17. *Mother of Donald Jr. and Eric: IVANA TRUMP.
26. *Laurence Fishburne's "What's Love Got to Do With It" role: IKE TURNER.
35. *With 41-Across, two-time NBA All-Star named for an NBA Hall of Famer: ISAIAH.
41. *See 35-Across: THOMAS.
51. *Swimmer with five Olympic gold medals: IAN THORPE.
60. *Early 20th-century muckraker: IDA TARBELL. Awesome.
48D. Expert computer operations group ... to which the answers to starred clues belong?: IT TEAM.
Melissa here. I come, like all the regulars, with a heavy heart today, but I know Santa would want the show to go on. I'm guessing that C.C. consulted with him on this puzzle, which feels a bit comforting. Do you feel him? I do.
Across:
1. Low-pH compound: ACID.
5. Creighton University city: OMAHA.
10. Silly: DAFT.
14. Running behind: LATE.
15. Spanish bar food: TAPAS.
16. Falls back: EBBS.
19. Pacific Rim continent: ASIA.
20. Disney collectible: CEL.
21. __ anglais: English horn: COR. -->
22. "Casablanca" actor Peter: LORRE.
24. Dublin residents: IRISH.
30. Dried chili in Mexican cuisine: ANCHO.
31. Tiny tunneler: ANT. Dig the alliteration.
32. Colorful tropical fish: TETRA.
33. Cause of red cheeks: ROUGE. Or joy.
36. Biol. or geol.: SCI.
38. Spa treatments: PEELS.
40. Courthouse figs.: DAS. District Attorneys.
43. Woody thicket: COPSE.
45. Extends a tour: REUPS.
46. Sunbather's goal: TAN.
47. Place for a Fitbit: WRIST. My daughter and I just got each other one for an early Mother's day gift. Nifty little devices.
53. Perfume compound: ESTER.
54. Take a pass: SAY NO.
55. Buccaneer's domain: SEA.
57. __ chi: martial art: TAI.
58. "The Boss Baby" voice actor Baldwin: ALEC.
63. Sport with periods called chukkers: POLO.
64. Intoxicating shrubs: COCAS. 65. Fidel's successor: RAUL.
66. Throw out: TOSS.
67. Contest submission: ENTRY.
68. Band boosters: AMPS. Nice clue.
Down:
1. Keys on a keyboard: ALICIA.
2. Luray attraction: CAVERN. Cool video on this page. Anyone been?
3. Slanted, in a way: ITALIC. Ohhh.
4. La-Z-Boy room: DEN.
5. Aptly named "Airplane!" autopilot: OTTO.
6. Two-party system?: MARRIAGE. Haha.
7. "The Simpsons" storekeeper: APU.
8. Village: HAMLET.
9. __ of tea: A SPOT.
10. Start of a message to magazine subscribers: DEAR READERS.
11. What some vote in: ABSENTIA.
12. Christopher A. Wray's agcy.: FBI.
13. Bag-checking org.: TSA.
18. "Gesundheit!" evoker: ACHOO.
23. Well-worn tracks: RUTS. See here.
25. Tex-Mex seafood dish: SHRIMP TACOS.
27. Patella: KNEECAP.
28. Periods of history: ERAS.
29. Root word?: RAH.
34. FedEx alternative: UPS.
35. Many a cable co.: ISP.
36. __ butter: cosmetic moisturizer: SHEA.
37. Gives legal advice: COUNSELS.
39. Symbol of the second-largest state: LONE STAR.
41. Prefix with angle or cycle: TRI.
42. Pallid: ASHY.
44. Use foul language: SWEAR.
46. Walked all over: TROD ON.
49. Make airtight: SEAL UP.
50. Quavering musical sounds: TRILLS.
52. In reserve: ON ICE.
56. "Child's play!": EASY.
58. On point: APT.
59. Bath bathroom: LOO.
61. Pretend to be: ACT.
62. Push-up top: BRA.
38 comments:
Rabbit, rabbit (since I missed yesterday).
There was a young man from OMAHA
Who bought his girl a training BRA.
She said, "Are you DAFT?
I'm a B and a half!"
You can exchange it for training briefs I saw!"
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Is what the I.T. geeks all see
But the rest of us
Don't make a fuss
About their Idiot Tendencies!
There was a man, he wasn't nice
Who slipped and fell when he TROD ON ICE!
To stand, he tried to RE-UP,
But ice to his ass did SEAL UP,
Till he SWORE so hot he melted the splice!
RAUL the rogue wore ROUGE.
He claimed it mirrored his mood.
A SPOT on his WRIST
When he went to a tryst,
On his KNEECAP when he knelt at a rood.
They found ESTER's corpse in a COPSE,
Hung from a fruit tree with ropes.
Sherlock, for detection,
Saw her ASHY complexion,
Said, "It's murder, that's a lemon tree, folks!"
{B+, B, C-, C+, B.}
Dear Cornerites,
- - How fitting that the CW for today was constructed by Ms. C.C. Burnikel. Please accept my condolence at your loss of our dear Argyle.
By the time I filled 48D I had only one IT team yet to fill. There were many long fills which made it fun for me to FIR in 31:18. Thank you dear lady for this enjoyable CW.
- - Thank you melissa bee for you excellent review with 2 Santas no waiting. The second one at 4D even looks like Argyle. May he RIP.
Ðave
Good morning!
This puzzle could've been written for me with OTTO, LONE STAR (Hi, Anon-T and Tx Miss!) and IT TEAM (I was an IT Team Manager in a former life). Thanx, C.C.and Melissa Bee.
I was ready to holler "Foul!" at ISAIAH, but it turns out that both ISAIAH Thomas and ISIAH
Thomas were NBA stars. Wonder if they were related.
Woody Thicket sounds like a stage name. Probably a guy who starred in copse and robbers movies.
Melissa, your "The Few, The Proud" reminds me of that old Winston Churchill quote and a WWII skit from Beyond The Fringe:
"Never has so much been owed by so many to so few."
"Sir, I've come to join the few."
"I'm sorry, there are far too many."
Off to The Woodlands for another routine medical test. It just never ends, does it?
MB, thanks for the tour, especially with the Santa and Marines homages to Argyle. Thanks to CC too; a really fun puzzle. I've heard that someone relocated the SHEA butter and it is now known as Citi butter. OK, that's all the baseball joke I've got.
FIR, but erased lags for EBBS. Didn't know where Creighton is, what a COR is, or anything about POLO except that one really needs to swim well to play it. OK, that's all the POLO joke I've got.
I agree it is appropriate that it be a C.C. puzzle today, and a wonderful tribute write-up from mb. Not only two Santas, but an oorah for Argyle's marine past.
It was a fast fun puzzle, but Ian Thorpe was forgotten by me. It caused me to refreh my Olympic history and I locarted this MINI DOCUMENTARY that I found very interesting.
Like most I am still processing Scott's death, but it is heartening to feel the response of this community.
Thank you C.C. and mb
Good morning everyone.
Good puzzle from C.C. with a little bite. Got it solved ok though. Needed perp help with ALICIA, ANCHO, and a few others. The ALICIA/ANCHO crossing A was potentially a Natick, but I made a good WAG. The two 11 letter downs were typical of some of C.C.'s puzzles.
RE-UPS - In the Navy, one 'ships over'.
Have a good day. 80º here today. Finally.
I wonder if the great dancer Isadora Tuncan was part of C.C.'s list of possibilities as a theme entry. Probably wouldn't work because of the thirteen letters.
Probably no, since the dancer’s name was Isadora Duncan.
Nice job CC and Melissa.
Melissa, you made it extra special. Thank you.
Good Morning.
I, too, was happy to see a C.C. puzzle today. Felt a lot like family with days like these. Thanks, C. C., for the puzzle and everything else. . . .
Melissa, thank you for a particularly special write up. Nicely done. My favs today: Root word--I wanted something linguistic. RAH! For extends a tour, I was flummoxed because I was thinking trip--Ah, that kind of tour. I like those Ah Ha moments. Some days I have too many.
Immediately thought of D-O and our Texas pals today. And of course all you IT TEAM folks who always impress me with your talent.
Jinx! Ha! at 7:07. Thanks for the chuckle.
Enjoy this day--as Lucina said, each one is a gift.
Musings
-Wow, five themers – one split! Even with IDA it was a fun C.C. puzzle
-Creighton has highly respected medicine and law departments
-Peter LORRE receivng moviedom’s best putdown
-Seeing the relief on that Santa’s face makes me think that is how Argyle feels now without all the pain. His presence will always be felt here in absentia
Fun puzzle today - I remember the Olympics when IAN THORPE raced against the Americans - his nickname was "Thorpedo"
Thanks MB for the write-up with the special Santa pics and CC for the puzzle!
Good Morning:
Yes, it certainly was comforting to see CC's byline today. Lots of CSOs today: DO (several), TTP (Lone Star and Thomas), Anon T, and Big "Easy", sans the Big. Kind of neat to have both Tapas and Tacos. Favorite C/As were Keys on a keyboard=Alicia and Band booster=Amp.
I saw the IT theme but the reveal was well hidden (CC's secret weapon). I needed a few perps here and there but no real stumbling blocks.
Thanks, CC, for a smooth and fun solve and thanks, Melissa for a touching review, highlighting our dear Argyle.
I hope everyone, especially Jennifer and Kallista, finds some comfort, as I have, in the outpouring of love, respect, and admiration that has been shown for Argyle. Well earned and well deserved, I might add.
Have a great day.
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, C.C. However, I saw IT TEAM, thought "computers" then saw the word DATA in IDATARBELL and spent quite a while looking for computer words in the other theme entries. Duh! IT should have bit my nose off, it was so prominent and easy.
Thank you, melissa, for a special expo. RIP Scott.
I scanned all the DATA on the splendid LURAY Caverns and still don't know in what state or near what town they are located. Anybody know? This was further confusing because there is a town called Luray in Kansas where an eccentric old man did a lot of cement sculptures that are a tourist attraction if you aren't too cultured. No caverns there.
Especially liked "two party system"= marriage.
DNK: Christopher Wray or his agcy. = FBI
Isaiah & Isiah THOMAS are not related. I saw a video of their first meeting right after the younger got some good things going on the basketball court. The younger said people ask him if they are related and he tells them no. He acted shy like he didn't want the elder to think he was claiming an untruth. The elder laughed and said, "I tell them you're my SON." The kid was happily shocked to be claimed.
I read OORAH as OPRAH & wondered why she was "few & proud". Duh!
Yes, I am familiar with the Luray caverns. We would pass lots of big signs advertising them as we would take the occasional drive to the western part of Virginia, often to go camping nearby. My parents didn't want to stop at the caverns, thinking they were an expensive tourist spot. Oh well...
Say, Melissa, I can't open their web page. I get an error message saying it's not secure.
CC, thanks for the fine puzzle; and Melissa, thanks for the fine write up.
I just reread my post and discovered that I transplanted TTP from Illinois to Texas. But, in my defense, I believe TTP went from Texas to Illinois while Anonymous T went from Illinois to Texas. Confused? Me, too. Sorry, TTP!
Well, I was expecting to approach the puzzle with a heavy heart this morning, thinking of Argyle and our sadness yesterday. But seeing it was a C.C. puzzle cheered me up right away, and then Melissa's sweet tribute to him helped too. But the delight came when I kept wondering why she posted those SANTA pics when it came to me--OUR SANTA! I think he would have loved this morning's puzzle and posting. Thank you, C.C. and Melissa.
However back to the puzzle, which at first looked like a total toughie to me. I got very little until I got to the bottom--only IVANA TRUMP, which I got right away. The sports clues made my heart sink, but ALEC got me started in the southwest, and RAUL in the southeast, and the bottom filled in and then I slowly worked my way to the top and in the end I got the whole thing without a single mistake or cheat. Woohoo! Woohoo! Even the athletes like ISAIAH THOMAS and IAN THORPE got filled in, thanks to perps, and so did IT TEAM, even though I don't know anything about computer operations. And that got me the theme and I then found all those ITs--wonderful puzzle, C.C.
I'm so moved by this community's celebration of our sweet Argyle. Thank you all.
Bill G,
Google says that site is safe. Luray Caverns website is safe
You can bookmark the google search tool for future use.
No issues Irish Miss. Most of my family is there. I'll be heading there pretty soon.
BillG.: thanks for the info on Luray Caverns. Alas, I probably won't ever get there, but I did enjoy the pictures. I didn't have the "unsafe" warning for that link.
Storms missed my home last night altho we had a much needed half-inch of gentle rain. My dandelions needed watering. Looked like my farms were in the heavy storm area on TV radar. I'm afraid to call my farmer to see. More storms predicted tonight & tomorrow. I have two rose bushes that winter/drouth killed. My neighbor across the street lost two rose bushes too. My Japanese Maple finally is sporting new red leaves. I was afraid it was a goner too.
(Wrongly-placed post)
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.
I did see the note on Argyle yesterday and I did offer my sympathies at that time. However, one cannot say enough about a fine person such as Argyle was. He was a regular on the blog, just as regular as the sun coming up each day. And, he was like a ray of sunshine to all of us. Argyle will be missed by all who knew him, either in person, or remotely as we did. RIP old friend.
Today's puzzle went through easily.
I especially liked IDA TARBELL. She was born in Erie County, PA, just as I was. However, she was quite famous, and me?????? not so much. But I do like the tie I have to a famous person. Oh well.
1D ALICIA meant nothing to me. I got it with perps.
Theme worked out IT. Figured it out when I was done.
Had to spell COUNSELS twice before I got it right.
Catch you all later.
Abejo,
You have e-mail.
Ðave
Hand up it is a treat to have a CC puzzle as we mourn the passing of our dear friend Argyle.
Got the reveal quickly, But, I was surprisingly slow to get the theme concept. Some of the names were unknown. Thanks, Melissa Bee for the story of IDA TARBELL. Way cool! We need such journalists today. Did anyone else think ESSAY before ENTRY for "Contest submission"? ANCHO unknown. Smooth, enjoyable solve!
desper-otto: I enjoyed your "Woody Thicket" joke!
Yes, here we were at LURAY CAVERNs in 1966.
My brother is a geologist and he already was one at that age. He convinced our parents to take us there. It was memorably amazing. I have visited CAVERNs all around the world, but I will never forget that one as my first.
Once again I will share my article on the POLO excitement DW and I experienced last summer.
Here I was on a TRI-CYCLE in our Solstice Parade in 2015.
I have ridden a UNI-CYCLE in the parade since 1985. But I had suffered a serious accident on the unicycle in 2014 and could not ride for a year. Glad to be back in the saddle again!
My best friend is from BATH. I have photos there from long ago, but will have to dig them up. My favorite part of playing the flute is doing TRILLS! Learning moment that the English Horn (COR) is like an oboe. I think of a horn as a brass instrument. My Latin studies gave me CORnucopia (Horn of Plenty) as a clue for this.
From yesterday:
Mike Sherline: Glad you saw my late note the night before. Yes, the comments on my articles can be mean, indeed. Mostly they are among the commenters. But I keep writing and sharing my photos because of people like you. Thanks!
Again I have to leave so haven't read any comments. Later.
Thank you, C.C., for this lovely puzzle of which I even got the theme. Hoo-RAH! I worked across/down steadily and saw a few CSOs. OMAHA, hi, Gary; Luray CAVERN, hi Dave 2; LONESTAR, hi Anon-T and TX Ms as well as three for D-O, besides the TX reference, OTTO, THOMAS. Whew! C.C., if you go through the posters here you will have themes for years to come. LOL. I'll take my CSO at TAPAS and TACOS. Not too crazy about the SHRIMP in them.
Thank you, C.C. and Melissa. Later. I have to go now.
I hope all are having a wonderful day!
"The only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keeping on."—Bob Dylan
Nice Wednesday puzzle from C.C. No naticks here, but a few "slowdown" spots..
Wanted Longhorn before LONE STAR. Never heard of ANCHO.
Didn’t like ASHY the first time I met it and still don’t.
D-O, I laughed out loud at copse and robbers. Thanks—we all needed that.
Have a good day, all!
Greetings!
Thanks to C. C. and melissa bee.
Still weepy.
Not too difficult. Got stuck for awhile at IDA TARBELL.
Hope to see you tomorrow!x
Where did that extra "x" come from?
I wasn’t able to post up yesterday....so I am sitting here in a bit of shock.
Best wishes to all mourning Argyle’s passing.
I really am at a loss to add anything else.
I said"What's CC doing to us on a Wednesday" as I proceded easterly with nuttin . So I traveled to ASIA and worked backwards and then everything filled.
I got "I" but missed T. CC likes to CSO the corner and as noted covered a lot of bases even without the baseball. I.T. played sensationally with the Celtics but has a hip issue . I'd love to see Him back with the C's .
D-O, as noted COPSE and... Was a good one . I remember ida Tarbell from her famous interview with John D Rockefeller, he of the famous dime tip.. JD didn't filter out his infamous disregard for the common man not to speak of his monopolistic tactics. Hence Teddy R and the break-up of Standard Oil.
Another great Aussie swimmer was Dawn Fraser . And my 60s crush, Donna DeVerona.
MBee, I need to check out your links. Owen, all W's . I love the l'icks you mark as C or B.
WC
Fermat, that x is the unknown.
Thank you, C.C. for a clever and fun cw, as usual; as others have pointed out, I was surprised that your newest appeared today.
Melissa, what a great tribute to Argyle - he would've loved it, and he's smiling from above. Enjoyed your link to Luray Caverns - beautiful. Also, the Tarbell link was such a coincidence. Today's Motley Fool's trivia question involved Rockefeller and included "In 1911, the Supreme Court found me to be a monopoly and ordered me to break up."
D-O, loved your "copse" and robbers joke.
Perps helped with Ida T - very vague recollection.
Lovely puzzle, CC. Thanks. We needed that!
Lovely tribute, MB. We needed that, too.
I fell into the lags/EBBS trap, too, but had no other problems. Lucina, I've only recently heard of SHRIMP TACOS and I think they sound awful. ANCHO and TAPAS were easy. I loved AMPS for Band Boosters.
Owen, I loved them all! You are too hard on yourself!
Those inquiring about Luray Caverns, they are located in Luray Virginia. There are many caverns in that area of Virginia. Skyline Caverns have crystal formations called Anthrodites which are very rare. Luray caverns has a stalactite organ in the main chamber and has been the setting of many weddings. Visiting any of these caverns is a treat and I would hope if you get a chance that you do a cavern tour.
- - I second the emotion of SwampCat at 3:49 PM. OKL your l'icks today were some of the best ever. I LIU "Rood," and wonder if we should be referring to cruciverbalists as "Rood"-verbalists, or is that too rude?
- - Then there is the word COPSE which I could not see for the woody thicket. D-O saw it and made us chuckle, COPSE and robbers. groan, smile.
Lucina at 12:00 PM
- - Wrote a CSO "Luray CAVERN, hi Dave 2" Thank you so much, but I'm confused. The CAVERNs are in Luray, VA, and I am in Louisville, KY. Could you be thinking of my identical twin, Jinx, in Norfolk, VA?
- - We were separated at birth. BTW, Jinx, did I read about the Morehead Eagles, and you the other day? There are stories for another time.
- - Meanwhile back at the confusion, Lucy, could you be thinking of the largest of them all, Mammoth Cave in south central Kentucky. This is the world's longest known cave system, with more than 400 miles (643 km) explored. I went there years ago when it was new. The guide assured us if there were a cave in, we could never be buried deeper, cheaper. He turned out the lights, and we experienced true pitch black.
- - A sinkhole at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green ate eight priceless Corvettes. I hypothesize that this is a new "north" entrance to Mammoth Cave.
Ðave
Hi All!
How wonderful to have a C.C. puzzle with all the Cornerite CSOs following yesterday's news - it was kinda of a family-gathering solve and salve. Thanks C.C., I know it's just a coincidence but it's a perfect confluence. //anyone think of Cuppa @ A SPOT o' tea?
And the tribute expo from mb was icing. Sparkly write-up too with interesting side-links; thanks Melissa.
WOs: naCHO (100% right letters; 40% wrong order), PEdis at the Spa, and (hi Picard!) my ENTRY was an Essay.
ESPs: A "name" puzzle didn't make this easy on me!
Fav: I'm going with COPSE just because of what D-O did there.
Alternate clue @11d: What some get their PhD in? - ABSENTIA; that's how DW got out of Dodge. Being ABD (all but dissertation) she got a community-college teaching gig and, more importantly, away from grad-student in-fighting/brown-nosing while finishing her PhD in ABSENTIA.
{LOL, B,A,B,B+}
IM - you skipped your CSO @24a!
Jinx - I donno, I think 28d, ERAS, was probably clue'd re: Baseball before Rich got hold of it :-)
Lucina - SHRIMP TACOS are quite good. There was a TAPAS place across from the office that'd give you three little ones with different topping salsas (mango, verde, and the 'black-bean, corn & peppers' one).
Cheers, -T
DAVE 2:
You are right. I am confused. I believed the Luray Cavern was in Kentucky not Virginia. Thank you for the correction.
AnonT:
I'm glad you enjoy SHRIMPTACOS. I've tried fish tacos and found them so-so. My preference is meat tacos. Every once in a while I throw caution to the winds and make some.
Melissa:
Just now I went back to review your commentary and saw the Santas! This morning I was in a rush. What a wonderful tribute to our dear, departed Santa. I can hardly type those words.
And we carry on with one fewer bright shining light.
Couldn't make any sense of 1D w/o sev. Xs. Probably came across the name before, but assumed she was another amusical, vapid "pop" star (please don't call them artists or musicians). Then a while ago someone here posted a link, and I was amazed to find that she is actually a quite talented and musically informed piano player and singer. Ditto Lady Gaga - in spite of the outrageous image she created to become a pop star, her interpretations of standards with Tony Bennett are just outstanding.
Picard (and anyone interested): Cor is French for horn. Musical history has obscured the way the Cor Anglais got its name, as it's neither English nor a horn. Same for the instrument popularly called the French Horn. It IS a horn, but is not French in origin. Some think it may have been used in the orchestra in France before other countries). It and all other cup mouthpiece brass instruments evolved from the shofar of ancient Hebrews, or even farther back to the conch shells of Polynesians. Among musicians and in scores it's just called the horn (Eng and Germ), cor (or corno in Italian and Spanish).
Ida Tarbell is a personal hero. Her investigative reporting in the late 1800s-early 1900s led to the public exposure and ensuing reform of evil monopolistic practices of giant corporations (Standard Oil and the railroads), as did that of Upton Sinclair in meat packing and journalism. In re the latter he wrote: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it" (Wiki). So Picard, I hope you keep it up in spite of the online snark. Sometimes I think good local journalism is the only thing keeping our civilization - well, civilized.
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