We have another visual puzzle, with the theme fill presented updside down, so you need to read from the bottom to the top. All five themers are very popular cocktails, and to add to the degree of difficulty in constructing, Stu uses only mixtures beginning with the letter "M." Oddly we don't see the inimitable martini. This is a wonderful CSO to Tinbeni and my bartending son who works at Poka Lola Social Club in Denver mixing up amazing yummies like the CLOVER CLUB. 2oz Plymouth Gin, .5oz dry vermouth, .5oz raspberry syrup and .75oz lemon juice. Also timely after we had the SAZERAC last Saturday.
This is our second puzzle from Stu who appeared here in 2014. He does have 10 NYT publications, the last two in 2017. There are as always on Friday, some challenging cluing and some very fun fill like A BIT ODD, BEATS IT, DELIVER, ONE MORE, SARANAC SESAMES, SLIM JIM (my favorite) SOLACES (James Bond) TOPMOST, TWO PAIR and YES OR NO. He then puts these sparkly fills in the difficult triple stack pattern in each corner.
4D. Tequila, triple sec and lime juice : ATIRAGRAM (9). MARGARITA has become a favorite cocktail. ent
10D. Champagne and orange juice : ASOMIM (6). MIMOSA along with the Bloody Mary are the Brunch drinks here.
21D. Bourbon, water, sugar and garnish : PELUJ TNIM (9). MINT JULEP is the drink of choice at the Kentucky Derby. Anyone here follow the richest race in thorobred racing last Sunday at Gulfstream Park here in So Fla?
36D. Whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters : NATTAHNAM (9). MANHATTAN was the drink of choiceof my brother's f-i-l.
44D. White rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water and garnish : OTIJOM (6). MOJITO has become quite popular in Florida bars.
And the reveal:
59A. Bar exhortation ... and a hint to how to answer five puzzle clues : DRINK UP (7). The drink names are read UP, from bottom to top.
Across:
1. __ Lake, village near Lake Placid : SARANAC. There are advantages to growing in the Northeast with lots of relatives, some of whom went to this LAKE .
8. Skedaddles : BEATS IT.
15. Somewhat off : A BIT ODD. Fridays usually have many multiple word fill.
16. "Choose!" : YES OR NO. See I told you.
17. Come through : DELIVER.
18. Poker holding : TWO PAIR. A dangerous hand.
19. A or O : ALER. This simple glue fill took longer than I like.
20. Easy pace : LOPE.
22. Clipper trio : MASTS. The ship not the basketball team. Now Blake Griffin is gone, too.
23. "Ninja Scroll" genre : ANIME. I did not know the movie, but my kids watched lots of anime.
25. Domain introduced in 2001 : BIZ.
26. Rod Stewart's "__ May" : MAGGIE.
29. Shuttle site : LOOM. You want to learn to WEAVE? Or play in the dirt? 40A. Fertile soil : LOAM.
31. Affirmative act : NOD.
34. Outlying community : EXURB. From about 1955, a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families. (MW).
35. Tesla, e.g. : AUTO. This also took way too long to parse.
36. "Not a chance" : NOPE.
37. "Zorba the Greek" Oscar winner Kedrova : LILA. I liked the movie, did not recall the actress.
38. Bottom of a food chain? : MCJOB. A new way to clue.
39. Abruzzi bell town : ATRI. This LINK starts
"At Atri in Abruzzo, a small town
Of ancient Roman date, but scant renown..."
41. Picasso output : ARTE.
42. Mar. honoree : ST PAT. March 17, St. Patrick's Day.
43. "r u kidding?!" : OMG. An exclamation of surprise.
44. Team that pulls for you : OXEN. Attempted sports misdirection.
45. Like an earworm : CATCHY.
46. Peugeot's 208 or 308, e.g. : GTI.
47. Tony winner Menzel of "Wicked" : IDINA. I had the pleasure of watching her perform as Elphaba on Broadway in July of 2005 with my sons. It was awesome. She is becoming very popular with all those vowels.
49. Feature of many a Hawaiian restaurant : LANAI. Defined: porch, veranda. We have many in SoFla.
52. Cast off : EMIT.
53. Olympian queen : HERA.
57. Lock-picking tool : SLIM JIM. It is two words. I am sure the car thieves love the fact that they can buy at Walmart with DIRECTIONS.
61. Highest : TOPMOST. It is one word.
62. Consoles : SOLACES. An encore appearance.
63. Bun seeds : SESAMES. Don't forget the special sauce.
64. Request at a bar : ONE MORE. Bonus alcohol fill.
Down:
1. Actress Thompson : SADA. The mother in the successful TV series Family.
2. Doomed shepherd : ABEL. Also a second 2018 appearance.
3. Irk : RILE.
5. Sweet Potato Awareness Mo. : NOV. Who decided this? Who cares?
6. Emperor relative : ADELIE. Great misdirection- Penguins. LINK.
7. Jewel box item : CD-ROM. Defined: a thin plastic case for a CD or DVD — called also jewel case. I only knew jewel case.
8. Eight bits : BYTE. Not a dollar in the modern world.
9. "Ick!" : EEW. I also prefer the EWW spelling.
11. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ. The Topaz became the State Gem in 1969 (Utah Code). It is a semiprecious gem found in Beaver, Juab and Tooele counties of Utah. But again, who cares.
12. Mmes. across the Pyrenees : SRAS. French to Spanish.
13. Down but not out : IN IT.
14. Rocky hills : TORS.
24. Bird's bill : NIB. and maybe 51D. Bites playfully : NIPS.
25. Bonehead : BOOB. Hmm, is this 31D. Sometimes offensive, briefly : NOT PC.
26. __ Yello : MELLO.
27. Assumed truth : AXIOM. I was actually a math major when I began college.
28. Soviet labor camp : GULAG.
30. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE.
32. Dr. Phil was her frequent guest before getting his own show : OPRAH. Even Oprah makes mistakes.
33. Eros or Eos : DEITY.
35. Real estate parcel : ACRE.
38. Dress style : MAXI.
42. __ Salvador : SAN. San/El what else is there?
45. Pomelo relative : CITRON. My wife is on a big POMELO kick to help my body recover from last year. The CITRON is an part of Jewish ceremonies for Sukkhot. See below for Oo and the thick pomelo rind.
46. Beta follower : GAMMA. Α α alpha, άλφα; Β β beta, βήτα;
Γ γ gamma, γάμμα
48. Playground comeback : DID SO.
49. Amphibious assault transports, for short : LSTS. Landing Ship, Tank - LINK.
50. Botanical balm : ALOE.
52. 911 response gp. : EMTS.
54. Kitchen gadget brand : EKCO.
55. One with second thoughts : RUER.
56. Abbey area : APSE.
58. British author's conclusion? : ISE. As opposed to IZE.
60. Terre dans la mer : ILE. Frawnche, as Splynter would say.
A tight puzzle with some challenge. February is on the March. Thank you Stu and all of you who read and write. Lemonade out.
As I promised, here is the grid and Oo getting the most out of Pomelo...
 |
| I do not know why the "J" in mint julep or the "t" in St. Pat have been bleached out. |
81 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to Stu and Lemonade!
Great theme!
Some unknowns: SARANAC , MAGGIE, LILA, GTI, all taken care of by perps!
Harv fell at home tonight. I cannot convince him to eat! I but him all sorts of stuff, especially protein powder from Dr. Mercola!
Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Bottom 2/3rds were filled, but top third was skeletal when I gave in and turned on the red. emmA > SADA, misT_D_ > A BIT ODD, yoW > EEW, YourR_O > YES OR NO, and LOOp > LOOM. Once the errors in the NE were eliminated, I was able to fill it in, but the NW was blank except ATIRAGRAM and ADELIE. Never heard of SARANAC or SADA, and the rest just all flew by me!
I'm a teetotaler, so had my LW help with the theme answers. I recognized MARGARITA, she knew MINT JULEP & MANHATTAN, MOJITO and MIMOSA I recognized once I had several perps for each.
Wednesday, I exhausted myself trying, wryly, to get a poem out of RYE-RILE-RILEY, but finally scrapped my efforts. Thursday, i was just still feeling blocked. Let's see about today.
Did ABEL the shepherd foresee his doom?
Did he worry to see the stone's shadow LOOM?
Was his DEITY
Not around to see?
Resentment or moonshine, which did Cain consume?
She jogged by every day at a LOPE.
Him jogging? Not a chance, NOPE!
But he wrote CATCHY poems
From his mind's fertile LOAMS,
And so the PAIR ran off to elope!
There was a sad girl named MAGGIE,
Whose legs were exceptionally shaggy!
People gave her a NOD,
But thought it A BIT ODD
That her bikini was styled as a MAXI!
{C-, C+, B.}
And if mixed drinks aren't your thing, try a bottle of Saranac beer. Pic
Ground Morning Hogerites,
Do you suppose Punxsutawney Phil will see his moon shadow this year?
I sure saw my shadow while working this beast. I had to BAV at the natick of 26A maGgie, and 28D Gulag. Some how I found the letters for all else. I had to turn my computer upside down for the names of the drinks. The ice fell out of them. That was so neat.
I still am willing to thank Mr. Stu Ochman for making this CW, and for Le Mon's powerful review.
I'm off.
Dave
Good morning all. Thank you Stu Ockman and than you Lemonade. Took almost an hour, but I kept getting distracted with songs.
My first thought after reading 4D and 10D, and realizing this was going to be a theme about mixed drinks ? I'm in trouble. My second thought ? Tinbeni is going to know these drinks and will probably frame this puzzle.
I Like Beer. It makes me a jolly good fellow. Tom T. Hall.
Loved LOOM for shuttle site.
"r u kidding?!" WHA first, then OMG. Dumbfounded.
As solvers, we all know there are times you just don't have a knowledge base.Jeopardy contestants yesterday
"...Did you know that neither the Greeks nor the Romans were capable of using the concept of zero? It was your ancestors, the Mayans, who first contemplated the zero. The absence of value. True story. You *burros* have math in your blood." Edward James Olmos as Jaime Escalante in "Stand and DELIVER." Loved the movie and the portrayal.
The highest charting song in American music history by a Scottish artist. The drink came later.
While I'm at it, I'm Coming Out was the closing soundtrack in Maid in MANHATTAN. Diana Ross.
Check YES OR NO George Strait.
ONE MORE For The Road Ol' Blue Eyes.
DRINK UP Train.
Michael Jackson BEATs IT.
MARGARITAville. Jimmy Buffett.
45A: Like an earworm: CATCHY. I'll have to find one to link.
Good morning!
Starting of with an obscure lake crossed by a dead actress is just cruel, and April is still a long ways off. I thought I was going to get Stu'ed, but with most of the grid complete I finally saw the sliatkcoc. Whew! Thanx, Stu and Lemonade.
Lemon, I'd guess the powers that be chose November as the sweet potato month, because it's a traditional Thanksgiving food. Or not.
Argyle, thank you. I forgot all about SARANAC beer. TTP, thank you for all the music links. I was unfamiliar with the DRINK UP . Donovan Leitch still beats Sheena Easton and Susan Boyle? Who knew
Don't forget the last Across Clue and answer: ONE MORE, which is also a part of the theme,
"Wake Up Fermatprime & D4E4H May"- I didn't know SARANAC, LILA, or GTI either. MAGGIE was a cougar. D-O, I agree with your assessment of the start.
I found it A BIT ODD that nothing seemed to work in the NW until GR_M was in place from perps under it. I let it stay white and LOPEd over to the NE and realized that MIMOSA was upside down. So the DRINKs were UP. I was thinking 'bottoms up'. The rest of the fills fell into place rapidly but I had to go back to the NW. I just guessed ANIME, NOV and ADELIE and that allowed the unknown SARANAC to fall, which allowed CD-ROM. I kept thinking diamonds and such.
32D. I was thinking Phil Donahue and found it strange because she was the guest on his show. Didn't read the clue correctly and missed the Dr.
LILA and GTI were unknowns also filled by perps.
DNF - I had to consult Genie for SADE; I knew it wasn't Emma. Correctly WAGged Naticks SARANAC x ADELIE and IDINA x CITRON.
Erased (blood) type for ALER, NASA for LOOM and margarita and mimosa before I caught the gimmick. Margaritas in Mexico don't have ice (except in tourist traps), and can put you on your butt before you know it. Don't ask how I know that AXIOM.
TTP - Tom T Hall was a customer in my family's restaurant many times. He was a country DJ at the local 1000 watt, dawn to dusk AM radio station. He lived in Pleasant Valley, which was supposedly the inspiration for his big hit "Harper Valley PTA" (sung by Jeannie C. Riley). Also, my favorite version of "One More" was Bette Midler singing goodbye to close Johnny Carson's final show. Not a dry eye in the house.
Thanks to Stu and Lemony for a fun, tough Friday outing.
Good long workout . A little messy with some write overs once the reveal clicked in. Not much of a cocktail drinker but margarita and mojito got the ball rolling. Tasted mojitos in Cuba 16 yrs ago. Remember also walking the beach in Ixyapa Mex after finishing DW's and her friend's - two for one - margaritas. Felt like I was three feet off the sand and my ears had grown to donkey ears lenght. Reverted back to dos XX for the rest of the vacation. Favorite part of winter is the vacation at the beach. Any beach and sunshine.
Bartender Supreme- I acknowledged 64. Request at a bar: ONE MORE. Bonus alcohol fill but it is not part of the theme. That requires the fill to be presented from bottom to top.
OAS, how and why were you in Cuba in the early 2000's?
D-O thanks for the suggestion.
Loved this theme. I was bummed at first when I couldn't get the drinks, especially because I had been a waitress to make ends meet many times between the ages 20 and 40. I was 100% sure of MIMOSA and MASTS. Then, I realized the drinks were bottoms up after which it was walk in the park.
I started quickly with SADA and ABEL, then DELIVER and NOV. which gave me SARANAC. I moved to the NE and after sussing MIMOSA upside down, I went back for MARGARITA.
Emperor didn't fool me.
GTI, IDINA ISE were all gotten with easy perps.
Thanks for the Longfellow poem, Lemonade. I've always loved the story it tells.
I don't hear BOOB meaning bonehead so much these days because the other use of boob is so common. The same thing happened with GAY meaning lighthearted and carefree.
OPRAH has just signed up to be a special contributor to 60 Minutes beginning this fall.
Off to Alan's commute.
Good morning everyone.
I finally got the schtick at MIMOSA going up. Well done. Still waiting to hear how ALER ties in to A or O? Mostly an enjoyable solve, Needed Google help with the CITRON IDINA cross. Got the SE untangled after finally spelling EKCO correctly.
SARANAC Lake is not obscure to NYers. It is both a lake and a Village. When approaching Lake Placid from the West, you pretty much have to go through SARANAC Lake.
I used to own a Peugeot 504 diesel, A great driving and smooth riding car, but it's diesel configuration was not suited to upstate NY winters.
Spitzboov, the Baltimore Orioles (the O's), and the Oakland Athletics (A's), nee Philadelphia, nee Kansas City, are teams that play in the American League of MLB. Just as a Pirate is a player on the Pirates, an O is a player on the Orioles. Thus, an ALER. Crosswordese.
Thanks Lemonade. I read it on the internet, so it had to be true, right ? I guess not ! What an egregious error on my part. Mellow Yellow wasn't even Donovan's best selling song in the US, it was Sunshine Superman.
In addition to Susan Boyle and Seen Easton as chart toppers from Scotland, there's also Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street. And of course Annie Lennox Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) hailed from Scotland.
I know where my wires crossed. I was thinking of the only song by a Norwegian band to top the charts in the US: a-ha - Take On Me
Maybe you are more familiar with a couple of other songs by Train:
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Train - Hey, Soul Sister
Jinx, I recall you are watching your data usage while wintering, so I'll provide the link: Bette Midler's Farewell to Johnny Carson: "One For My Baby, and One More For the Road"
I'm still looking for a CATCHY earworm to link.
TTP - thanks for the explanation. Lemon seemed to skip by it. I usually get the baseball patois, but this on gave me a wide berth.
Hi Y'all! Are we sure Tinbeni didn't construct this puzzle? Right up his alley. Or down his gullet. Whatever.
Anyway, thanks Stu Ockman whose name I tried turning backwards to see if it was an alias.
Lot of snow at the top of this mountain first pass. No one out of New York has probably heard of Lake SARANAC or cares. Starting the puzzle with that & SADA & ALER was A BIT ODD, methinks. Top three in the NE were also out of my ken. Bits & BYTE are still a mystery to me.
I got the cute theme at DRINK UP reveal which let me fill all the DRINK orders. Despite being not drinking alcohol at all, I knew the clues had to be MINT JULEP & MIMOSA and was stymied at first with the crazy perps.
Didn't remember ever hearing ADELIE (ESP) but thought the Emperor had to be a Penguin.
Pray tell, what is AORO. Who knew ABEL was a shepherd? Or cared?
Fermat: if Harv is down, are you not eating dinner again? Are you feeling better, dear lady?
TTP: yes, thank you for explanation of ALER. I was flummoxed trying to figure out "what kind of glue?" when reading initial explication. Cheers to sunshine, even if cold, here in Cincinnati!
Good Morning.
What a shout out to Tinbeni!! This was grand fun. Thanks, Stu. I don't drink many mixed drinks anymore (unless I know the joint makes great Old-Fashioneds) except for Scotch and soda or water. Sorry, Tin. . . . When I saw the ingredients for a MARGARITA, I had it. Ah, ha! I have to buy those when my daughter and hub come up from Dallas. SARANAC was a real WAG. I thought I was off geographically, and there are so many lakes in NY.
Thanks for the explication, Lemonade. Or is it Limoncello today? I enjoyed the misdirection for CD-ROM, OXEN and ADELIE. Changing MMES (!) to SRAS was a piece of cake--rum cake today, I guess.
A sunny day! I'm supposing the groundhog saw his shadow, but he must have worn a down coat. BRRRR! Stay cozy, everyone.
Musings
-Yay me! I guessed the right vowel at SARAN_C/_DELIE on this fun puzzle. I knew it was a penguin but never knew that type
-TWO PAIR inverted “had to be” MIMOSA and I was off and running.
-Lake Placid lake ending in “C” was not OLYMPIC (DOH!), “A and O” was not TYPE and EMMA was the wrong Thompson
-Betting on Tom Brady to DELIVER in the fourth quarter is a good bet even if the Pats are “Down but not out”
-The earth-bound flying shuttle LOOM
-This is a 60 ACRE real estate proposal across the road from us filled with low cost housing, apartments and a convenience store. Some neighbors are thinking NOPE!
-ONE MORE – My alcoholic brother always said, “One is too many and a hundred aren’t enough”
-TTP, the Jeopardy video was fabulous and MARGARITAVILLE will suffice as an Earworm
Spitzboov and Kathleen Stringfield, you're welcome. It's also quite sunny here in Chicagoland as Madame Defarge noted. The calm before the storms. Supposed to snow for four or five days in a row. It will be nothing like the snowfall we got on this date in 2011 though. Not east of Lake Erie big, but big for here. Over 21 inches.
Thanks Husker Gary for letting me off the hook in finding an earworm to link, 'cause I have to get cracking. I need to get the Jewel Osco for the fixin's I'm fixing to make for the Superbowl.
Y'all'd've been invited too, but DW said, "NOPE, not a chance!" when I broached the subject of a Super Bowl party. Well, that's not exactly what she said. She's not lived in Texas. It was more like, "r u kidding?! Wha ?" She was incredulous.
See all y'all later n'at !
Good Morning:
Was anyone just a wee bit tipsy after finishing this? My first thoughts were: #1-Tin is going to love this and #2-Where the heck is my Bloody Mary? 🍹 I had lots of white space and was jumping all over the grid, trying to figure out what was going on and then, N A T T A stood out and the lightbulb came on. The rest, as they say, is history. No hesitation on Saranac but I knew it would give non-New Yorkers fits. Sada was also a gimme because I loved "Family." The picture Lem posted must have been of a short-lived original cast member because the eldest daughter, Nancy, was played by Meredith Baxter (Birney, at that time) who isn't the woman featured. Only w/o was Ecco/Ekco and Emperor relative had me thinking of apples but I was confused, as the apple variety is Empire. (Shades of yesterday's Luau/Hula mix-up!)
Thanks, Stu, for a challenging offering and thanks, Lemony, for the detailed and layered expo. I never noticed the all-M beginnings until you pointed that out. BTW, I love Oo's "hat!"
Madame Defarge @ 9:33 ~ Got a chuckle at your Lemoncello/Rum cake puns!
Ferm, I hope Harv is okay. You take care!
Have a great day.
Good eye, IM. FAMILY started as a mini-series with Nancy portrayed by Elayne Heilveil in the miniseries and later by Meredith Baxter Birney in the four year run. The little one, Buddy, played by Kristy McNichol was the break out from the series.
tricky cluing tested me and made me think before putting in my fill. Loved the MTV "Unplugged" clip of Rod and Ronnie Wood in the reveal! Good choice!
Hi everybody. I really liked this puzzle though parts of it were too hard for me. Margaritaville is one of the few songs since 1975 that I really like.
A SLIM JIM for a "Lock-picking tool" seemed off to me. Lock picks are slender little metal things that can be carried in ones pocket and inserted into a lock to manipulate the tumblers. The SLIM JIMS I'm aware of are much bigger and are inserted between the car door frame and the glass window to manipulate the door lock.
More later.
Well, this was a real toughie for me, but, hey, it's Friday, what else should one expect? I actually got most of the bottom, and as soon as DRINK UP filled in, I realized that the reason I was having so much trouble with those stupid drinks is because they were upside down. Voila! Problem solved. My drinks are down to two glasses of red Bogle wine these days, but there's an early picture of me and my sweet Rowland and our two doxies on my study wall, that shows us drinking something interesting, maybe one of our theme answers. Ah, back in the day when we were younger. Anyway, many thanks, Stu, and you too Lemonade, for your always great expo.
So the ALER for A or O is a sports thing, TTP? Not glue? Aaargh. Would never have gotten that one without an explanation.
Delightful anecdotes, Jinx.
Hope Harv feels better soon, Fermatprime.
My 'Ulysses" talk to the neighborhood women yesterday went well, and the haircut from a new guy after my thirty years run with John Paul ended turned out okay. So all is well, and I can enjoy a sunny Friday and Groundhog Day!
Have a good one, everybody!
TTP, I just watched your link to Bette Midler's farewell to Johnny Carson, and it made me cry. We've lost Johnny Carson and Robin Williams, but Bette Midler? Hope she's still around with that lovely voice.
Cheers! Thank you, Stu Ockman and Lemonade!
Initially this puzzle looked like a Saturday grid which only Tinbeni or a bartender could solve, but as I skipped around and finished the SE corner, saw DRINKUP and the penny dropped. Aha! Immediately MARGARITA (my favorite mixed drink) emerged as did the other drinks.
After that, the fill was as easy as a CATCHY tune except, big except, EMMA Thompson which after a while I realized must be wrong. Once SADA filled in so did the rest though SARANAC was completely perped. I'm glad to know you northeasterners knew it.
Thank you, again, Stu and Lem! I love Oo's hat!
Have a stupendous day, everyone!
All y'all make the puzzle more meaningful. Thanks for explanations of ALER! I can go on with my day.
Watching Jeopardy! last night was odd when I realized I'm not the only one who knows nothing about football!
Ferm:
I hope Harvey will be all right.
Lemony @ 10:39 ~ Thanks for taking the time to clear up my confusion. Had you not posted that photo, I would never have known about the original mini-series. Apparently, I missed that and just watched the ensuing series with MBB as Nancy. Buddy and Willy were my favorite family members and Jeff (John Rubenstein) my least favorite. However, I did enjoy Mr. Rubenstein's performance in the play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" which also starred Michael Moriarty and William Atherton, at a theater in Stamford, Ct.
Big Easy 747a
You have won the pole position in my comments on today's "Comments." You wrote " 'Wake Up Fermatprime & D4E4H May'-etc. I've worked the CW, and read the review. I'm reading the comments. What else do you want? I'm not wearing that ugly turtle neck sweater you gave me for Christmas. Please 'splain in words of less than one syllable the detailed, in-depth meaning of your statement. The fake news media is standing bye or was that Ta Ta.
Le Mon,
Your turn in the barrel. I thought one was supposed to eat the Pomelo not wear it. Oo is either smaller than she seems, or the Pomelo is larger than an orange. Poor orange, no one wants to rhyme with it.
4D At the end of your review are the letters "ent" What do they mean?
19A A or O : ALER. "This simple glue fill took longer than I like." What does "A or O : ALER" mean?
23A How could anyone consider this to be entertainment for their children?
34A So there is Urban, Suburban, Exurban, and Never been urban, those "Fly over states."
Across review is complete.
Dave
When I saw __IJOM I figured this would be impossible for me. I am not a big drinker and I figured I just did not know the names of these weird drinks. Then I worried it involved "MIXED" drinks and I figured I would never get it. Then I got the theme and all was well!
Certainly some big challenges. Had BOOR before BOOB and could not figure out what MCJOR meant. That was my last fill to FIR.
Stuck in the NW with CHARM before CDROM. Amusing! As a regular blood donor I was misdirected by A and O. Hand up for TYPE. Plenty of unknowns like SADA (hand up I only know EMMA), IDINA, LILA, CITRON, ATRI, GTI added to the challenge.
Here I am with one of my best friends from college who is from SARANAC LAKE.
He was about to perform before the start of the Boston Pops concert.
DW and I got a tour of TESLA by my friend Frank who was working there.
Unfortunately, they don't allow photos inside. I was a fan of the real TESLA as a teen in the 70s and I built my own TESLA Coil out of old TV parts, a model train transformer and other bits. I had very little money to buy anything new!
TESLA was a prolific inventor. I did a Westinghouse Science Talent Search research project on his "thermomagnetic motor" in high school. I did not have top grades, so I am sure that is what got me into MIT.
Here is my short video of our own little ST PAT parade as it enters, of course, a bar!
From yesterday:
Lucina, AnonT, PK and BillG: Glad you enjoyed my Lunar Eclipse photos! I was in a small village in Bali during a Lunar Eclipse and they were having a spectacular ceremony for the occasion. But no one took any interest in the actual eclipse!
Spitzboov: Thanks for further explaining the pairing of eclipses.
Lucina: Glad you enjoyed my JUNE PRIDE photos and that you had a similar experience in Hawaii. Our own Solstice Festival that I often reference started out as a bit of a Gay Pride event (originally a birthday party among gay friends). But then it expanded to be a larger festival.
Got the solve without any fun at all. Not only drink names, but bottom to top, what fun....so marijuana is legal now in a lot of states, when’s the first puzzle with weed nicknames? That would be in bad taste? How about names for all the opioids that are “legal”? Still bad taste?
Just like this puzzle.
A or O....Athletic or Oriole in the American League of MLB.
this upside down crap IS crap. this may put me off CWs for awhile.
Picard, I thought your lunar eclipse photos were spectacular. How do you organize your photos so that they are easy to find?
Lucina, I, also, did not know any of the football clues on Jeopardy! last night. The contestants were very sharp. Football was just not in their wheelhouse. I find I have a sporting chance on many of the crossword sports clues, but football is my least favorite sport.
I get the A and O in ALER, but what is glue fill? Is sticky the same as glue fill? Sticky can mean awkward.
Loved the theme, Stu Ockman. I would like more of this kind. We do not all have the same tastes. LAT is varied enough to appeal to different taste on different days. My irritation is with several letters in one cell, as the NYT puzzles sometimes have.
Ferm, I hope you are eating and that Harvey will be all right.
Bill G. I agree that a slim jim is not a lock pick. Lock out tool would have been better.
Beautiful bright day after a predawn snowfall, but it is quite cold.
Bill G. can you please explain how your confusion makes sense. You said: "
A SLIM JIM for a "Lock-picking tool" seemed off to me. Lock picks are slender little metal things that can be carried in ones pocket and inserted into a lock to manipulate the tumblers. The SLIM JIMS I'm aware of are much bigger and are inserted between the car door frame and the glass window to manipulate the door lock.
Either you have a friend who is a burglar and carries a set of lock picks, or you do not accept the simple premise that picking a lock on a car is what you are doing when you "manipulate the door lock."
Maybe I didn't explain myself very well or maybe you don't know how a slim jim is used. If a thief chose to do so, he could use a small lock pick to manipulate the door lock much like opening it with a key. However, if he chose to use a slim jim, he would take a much larger piece of metal and going nowhere near the lock, insert the slim jim between the window and the door. He would be able to manipulate and open the door latch without using the lock.
Don't feel bad if you know nothing about Football. Neither do these contestants.
This was on Jeopardy yesterday and is what Lucina is referring. Hilarious!
Well, I got fooled by the bottom-to-top drink names and by the Emperor clue. Of course I immediately entered EMMA at 1d and TROT at 20a. As I continued to work on the solve I thought I was doomed, but then I got BYTE, LOAM, MELLO, AXIOM, and GULAG and felt maybe I had a chance after all. Nope. I had to look up Lake Placid to learn the name of that nearby lake. At least it was the only lookup I had to do. I knew, just knew, it had to be ST PAT at 42a and that was the SLIM JIM I needed to unlock the gimmick. After that it was mostly a relatively easy LOPE to finish.
I, for one, would be delighted never to see ALER ever again. (N.B. I am not saying it is wrong, I'm only saying I don't like it.)
Yeah, we saw that on Jeopardy last night. Funny.
I don't think I would ever let anything called Mello Yello anywhere near my mouth.
Misty, DW and I both like Bogle wine, too.
Best wishes to you all.
Bill G. you are making this so complicated. The only lock the Slim Jim picks is an automobile lock. That is all it does!!!!!!!!
hi all... //notice my dourness?....
NOPE, "Not a Chance." I could claim there was too much outside of my wheelhouse (there was) but I'm just a BONE HEAD. I Lost on Jeopardy!.* [Penguins for $500?; a NOT Emma Thompson for $1000?; Oy!]
Oh, the bone-head bit? - Yeah, I had MAGGIE, EXURB, ANIME, MELLO, AXIOM and GULAG... I noticed the AGR in 4d. Aha! Margarita; enter letters... MARGAGRIT[?]. I didn't notice I spelled it wrong and went on to think...
"Ah, the 'ol drop-a-letter trick" (say it like Maxwell Smart like I did in my head (ok, aloud)). Theme must be 'outta beer' or some such. Went on to fill my belly full of booze (knew MIMOSA, etc.) without remembering "drop-a-letter." Then, nothing I could think of near the BAR worked! Arggg! TITT. Thanks Lem... I didn't pull out all my hair. Nice expo too (Oo is funny!)
Stu - thanks for the effort but, in my attempt to out-think you, I did myself in. A NOD to your puzzle with lots new for me to Google (what's a TOR again?)
{A,B+,B}
SARNAC(?), Never heard of it... Oh, yes I have... I've had Argyle's brew. #Bonehead
PK - I was going to ask Fermat that exact question. Fermat - I will Uber you DINNER.
Bill G. - That! SLIM JIMs are Shims not Lock Picks. While you can still open a lock w/ a Shim it's not a pick (nit over).
Lem - there is a difference. The difference is slight and, as YR would say, "Close enough for Crosswords" :-)
BTW - Many of us with pick-sets are not criminals - It's a popular hobby, especially among hackers; we even have competitions at security conferences.
Hey, Bartender @7:08 - you missed NIPS as a theme Bonus :-)
Time to listen to the rest of DJ-TTP's picks.
Cheers Tin! -T
*That was funny TTP (and JJM later) //for the record I only missed $800 :-)
Mr. Ockman almost did me in. But given that I finally won out, and seeing as how this was rated as Friday-tough, I claim this as a major Ta- DA!
Like many before me I began at 1D with EMMA and only came back to re-think it after much grief elsewhere. Not my finest moment.
I too want to add a word of appreciation to TTP for making explicit the reasoning behind "A or O" (19A). Lemon's explanation ("glue fill") left me hanging. I reached ALER correctly via perps, but like others was wondering if team names were involved and, if so, which ones.
The drinks theme was fun, misleading me through three wrong fills before I caught onto the trick. Of the drinks referenced here, the only one I routinely imbibe is a ATIRAGRAM, a classic one whenever we go out for Tex-Mex cuisine. I used to be a fan of straight Tequila, but lately have switched to straight Scotch, late at night before bed.
I have been disappointed the two times I bothered with a breakfast ASOMIM. Each flavor is fine - on its own. Why ruin them via this pollution?
If I have an early evening drink (rare these days) it is often a Vodka INITRAM, which for me has morphed in recent years to straight Vodka from the freezer. Three olives is all that gives it stature.
This puts me in mind of my drinking history. In my younger legal years I would often order a pre-dinner RACEDIS, because my untutored tongue enjoyed the easy kick of the citric flavor. Nowadays when I order a restaurant drink, it will be a YAREUQNAT NOSBIG on the rocks.
("Ooh, I jes loves me dem liddle onions.")
____________
Diagonal Report. Four in all today. One straight on, the center line from NW to SE.
On the verso we have three more, a neat 3-way from NE to SW - the center line flanked by two sub-diags.
Alas, still no hidden messages.
Kathleen, Misty, D4, YR and OMK: "Gluey" fill consists of those crappy little entries that constructors occasionally need to use to "glue" the puzzle together -- to make the pieces fit. They don't like 'em any better than you do, but sometimes they're necessary to get the job done.
Forgot to mention -- I scored 100% on the Jeopardy! football questions. Drew a blank on every single one of 'em, just like the contestants. Maybe I should actually watch a football game sometime...nah!
Puzzle of the Year !!!
Now that is what I call a theme ...
Would have been perfect if HCTOCS (Scotch) had been in the grid.
Also liked the reveal, DRINK-UP and the bar request ONE MORE.
Cheers!
Oops. Just lost my post. Stu: diabolically entertaining. MIMOSA saved me. Misty send a pic of the new "DO" to CC.
I've got copious notes; be back later.
WC
Tin - don'tcha mean "would have been neat* if HCTOCS..." :-)
-T
*a NOD to D4's upside-down quip
I had one PELUJ TNIM in my life.
I mention it because it was served to me in the perfect setting. Or perhaps I should call it the "past perfect" case.
I was attending a party for museum directors in Richmond VA. (I was a division head of the Virginia Museum at the time.) The catering staff was composed entirely of African-Americans, the sort of racial hangover that persists to this day I believe, and that was always for me, an invading Yankee, a disorientation.
The party had gone on for some time, and I was sitting - resting comfortably - on the rear steps of the mansion listening to a banjo-player in the back yard. The drink in question was handed to me from a silver plate. A slight nod of the head from the waiter and a softly murmured "Sir" completed the transaction.
What gave the moment its full significance was the fact that the "mansion" was a perfectly maintained older home, one known locally as the Southern "White House," the former home of President Jefferson Davis.
That was it, my only mint Julep.
Anon T @ 3:09
Well NEAT is how all Scotch (and RUM and OUZO) are consumed at Villa Incognito ...
But I was referring to the "puzzle" being PERFECT had HCTOCS ... SCOTCH been in the grid.
Time for ONE MORE as I DRINK UP prior to the Sunset Toasts.
Cheers!
"first puzzle with weed nicknames?" Reveal: Up in smoke.
Clue: Ditzy dandelion; Fill: Wacky Weed [with the obligatory link [MA].
Argyle, you're on to your next construction :-) -T
Argyle, good one.
Wow, Ol' Man Keith, I too have narrowed down my imbibing to a bit of scotch in the evening or some vodka from the freezer with three olives in it.
Well, I'm not going to nit pick about what it does. I just know a slim jim was a marvelous tool that rescued me more times than I can count in my more distracted days.
FIR! even with all the midirections, unknowns, and odd theme.
Why did no one reference Michael Jackson for 8a?
I don't drink, so the ingredients didn't give me any of the mixed drinks except MIMOSA. The perps were all screwed up until I saw it had to be backwards. With the theme, I could fill in the rest of the drinks and, finally, the reveal.
As a New Yorker, SARANAC Lake came pretty quickly.
SADA Thompson first.
Blood TYPE before A.L.'ER (from perps).
LOOM: wanted space flight, not weaving.
MC JOB: wanted ecology, not economics.
TROT before LOPE.
OILS (eng.) before ARTE (sp.).
ADELIE: wanted royalty, not penguins.
SOLACES: solace as a verb, not a noun.
Tiki TORCH before LANAI.
Unknowns: LILA, GTI, IDINA.
EEW: another sound with no standard spelling.
To PK: Genesis 4:2 -- "Now Abel kept flocks ..."
SLIM JIM is not a lock pick; it's a meat stick.
Greetings!
Even though I caught on to the gimmick early on with MARGARITA in the NW, I couldn't seem to get a toe hold in the NE or the SW. I walked away from the puzzle for a few hours and voila! It all came together. I'm in the "I like this type of variance in a puzzle from time to time" camp. And although I didn't recognize most of the cocktails from their ingredients, I had at least heard of all of the drinks, so was able to get them after a few perps were in place. Thanks for today's challenge, Stu, and thanks for being our faithful Friday guide, Lemonade.
Fermatprime--Take care, and keep us posted on how you and Harv are doing.
Cheers!
I was watching Jeopardy! once when my yardman showed up to work and saw the show through the window. "Are you a genius?" he asked with surprised awe. I laughed and said, "No". He didn't think Jeopardy! appealed to anyone but geniuses. Made me a little proud of myself -- like when I know the answers and the contestants don't. But I thought you all should know that there is a bit of genius in all of the Cornerites when viewed by my perceptive yardman.
P.S. hand up for not getting the questions on the head-banger game yesterday.
OMK: Re: secret essages -- you're overlooking anagrams. The main diagonal, sblrneajecnhkee, could be about a chicken who joined the Confederate navy: Ens. Jack, rebel hen.
The mirror diagonal, tnaaiotjrxtaios, could be a warning not to listen to opera while getting inked: Arias jinx tattoos.
The top sinister sub-diag, irpmboucaognlt, could be about The Donald's rustic property: Trump cabin logo; and the other sub-diag, oiszmooteiimpe, could be a statement from The Flash: I epitomise zoom.
Picard @ 1219 - Just to clarify further, on what I was trying to say last night on the eclipse pairing is that the plane of the moon's orbit makes an angle of 5.14º with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun. So it would make sense that if one type of eclipse occurred, the best chance for the other to occur is near the same orbital location of Earth.
I give- I was being silly. Slim Jim is actually a TREAT .
OKL and OMK- awesome.
How is it everyone but me saw penguin at 6D Emperor relative: ADELIE.
I have seen the special on the life of the Emperor penguin, and think about what they have to survive just to live an average life. I also fear for them with the polar icecaps thawing. They travel so far to hatch because instinctively they know that the ice will have melted to this point when the chicks are ready for water. They are not programmed to move their rookery point, and the chicks will die if the water's edge gets to them too soon. This makes my CW nit completely meaningless.
Kathleen Stringfield 931a, & NaomiZ 1201p
Thanks for your comments. I look forward to more from each of you.
D - O 257P
Thanks for being the glue that holds Le Mon's comment to the CW. Isn't "Gluey fill" one of those specialty drinks?
Roy 440p
Wrote "SLIM JIM is not a lock pick; it's a meat stick." What if you had a meat stick that could also unlock cars, and you could buy it from Walmart?
With all this "Jimmy" Jammer about locks, not one person has shown concern about the real "Elephant" in the jewel box, 7D CD-ROM. Where do we keep the necklaces, in the TiVo?
Then there is 26D MELLO Yellow, the poor (in taste) man's Mountain Dew. The "Designated Decoy" needs to drink something.
I'm off to view the links.
Dave
Jayce, so glad you like Bogle too!
Per usual, the Friday edition was over my head. I didn't get started until after 5 pm and quickly lost patience. I'm happy so many others are able to finish them. Thanks for explaining what I didn't know, Lemonade.
I did have a favorite answer:29d Shuttle site/LOOM. In the late 50's/early 60's, my dad's parents had 2 looms. They wove 5 or 6 pairs of drapes for my mother. The pair that was in their master bedroom is now in my master bedroom. A treasured heirloom.
Kathleen Stringfield, if you're married, was your husband an elementary school principal in the Forest Hills School District? When my daughter was in K-1 the principal was Mr. Stringield. I don't remember his first name.
Happy Groundhog Day!
Misty, glad your talk went well. Sorry your haircut was just okay. I wasn't aware that the Divine Miss M sang that song to Johnny Carson until Jinx mentioned it. I am disappointed though. In myself. Two days in a row at the grocery store and I forgot to look for Cherimoya ! It was on my Post-it note shopping list, which remained stuck to the refrigerator door when I left. May (will) have to go again tomorrow, as DW just told me she wants to make black bean dip, and we don't have any black beans, so I'll have another attempt at finding it.
Jinx, I forgot to mention earlier that is neat that Tom T Hall was a regular at your family's restaurant. He was a great storyteller in his songs. One of my favorites was Tom T Hall - The Year That Clayton Delaney Died, but there were others that were memorable. Harper Valley PTA is pure country classic. We listened to WWVA. WWVA aired out of (you either knew it or could guess it) Wheeling, West Virginia. They had their own Opry, called the Jamboree. That was the only station my mother listened to - so we all did - unless the Pirates were playing. Then she tuned to the Pittsburgh station.
Lemonade, it has to be tough to be a blogger. You put all that effort into creating an entertaining review, and one of the entries that's sometimes seen earlier in the week with easier clues, turns out to be the one answer you don't fully explain. I think it was the Friday level clue that did it. Hats off to you and all the other bloggers for all that you do here !
D4E4H - Are you thinking of Glühwein as the special drink ?
Pat and Kathleen, The Senate, Taste of Belgium, and Bakersfield - all on Vine Street - were just showcased on an episode of Diners, Drive Inns and Dives entitled One Street Wonders.
Hello Puzzlers -
Put me down for a Technical DNF. Reason: Emma Thompson refused to budge. Wouldn’t go. Stayed right in there and utterly logjammed the NW. Never heard of Sada, or of Family for that matter. I did get the theme, however, so everything else was filled. I had to cheat to finish.
Cornerites will no doubt recall our recent posts about Smith College; today, the LW and I went there for a talk being given by the civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges. Most will recall her from this photo. Ruby is now 63, and with twenty years’ experience in public speaking, she delivers a superb presentation about her early life and the message she wants to world to heed. It was a seriously moving occasion.
All right, I’m gonna need some tech help here. My image link is broken.
Blogger wouldn’t tolerate https in the url once again, so I tried simply editing that out. It looked ok in Preview, but as published, the image won’t load. How should I have done this?
The url I copied is https://www.biography.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_80%2Cw_600/MTUxOTYwMjQzMDAwMDU5MzA3/us_marshals_with_young_ruby_bridges_on_school_steps.jpg
Dudley, let's see if this flies LINK DUDLEY
Make that RUBY
Yellowrocks: Thank you for the kind words about my Lunar Eclipse photos. Most of what I know about photography I learned from my father. He always kept a careful log of dates and locations along with his slides. His negatives, not so much, although he did write brief notes on the backs of his prints.
For years, I would write dates and locations on the envelopes of my print orders. A few years ago I typed up a big text file with all of those notes from the envelopes! I can now search those. The bad news: They are all prints!
So... A big and expensive project has been to have all of my negatives and slides scanned to digital. Did I mention it is big and expensive? It has been going on for years. And my slides have never been indexed very well.
I got a digital camera in 2001 and never went back to film except for a few underwater rolls.
Here is my organizing method:
I put the photos in folders. I name the folders in sequential order with numbers 001, 002 etc followed by a short descriptive name of the place. I don't need dates because digital files have dates on them. I can then search for key words in the file names using a program called "Everything".
Here is what I do not recommend: Any sort of "organizing" software! It will become obsolete. Naming folders will work as long as Windows exists.
Spitzboov: Yes, I understood your point and it is a good one. If the Earth, Sun and Moon are all in the same plane, those are the conditions to create either a lunar or a solar eclipse. So it is reasonable to expect them to happen at around the same time.
Here is an eclipse map that I love. It shows the paths of all upcoming Solar Eclipses until 2040.
I think it is fascinating to see the patterns, or lack of patterns!
TTP 635A
You have outdone yourself, and made the rest of us envious of your linking ability. Whew! I almost missed Tom T. Hall sitting on a bar singing " (I Like Beer.) {light blue on the Corner} It makes me a jolly good fellow." If it had looked this bright I would have clicked right away. If you make the "link" bold before inserting it into the jibberish it will be beautiful. Thanks for all of the fun still to be viewed.
Donovan must have just put in 4 new strings. His guitar was having a bad string day.
Old Blue Eyes critique: his hands are not shown as he plays the piano. The cigarette is backward in the ashtray so we can see the smoke, and Doris Day is stunning.
Picard 1219p
Thanks for the pics and video. The man on stilts walking into the bar reminded me of a personal story. A group of us were working out of town. After work we had a few drinks in the hotel, then headed to dinner. Somehow a helium filled balloon was in our path. I tied it to my glasses at the bridge, and had to pull it down to enter the cab. When we entered the restaurant, a ceiling fan caught the balloon slinging my glasses across the room. The host asked if I would like another balloon, but I declined the offer.
TTP 723P
Wrote "D4E4H - Are you thinking of Glühwein as the special drink ?" So that's how you spell it.
Picard 847p
I can hardly wait until April 8, 2024 when an eclipse will pass my front door.
I hereby certify that I worked today's CW, read Le Mon's review, and each post. I viewed all minutes of each Link, and am now up to Corner dateedness.
For those who missed my personal SO, your info was interesting also. Thanks to each of you.
Dave
TTP. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the che_____? (what is it again?) doesn't disappoint you. I only had a tiny bowlful--but it was very good.
So, Lemon, what had to be done to make the full url fit the Blogger rules? Inquiring minds...
I had completely given up, total dnf so I had BIZ at the bank. Long wait and there was a virgin TBTimes and I started refilling the few boxes I'd grokked. Then the aforementioned MIMOSA appeared.
I agree with the earlier grades for Owen's l'icks. I had A,A-, B+.
Now to knock off that Jeopardy link.
WC
PK - I forgot to answer earlier... There are 8 bits (1's and 0's) in 1 BYTE. Remember Thursday? We had a TERA of them.
TTP - thanks for Bette Midler on Carson. My fav was Colbert's Goodbye.
Dudley - I'm not sure how you do links. I wrap my links in a < a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2cvttx"> Colbert's Goodbye </a> for the magic to work. Cheers, -T
I used identical syntax, except for no space in the <a section, and when testing it via Preview, Blogger returned a message about ”https is not allowed” or something similar. It’s a little hard to understand why that happens...
Dudley - yes the space between <a is a typo... Why what you did is no-workie is something I'll have to look into [may be a vuln in the system! (TeeHehehe) - now where's my black hoodie?]. Next time you get that error capture a screen shot and send it to me. -T
Over posting but finally caught up on all the links says...
Jinx - Cool in re: Tom T's visits to your joint. I'm not a fan of "country" but TTP made me look: Tom T. is old-school - just look at how he holds the guitar; that music, I can dig. Thx.
Roy - TTP linked BEATs IT before we awoke.
I likely missed something but I'm outliving my 5-post welcome... Cheers, -T
Earth to AnonT Come in Anon T
How did you get the instructions of a link to show on the Corner without it (the computer) taking the action that the instructions give it? You may have answered my question with < space a.
Dave with a crave to know
And then there was your Colbert link. I thought he had ended the Late Show with Stephen Go Bare, but wait, the set is incorrect. Whew! His parting was such sweet humor. There is a clip identifying parting guests. How many have been fired or charged with Kinda misconduct?
D4- < gives you a < & gives you an & ....This is starting to get extra-meta and my BOTTOM's UP. -T
Dudley,
When you first posted your link into the template, you had a space after the first quotation mark and before the https. That would have given you the message:
Your HTML cannot be accepted: Reference " https:" is not allowed: A
Then you removed: https://
and tried the Preview, which worked fine, so you published.
When you checked your link after publishing, you got 404 Not Found.
Heres why:
href is used to specify the link (URL) location. (Where to go)
Without either https:// or http:// ,the link location is assumed to be internal to the current website. (A street address in town)
With https:// or http:// you are specifying an external website. (A street address in some other town)
So when you removed the https://, Google looked for the URL on www.blogger.com.
It couldn't find it, so you got the 404.
Preview checks the syntax, but does not validate the URL location.
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