea, Steve, really caught my attention. Wow! Thank the stars that my three doggies seem to be immune from such monstrous parasites. (Knock wood!) Maybe it's our SoCal climate - or just decent veterinary attention ...
That photo of Indian smog was quite an eye-opener. I guess Los Angeles used to look like that. And I remember London when I first arrived there.
BLUE TEE was new to me, the only surprise. I never played golf. My older son took it (studied it?) in college.
I went to watch him play - and discovered that I couldn't see the *#@! ball in the air. It's just too small and too fast.
C'mon. In football and baseball you can at least see the blasted thing. Is this why caddies are needed? To spot the balls?
What if tennis was like this? - with players unable to see the ball in flight? They'd just be flailing blindly, hoping to feel a smack!
Thanks, Yellowrocks, for posting Lord Byron's famous (and maybe most evocative) poem, She Walks in Beauty. A reminder that he was truly gifted, the leading exemplar of the British romantic movement - and not only, as described by Lady Caroline Lamb, "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know..."
_________
Diagonal report: Strangely, only one sub-diag, a secondary mirror forward slash running NE to SW from square 15 to sq 212.
JJM: didn't they tell you about the "Poverty Through Parenthood" program? There ought to be a blank bankruptcy petition attached to every birth certificate.
CED: I only got three minutes into your video at 2:09 -- you've got more staying power than me! -- before the accumulated mechanical disasters got to be too much.
Where else but here, can you finish a crossword, AND get two units of learning at the same time?
JJM 153P
I am unfamiliar with "D U" which has a Hockey team. Please elaborate.
Spitzboov 333P
Thanks for 'splaining "Sirenia" Please correct my link at 1242P to this spelling. Looks like we each learned on this one.
Dave 2
Thanks, Jinx, et al, for explaining BLUE TEE and the various tee colors.
When we read media reports of presidents' golf scores, there is never a mention of the tee color. Should we assume they all play the white or blue distances?
D4E4H, regarding your use of "'splaining," I'm feeling grateful today for the contribution of Desi Arnaz to our great American vocabulary.
Would we ever have had the neologism, "mansplaining," if he had not first demanded of his wife, "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"?
Did they ever do a golf-themed episode on I Love Lucy?
Here are ABBA singing in their native language.
Hi All!
Thanks C.C. for a puzzle filled with NERD fun! Not only the GUTS of computers but an entomological hunt to squash the BUGS. Thanks Steve for the expo - I heard that a Chinese company is developing personal air-filters (electronic ones) that they plan to export to India. Too late for this trip but...
WOs: AHA b/f OHO, PELEe, rind b/f PEEL, and Men's TEE @1st.
ESP: ETRE
FIW: ANgARA & UnA @22a which messed up the dog with a funny tail.
Fav: Seeing ALAN TURING spelled out.
Other fun in my area: NPR x2, Li-ION, DON'T BE EVIL, ECARD, and, this week, an ODE to dry socks :-)
{B+, A} {Cute+} Nice Rick - coda not needed.
HG - I have that GAS CAN and hate it. Plus, since it, like Steve, can't breath, the whole thing collapsed itself when it got cold (it was mostly empty). PV=nrT indeed.
BillO & Picard - BUGS are features used by only by hackers. Ask the NSA.
//BTW, today I was at an IoT (Internet of Things) for Oil & Gas symposium. One of the presenters was from Booz Allen and, while talking about NSA work they did in IoT, mentioned their ex-employee Ed Snowden.
SHE walks in Beauty made me think of The Judybat's SHE Lives in a Time of Her Own [know that one tawnya?]
BTW, Ada Lovelace, for whom the ADA programming language is named, is the daughter of Lord Byron.
YR - good news about Alan.
PK - if you use email to reset passwords [like your bank's] it's useful to a hacker.
JJM - I 1/2-feel ya! I only have one in College now. She should be out b/f Youngest starts. Looks like I have to stay employed for at least 7.5 more years to keep them out of DEBT!
Cheers, -T
Thanks, CC, and Steve. Wow - I don't think I'd enjoy spending precious money visiting India - yikes. Filled in SEED b4 checking out the surrounding perps - corrected it to PEEL when I worked the SW.
HG's gas can photo: I have that kind, and it's a real pain, especially with arthritic thumbs. My solution is to remove the "new-and-improved" pour spout contraption and just screw the cap, with the insert in place, back on the can. I know the spout's a safety feature, but I don't have children around.
M-Bee, FLN: What a great grassroots volunteer organization you’ve started in Adopt an Inmate. I’m sure your efforts have helped so many inmates during their prison time and changed their lives after their release because you made a difference!
The built-up sleet is finally melting - four days later! I think the last time it was below-freezing for so many days in South TX was way back 40(?) years ago. Pipes didn't burst (hot/cold water trickling and ceiling attic access propped open a tad with a broom handle), so I'm a happy camper. I’ll face the gas/water bills next month (a bargain compared to plumber/sheetrocking charges).
D-O/Anon-T/Pat, saw on the news tonight a horticulturist saying don't cut back brown dead foliage - it acts as insulation, EXCEPT on Phils: trim the soggy parts so the rotten tissue doesn't infect the trunk. Had the same two philodendron in my backyard for 38 years, through hurricanes, droughts, and freezes - even I can't kill them.
Stay warm, everyone.
If there was any doubt about today's author, SPARES removed it. I was afraid it was a musical reference. I agree that it was very entertaining. As was Steve's write-up.
I read MB's link and said "Can that be our Melissa B? Anything you and anyone else can do to help this horrendous penal system is appreciated.
TURING and his cracking of Enigma badly begs the question "If the Germans had set up a spy apparatus to support the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the communications had been tapped then ergo Churchill knew it was coming. A+B=C. A and B are fully documented. It's not conspiracy, simply logic. Any jury would convict.
Rick P, that was your best "story" yet.
Although I too had BACK before Blue, it's always amusing to read about what some people know and others not.
Sirenian obviously comes from the myths about sirens and mermaids.
Lots of learning yesterday and today. I'm not convinced that Napoleon was 5'7" but I believe M.A. was unjustly treated. Ada was interesting but Byron was indeed dangerous, ultimately to himself in his Grecian escapade.
Well, feeling better I risked a meal and my gout is back. Gout med is slow to take effect.
YR, great news about Alan.
G'nite. WC
Michael - you're stronger than I. I couldn't watch past 1:38 of CED's vid#1 (and now am afraid to touch my Alfa!)
TxMs. Thanks. That explains why I had to cut Phil's trunk two years ago. Phil's haircut is set for Saturday. BTW, the palms seem to have made it this time (I lost a 30' beauty - like in the Corona commercials - 5 or so years ago).
CED - Re: Vid#2. OK, so today Dr. Chou discussed AI & IoT (specifically in control systems, you know, like a Tesla). All I could think of is IoT gone bad... You know...kill-bots. [iRobot clip]
Near the end of his Keynote... "If we don't incorporate Precision (the name of his book) and AI into IoT someone else will do it..." Oh, joy! Foreign robots from s***-hole countries killing us :-)
Cheers, -T
//disclosure - my undergrad is EE and grad works was CS w/ a specialty in AI & machine vision. This was before a computer could kick your ass in Go and then learn Chess on it's own in four hours [19m]. I, for ONE, welcome the robot overloards (and remind you to be nice to Siri!)
Misty: Glad my explanation about ALAN TURING was helpful. The TURING Machine is the basis of modern computation. He invented the idea of a central processor separate from memory. He invented the idea of "universal computation". He invented the very idea of computer science as we know it.
There were others who contributed earlier, including Lady Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron.) But TURING made modern computation possible.
D4E4H: Thank you for the kind words about my MANATEE and other photos. Yes, I was familiar with the origin of Unicorn.
AnonymousT: From yesterday, glad you also appreciated the learning moment that MHO is now called SIEMEN. Your comment today about BUGS I was not sure if it was meant as a joke?
In any design process there are bound to be unexpected consequences given unexpected inputs. It is not possible to test all possible situations. That is why we do BETA TESTS. There will always be BUGS. But ideally most common situations will work well enough for most purposes!
Picard - my current work is to keep out hackers @a F500; I'm pretty good at it because, well, that was my hobby as a kid. So, it's a joke because it's 1/2-true. It's the little gremlins in the machines that we look for - to exploit for fun and profit.
C.C. I've been remiss in every post - SO to your (and our!) Boomer @SPARES was a nice touch.
Last thing re: Golf (a good walk spoiled). I was told the 1st time I played that I had to a) hit from the men's TEE and b) If I didn't hit it past the lady's TEE that I'd have to drop my DRAWERs to prove I was a dude. Q. Did y'all (who golf) do that to beginners too?
-T
Thank you, Picard, for the additional TURING information, and thank you, Anon T, for introducing me to ADA LOVELACE! I love the things I learn on this blog!
And, Picard, in case my little for fun and profit jest was lost, that's Aleph's original paper. Shall we play a Game? -T
Ridiculous, isn't it, that we expect our American students to pay for their own higher education?
That so many accumulate incredible DEBTs to pay for their undergrad educations is a mark of great shame for our nation.
Thank goodness that several of our top private institutions - incl. Harvard & Yale - are using their large endowments to cover tuition for all qualified students!
Why do our public universities lack the political will to follow their lead? In many first world nations, it is assumed that taxpayers should support college education - as they all do for K-12 schooling.
Why should America lose the brains and talent and eventual social contribution of so many students whose parents cannot afford to complete their education?
D4E4H @1211 - Shh it's a secret! Clue can be found in Romeo & Juliet Act 5 Scene 1.
Do NOT post when you figure it out!
D4E4H: DU is the University of Denver.... your 2017 NCAA National Champions. I played there a long time ago
Post a Comment