Theme: "Substitute Measures" - The measure in each theme entry is replaced by its homophone or a sound-like word.
23A. Measly treat for Polly? : GRAM CRACKER. Graham cracker. Polly want a cracker.
32A. Work required to raise kids? : FAMILY JOULES. Family jewels.
41A. Advantage in kickboxing? : FEET OF STRENGTH. Feat of strength.
62A. The buying power of cash? : WATTS IN YOUR WALLET. What's in your wallet?
86A. Cub soda? : LITER OF THE PACK. Leader of the pack.
94A. Polished pearls? : GLAZED CARATS. Glazed carrots.
110A. Bad snippets of Miss Muffet's memory? : SPIDER BYTES. Spider bites.
Mr. Ed never disappoints. What a great mix of various measurements.
As I mentioned before, LAT Sundays often have 144 or 142 words. Ed gave us a 140 today. It's just that hard to reduce 2 or 4 words from a 21*21. You've got to have Ed's Saturday themeless skills to pull off a low count Sunday. Ed is also a fantastic clue writer.
Across:
1. Hindu "sir" : BABU. As seen on "Seinfeld". Also 11. Hindu title : SWAMI
5. Beaucoup : A LOT OF. Tiny clue/answer dupe with 80. Lots (of), as cash : A WAD
11. Engineer's details : SPECS
16. Shortening letters : ETC. Also 67. "More than I can list" abbr. : ET AL
19. Abba not known for singing : EBAN. Abba Eban, Israel's first UN representative.
20. From the top, to Tiberius : DE NOVO
21. "Yes __": 2008 campaign slogan : WE CAN. Also 60. 2012 presidential candidate : ROMNEY (Mitt)
22. Boomer's kid : XER
25. Marinade used in Spanish cooking : ADOBO. I saw Adobo sauce in Aldi.
26. __-Magnon : CRO
27. Lizard-like amphibian : SALAMANDER. Great fill. We also have 52. Small 27-Acrosses : NEWTS
28. Latin trio word : AMAS
29. Breakers in semis : CBERS
31. Ceremonies : RITES
35. Decked out : ADORNED
38. Sextet in the Senate : TERM
39. Levelheaded : SANE
40. Math useful for cooks : RATIOS. I often cook by feel. Chinese cooking is very simple.
47. Fragrant compound : ESTER
48. Ancient jewelry staples : BEADS
49. Be an incredible speaker? : LIE. We also have 53. Snake oil hawker, say : CON MAN
50. President Taft's birthplace : OHIO
51. Not dressed for swimming, generally : SHOD
56. Wing : ELL
57. They're heard in herds : MOOS
59. Straight : TRUE
23A. Measly treat for Polly? : GRAM CRACKER. Graham cracker. Polly want a cracker.
32A. Work required to raise kids? : FAMILY JOULES. Family jewels.
41A. Advantage in kickboxing? : FEET OF STRENGTH. Feat of strength.
62A. The buying power of cash? : WATTS IN YOUR WALLET. What's in your wallet?
86A. Cub soda? : LITER OF THE PACK. Leader of the pack.
94A. Polished pearls? : GLAZED CARATS. Glazed carrots.
110A. Bad snippets of Miss Muffet's memory? : SPIDER BYTES. Spider bites.
Mr. Ed never disappoints. What a great mix of various measurements.
As I mentioned before, LAT Sundays often have 144 or 142 words. Ed gave us a 140 today. It's just that hard to reduce 2 or 4 words from a 21*21. You've got to have Ed's Saturday themeless skills to pull off a low count Sunday. Ed is also a fantastic clue writer.
Across:
1. Hindu "sir" : BABU. As seen on "Seinfeld". Also 11. Hindu title : SWAMI
5. Beaucoup : A LOT OF. Tiny clue/answer dupe with 80. Lots (of), as cash : A WAD
11. Engineer's details : SPECS
16. Shortening letters : ETC. Also 67. "More than I can list" abbr. : ET AL
19. Abba not known for singing : EBAN. Abba Eban, Israel's first UN representative.
20. From the top, to Tiberius : DE NOVO
21. "Yes __": 2008 campaign slogan : WE CAN. Also 60. 2012 presidential candidate : ROMNEY (Mitt)
22. Boomer's kid : XER
25. Marinade used in Spanish cooking : ADOBO. I saw Adobo sauce in Aldi.
26. __-Magnon : CRO
27. Lizard-like amphibian : SALAMANDER. Great fill. We also have 52. Small 27-Acrosses : NEWTS
28. Latin trio word : AMAS
29. Breakers in semis : CBERS
31. Ceremonies : RITES
35. Decked out : ADORNED
38. Sextet in the Senate : TERM
39. Levelheaded : SANE
40. Math useful for cooks : RATIOS. I often cook by feel. Chinese cooking is very simple.
47. Fragrant compound : ESTER
48. Ancient jewelry staples : BEADS
49. Be an incredible speaker? : LIE. We also have 53. Snake oil hawker, say : CON MAN
50. President Taft's birthplace : OHIO
51. Not dressed for swimming, generally : SHOD
56. Wing : ELL
57. They're heard in herds : MOOS
59. Straight : TRUE
67. Like much folk music : ETHNIC
69. Face or race : MEET
70. Mad king of the stage : LEAR
71. One in a golfer's bag : TEE. Boomer now uses 3-1/4 inches tall tees, Gary/TTP!
72. Certain winner : SHOO IN
74. Some 'Vette roofs : T-TOPS
77. Musical ending : CODA
81. Divided sea : ARAL
83. Crowded-room atmosphere : FUG. Is this word familiar to you? Never heard of it.
84. Longtime name in catalogs : SEARS
85. "The Exorcist" actor Max von __ : SYDOW. Also a stranger to me.
90. Former mid-sized Chevy : LUMINA
91. "A creel of __, all ripples": Sylvia Plath : EELS
92. Fruit pastry : TART
93. Reddened, perhaps : RIPENED. Wish I could live near a persimmon tree again.
99. Barbecue brand : WEBER
100. Popular type : ROMAN. And 108. Popular type : ARIAL
101. Cleanup hitter's stats : RBIs
102. Milk choice : ONE PERCENT
107. Non's opposite : OUI
111. Topper for Rumpole of the Bailey : WIG
112. Thicket of trees : COPSE
113. Persevered in : KEPT AT
114. Traveler from 76-Down : MORK. 76. Home to 114-Across : ORK
115. Sign before Virgo : LEO
116. Lugged : TOTED
117. Treatment for some causes of backache : INSOLE. Boomer's back pain was completely gone after having tart cherry concentrate. Alas, his elbow/shoulder pain persist. Too much bowling.
118. Puts to bed : ENDS
Down:
1. Assumes the point of, as a question : BEGS
2. Start of a magical chant : ABRA
3. Canaanite idol : BAAL
4. Certain singles bar frequenter, in theory : UNMARRIED MAN
5. Spot charges : AD RATES
6. Showed bias : LEANED
7. How many boxed sets are recorded : ON CDS
8. Blackjack table gratuity : TOKE
9. Puts too much in the fishtank : OVER-FEEDS
10. On behalf of : FOR
12. Organ part : PEDAL
13. Coral reef, e.g. : ECOSYSTEM. Another sparking fill.
14. Hailed wine? : CAB. OK, Cabernet.
15. Cool, colorful treat : SNO-CONE
16. Reign supreme : EXCEL
17. Land at Orly? : TERRE. Just "land" in French.
18. Dracula repellent : CROSS
24. Key with three flats : C MINOR
28. Shells on Omaha Beach : AMMO
30. Good, in Guadalupe : BUENO
33. Painting and dancing : ARTS
34. Preserves holder : JAR. So what's your favorite peanut butter brand? Here's mine. Chunky.
35. Trojan War god : ARES
36. Mrs. on a spice rack : DASH
37. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO. D-Otto's wife speaks fluent German. Her mom and brother live in Germany.
38. Suckling's milk source : TEAT
41. How many are chosen? : FEW. But few are chosen.
42. Ground grain : FLOUR
43. Muscle-bone connection : SINEW
44. Belgian treaty city : GHENT
45. 4-point F, for one : TILE
46. Word with Ghost or Grail : HOLY
48. First lady before Mamie : BESS. Truman.
52. Tally-keeping cut : NOTCH
53. Wine label word : CRU
54. City NW of Marseille : ARLES. The cover of my compact mirror
55. Pelican St. acronym : NOLA
58. Mayberry tippler : OTIS
59. Little one : TOT
61. Marvin Gaye classic subtitled "The Ecology" : MERCY MERCY ME. Great 12.
62. Gluten source : WHEAT
63. Texas Hold 'em declaration : I'M OUT
64. Mustang sally? : NEIGH. Googled afterwards. Sally means "outburst" here.
65. Tokyo dough : YEN
66. Hurdle for Hannibal : ALPS
68. Actress Hatcher : TERI
73. Ad-libbed : OFF-SCRIPT
74. Unwraps excitedly : TEARS OPEN
75. Political asset : TACT
78. One-eyed Norse deity : ODIN
79. Ready to eat : DONE
82. '90s daytime talk show : LEEZA (Gibbons)
84. Brief quarrel : SPAT
85. Unrivaled : SUPERB
87. Bring to life, in a way : RE-ENACT
88. From the past : OLD
89. Ones affected by bad weather, briefly : ETAs
90. First word in France's motto : LIBERTE. Liberté, égalité, fraternité.
93. Opposite of pass : REPEAL
94. One might elicit a nervous "Nice dog" : GROWL
95. "Taxi" dispatcher : LOUIE. Now you won't see LOUIE C.K. in crosswords again.
96. La Paz paisano : AMIGO
97. Belittle : ABASE
98. Nettled : RILED
99. Single-minded about : WED TO
103. Little snorts : NIPS
104. Berkshire school : ETON
105. Socially awkward one : NERD. Guess who coined this word? Dr. Seuss.
106. Sounds of disapproval : TSKS
109. Jack, jill or joey : ROO
110. One of a pair on a rack : SKI
2. Start of a magical chant : ABRA
3. Canaanite idol : BAAL
4. Certain singles bar frequenter, in theory : UNMARRIED MAN
5. Spot charges : AD RATES
6. Showed bias : LEANED
7. How many boxed sets are recorded : ON CDS
8. Blackjack table gratuity : TOKE
9. Puts too much in the fishtank : OVER-FEEDS
10. On behalf of : FOR
12. Organ part : PEDAL
13. Coral reef, e.g. : ECOSYSTEM. Another sparking fill.
14. Hailed wine? : CAB. OK, Cabernet.
15. Cool, colorful treat : SNO-CONE
16. Reign supreme : EXCEL
17. Land at Orly? : TERRE. Just "land" in French.
18. Dracula repellent : CROSS
24. Key with three flats : C MINOR
28. Shells on Omaha Beach : AMMO
30. Good, in Guadalupe : BUENO
33. Painting and dancing : ARTS
34. Preserves holder : JAR. So what's your favorite peanut butter brand? Here's mine. Chunky.
35. Trojan War god : ARES
36. Mrs. on a spice rack : DASH
37. Germany's von Bismarck : OTTO. D-Otto's wife speaks fluent German. Her mom and brother live in Germany.
38. Suckling's milk source : TEAT
41. How many are chosen? : FEW. But few are chosen.
42. Ground grain : FLOUR
43. Muscle-bone connection : SINEW
44. Belgian treaty city : GHENT
45. 4-point F, for one : TILE
46. Word with Ghost or Grail : HOLY
48. First lady before Mamie : BESS. Truman.
52. Tally-keeping cut : NOTCH
53. Wine label word : CRU
54. City NW of Marseille : ARLES. The cover of my compact mirror
55. Pelican St. acronym : NOLA
58. Mayberry tippler : OTIS
59. Little one : TOT
61. Marvin Gaye classic subtitled "The Ecology" : MERCY MERCY ME. Great 12.
62. Gluten source : WHEAT
63. Texas Hold 'em declaration : I'M OUT
64. Mustang sally? : NEIGH. Googled afterwards. Sally means "outburst" here.
65. Tokyo dough : YEN
66. Hurdle for Hannibal : ALPS
68. Actress Hatcher : TERI
73. Ad-libbed : OFF-SCRIPT
74. Unwraps excitedly : TEARS OPEN
75. Political asset : TACT
78. One-eyed Norse deity : ODIN
79. Ready to eat : DONE
82. '90s daytime talk show : LEEZA (Gibbons)
84. Brief quarrel : SPAT
85. Unrivaled : SUPERB
87. Bring to life, in a way : RE-ENACT
88. From the past : OLD
89. Ones affected by bad weather, briefly : ETAs
90. First word in France's motto : LIBERTE. Liberté, égalité, fraternité.
93. Opposite of pass : REPEAL
94. One might elicit a nervous "Nice dog" : GROWL
95. "Taxi" dispatcher : LOUIE. Now you won't see LOUIE C.K. in crosswords again.
96. La Paz paisano : AMIGO
97. Belittle : ABASE
98. Nettled : RILED
99. Single-minded about : WED TO
103. Little snorts : NIPS
104. Berkshire school : ETON
105. Socially awkward one : NERD. Guess who coined this word? Dr. Seuss.
106. Sounds of disapproval : TSKS
109. Jack, jill or joey : ROO
110. One of a pair on a rack : SKI
The first l'ick went thru way more versions than normal, and still isn't any good. But after so much work it's still getting inflicted on you anyway!
ReplyDeleteAlbert had a time machine that he had to PEDAL.
(WATTAGES of outlets sucked in the Neanderthal!)
He sought a pliosaur like Nessie,
CRO-MAGNON man, yeti or ET C.,
Alas a giant SALAMANDER came along and ET AL.!
To the east of Europe once was the sea ARAL
Home to bastard sturgeon, common carp, ET AL!
It's ETHNIC territory,
Articles explanatory
Are printed first in Cyrillic, then ROMAN ARIAL!
Sushi preparation often includes RITES
Of how to put together each specific BITE.
Is this piece of EEL
Bent into an ELL?
Is that roe to go? Is this veggie RIPE?
{D, B+, B-.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI struggled with this one. Finally got it, though. Thanx, Ed and C.C.
FUG: New word to me. Merriam-Webster likes it.
LEEZA: Another unknown for me...even the picture. I had no free daytime hours in the '90s.
SYDOW: I remember him from The Exorcist, but even more as the hit man Joubert in Three Days Of The Condor.
Yay, CSO to moi at 37d.
Stay SANE in Vegas, C.C.
85 across is not a stranger to those of us who are 88 down. By the time of the "Exorcist" Max von Sydow may have been past his prime (can't say I've seen it), but starting in the 50's he starred in many great films by the immortal Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, notably "The Seventh Seal" and "Wild Strawberries". Great actor.
ReplyDeleteI this took me much longer than most Sundays with a variety of fill evading my memory banks, or just unknown.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
83A. Crowded-room atmosphere: FUG
61D. Marvin Gaye classic subtitled "The Ecology": MERCY MERCY ME
64D. Mustang sally?: NEIGH
I was slowed down but appreciated the wit of this clecho:
100A. Popular type: ROMAN. And 108A. Popular type: ARIAL
Thanks, Ed and C.C.
Loved the theme! I remember Max von Sydow as Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told, a must-watch every Easter growing up (ironic the clue was from the Exorcist)
DeleteThank you Anonymous! I'll have to put TGSET on my short list. "The Seventh Seal" and TGSET are essentially the same story with different endings. Death triumphs in the first and Life triumphs in the second.
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a workout indeed! It took awhile to catch the theme but even finally getting it didn't lessen the challenge, thanks to Mr. Sessa's devious cluing and misdirection abilities. (Compliment, not complaint!) I had only two w/os, Sabu/Babu and Adobe/Adobo (Doh!) and the only unknowns were "Mercy Mercy Me" and Denovo. I've heard of Leeza Gibbons but needed perps to come up with her name. Etc and Etal was noted and also Flour and Wheat. My favorites were: Watts in your wallet and Glazed Carets. (I don't like carrots, glazed or not!) CSO to our NOLA contingent and our very own resident Otto! Nips reminded me of the "_ _ _ man"who doesn't Cometh to the Corner on Sundays.
Thanks, Mr. Ed, for a challenging but ultimately doable offering and thanks, CC, for the detailed analysis. I'm not fond of peanut butter so I have no favorite brand. Ask me about potato chips though and I'll wax poetic!
Lucina, the convent's loss is our gain. You were a beautiful nun and are a beautiful person.
Have a great day.
And thank you C.C. for the wonderful pictures of Lucina!!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter GRAM, JOULES, and FEET I knew what to look for but I ultimately tripped on the MERCY MERCY ME, by misspelling SYDOW (unknown) as SIDOW and somehow misread the Miss Muffet clue as Miss PIGGY (my brain must be crosswired) and thought 'SPITER BITES' sounded good for a 'Bad snippet'. DNF. Sloppy checking on my part. Have MERCY on 'MOI'.
ReplyDeleteFUG- definitely a new word for me. Never heard of it either. or ADOBO or DE NOVO.
YES WE CAN, I thought that was 'Bob The Builder's' answer.
LEEZA- heard the name before but thought it was LISA Gibbons. No 90's (or any decade) talk show have I ever watched.
"Mustang Sally"- looking for Wilson Pickett not NEIGH but it was too many letters
My Smucker's crunchy peanut butter's say JIF.
Musings
ReplyDelete-I always wonder what the “seed” entry is and today I would bet on WATTS IN YOUR WALLET from the ubiquitous commercial
-FUG had to be with solid downs but…
-Cluing for EBAN, NEIGH, SHOD, CAB, TILE, ET AL – Fabulous!
-Winter golfing here calls for shorter TEES due to frost
-My WEBER sits under snow right now
-TSK, that mademoiselle didn’t get home until the OUI small hours of the evening
-The old Dragnet show always ended in trials held “In and FOR the county of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that trial.”
-Somebody makes peanut butter besides Skippy? Who knew? :-)
-Robin Williams was famous for going OFF SCRIPT as MORK and anyone else he played
-Beautiful pictures of our lovely Lucina!
-Off to see granddaughter’s new apartment and hear grandsons play in the Lincoln Youth Symphony
What a fun puzzle! Thanks Ed and C.C.
ReplyDeleteThe southeast corner stymied me for a while until I tried out the second Mercy.
Fug was also new to me, and I needed perps for de novo.
I eat Natural Creamy Jif peanut butter almost every day because it's a good source of protein.
I love Ed Sessa puzzles and almost, almost got this one--and would have gotten it, I think, if I'd just had more time. But my Gourmet Club meets tonight and I have to finish making a complicated Thai spring roll (wrapped in rice paper, of all things) and this will take me all day, I fear. Great write-up and pics of Lucina, C.C.--many thanks.
ReplyDelete"Taxi" will always be one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Also loved seeing MORK and ORK. Never heard of FUS or LEEZA but perps got them, and never knew "sally" meant outburst--thanks for explaining that, C.C. Also didn't know Dr. Seuss invented NERD. The things you learn on this great blog
Have a wonderful day, everybody! I finally got some sleep last night, thanks to two Advil PMs.
I loved these misdirections. My type of great puzzle, Ed. I was going great blazes, way ahead of normal time, until I flared out in the SE. I didn't know SYDOW or LUMINA. I googled MERCY, MERCY, ME. After the one LIU I succeeded.
ReplyDeleteI knew FUG and LEEZA. I tried various spellings of DE NOVO.
Misty, have fun at your Gourmet Club dinner. Your spring roll sounds interesting. I am going to a Fat Tuesday party tonight. We have more time to party by starting on a Sunday afternoon and going home early for parents to put the kids to bed. I am taking my famous crab artichoke dip.
CSO, hi Otto and Boomer @22 A.
I am going to help Alan with his Valentine's day craft now and then bake my dip.
Hello everyone.
ReplyDeleteFinished it on-line. Our Sunday paper doesn't offer the Sunday LAT CW. Sessa is usually quite interesting and fun to solve. No real issues to mention.
A little late today because BH was making Fasnachtsküchle, which are a Shrove Tuesday tradition in S. Germany, Austria, Alsace, and the Swiss areas. Not so much in Schleswig-Holstein. Quality control is very important so someone had to taste them; so I had to do it. A type of donut, they are also favored by the Pennsylvania Dutch, also.
Yes indeed, so much to learn from all of you on this blog. I had to put in A LOT OF effort to solve this puzzle, but it was fun. The only thing I had to look up was the Marvin Gaye song. Took a full 20 minutes before "Popular type" finally made sense to me. And FUG? Sheesh. I never would have guessed in a million years that would be a real word. I guess it figures it is British slang in origin. Like "gob" for mouth, "sod off" for buzz off, and "skint" for broke. Had ÉGALITÉ instead of LIBERTÉ at first, which, along with the unknown MERCY MERCY ME and my desire to somehow fit LACTOSE into the "Milk choice" answer, obstructed me in that area for quite a while. Wanting OVERFILLS instead of OVERFEEDS was also a self-made stumbling block. A terrific puzzle, Mr. Sessa. May you continue to construct many more.
ReplyDeleteMy peanut butter of choice is also Smuckers, either smooth or chunky. Skippy and Jif have sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil in them, which personally I don't like and try to avoid, for taste as well as health reasons.
Best wishes to you all.
Fantastic cluing today! Thanks, Ed and C. C. This one was a tad harder for me than a usual Sunday, but I got 'er done right. Took nearly 45 minutes; about half again longer than usual. Had no trouble with FUG, as it's been a part of my word bank for years.
ReplyDeleteC. C., I didn't understand your reference to LOUIE C. K. I know I recognize that name but have no idea what it has to do with.
More snow overnight, but far short of the amount that was originally predicted. I'd guess we have a total of between 10" and 12" now.
Enjoy the remainder of your weekend, everyone!
Hi Y'all! Fun & amusing but tricky as Ed usually is. Another good expo, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know DENOVO or ADOBO. Knew Joey was a 'ROO but not Jack & Jill -- last I knew they were fetching water.
Pelican State not Street, finally got me New Orleans, LA.
I thought Mustang sally was a book or song character. The only time except as a proper name I see "sally" used is as "sally port" in a prison entry.
I don't want to make a stink about it, but I knew FUG. Nyah, nyah, nyah, yah!
Fug? Yes it's a word, but so arcane.
ReplyDelete"Puzzling thoughts":
ReplyDeleteSeveral write-overs today in this fun, if not challenging xword puzzle. 63d had the following attempts: ALL IN; I CALL; I FOLD; before IM OUT. 83a was not even an option, but it will be part of a Moe-ku
Other WO's included: AGO>OLD; DOWN>DONE; SABU>BABU; ROMEO>ROMAN
32a clue/solve was my favorite; 61d reminded me a bit of this Cannonball Adderly hit that the Buckinghams sang back in the late '60's. This is one that Moe likes to sing at Karaoke night ...
A bad stab at an old joke:
Pioneers got lost,
Searching for native tribesmen.
"Where the FUGawi?"
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed today's clever puzzle from master constructor Ed Sessa. My favorite theme fill was GRAM CRACKER. FUG was new to me too, but I think it's a great, descriptive word. Needed ESP for DE NOVO. Thanks, C.C., for guiding us through today's masterpiece.
No peanut butter for us as our oldest grandson is allergic to peanuts. A yummy substitute is Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter, which is lightly sweetened.
Lucina--I enjoyed seeing the lovely photos of you, your mother, and sister from an earlier time.
Enjoy the day!
PK, yeah, my sense of fug includes malodorous, as well as stuffy and/or smoky. I have often seen fug in novels, but have not heard it in actual conversation. Crosswords show me just how many words there are in our reading vocabulary that are not in our speaking vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteSpitz, the fastnacht is part of my heritage, as well. My mother used a potato dough, common among the PA Dutch. My sister's church makes fastnachts to sell. After turning Episcopalian with their English traditions I found pancakes not nearly as satisfying as fastnachts. I miss them. Spitz, I am sure you had to sample quite a few to be sure they were exactly right. My husband always had to taste test my cookies. Also he helped me out by eating the "burnt" ones. Sure, they were burnt. LOL.
Craft made. Dip in the oven. Looking forward to the party. New church, new tradition, better than pancakes. It might even make up for not having fastnachts.
Do you pronounce "graham" as GRAM? I say GRAY-UM. But I've been wrong before....once.
ReplyDeleteThe clue for 1down was different in my paper. It was "More than just asks".
ReplyDeleteYep, Mardi Gras is in full swing, if a little wet at times. Hoping Fat Tuesday is clear!
I go for Simply JIf, but am more often using almond butter.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for fine review.
ReplyDeleteWorked my way through it. I was most easily able to form a large diagonal from the NE to the SW. The NW and SE remained blank for quite a while. Slowly I got it all.
Theme became apparent with 62A WATTS IN YOUR WALLET
Had CHIP before TOKE.
Never heard of ADOBO
Just finished clearing the driveway. Thank goodness the neighbor hit it first with his snowblower.
Have to run. Will try to get a short nap. Worked all last night and am working this evening for five hours.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Yellowrocks, I bet your crab artichoke dip is going to be a lot better than my crazy Thai spring rolls. Hope everybody's too busy talking to pay too much attention.
ReplyDeleteRan out of P&P and Googled von Sydow, but got everything filled correctly except for that without cheats. Too many erasures and unknowns to list.
ReplyDeleteFavorite was "political asset" for TACT. I laughed so hard I was afraid I would break a rib.
Is music really recorded ON CD? It is still distributed on that medium, at least for the near term. Best Buy has decided to DISContinue them.
CSO to me at GHENT, the Norfolk neighborhood where I reside when I'm not in Florida thawing out.
Thanks to Ed for another challenger and to CC for a fine write-up.
D-O, you asked about how to pronounce GRAHAM. Since that's my name, I thought I should respond. The answer is both ways. I pronounce it as GRAM when it's a quick and dirty response. When I think about it, it should be more like GRAY-UM as you said. That was brought home to me when it was pronounced by a Scottish store owner not far from here. Her accent was beautiful to listen to and she definitely pronounced my name with two syllables.
ReplyDeleteI have a CD player in my newer Camry. Barbara ordered (from Amazon) several compilations of Prairie Home Companion that I enjoy listening to when I'm out and about, some music but mostly the story telling. The Living Flag is a classic.
ReplyDeleteJinx, I prefer music on CD. The recordings have better audio quality than you get from the MP3 streaming services, and surprisingly, the CD's are usually cheaper. I load 'em onto my music server, and the CDs go into the closet.
ReplyDeleteFUG took me a while. It is one of those Scrabble words that gets played again and again without anyone knowing the meaning. it was intersecting with a never used term in serious hold em poker. In a cash game one might say to the dealer "deal me out" but there are only three verbal declarations possible...raise...call...or fold. I was WED TO "FOLD". I suppose a novice might say while mucking the cards "i'm out" so when I got back from the driving range, fug fit. 7 for 7 this week.
ReplyDeleteFreezing here in SoCal barely made 75 and tomorrow 63 is the forecast high....I know I have a sweater somewhere !
D-O: I prefer CDs too. The point was that music (at least commercial music) isn't recorded on CD, it's recorded to files, edited, and then duplicated onto discs. It just struck me as odd, like saying music was once recorded on LPs. Ed's likely to be technically correct, it just didn't compute with me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed and C.C. This was one of the quickest Sundays in a while and loved the clever clues. Like Chuck, I couldn't let go of I FOLD until MEET appeared; also "popular type", I kept thinking of a person not a style of type, until -R-AL showed up. ARAL and ARIAL both appeared in the SW today. FUG??! Never heard of it, but as others pointed out, that's why we enjoy crosswords. Marvin Gaye - first song that popped in my brain, Mercy, Mercy, Me. Never heard of the subtitle.
ReplyDeletePK, MUSTANG SALLY was a song released by Wilson Pickett in 1966 - loved it when it came out. My favorite clue today.
Polished pearls - GLAZED CARATS? Maybe I'm not understanding, but pearls are measured in millimeters, not in carats as diamonds/gemstones are.
Peanut butter - love Kroger's (local grocery chain) Natural - only peanuts with a pinch of salt - no added sugars or oil. Half the price of Laura Scudders.
Has anyone heard from Boo-loquette (sp?). I enjoyed his local town's Mardi Gras parade video last year.
Stay warm, everyone (including Chuck lol)
At least I was able to get fug via crosses. The hard pair for me was insole/repeal. I figured if you don't pass a class, you have to repeat it, but darned if I could figure out what an insote was.
ReplyDeleteMusings 2
ReplyDelete-Ever happen to you? I had never run into this word and then, bang there it was on the Noodles and Company restaurant where we ate!
I was stuck both on Saturday and Sunday. Although I never thought I'd grok the SEI decided to wait it out. This morning I blissed out. FUEL for Drive was a reach too.
ReplyDeleteI'll also say that Husker Gary does a great write-up . Owen, your D is still a glazed carat.
Now the key for today was Groking the themes. I thought like in GRAM the key was dropping letters which got me in a lot of trouble. Of course, I'm shuttleing while I'm wrestling with Ed Sessa.
And in fact GLAZED CARATS came while driving. It's all in my unconscious working over time.
Misty, Misty Misty. Stop with those Advil PMs .please try the Midnite . Simply chamomile, lemon grass and melatonin. Then again my doctor is vehemently against any of the NSAIDs.
Finally, from yesterday and just for you readers: I wanted to fill Godot for those Dead Souls but waited*. And I finally remembered GOGOL from my old Russian lit class
What i can't remember is whether I actually read it . I loved THE IDIOT, the story of my Life .
C-Moe, all your l'icks and kus are teriff but I was caught by how our Sunday travails were identical.
WC at last
* Get it?
0 fer 1 says... No idea where that link was going Husker G. but, YES!, I CAN RELATE... [never heard it before and bam! there it is everywhere]
ReplyDeleteLurk say...
{thumper, B, B -}
Lucina - very nice pix; glad you weren't a Nun at my HS - that would have been awkward... //joking; but those are beautiful snaps.
Misty & YR how'd the food go over? Both dishes sound delish from this end of the Internet.
I made Red Beans and Rice, again, at MIL's flu-gotten-ills-request. I made Youngest take it in when we went over - Youngest never got infected from me nor DW.
//we had the other 1/4 of the Red Beans tonight; Youngest & I thought "meh,.. lacking kick." (It did have flavor-depth but not enough cayenne IMHO). DW liked it and said don't add heat :-(
Picard - um, if you can find your Hindu pix; maybe save 'em for a Splynter-free Sat :-)
Thanks C.C., Ed, et.al., for letting me lurk & learn.
Cheers, -T
Ooops - C, Moe, lest I forget, {ha!} -T
ReplyDeletePicard - The 'Pelican State' is Louisiana. New Orleans is, like, the greatest city ever. Louisiana is LA on an envelope and NOPD is what you see on the cop cars and/or their horses. Together, NOLA. New Orleans, LA. [also where you can take a SNORT, er NIP, of booze on the street if you're so inclined] -T
ReplyDeleteThank you for asking, Anon T. My Thai sprig rolls turned out to be okay, a great relief! Bet your red beans and rice are great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Wilbur, for your Midnite recommendation. I'll try to look into it.
Late to the party today. I was watching Scott and Tessa (remember her?) win the free dance to confirm the gold medal in Team Skating for Canada. And I did finally complete this CW. Thanks Ed and C.C.
ReplyDeleteLike Anon @2:16, my newspaper had "more than just asks" for 1D. I entered Nags which gave me Nabu and Aban. Oh well.
Misdirection caused me to enter Amp for "be an incredible speaker" , and Ice *(sorry Tinbeni) for "hailed wine". I thought they were both incredible clues but I FIW. (Note to some other constructor. . . ). *as in Niagara ice wine!
My Canadian disadvantage was showing today. Not only do I need to memorize all the American presidents, now I need to learn their wives too and their birthplaces. To make matters worse, I needed to know the Senate has 6 year TERMs. Canadian senators are appointed not elected and serve until age 75 (in OTTAWA from yesterday 😄).
I pronounce GRAHAM with two syllables; at first I though we were going to lose the HA in the theme answers. Nope!
Sips before Nips, fun before FUG, Ago before OLD, Overfills before OVERFEEDS rounded out white outs.
My shortening is Crisco but we only had room for ETC.
I like Kraft peanut butter.
Lovely photo Lucina.
C, Eh! - Appointed? - Oy! Some years 6 seems like too long... [are they like Lord in UK parliament?]
ReplyDeleteOde to Peanut Butter..
It depends
on the ends:
Skippy or Peter Pan for cookies
'Tis extra sugar-ies.
Jiif for muffins
'Tis extra melting-ums
Smuckers for toast
'Tis has the most
Peanut flavor.
{F--]
-T
-T, Re: The ode to peanut butter, to borrow one of your grades for me: {nice!}
DeleteCM
Wilbur Charles @10:27 -- "Misty, Misty Misty. Stop with those Advil PMs .please try the Midnite . Simply chamomile, lemon grass and melatonin. Then again my doctor is vehemently against any of the NSAIDs."
ReplyDeleteIf I might add a tad of personal experience, after the ER people put 4 units of blood back in to me in September (around 1400 ml, or a quart and a pint of blood), one doctor said I had 3 ulcers, one a "crater," and the uniform opinion of all medics I talked with, is that Naproxen (Aleve) caused said ulcers and bleed out. Your doctor is spot on.
(Like Cousin Ron used to say, "Trust, but VERIFY " what the packages say -- read the inserts and check on-line before using new drugs.)
Don't ya just love the warning on the peanut butter jar, "Caution: Contains peanuts".
ReplyDeleteMy peanut butter is Woodstock smooth organic unsalted. Organic dry roasted blanched peanuts. Nothing added.
I thought I'd get a GROAN from my "'Waiting' for Godot" line.
ReplyDeleteI liked the "Ode", 'T. My PB is BOGO.
My Dr's advice about NSAIDS is related to what I apparently brought back from 'Nam.
Double whammy apparently. Then again there was the year I spent drinking the water at Lejeune.
But, for 73 I feel great, work 30 hours a week and if I'd get more exercise be doing even better.
Doin better is sweeping a difficult xword weekend. The key was not giving up on that cross of Drive-FUEL and of course BLISSED OUT.
Now to take another crack at the 0122 nytxword
WC
WC, I used to do the peanut butter brand "BOGO", but am now preferring Trader Joes, actually. It's everyday price is comparable to what you'd pay for a BOGO (Jif, Skippy, ET AL), and you can choose whether it's salted or unsalted, creamy or crunchy. Plus, TJ's has the best peanut butter filled pretzels. One of CM's guilty pleasure treats.
Delete