Theme: Dessert Mix - can't explain it better than the reveal:
59A. Ice cream features found, in a way, in this puzzle's circles: CHOCOLATE SWIRLS
Scrambled "CHOCOLATE" highlighted by the circles in the theme entries:
16A. Natural analog of sonar: BAT ECHOLOCATION. That's why they can flit around in bat caves and not smack into the walls in the dark. Truly, Nature is a wonderful thing. I walk into walls in hotels in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. I need a bat assistant.
32A. Ones who have class?: SCHOOL TEACHERS. The unsung heroes of our world. Let's have a "Buy Our Teachers Chocolate Swirl Day". BOTCWD. Aghh, need a better acronym!
36A. Old General Motors model: CHEVROLET COACH. From 1931 - I felt bad when I didn't know this, but thank you crosses! A quite lovely automobile. It looks a lot like a 30's Rolls-Royce.
This was a puzzle masterclass - thank you, Jeffrey. Wonderful theme, grid-spanners, 14's, and look at those blocks of 3x7's in the NE and SW. Awesome.
Across:
1. Liberty __: BELL. Shoddy merchandise. Cracked on delivery. I'd have sent it back, free returns with Amazon Prime. When you order a Liberty Bell, you expect the best.
5. Troublesome types: IMPS
9. Cleaning tool: SWAB. Surgery tool too. Count 'em in, count 'em out!
13. Any number: ONE OR MORE. Is zero a number? If so, if not .... clue accuracy. Your essays are due next Thursday.
15. River through Florence: ARNO
18. Toyota RAV4, e.g.: UTE. Shorthand for "Sports Utility Vehicle".
19. The best policy, so it's said: HONESTY. Good advice.
35. Developing, biologically: IN UTERO. I had IN VITRO first. Then thought about that.
43. Literary award with a spaceship logo: HUGO. I *think* I knew this. Look up Hugo Gernsback on Wikipedia.
44. Head for the hills: RUN
45. Nothing new: OLD HAT
47. Billiards concern: ANGLE
49. Phantasy Star game maker: SEGA. I didn't know this, but SEGA seemed a good stab with the "S" in place
50. Big name in ATMs: NCR. I tried IBM first, because I had "EDAMAME" confidently in place at 38D. I love great construction and cluing when I get sent up a blind alley. This was a classic case. It was only when nothing would work around that section that I had to rethink everything in the area.
51. Egret habitats: MARSHES
58. Braggart's abundance: EGO.
62. Hard to control: EELY.Slipperly too.
63. Harley-Davidson Museum city: MILWAUKEE. Home of the knucklehead, the flathead and all other great innovations.
64. Cholesterol nos.: LDLS. I think my levels are OK. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol level. Pay attention.
65. Presently: ANON. This is one of those words I love, and I'm determined to keep "in the language". I have people who I work with, or I have worked with, who enjoy using it, just for the curiously factor.
66. Scrip items: MEDS. Where are you, HeartRX?
Down:
1. Hats like Maurice Chevalier's: BOATERS. I tried to find a musical link worthy of the blog, but failed. Here's the signature hat though:
2. Intestinal: ENTERIC.Crosses all the way. I will learn this.
3. Director with three Oscars: LEE. Ang Lee. Amazing talent. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and The Life of Pi.
4. Welsh : llyn :: Scots : __: LOCH. I'm not sure I knew this. It made sense when I filled it in though.
5. "__ your side": I'M ON
6. "The Wind in the Willows" figure: MOLE. I loved this book as a small child. I remember falling in love with the illustrations of E.H. Shepard. Then came Winnie the Pooh. What a wonderful man.
7. They know the ropes: PROS
8. Schism group: SECT
9. Wasn't used: SAT, Sat down, rode the pine. watched from the bench. Tough.
10. Squirm: WRIGGLE
11. "And __ thing ... ": ANOTHER
12. Fish that sound good in Spanish: BONITOS? Not sure about the plural here. Fish singular - Fish plural.
14. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. Tough stuff.
16. Like bodybuilders: BUFF
17. Right at sea?: AYE! Right? Aye, sir to starboard! Yes, maybe, but right? Not sure.
22. Book before Esth.: NEH. The Old Testament. Learn your three-letter abbreviations of the Bible books if you want to solve crosswords.
24. Hessian pronoun: ICH. This was nice. Hermann Hesse, German novelist. "Ich" = "I".
26. Crime movie genre: NOIR. Watch LA Confidential for a great example.
27. Name on a museum wall: DONOR
28. When some news shows begin: AT TEN
29. Sugar source: BEET
30. Half of a call-and-response game: MARCO. Polo. One of the most annoying games in the annals of child-watching. Enough said.
33. Whopper: LULU. A BIIGGGG one!
34. "Very nice!": COOL
36. Area around the altar: CHANCEL. This took me way to long. The SW corner was tough for me.
37. Bent (over): HUNCHED
38. Asian appetizer: EGG ROLL. Yeah, I see your EGG ROLL and raise you EDAMAME - and then I lose.
39. Remote control abbr.: VOL. I just looked at mine. Indeed, it has VOL right there.
40. Cause of a paper weight increase: ADS. Think your Sunday print edition of your local newspaper. If mine delivered just the sports section, the literary review and the crossword, I'd save the trees, the delivery guys and my recycle
41. Brightened: CHEERED
42. Tries for a better price: HAGGLES
46. New Mexico county bordering Colorado: TAOS
48. Punk rock subgenre: EMO. Always. Three-letter rock genre - fill it in and move on
52. Diva Gluck: ALMA. Thank you crosses, Jeffrey is always fair.
53. Dust Bowl deficiency: RAIN
54. WWII invasion city: ST LÔ. If you have a chance to read any of the various narratives about this city in 1944, I'd encourage you to do so.
55. Cut: HEWN
56. Spanish "that": ESA
57. Like many laps: SWUM. I'd love to count my lifetime laps in the pool. It's been a lot. I love the "zen" times when you can only hear the water while you pull through each lap.
60. Pitcher Young and painter Twombly: CYS
61. Presidential nickname: IKE. I had the "E". Went went with "ABE", was wrong.
Like all of us, I am very sad about Argyle's decision to shuffle off the mortal coil. He was a wonderful man and gave great pleasure to many, many people. I would like us all to look in his mirror and feel that when our time comes we can hope everyone says that about all of us. The world would be a very better place.
And ... the grid!
Steve
2) Please click here to view Santa's obituary. Thanks for the information, Spitzboov!
59A. Ice cream features found, in a way, in this puzzle's circles: CHOCOLATE SWIRLS
Scrambled "CHOCOLATE" highlighted by the circles in the theme entries:
16A. Natural analog of sonar: BAT ECHOLOCATION. That's why they can flit around in bat caves and not smack into the walls in the dark. Truly, Nature is a wonderful thing. I walk into walls in hotels in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. I need a bat assistant.
32A. Ones who have class?: SCHOOL TEACHERS. The unsung heroes of our world. Let's have a "Buy Our Teachers Chocolate Swirl Day". BOTCWD. Aghh, need a better acronym!
36A. Old General Motors model: CHEVROLET COACH. From 1931 - I felt bad when I didn't know this, but thank you crosses! A quite lovely automobile. It looks a lot like a 30's Rolls-Royce.
This was a puzzle masterclass - thank you, Jeffrey. Wonderful theme, grid-spanners, 14's, and look at those blocks of 3x7's in the NE and SW. Awesome.
Across:
1. Liberty __: BELL. Shoddy merchandise. Cracked on delivery. I'd have sent it back, free returns with Amazon Prime. When you order a Liberty Bell, you expect the best.
5. Troublesome types: IMPS
9. Cleaning tool: SWAB. Surgery tool too. Count 'em in, count 'em out!
13. Any number: ONE OR MORE. Is zero a number? If so, if not .... clue accuracy. Your essays are due next Thursday.
15. River through Florence: ARNO
18. Toyota RAV4, e.g.: UTE. Shorthand for "Sports Utility Vehicle".
19. The best policy, so it's said: HONESTY. Good advice.
35. Developing, biologically: IN UTERO. I had IN VITRO first. Then thought about that.
43. Literary award with a spaceship logo: HUGO. I *think* I knew this. Look up Hugo Gernsback on Wikipedia.
44. Head for the hills: RUN
45. Nothing new: OLD HAT
47. Billiards concern: ANGLE
49. Phantasy Star game maker: SEGA. I didn't know this, but SEGA seemed a good stab with the "S" in place
50. Big name in ATMs: NCR. I tried IBM first, because I had "EDAMAME" confidently in place at 38D. I love great construction and cluing when I get sent up a blind alley. This was a classic case. It was only when nothing would work around that section that I had to rethink everything in the area.
51. Egret habitats: MARSHES
58. Braggart's abundance: EGO.
62. Hard to control: EELY.Slipperly too.
63. Harley-Davidson Museum city: MILWAUKEE. Home of the knucklehead, the flathead and all other great innovations.
64. Cholesterol nos.: LDLS. I think my levels are OK. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol level. Pay attention.
65. Presently: ANON. This is one of those words I love, and I'm determined to keep "in the language". I have people who I work with, or I have worked with, who enjoy using it, just for the curiously factor.
66. Scrip items: MEDS. Where are you, HeartRX?
Down:
1. Hats like Maurice Chevalier's: BOATERS. I tried to find a musical link worthy of the blog, but failed. Here's the signature hat though:
2. Intestinal: ENTERIC.Crosses all the way. I will learn this.
3. Director with three Oscars: LEE. Ang Lee. Amazing talent. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and The Life of Pi.
4. Welsh : llyn :: Scots : __: LOCH. I'm not sure I knew this. It made sense when I filled it in though.
5. "__ your side": I'M ON
6. "The Wind in the Willows" figure: MOLE. I loved this book as a small child. I remember falling in love with the illustrations of E.H. Shepard. Then came Winnie the Pooh. What a wonderful man.
7. They know the ropes: PROS
8. Schism group: SECT
9. Wasn't used: SAT, Sat down, rode the pine. watched from the bench. Tough.
10. Squirm: WRIGGLE
11. "And __ thing ... ": ANOTHER
12. Fish that sound good in Spanish: BONITOS? Not sure about the plural here. Fish singular - Fish plural.
14. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. Tough stuff.
16. Like bodybuilders: BUFF
17. Right at sea?: AYE! Right? Aye, sir to starboard! Yes, maybe, but right? Not sure.
22. Book before Esth.: NEH. The Old Testament. Learn your three-letter abbreviations of the Bible books if you want to solve crosswords.
24. Hessian pronoun: ICH. This was nice. Hermann Hesse, German novelist. "Ich" = "I".
26. Crime movie genre: NOIR. Watch LA Confidential for a great example.
27. Name on a museum wall: DONOR
28. When some news shows begin: AT TEN
29. Sugar source: BEET
30. Half of a call-and-response game: MARCO. Polo. One of the most annoying games in the annals of child-watching. Enough said.
33. Whopper: LULU. A BIIGGGG one!
34. "Very nice!": COOL
36. Area around the altar: CHANCEL. This took me way to long. The SW corner was tough for me.
37. Bent (over): HUNCHED
38. Asian appetizer: EGG ROLL. Yeah, I see your EGG ROLL and raise you EDAMAME - and then I lose.
39. Remote control abbr.: VOL. I just looked at mine. Indeed, it has VOL right there.
40. Cause of a paper weight increase: ADS. Think your Sunday print edition of your local newspaper. If mine delivered just the sports section, the literary review and the crossword, I'd save the trees, the delivery guys and my recycle
41. Brightened: CHEERED
42. Tries for a better price: HAGGLES
46. New Mexico county bordering Colorado: TAOS
48. Punk rock subgenre: EMO. Always. Three-letter rock genre - fill it in and move on
52. Diva Gluck: ALMA. Thank you crosses, Jeffrey is always fair.
53. Dust Bowl deficiency: RAIN
54. WWII invasion city: ST LÔ. If you have a chance to read any of the various narratives about this city in 1944, I'd encourage you to do so.
55. Cut: HEWN
56. Spanish "that": ESA
57. Like many laps: SWUM. I'd love to count my lifetime laps in the pool. It's been a lot. I love the "zen" times when you can only hear the water while you pull through each lap.
60. Pitcher Young and painter Twombly: CYS
61. Presidential nickname: IKE. I had the "E". Went went with "ABE", was wrong.
Like all of us, I am very sad about Argyle's decision to shuffle off the mortal coil. He was a wonderful man and gave great pleasure to many, many people. I would like us all to look in his mirror and feel that when our time comes we can hope everyone says that about all of us. The world would be a very better place.
And ... the grid!
Steve
Notes from C.C.:
1) OK, a real time "Happy Birthday" to Dave (D4E4H),
who turned 74 today. I misunderstood an email he forwarded to me last Sunday. Hope you get in time the birthday gifts you boldly asked from my siblings.
Here is a clearer picture of Dave and Mr. Romeo. He said "I am helping him with his social
media "Muzzle book" because he is all paws. He has 4,000 "licks.""
 |
| Dave (D4E4H) |
63 comments:
I see you've been time traveling again ... the discussion says "3:30 am May 3", but I'm writing this at 10:15 pm PDT May 2!
Hi Y'all! Another great puzzle from Jeffrey. Great expo, Steve. Interesting, Michael, about the time difference. I was surprised to see the expo already posted at midnight CDT where I am.
Didn't catch on to the theme despite going on a CHOCOLATE Brownie binge last week with unwanted consequences.
The song I associate with Maurice Chevalier in a BOATER is "Thank Heavens for Little Girls". Would they let him sing that these days? A BOATER is definitely OLD HAT and may be worn at an ANGLE.
We have a Harley Museum in our city too, but the name didn't fit. My son has our family treasure, my late husband's 1949 Harley still ridable with original tires.
Toad before MOLE. Grandmom sent clippings from the Kansas City Star when they published the serial form of "Wind in the Willows". I was probably around 7 yrs. old & my sis was 5. We loved the stories which came in the mail once a week.
AYE is right, not wrong. Correct? Not left or right sides, methinks.
- - Good Thursday Morning You who are waiting for Saturday, the Cinco de Mayo when you do not use salad dressing, but 5 times as much mayonnaise. I've heard some cervesas will be enjoyed at sunset. As an added attraction on that day, a little horse race called The Kentucky Derby will be held for the umpteenth time.
- - Who can name the winner of the first Derby, and the refreshing drink that symbolizes this event?
- - Whew! Mr. Jeffrey Wechsler, you gave us a rough Thursday CW. I made pass after pass at snow white without getting to second base. Finally letters became words, became complete cells, and finally a complete CW. I FIR in 45:50.
- - Thank youSteve for the humor you mixed in with the review. "I'll have whatever he's having."
Ðave
I think my block may at last be broken! EIGHT l'icks before I realized how many I'd done! No outstanding ones, but all decent at least!
I like CHOCOLATE ice cream SWIRLS
Like them even more than girls!
They're both as sweet
As sugar BEETS,
But when they're cold, my brain they curl!
I'M ON YOUR SIDE, there I'll be!
AYE on land, aye aye at sea!
I'll be ANOTHER,
Like a brother!
While you're a FACEBOOK FRIEND to me!
BOATERS SAT on hair well-combed,
Once called Panama their home!
That OLD HAT
Of straw thatch --
Today they're made of styrofoam!
Girls like men with muscles BUFF,
Who'll SWAB their kitchen floor and stuff!
A man must work
But a girl can shirk --
All men want is her in the buff!
Let's shed a tear for old NEHEMIAH
Preacher, pessimist and sigh-er!
He was CHEERED
With brownies weird
IMPS fed to get him high and higher!
{B, B-, B, B-, B+.}
Three Old Stories of DONORS
~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~
The poor girl said, "Cancer brought me to my knees
An organ DONOR was my prayers and pleas
My boyfriend, a LULU
To donate came thru.
Gave his life to give me his ovaries!"
"Give to our charity to end the slaughter
From germ-ridden MARSHES, of son and daughter!
Will you DONATE to save?"
"I'll give what you crave!"
Went inside, and returned with a glass of pure water!
The nuns rang the BELL, it wasn't too late,
Told of their home for children of fate.
Would the home-owner
Be a generous DONOR?
"Sure, we've got nine IMPS, you can have any EIGHT!"
{A-, B, A-.}
Hi everybody. (It's late at night here.)
I enjoyed the puzzle but wasn't completely at ease with the reveal. I didn't have any circles to help me and I was thinking of "Swirl" to be something like a whirlpool or an eddy and I didn't fully understand the theme until I read Steve's explanation. Thanks Jeffrey and Steve.
I have very pleasant memories of Walt Disney's "Wind in the Willows." Great cartooning.
Good night...
Greetings!
Thanks to Jeffrey and Steven!
Managed to perp my way through things that I did not know! No cheats! (Can't get used to the new keyboard. Extra spaces all over the place!)
A real hbd to Dave! It was my late lamented father's bdy also. Miss him soooo much.
Have a great day!
Good morning!
No EDAMAME for me, but Chevalier's hat was BRIMMED, and that botched up the NW for a while. Had the circles, but forgot to look at 'em until I'd already finished. Impressive,J.W. Enjoyed the tour, Steve.
I think most of us can claim CSO's for MEDS, LDLS and ENTERIC. My LDL is high, but my HDL is very high; my doctor isn't concerned. I recently had to start taking a daily 81mg ENTERIC-coated aspirin among my other MEDS.
Aye, PK, I agree with your take on it. PK, Chevalier's "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" plays an important role in a political TV ad in Wag The Dog. The fictional president was accused of indecent behavior with a little Firefly Girl. Funny flick, if you can find it. It's even got Willie Nelson in it, so it can't be all bad.
The VOL quit working on the remote for my home theater amp. Discovered that my DirecTV remote could "learn" how to do that. Problem solved.
In 1972, the Procrastinators Club of America sent a letter to the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, complaining that the Liberty BELL was
cracked.
After an interval, the foundry responded:
"We would be happy to provide a replacement bell. Kindly return the
damaged bell to us in its original packaging."
After my five year visit to the gastroENEROLOGIST, my TAUTer body (you do lose a little weight before your visit) was on the LAM in my Toyota SUV, I forgot to watch the news at SIX PM, study NUMbers verse, and to sweeten my drink with CANE sugar. THE NW was slow in filling but I finally got BUFF, UTE, RUN, AT TEN, & NEH. The rest wasn't that easy either but CHANCEL was my only 'real' unknown, although I've never heard of a CHEVROLET COACH.
ONE OR MORE- tricky clue
SEGA- WildAssGuess
Whopper- "have it your way"- I still remember Arnold Palmer doing a Whopper commercial. It was a LULU.
I see you Mr. Wechsler. I always consider it a "win" to solve your puzzles. Today is a good day. But like any "sport", we'll live to play another game! Looking forward to our next "match-up"!
Sweet puzzle, Jeffery. Steve fine expo. You are a wonder. I don’t know how you can stay sane and creative with all those air miles and TSA checks.
I started bottom up, so had CHOCOLATE and realized it was scrambled in the circles. SWIRLS was perped. My hold up was in the SE because I had ESO instead of ESA, making SWUM and MILWAUKEE hard to see. I change ABE to IKE and ESO to ESA, then Milwaukee was easy. TA DA!
ADS was clever. The Sunday ads waste so many trees. I, too would be happy with just 3 or 4 sections on Sundays and no ads.
AYE and RIGHT can both show agreement to a command or statement.
8D sects, reminds me that I had a nit the other day with Martin Luther’s sect being protestant. The PROT fill surprised me. Protestantism is way too large and too diverse to be a sect. Each sect has a more or less coherent doctrine. There is no unanimity in Protestant doctrine. There are multifarious sects and a wide variety of beliefs under the umbrella of Protestantism.
CHANCEL was a gimme. The altar is in the chancel. In many protestant sects we say the priest or minister is AT the altar. In televised Catholic masses, the news commentator says the priest is ON the altar. I always picture him sitting there atop the altar.
Yesterday I was wondering how Otto could be a name for autopilot. Then I realized that some people pronounce Otto and auto alike. Not I.
A very happy birthday, Dave 4. It is finally here. I hope you have a fabulous day.
CSO to all of us school teachers.
C.C.
Thanks for posting the obit.
Sheldor AFK.
Ðave
YR, perhaps it's a SECT because Luther was the first to break away from the catholic church, the original protestant. It was probably a very small SECT at the time. I don't pronounce Otto and auto alike, but they're close enough that the Otto-pilot pun was obvious.
Here's a language comment/pet peeve. When did "out of" become the preferred synonym for "from?" She's a figure skater out of California. He's a representative out of Birmingham. You hear it everywhere.
Happy Birthday again, D4. Is this finally the correct day? What goodies did your siblings send, if any? My siblings & I stopped exchanging gifts years ago. We just mark the day with long phone calls which is worth a lot since we don't see each other much.
C.C. & Spitz, thank you for publishing Argyle's obit. Fine man.
One of my hobbies seems to be reading obits. As a genealogist, I've always read them for family info and to get to know ancestors better. Now they serve as farewells to too many of my friends. Lately I've learned that only one of my grandchildren knew I'd been a newspaper photo-journalist. I realized that career was over before any of them were born. I'm thinking I better write my own obit and have it ready or they'll never know I was anything but a decrepit old bat. I told one of them recently that I had done the finish work on all the doors and window trim in their house and he wouldn't believe me. He went and asked his dad. Ah well!
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Despite waiting FESP, I still had several WO's. SUV>UTE; PALM>FERN; NEW>SAT; and figured 28d was either AM or PM. But in the end, I FIR. Last clue to fall was BAT ECHO LOCATION. Like YR, I solved this mostly from S to N. The reveal came before any of the three grid-spanners
Thanks JW & Steve for an enjoyable puzzle
Still trying to solve the pun for the JUMBLE
Cinco de Mayo and KY Derby on same day, plus SunFest - lots of choices this weekend
Ciao
It was a toughie! Even after I got SCHOOLTEACHERS and figured the theme, had trouble with the upper half. Good challenge to start the day!
What a deliciously devious offering from Jeffrey Wechsler today! It seemed to me each clue could have several answers, all of which fit. So clever!
"Wasn't used" had to be new, didn't it? No. SAT. Oh sports. Who knew.
Some news shows start at 10 PM. No. AT TEN. Even when I was right I was wrong.
My favorite was Right at sea? Since Starboard wouldn't fit it had to be AYE. Hah! Got that one.
Cause of a paper weight increase was just brilliant.
Thanks, Jeffrey, for the workout. It's always a treat to do battle with you.
Steve, thanks for walking us through the maze.
Jeffrey Wechsler is back! Thank you for the challenge, JW. And thank you, Steve, for the guidance.
I skipped around quite a lot until I could connect enough links to make sense of the long fill then continued down to the bottom. With CHOCOLATE in place I had to make some changes to discover what accompanied it. CHEERED did it and SWIRLS emerged and so did COACH. I'm embarrassed to say I had SHEENED there.
BAT ECHOLOCATION was a pure guess and only because I looked for enough letters to spell CHOCOLATE inside the circles. Thank you, Steve, for parsing it.
LOCH and RHO also emerged and I didn't even see NEHemiah.
MILWAUKEE was easy only because the EE was already there then IKE appeared.
WRIGGLE and HAGGLE made me smile.
Spitz:
Thank you for Scott's obituary. That really makes it final.
Dave 2:
Happy birthday!
OwenKL:
You are in good form! Well done.
Have a peaceful day, everyone! Every day is a gift.
Hi gang -
Schizoid kind of day. HBD to Dave, and deeply saddened to hear of Argyle's passing. We will all miss him.
Every day is a blessing, peeps. Cherish it. Don't let the people you love wonder about it.
Real struggle with today's puzzle. Friday level difficulty, I thought. Made it through, eventually. Unscramble-the-circles is not a favorite theme type, but grid-spanner are always impressive. I have no nits today. Northwest was last to fall. CHANCEL was a complete unknown.
Nicely done, Jeffrey!
Except for a couple of details, the kitchen is done. Feels strange to have the stove out of the dining room, the fridge out of the family room; and kind of lonesome to not have the contractor here almost every day. He got to be like part of the family.
Cool regards,
JzB
Good morning everyone.
Tough one today. Ended up invoking red ltr help with the ADS/SEGA cross.
NEH - In our bible, Judith comes immediately before Esther, but Nehemiah is one of the books before Esther
ICH - L. German ik. In many areas where high (standard) German is spoken, they say ich as 'ik'. Grates against my ear. I like to hear the ch voiced as in 'ach'. Hessian is a person living in Hesse, a German state. Main city - Wiesbaden.
PK - Please let me know when you've written it. I'll bet it will be an interesting read.
Good Morning:
I see Mr. Wechsler hasn't lost his way with words or his ability to rattle our brains. I had a pretty empty grid after the first pass but, eventually, all fell into place and I got my tada. Finding phrases to "swirl" a 9 letter word is way, way above my pay grade, so many kudos to JW for his craftsmanship. I had a couple of missteps with SUV/UTE, and Pugs/Pros, thinking pugilist for someone who knows the ropes. My unknowns were Chevrolet Coach, GTI, Sega, and Milwaukee, as clued. I got a chuckle out of (from?) Haggles and Wiggles, for some reason.
Many thanks, Jeffrey W, for keeping us on our toes and thanks to Steve for the chatty commentary and the poignant tribute to Argyle. CC, thanks for posting the obituary and thanks to Spitz for obtaining it.
Happy Birthday, Dave, may you enjoy many more. 🎂🎉🍾🎈🎁
PK, I'm sure you'll be remembered as much more than an old bat! I love reading about your past experiences, travels (and travails, too), vocations/avocations, skills (sewing, upholstering, carpentry, painting, canning, etc.) not to mention your wit and wisdom! 🤗
The recently bare trees are bursting with buds after yesterday's 90 degrees. Spring has sprung, at last.
Have a great day.
Lovely obituary for Argyle--thanks for posting it.
It's always exciting to see a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle and this one was a total delight. And I almost got it except for one tiny slip up--had BONOTOS instead of BONITOS, but got everything else. So glad I had CHOCOLATE circles--a delight. Many thanks, Jeffrey, and you too, Steve, for your always fun write-ups.
Bilocohoes, your Liberty Bell story made me laugh.
You worked hard on poems today, Owen--many thanks.
Chairman Moe, Jumble spoiler alert.
(I think the answer is "in hot water")
So, I have my first cataract surgery in a few hours, and was instructed that I could have nothing--nothing--to drink after 8:15 this morning. It's 8:30 now and I'm already thirsty and the surgery won't be done until about 1:30 or later. Aaarggh--not a fun morning. Apparently it's okay to rinse with water and spit it out, but that's all.
Don't know if I'll check in later today or tomorrow, when my follow-up visit is scheduled early in the morning. Anyway, thanks for all the good wishes in the last few weeks.
Have a great day, everybody.
Hard puzzle. J Wechsler is the culprit. Steve took the clues and nailed them. Thanks to both, of course. HOW THE HELL DID Mr. Wechsler figure out the anagrams for chocolate in split phases?
Funny - my crossword blog did not contain Steve's comments on FRIEND, ABM nor, CLEO. I was looking for Cleo because I blanked out on it.
I too am saddened to read about Donald Scott Nichols. You all were talking about his physical health but I though he'd pull through again. Of all the things in the universe - I don't understand death most of all.
NOIR story next week. Because(The following can be considered R-rated) I can't compete with Owen's prodigious output. Interesting twist that one phrase indicates a love of Chocolate over girls, yet girls (in the buff!) are all men want. Perhaps buff girls dipped in chocolate?
Misty - Good luck with your surgery. Hope everything goes well.
Thursday toughie today. My newspaper (new owners pulled the LA Times Crossword but then returned it after customer uproar!) does not print the constructor's name. I understood the crunch when I came here and saw it was a Jeffrey Wechsler creation. Thanks for the fun, Jeffrey and Steve.
I got the theme early (you can't go wrong with CHOCOLATE) which helped to fill in the circles. Hand up for Cane before BEET, New before SAT, Eso before ESA. I had SUV before UTE, and waited for perps to decide between HDL or LDL. Bargains was too long and HAGGLES filled the spot.
I didn't know painter Twombly but fortunately knew CY Young (of the award).
I smiled at EELY and WRIGGLE, and again when AYE filled in (of course GEE is not nautical!)
PK, your "decrepit old bat" (with ECHOLOCATION?) comment made me LOL.
HBD on the correct day, D4. (You will understand my CSO at 66A)
Thanks for the link to Argyle's obituary C.C.
Thoughts and prayers that all will go well with your cataract surgery, Misty.
Best wishes to all for a beautiful day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE ... my "first" Sunset Toast tonight is to you.
C.C. Thank you for the link to Argyle's obit.
No booze ... so NO FAVE today.
Cheers!
Rick P: LLOL! (Literally!) at mental image of "buff girls dipped in chocolate"!
Hello Puzzlers -
Mischief managed. J. Wex put in a bit more challenge, but nothing brain-bending. I’m glad that swum filled itself in, because that’s one of those verbs that rattles even a confident conjugator.
Thanks for the obituary, Spitz and C.C. I’m sorry that factors conspired, some years ago, to cause cancellation of a meet-up scheduled with Argyle, Marti, me, and possibly others. I think we’d have had a good time, though Argyle said he wasn’t 100% sure about his car’s ability to cover the distance. He was willing to try!
What a great puzzle! Loved to see some of the fill today. WRIGGLE was my favorite. Funny, but I never thought of ABE; went straight for IKE. Maybe because he’s the first president I actually remember (I was born on the same day that FDR died so he was only my pres for about 6 hrs, and HST came and went before I was old enough to know about the wide world).
Seeing CHANCEL and its definition (area that surrounds the altar) makes me think I understand for the first time the meaning of CHANCELLOR.
Steve: "Fish that sound good in Spañish" implies the plural to me. To be singular, I would think it would be “Fish that soundS good in Spañish".
I never played or heard played the MARCO—POLO game as a ute (not as an SUV either…). I only know it from much later times.
I don’t think of "SAT" as only a sports term… "that jar SAT on the shelf so long that we finally threw it out", e.g.
Thanks, Mr W, for this much more than fun puzzle and thanks also to Steve for the write up.
Have a great day, all!
Thank you, Steve for the fine writeup, and C.C. for posting the birthday note (Happy B'Day, D4E4H!) and especially for the link to Argyle's obituary.
And thanks to Mr. Wechsler for giving us just the right degree of challenge as we're still absorbing Santa's loss. The cluing was truly smart, brilliant at times, and in terms of its chewiness, today's pzl was a real jawbreaker.
Yet despite several false first guesses, it was manageable, and my Ta- DA! was well earned!
Misty, you will be done with your surgery by the time you see this. So you already know it was a piece o'cake, right? I'm sure you will be pleased with the outcome, and I wish you happy viewing as your eyes readjust to their new health.
___________
Diagonal Report: Once again, we have NONE NOR MORE. Zero, zip diags.
Rick said it, prodigious output Owen.
I shuddered when I saw JW at the helm . Like YR, I solved S-N. I had spotted CHOCOLATE swirled smong the long crosses.
But... Sloppy penmenship caused me to miss the ADS/COACH cross .
I wonder if Argyle (Scott) was at LeJeune in 1969. Or Nam for that matter. Both big places .
As a parochial school Catholic anything not Catholic was Protestant . I'm reading "Rise of Christianity", all about the numerous sects of the first six hundred years . Not to speak of Paganism which started to fade but would rise from the ashes if the right Emperor came along.
A little like racism today.
WC
A fabulous puzzle from Jeffrey Wechsler that I thoroughly enjoyed sinking my teeth into. Brilliant.
CC: Thank you very much for the link to Santa/Argyle/Scott's obituary. Good to be able to share condolences with others who knew and loved him.
CC: Are EGG ROLLs really a thing in China?
D4E4H: Happy Actual Birthday! Always good to connect on and off the site.
Hand up with Rick Papazian I am in awe of how Jeffrey Wechsler created these embedded anagrams with such a long word as CHOCOLATE. CHOCOLATE is my one substance vice and I am happy to have it! Hard to imagine the world before its modern invention!
Last to fall was BOATERS. I wondered if maybe his hats were BEATERS. Learning moment. Unknowns included ALMA, NEH. Learning moment about the CHEVROLET COACH. But I was done in with BONITaS/CLEa which seemed about as good. With more care I could have done a better WAG to FIR.
Here I finally dug out a photo of me with the LIBERTY BELL.
I love going to Philadelphia every time I am back East. So much history to revisit and remember. We were fortunate to have had those thoughtful and visionary people to found this country. After so many years we are probably overdue for some updates. But mostly they got it correct.
Here I am with my cousins and my aunt and uncle who live nearby. I always have a place to stay there!
From yesterday:
Mike Sherline Thanks for the information about COR and horns. As I noted, I knew the Latin version CORNU as in CORNUcopia (horn of plenty). Learning moment about the French and the instruments!
PS from Yesterday:
AnonT: Glad to know your contest ENTRY was also an ESSAY! Any worthwhile contest should involve an ESSAY!
Mike Sherline: Thank you for the journalistic encouragement! Yes, we can do a lot locally. But there is no good business model anymore in this country for good investigative reporting on a bigger scale. We need something like the BBC to have the resources and independence for that.
First off, thanks for the posting of Argyle’s obituary which provides a degree of closure. Very nice of you to do so.
What a bear of a Thursday puzzle, even considering the author. Had no idea of a Chevrolet Coach model, and neither does Wikipedia.
Very pleased to get the solve.
Kind of funny, the Captcha was cars.
Thanks, Steve, I always enjoy your Thursday recap. Have to agree with YR re all your "air" time. Have to agree with that stupid Marco Polo game - there was a commercial running forever with that line, and it drove me crazy. Also, CC and Spitzboov, thank you for posting the obit. Though I'm a newbie here, I too will miss him and liked Argyle's unique "two cents" worth.
The recap skipped from 19a to 35a, so I was confused with "eight" being "small cube." Duh, it finally dawned on me - could it be 2 cubed? GTI as VW Golf model? Thanks. "Chancel" was perped - never heard of it, and I spent a lot of time helping Mom and other volunteers clean our church.
DNF, not even close. But the part I did finish I enjoyed - typical of me tackling a JW special. I got off on the wrong foot at 1A with my Liberty Half (dollar).
I knew the RAV4 wasn't an SUV, but CUV (Crossover) wasn't right either. The Honda CRV is a CUV also, as are the others that look like a SUV but are built on a car chassis.
HBDTY D4. FLN, I spent the first 18 years of my life in a mom-and-pop motel / restaurant / gas station / convenience store just east of Morehead. The only vacation we ever took was to Mammoth Cave. On that trip I learned about geothermal energy before anyone called it that. The entire complex (hotel, restaurant and welcome center) was cooled using cave air. We lived near Carter Caves, which I explored in my ute. Most had guided tours, but one was closed to the public by some half-hearted fencing that was commonly ignored.
D-O, horse people use "out of" to mean a horse's mother, or dam. I loved going to the Kentucky Derby, but I am much less tolerant of crowds than I used to be. My favorite Derby-eve concert featured Charlie Daniels and The Marshal Tucker Band opening for the headlining Wet Willie.
Three acts - Charlie Daniels first, Marshall Tucker second, and Wet Willie third. Not "Charlie Daniels and the Marshal Tucker Band", even though it would be fun to watch.
Misty, I hope everything goes smoothly, painlessly and easily. Let us know. Good luck!
To Mr. Picard. Chocolate, in its processed form is deadly. For me anyway. The coca butter is half saturated fat. One should avoid saturated fat. I also love chocolate but eat it in the form of 100% cocoa powder. It has no fat or sugar so I add honey or 100% maple syrup. I also make a concoction of vodka and cocoa powder. They are acquired tastes, as "they" say.
D4 - I was remiss by forgetting your special day. Happy Birthday and best wishes for a long life. Hoch soll sie leben!
"Out of" irks me, too, and affects my patience which I'm becoming out of. I heard that "From Africa" was a great movie. Now I'm going to do some more thinking from the box. Illegitimi non carborundum.
Rick:
You are so right about CHOCOLATE.
Alas I no longer eat it and that was my very favorite flavor but time takes its toll; I miss it dreadfuly. So while I really enjoyed this brain crusher it was bittersweet finding the swirling chocolate. JW is a genius to be able to construct the convoluted CHOCOLATE and still come up with sensible phrases. As is said, GENIUS! And you all seem to agree.
Misty:
Best wishes for your cataract removal. I'm sure it was smooth and uneventful.
I do the LAX puzzle every day and read this blog, I don’t often comment because of the time difference.
I would like to offer my deepest condolences in the loss of Scott aka Argyle aka Santa. I, too was really pulling for him and looking forward to his return to the blog. He certainly left a huge void in this community.
Spitz, I haven’t thought of those illegitimi in years. I once had that motto on a sign over my desk at a particularly unpleasant job. It helped.
WikWak, thanks for the clarification on SAT. Didn’t think of that, but I was probably just annoyed at myself for letting JW fool me ....again!
Owen, I’m just amazed! How do you do it??!! Thanks.
Thanks for the spoiler alert!! 😀
Once again Mr. Wechsler beat me up. Thanks for the challenge. Some day I will be up to your level. Thanks, Steve, for your help. I needed all of it.
I did see the theme but it didn't help with anything.
Add to the fun things happening this weekend, Sunday is the 20th Flying Pig Marathon. My daughter has been participating for 10 years. She started with full marathons, switched to 1/2s, and is running her last full this years. Many years of gymnastics has done a number on her knees.
Have a nice evening.
is running her last full this year, not yearS.
There appear to be large chunks missing from Steve's exposition.
Hesitated to put down, but verified by perps: RHO, IN UTERO.
Had the O, gave me VOL. Had the G, gave me SEGA.
Saw the swirled CHOCOLATE in BAT ECHO-LOCATION, but was didn't expect it in all the circles. Counted the letters in CHOCOL_TE to get CHEVROLET CO_CH.
Wanted ABBE Lane before CLEO Laine.
Ms Gluck's first name is not ANNA.
ENTERIC was a given, since I just made an appointment with my GI doctor.
HUGO is obvious to an SF fan.
From US history, knew Hessians were Germans. (Hessian mercenaries during the Revolution.)
Had BONOBOS (primates, not fishes), BONITAS before BONITOS. Also Spanish gender forms: ESO before ESA.
Next Wednesday, May 9, is Alan's birthday. We always celebrate all the May family birthdays and Mother's Day at the same outing, but we usually make a big deal of the zero years, 40, 50, 60, etc., celebrating them individually just for the birthday honoree. Alan is 55 this year and wanted his own special day. We had the party on Tuesday. Alan planned the meals, phoned the expected guests and planned the decorations. We had all Alan's favorite hors d'oeuvres as a lunch menu. For dinner he wanted lasagna and garlic bread. I added Caesar coleslaw which he hates, but everyone else loves. Then for dessert we had everyone's favorite, my homemade apple pie with ice cream. I placed two numeral 5 candles on the pie for 55.
My lumbar discs were beat by the end of the meal so David and his wife did a wonderful job of cleaning up. David repaired my patio set while he was here because I can't get down on the ground to work on it. I used to be so independent. David and Motoko are wonderful. Oh, to be that agile!
Alan was thrilled and very happy. He recovered from his malady that day and was fine. The next day he came down with something else and still feels terrible. We went to the doctor today with no clear idea, again, of what it is.
On Alan's actual birthday, May 9, we will shop, eat out, go anywhere the entire day that please him. I hope he is okay by then.
Some day this month we will catch up with the other birthdays and Mother's Day.
Hi All!
First, thank yous Spitz & C.C. for providing the link to Argyle's obit. It still doesn't seem real...
ONE look at the grid this morning and I knew it was going to be a LULU; that thought was reinforced when I saw JW's byline. I jumped in sans ink to start -- until I felt there was enough perps to prop my guesses. And, slowly, things began to fill. The few gimmes (ECHO LOCATION, HUGO, FRIEND) made the rest doable.
I'll second WEES - JW, this is brilliantly constructed; 2 15s and 2 14s is not an easy grid to build around (I know!). So, thanks JW for your effort in this opus.
Steve - AYE! Frankly, I was surprised to see you as I expected LEM (oh, wait, though the puzzle suggests Friday; it ain't). We'll work ANON on keeping it alive.
WOs: started New @SAT (Hi Swamp!), started Beret @1d and had BeATERS (hi Picard!) for a while. NEC b/f NCR and In vitro (Hi Steve!) was right out.
ESPs - I lost track... MOLE was one and I almost went with the figure of 1 MiLE.
Favs: c/a for ADS, AYE, and EIGHT
Runner-up: HAGGLES - but I won't link Life of Brain again.
{B,B-,A-,A,B}{A-,B,B+}. //whew!
Misty - let us know, how'd it go?
YR - sorry to hear it's a roller-coaster again.
HaBD D4! Funny comment about your pet's FRIEND's "licks."
WikWak - thanks for the 2+2 = V8! on CHANCELlor. I have a new appreciation of that word (even if not for DW's chancellor @ her school :-))
Bill-O: You made me look it up. Partly true... The Procrastinators protested outside the company in '76. [Snopes]
PK & C,Eh! - LOL on "decrepit old bat" and echolocation follow-on.
Cheers, -T
Two musings on an impossibly busy day!
-My friend Mike Guilliat’s confused brother did this
-Jeffrey’s puzzle and theme were brilliant and Steve’s write-up was up to his very high standards!
-What? The blog went on without me! :-)
Spitz & IM: thank you for your kind words about my obit. CanadianEh & Tony, glad you liked my old BAT comment. I wish I had more ECHOLOCATION capabilities. My feet/knees are so bad, I bounce off the walls sometimes. Have to laugh about it.
Misty: hope the eye surgery is a big success. With all the drops, I'm not sure you will be able to read the blog for a few days. My mom's only gripe with hers was she couldn't read right away. How say ye with all the experience here?
wonderful puzzle - those long answers with CHOCOLATE SWIRLS mixed up in them!
Long day - need to pack to drive to Nashville tomorrow for a wedding on Saturday - so I'll be up with laundry, etc.!
Happy birthday Dave!
Thanks Steve and JW!
Yellowrocks will you share your recipe for the slaw? Sounds delish!
Took a little longer than usual because I had
chocolate shakes until the perps forced me to
change it to swirls, but the extra time spent was enjoyable...
(I really thought this puzzle would end in disaster...)
Buff girls dipped in chocolate?
you know I had to Google it...
Happy real birthday Dave2!
(I already sent you a virtual cake.)
(besides, the real ones are fattening...)
CED, you've outdone yourself . Touche . If Splynter is out there lurking that link outta bring him out.
I should have mentioned that Steve does indeed produce excellent write-ups(to ECHO HG) . I don't have to mention that Jeff Wesch produces diabolical xwords. And..
I too ended up thinking today was Friday
Next note for YR
WC
YR,
So sorry to hear about Alan's relapses .
Say MYOB if APT*
But..
And it's only a suggestion:
I would check Alan's diet detailing everything he eats and the corresponding symptoms. Sugar would be my number one suspect .
Then again I suspect you've gone this route.
And MYOB is APT*
WC
* We have this word so often it meritd permanent caps.
HG:
Thank you for the link to the Liberty Bell information. It's interesting! Does everyone feel as possessive about the Bell as I do? I want it protected and preserved and am pleased that plans are being made to do that.
PK:
After my cataract removal I couldn't read for several days. Torture! Especially since it happened twice, after each procedure.
Lucina - did you check the Snopes link I posted? Not only did it (somewhat) back-up Bill-O, there was another link to the Foundry's site after "it's true." Quite a while whiled away, there was I. //and yes to your Q: Freedom Must Ring! //Double-comment - keep it up Picard; Micheal hit a point FLN; fourth-pillar must stand for the Bell to toll.
HG - that was nuts what your friend's brother did. Even nuttier, I didn't learn of it until today.
CED - Splynter would not approve. No legs. :-). Cheers, -T
AnonT:
Yes, I just now read it. There is no accounting for what people will do!
I recall hearing about or reading about the incident when it occurred.
Apropos of nothing in particular, you do know that we are engaged in a sort of co-evolution on the Corner.
It used to be that a Wechsler crossword was the cause for many moans, lamentations, and tears.
But we got better with practice -- more experience (more pain, too) -- so that today when I read these comments, nobody, not a one of us, wants to commit seppuku. True, it's not all roses and chocolate swirls, but it looks to me that as Mr. Jeffery has evolved as a constructor, so have we grown with him.
Charles Darwin in crossword puzzling -- who'd'a thunk?
Rick: Sorry CHOCOLATE is so harmful to you. My brother is severely allergic and cannot have any, either. But it can be quite blissful for most people and that bliss outweighs the negatives. I savor good Swiss CHOCOLATE. A little bit of the good stuff goes a long way!
AnonT: Glad to know your mind thinks like mine with BEATERS vs BOATERS! And thank you for the journalistic encouragement!
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