Theme: SHORT WEIGHT LIST. Three entries have circled letters at their beginnings and endings that spell out units of weight measurement. Might be tough to spot if you didn't get the circles.
16 A. Latter Day Saints' sacred text : THE BOOK OF MORMON. Also an irreverent Broadway musical that mocks Mormon beliefs and practices.
16 A. Latter Day Saints' sacred text : THE BOOK OF MORMON. Also an irreverent Broadway musical that mocks Mormon beliefs and practices.
26 A. Occupy oneself with trivial tasks : PUTTER AROUND. The story of my retirement.
45 A. Like a budget with more expenses than income : OUT OF BALANCE. Deficit spending.
And the unifier -- 59 A. Radical solutions ... and what this puzzle's circles literally represent : EXTREME MEASURES. Exceeding what is usual or reasonable to achieve some end. Here, the names of English System weights are divided and the chunks placed at the extremes, so to speak, of the theme entries, presented in descending order.
Hi Gang, Jazzbumpa here, sadly having hit a several-month-long plateau in the personal weight loss program. Maybe this theme, with a couple of grid-spanners, will inspire me to greater effort. Meanwhile, let's see if this puzzle, presented by a Lady we all know, is heavy or light weight.
Hi Gang, Jazzbumpa here, sadly having hit a several-month-long plateau in the personal weight loss program. Maybe this theme, with a couple of grid-spanners, will inspire me to greater effort. Meanwhile, let's see if this puzzle, presented by a Lady we all know, is heavy or light weight.
Across
1. Young chaps : LADS. This word, going back to Middle English is of unknown origin.
5. Stitchless? : NUDE. Absence of threads. I get it, but it's kind of a stretch. So, possibly double-knit?
9. Right-leaning print: Abbr. : ITAL. Italics. Are they prim and proper? No politics!
13. Tan shade : ECRU. From French "écru," meaning "unbleached," describing the light tan color of unbleached linen.
14. One picking a rock : MINER. You can select the rock to have at with your pick.
14. One picking a rock : MINER. You can select the rock to have at with your pick.
15. It may fly by : TIME. If you're having fun.
19. Pirate's milieu : SEA. The setting, background or environment for a pirate is on the briney.
20. Mop & __: floor cleaner : GLO. Multi-purpose cleaner that also helps shine and protect vinyl flooring.
21. The bubbles in bubble tea, usually : TAPIOCA. Learning moment.
25. Architect Saarinen : EERO. [1910-1961] Finnish-American architect and industrial designer. One of his most notable creations is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo.
30. Butter substitute : OLEO. Aka Margarine. But not in this tasty Sonny Rollins tune.
31. How, to José : COMO. Spanish translation.
32. Retirement place : BED. When I retire for the night. Not to be confused with my other retirement from the daily rat race.
35. Beverage with a "Real Facts" Web page : SNAPPLE. A brand of tea and fruit drinks.
39. Curious box opener : PANDORA. From Greek mythology. She was the first woman created by the gods. She opened a jar that released all the evils of humanity. Echoes of mother Eve.
41. Meat in a typical Denver omelet : HAM. Diced small.
42. Succotash bean : LIMA. Mixed with corn. The name is derived from a Narragansett word meaning "broken corn kernels." The combination of corn with a legume provides complete protein. it was poplar during the great depression because the ingredients were readily available and relatively inexpensive.
44. Sportscaster Andrews : ERIN. [b. 1978]
44. Sportscaster Andrews : ERIN. [b. 1978]
49. Jockey strap : REIN. A narrow strap attached to each end of a hoerse's bit, used to guide the horse while riding.
51. Bright blue shade : COBALT. Made from a pigment containing the element COBALT. Think of the color of Phillip's Milk of Magnesia bottles. Or this.
52. Bygone heating fuel : COAL GAS. A gas mixture containing hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide, made from the desturctive distillation of coal.
52. Bygone heating fuel : COAL GAS. A gas mixture containing hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide, made from the desturctive distillation of coal.
55. Wall St. maneuver : LBO. Leveraged Buy Out. An acquisition method in which the assets of the purchased company are used as collateral for a large loan, so the transaction can be completed with minimal capital expenditure.
56. Select, with "for" : OPT. Make a choice, via French from the Latin optare, chose.
62. "In __ of flowers ... " : LIEU. Instead of. From Middle English, via French again, back to the Latin, locus, place.
63. Mideast dignitaries : EMIRS. Indicating various high positions, such as military commender, local chieftain, or head of state.
64. Disk slapped by Ducks : PUCK. The Anaheim Ducks are a team in the National Hockey League. This year they finished 2nd in the Pacific Division and got swept out in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.
65. Croat neighbor : SERB. Citizens of Eastern European countries Serbia and Croatia.
66. Boy, in Bilbao : NINO. LAD, in Spanish.
Down
1. "Why don't we?!" : LET'S. As one vegetarian said to another, "Let us eat lettuce.
2. Tylenol target : ACHE. Pain killer.
3. Superstar lineup : DREAM TEAM. A collection of the best athletes.
4. Pinch hitter, say : SUB. One who substitutes for another.
5. Electricity pioneer Tesla : NIKOLA. [1856-1943] Serbian-American Engineer and inventor who made contributions to the design of electricity delivery systems
6. Kid-friendly card game : UNO. And frequent X-word entry.
7. Nimble : DEFT. Agile.
8. "At Wit's End" columnist Bombeck : ERMA. [1927 - 1996] Wrote humorously about daily life.
9. "Did my best" : I TRIED. But probably didn't succeed.
10. Divided island north of Australia : TIMOR. East Timor is a sovereign nation. The western part of the island belongs to Indonesia.
11. BP merger partner : AMOCO. Big oil gets bigger.
12. Actress Olin : LENA. In THE NINTH GATE
14. Canine neighbor : MOLAR. Teeth, not pets.
18. Premiere, datewise : OPEN ON. This seems kind of clumsy, but it works.
23. At the pinnacle of : ATOP.
24. Semicircle, e.g. : ARC. Any portion of a circle.
26. Like five-star hotels : POSH. High class and expensive.
27. Radius neighbor : ULNA. Bones of the forearm.
28. "Alley __" : OOP. Erstwhile cartoon caveman.
32. Springsteen's first Top 40 hit : BORN TO RUN.
33. Red explorer? : ERIC. Eiríkr Þorvaldsson; [950 – c. 1003] Following the family tradition, Eric was exiled for killing a man. His explorations then took him to Greenland, but he was probably not the first European to land there. [Wikipedia]
34. Victor Borge, by birth : DANE. Pianist and comic.
36. Fall precipitously : PLUNGE. Plummet.
37. Short stories? : LIT. Literature, abbreviated.
38. Broody rock genre : EMO. Emotional punk rock, for emotional punks.
40. "Sold!" : DEAL. Artful agreement.
43. Pro Bowl team, briefly : AFC. America Football Conference.
45. Massage option : OIL RUB. All of my massage therapists have used essential oils.
46. Ravel classic used in the film "10" : BOLERO.
47. Palestinian leader Mahmoud : ABBAS. [b 1935] Palesinian president since 2005.
48. Thailand neighbor : LAOS. East of Thailand, West of Viet Nam.
49. "Chicago" showgirl : ROXIE.
50. Diner patron : EATER. Literal consumer.
52. Roger Rabbit frames : CELS. Pick one.
53. "I totally agree!" : AMEN. "So be it."
54. Rig on the road : SEMI. A tractor-trailer rig.
57. Quick kiss : PECK. Usually on the cheek.
58. Disapproving sounds : TSKS. Tongue clucks.
60. 60 secs. : MIN. One minute
61. AP competitor : UPI. United Press International
That wraps it up. C. C. took us around the world and provided a lot of musical options, with no major nits. Pretty good Wednesday, IMHO.
Cool regards!
JzB
That wraps it up. C. C. took us around the world and provided a lot of musical options, with no major nits. Pretty good Wednesday, IMHO.
Cool regards!
JzB
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to our fearless leader and JzB!
Went very quickly even though some things were unknown but peeped out rapidly:
TAPIOCA, MALALA, SNAPPLE, ERIN, AMOCO and AFC.
Wasted lots of time on Word Solitaire yesterday and my sleep was askew!
Hope you are all well!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGot the theme for a change, and that showed me LOITER must be PUTTER. Thanx, C.C. and JzB. Cool links, Jazz. You're giving Husker a run for the money.
TIMOR: Knew vaguely where it was, but had no idea that it was divided. Learning moment.
LAOS: Back in my Navy days one of my duties was plotting ordinance drops by the carrier's air wing. When bombs landed in Viet Nam, we reported them. If in LAOS, they never happened.
POSH: At age 20 I went on a road trip with a college buddy. We splurged and stayed one night at The Broadmoor, a 5-star hotel in Colorado Springs. For the rest of the trip, all I heard were complaints about the scratchy sheets at each subsequent stop.
A double dip of C.C. on a day where the Corner seems to be sleeping very late. I do miss Barry G. complaining about no circles.
ReplyDeleteI did not know MALALA the rest went pretty quickly. I liked Stitchless? : NUDE I grew up hearing, "She did not have a stitch on!" Also, Disk slapped by Ducks : PUCK tickled my fancy. Thanks, C.C. and JzB
FYI.
ReplyDeleteMy computer and tablets were very slow this weekend. I rebooted my router by turning it off and on and now I am back to normal. Just now I saw this warning which I am passing on to you. Do we need to change all our passwords? Daunting prospect.
FYI
FIR, even though I just hoped that TAPIOCA was right. Erased slav for SERB, spry for DEFT and aron for ERIN. Ms. Andrews had a hard time recovering from the nude pictures some creep took through a hacked hotel peephole and posted on the internet.
ReplyDeleteOnly Washington and Vegas will slap the PUCK for the rest of the NHL season. Go caps! Cornerites just saw a picture of a billboard in Vegas offering a different massage option than OIL RUB.
Never heard of COAL GAS, but my dad used to say "pour on the November coal oil" to mean overdo something.
Thanks for the fun puzzle, CC. My favorite was "short stories?" for LIT. I really wanted to shoehorn in "LIe" but held off until OUT OF BALANCE kept me from that rabbit hole. And thanks to JzB for another fine tour.
Jinx, from yesterday, a stalk of celery has six calories but only needs 1/2 cal to be digested. If you’re not comfortable saying “old wives’ tale” about its negative-calorie value, you can call it an urban legend. Of course this insults us city folk
DeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteMostly an easy solve. Had to come up for air a little bit in the east, but was able to suss BORN TO RUN with perp help. Wondered if other measures such as distance and time were considered, but JzB gave an excellent précis on the selected theme. No searches were needed.
COAL GAS - Learned about it in chemistry, but never had occasion to interact with it.
Stitchless? - NUDE - As a youngster I would sometimes hear " ……wasn't wearing a stitch……" so the clue registered readily for me.
FIR
ReplyDeleteI click on C.C.'s Corner and see that C.C. did the puzzle. I see the girl from China is using the American terms (British went metric) for weights. I think she was BORN TO RUN this operation. So today we had the DREAM TEAM of C.C. and JzB. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteTAPIOCA followed by MALALA took perps to complete. I've never bought a SNAPPLE or a bubble tea and didn't know about "Real Facts" but it was an easy guess after POSH and ULNA were in place.
SERBS & Croats- Still fighting WW-II and a religious war-Catholics vs. Orthodox; one group sided with Hitler.
LIMA- those beans are getting expensive lately. I paid over $4.00 for a two POUND pack of large (not baby) last week.
INKS-'no regert'- definitely will have 'regerts' as he/she gets older. How about the ones who get the ridiculous neck tattoos.
Good morning Cornerites, and Cornerettes.
ReplyDelete- - When I opened the CW, I saw a familiar name. Thank you Mrs. C.C. Burnikel for this fine CW which I FIR in 28:43. My final fill was the "C" at the corner of AFC, and COBALT. What is COBALT?
- - I noticed the Burnikel surname on the trophy that was presented to Boomer. In today's society it is refreshing for couples associated with the Corner to be married with a male / female union. Having made that point, know that I welcome any loving couple to the Corner sans prejudice.
- - C.C., I would like to know when, where, and how Boomer and you met. I feel that it will be an interesting tale for each of us.
- - Thank you Jazzbumpa for your excellent review.
17A - Eye wolfishly : OGLE. - - What if an ogre - ogled - olga?
_______________________________________________________________________
- - We interrupt our regularly scheduled posting for this breaking story I woke up just now sitting on the side of the bed. First I had to get my eyelids unstuck (allergies). Once I could see a little, I noticed that it was daylight. The clock struck 9:18, but which side of the meridian, ante or post. At this time of year, the light through yon window didn't help. Sitting in my chair was a plate, clean of course, a fork, and my coffee cup. They could have been from breakfast or supper.
- - What to do? In my sleep drunken stupor it never dawned on me to look on my cordless , or cell phone, or the computer. Each was blaring "AM, AM, AM." Somehow, in the same inexplicable way I find letters for the CW, I concluded it was still morning.
- - We return now to our regularly scheduled posting.
_______________________________________________________________________
Ðave
Musings
ReplyDelete-As always, it’s a great day when I’ve been C.C.ed!
-A lot of my PUTTERING AROUND lately has been trying to keep ahead of two fast-growing lawns
-SHYAMALAN and MALALA today! OOLALA!
-A heartwarming PUCK video (:27)
-Some water park slides have become PLUNGES!
-Wanna job? Estimates say 50,000 SEMI drivers are needed now
What's a PECK?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMensa site, so no circles. It didn't slow me down though. I just didn't see the EXTREME MEASURES. I enjoyed C.C.'s puzzle today. It had a Wednesday feel to the Across clues, but the Down clues were a lot easier. JzB's tour was a great ride that expanded on the enjoyment of the puzzle.
I remembered hearing about MALALA but wasn't sure of the pronunciation or spelling at first. A few perps as usual got the old synapses firing and then her name magically appeared.
Although I've heard of it, I had no idea what Bubble Tea is, or what's in it. A learning moment. There are a few places in this College town that advertise that they sell Bubble Tea. I guess it goes with Frappe's, Latte's and the other trendy drinks that the current generation has to consume. Just give me a good cup of coffee or a good strong cup of tea (I like most varieties) and I'm happy. Of course, like Tin, a stronger libation is appreciated.
It's National Senior Health and Fitness day, so, if you can, put on your walking shoes and get out and get some exercise.
Have a great day.
FLN: If Lois was still active on this blog, I am confident that she would have had something to say about big hands and tight ends.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning,
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C., for lots of Wednesday fun. Fast finish today, which is a good thing since I have lots to do.
JzB: What a performance!! Thanks for all the wonderful links. Plateau? Fool your body. Have lunch for breakfast, but don't give up!!!
Have a great day everyone. Alberto's moisture is hanging around here, but I'm still planning to look for some sunshine somehow.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteSeeing CC's byline always brings a smile and an anticipation of fun and unraveling her latest creation. I saw where it was going but the reveal was a delightful surprise. I had no problems at all. It was nice to see Nikola instead of just Tesla or Elon. My favorite combos were: Stitchless=Nude, Red explorer=Eric, and Short stories=Lit. (Autocorrect doesn't like Stitchless,)
Well done, CC, and ditto to JazB for a thorough and thoughtful review.
FLN
CED, thanks for the cute canines pic. Is Europe still in one piece?
Dave, thanks for the clever caption for the cute canines.
Anon T, I hope your tummy trouble has disappeared. Your daughter's cell cake is amazing but your wife's cookie choice fails on all levels. I'll bet those cookies are for sale at that Vegan Fest that I mentioned yesterday!
Madame Defarge, thanks for the Mike Ditka info. As I recall, he seemed aloof but he was probably just minding his own business and enjoying some time out of the limelight.
I placed a liquor order online this morning and used two gift cards, one for $25.00 and the other for $75.00. When the order was summarized, however, only the $25.00 was applied, so I called the store to correct the transaction and I was then informed that only one gift card can be used at a time. I find that a little odd but it's no big deal as I order from them whenever the Dewar's needs replenishing. (But it still seems odd!)
Have a great day.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteJust like the former baseball player turned painter: no runs, drips, or errors! A totally pristine page, here on hump day. Great theme and a very clever recap. As another said, we had a CC/JzB "DREAM TEAM". I really liked the BOLERO link, as my bassoonist daughter has played this several times. I think the bassoon solo follows the flute and clarinet ... How would you like to be the percussionist on that piece?! Talk about a monotonous solo ...
I knew it had to be "PUTTER" around, to get one of CC's obligatory golf references into the puzzle.
Hands up for not knowing about TAPIOCA in Bubble Tea, but it fit, as did MALALA. These were my only perp/WAG's
Lots of pun opportunities:
Moe-ku #1:
Fireman founded
A new religious order:
The Ladder Day Saints
Moe-ku #2:
Imbecile felt mocked
By Brigham Young. Thought he saw:
THE BOOK OF MORON
Moe-ku #3 (with an assist from Ron):
At diet clinic
You queue in line to enter.
There's a short weight list
And of course, a limerick:
I just hope that you think it's not rude,
Nor infer that my habit is lewd;
Since I just took the PLUNGE,
Inhibitions, expunged,
Now that I'm wearing nothing; just NUDE
C'mon sun, c'mon back to FL ... gotta work on that all-over tan ... "Free the Beaches"!!
😎😜🌞👦🏽
Neat theme, CC, which I caught quickly and which helped solve the reveal.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was nude/stitchless.
I recently heard of bubble tea with tapioca. I think I will pass.
I read quite a bit about the brave MALALA.
Snapple is very popular here. I will pass on that one, too.
Nice expo, JzB.
Fun CC run with a Weight-y theme.
ReplyDeleteMALALA was a gimme as I had the honor of seeing this heroic young woman speak at a sold-out crowd at the largest theater in our city.
The word hero is much overused. She is a real hero in every way.
I did a Westinghouse Science Talent Search research project on an obscure NIKOLA Tesla invention as a teen. That is probably what got me into MIT as my grades were not so high. Somewhere I must have photos of my project. It is called a thermomagnetic motor. Any of you science people heard of it?
At MIT I spent a lot of time around this EERO Saarinen building - Kresge Auditorium.
It is where I learned to ride a unicycle and to juggle and I will have to dig to find photos of us there. EERO also designed the Chapel right next to it.
Does anyone remember when Reagan put "SUCCOTASH" on the map (even though it is not actually on any map)?
Did anyone else think of this classic Santana hit Oye COME Va?
That should be Oye COMO Va!
ReplyDeletePlummet b/4 plunge, but I just could not get that extra "M" in there...
ReplyDeleteI can never spell Lieu,,,leiu,,,Lulu,, (oh forget it...)
Hmm, plummet/plunge, reminds me of what I say whenever some one
asks me how I am doing...
A guy falls off the roof,
as he passes every floor, he says:
So far, So good...
Irish Miss, "Is Europe in one piece?"
(No, Britain is defecting...)
(P.S.,Customs is a nightmare...)
Anywho, in a rush, must take the neighbors Dog to the Dogpark
before Daughter#3 takes my car to get fingerprinted for Summer Internship...
(The world has gone bonkers...)
Also, must remember to power down my router... (extreme measures...)
C.C., your puzzles are brilliant! I wasn't sure I would get everything in this Wednesday offering, though I had the theme once TON and POUND appeared in the circles. Found the east a little tough, and then feared I would have a final mess-up since "Disk slapped by Ducks" made no sense to me, and I didn't know what an AP competitor is. And then it hit me--SPORTS!--and I put PUCK and Ta-Dah! I got it, the whole thing, even with the sports clues! Woohoo! Yay!
ReplyDeleteIt helped that I figured out ERIN Andrews because she works on "Dancing with the Stars" or some other TV program I like to watch. And my favorite clue turned out to be "curious box opener" for PANDORA. I also had a little blip when I first put RENEE before ROXIE--thinking of the actress who played the role. Anyway, great fun, C.C., many thanks. And JazzB, thank you for posting that sweet picture of MALALA.
Have a great day, everybody!
Nice Wednesday puzzle, well clued and constructed.
ReplyDeleteOn to Thursday.
Oh, my! FIWrong in the reveal! Didn't notice the ME ME and read it as EXTRa MEASURES. Then I got the theme partially wrong! Worked it at Mensa, so no circles. After reading the reveal, went back and found TH/ERM (THE book of moRMon, P/OUND, OU/NCE, DR/AM (DReamteAM), P/H (PosH), and PAR (PAndoRa). All MEASURES. Except I missed TON, had a few extras, and a couple weren't EXTREME extras!
ReplyDeleteToo late for poems, but no good excuse today. So,
There was a sailor from BILBAO
Went to SEA on an East TIMOR scow.
It was shaped like a duck,
The engines went "cluck",
And the prow was a honking bill bow!
{A-.}
Power was off for 90 minutes today so I couldn't post after finishing the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant work as always, C.C. With the circles it was easy to see the EXTREME MEASURES.
Like Misty, I was at first mystified by "disk slapped by Ducks." Oh, those Ducks with a PUCK.
Oops. I accidentally posted before I was finished writing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are all having a stupendous day!
Hmm, silly links, what to do...
ReplyDeleteTon, well that's easy, I like Chinese mustard in mine, what about you?
(it's an inside joke) Pound...
Hmm, Ounce just doesn't seem to fit here...
Crossword Silliness...
I liked this puzzle. Once I got TON and POUND I entered the OU_NCE right away, filling the rest of it later. Loved the "Stitchless" clue. Remembered some news involving East TIMOR a few years ago so knew that island was divided. Noticed the crossing of ERIN and ERIC and of PUCK and PECK.
ReplyDeleteExcellent write-up, Jazzbumpa.
Good wishes to you all.
Jazz: Excellent write-up. Good job!
ReplyDeleteC.C. Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. I liked the theme.
NIKOLA and SERB both in the grid .... Hmmmmm ...
Well we have had about 2 inches of rain today ...
Last week when they (whoever "they" are) named that storm ALBERTO "they" forecast us to get 5 inches over the weekend.
We got 1 inch ...
Todays storm was a nice reprieve.
Cheers!
Hi Y'all! No circles. No idea where to look for theme entries. Duh! Very clever, C.C. Fun puzzle! Great expo, JzB. Best wishes for your weight loss to resume.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Bubble Tea, but tapped into TAPIOCA with a few perps.
Startling clue was Jockey Strap at which time my mind jumped to the boys' locker room. Oh, REIN! Okay. Well, we also had NUDE... I remember my elders saying, "I didn't have a stitch to wear."
Hand up for COAL oil before GAS. Never heard of the latter. LBO was ESP.
Took a few perps to come up with MALALA & NIKOLA.
Bad storms in my farm county last night according to reports on Facebook. I need to call my farmer and see if we were hit, but think I'll give him time to stop weeping.
This was an enjoyable pzl, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteTa DA!
Easy but pleasant, fun to uncover several answers via perps. We talk at times of how perps help to complete our fills, but don't always mention the fun factor, the kick we get when we discover an answer we wouldn't otherwise know.
I knew nothing of a drink that begins with SNAP, or so I thought. But when perps led me to SNAPPLE, I had a real PDM!
As is often the case, I missed the theme, or I should say I wasn't attentive to it. Thanks, JzB, for clarifying it.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Once again, we have zilch, folks!
"Yes, we have no diag'nals -
We have no diag-nals to-day!"
.
What's this world coming to? Now even the cars have to be fingerprinted!
ReplyDeleteD-O: I thought the same thing when I read the post too. LOL! The day may be coming when you won't be able to start your car without placing your finger print on a sensor pad. I'm worried because I no longer have finger prints. Do you? I read somewhere that many elders have worn their finger pads smooth.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, I wonder how some businesses stay in business. They already have your money for the gift cards, so all that store did was to add to the general irritation level. They aren't going to make much on the float for a $75 gift card, so ... "No, sir, there's no reason for it -- it's just policy."
ReplyDeleteTotally unrelated: everyone clues "niño" as Spanish for boy. But "Nino", without the tilde, is the name of the apostle to Georgia (the country). It's a very popular name for Georgian ladies right now. (Georgian has no grammatical gender, but Russian does. They saw the '-O' ending of Nino as neuter, and so changed it to '-A', feminine, which is why there are so many Russian "Ninas."
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and JzB. (My newspaper returned the LA Times puzzle but omits to credit the constructo,r but I might have guessed it was a C.C. Creation!)
ReplyDeleteI did have the circles and found the theme.
Hand up for LIE before LIT (hi Jinx) and COAL Oil before GAS.
I did see another measure with PECK (thanks for the cute Calvin & Hobbs cartoon xtulmkr).
My first instinct for retirement place was FLA (for our Canadian snowbirds).
I had Done before DEAL.
I had Opener before OPEN ON. Monday's Opening Night performance for The Tempest (which we saw in preview earlier this month) was cancelled and the area evacuated due to a bomb scare. All the shows the next day went on as scheduled, but with tighter security (bag checks etc.)
OMK might appreciate the reaction of Martha Henry in this article.
StratfordBombScare
"My Name is MALALA" is a great book to read. MALALA is an honorary Canadian citizen.
MALALA
Did Americans get the Google Doodle yesterday about S.P.L. Sorensen, who invented the pH SCALE. It was out of sync by one day with the pH SCALE theme CW.
Enjoy the day. Another warm one here but the garden is planted (and of course now must be watered!).
MALALA
ReplyDeleteI recently had a crazy Groupon experience. Paid $12 for a $25 voucher for lunch. DW and I enjoyed a couple of burgers and ice(d) teas, and proffered the voucher for the $23 bill. The waitress (excuse me, I mean the server) came back apologizing that the manager wouldn't accept the voucher because the tab was for less than $25. I ordered a Coke for $2.25, left it untouched on the table, and paid with the voucher. I normally tip a minimum of $5 for any table service, but this time I deducted a buck for the stupidity of the manager and the waitress (for not explaining the stupidity to the manager). (No, I didn't expect to get any change back.)
ReplyDeletePK - Hoyt Axton sang "Work your fingers to the bone - whadda ya get? ( Whoo-whoo ) Boney Fingers - Boney Fing-gers."
Michael @ 3:20 ~ Yes, I was a little irritated but was more taken aback because it seems so silly to me. It's the only negative experience I've had with this vendor. My orders always qualify for free delivery and their prices are the lowest in my immediate area. The delivery man is always on time, courteous, and brings the entire order (I order for a friend, as well) into the garage and stacks it neatly. So, I guess one arbitrary rule isn't worth getting into a snit about.
ReplyDeleteAnother "rule" that bothered me a bit was National Grid's payment option vis a vis credit cards. I have all of my recurring monthly bills either automatically deducted from my checking account or charged to a credit card. I recently decided to have my Verizon payment and my National Grid payment charged to the credit card rather than my checking account. No problem with Verizon but NG charges a $2.25 fee for each transaction. Every other company I do business with has no fee for this service. So, NG payments stay with the checking account option.
Irish Miss & Michael -- It's likely that the company uses a computer system to process those sales. There may be only a single entry field, allowing just one gift card entry per transaction. It may not be policy, just the only way they can get it done.
ReplyDeleteCanadianEh!,
ReplyDeletethat bomb scare was somebody's cruel prank, disrespecting one of the world's finest play festivals. Martha Henry was right - that it was "inconceivable," or practically so, that the show could not go on.
The voluntary readings and generally upbeat attitude that took the place of The Tempest were certainly in the spirit of the Stratford Festival.
I remember the very first time I visited Stratford. I took a bus for the last leg into town, and I stayed in a motel some distance from the theater. I forget how I managed to get to my first night of shows, maybe by bus or taxi, but when the motel manager saw that I did not have a car he insisted that I use his VW beetle - for the entire four days I stayed there!
This kindly gent spoke with an accent, so I assumed he was an immigrant. But I took his generosity to be typical of Canadian hospitality.
And over my years of traveling in Canada, I have not been disappointed.
~ OMK
Nino, the lack of a tilde does not bother me. Crosswords necessarily omit apostrophes, hyphens, spaces, umlauts. I just accept it as an ideosyncracy.
ReplyDeleteJust got around to reading today's WSJ and noticed a NERD puzzle by C.C. She hit a double today. More like two home runs.
ReplyDelete"Predatory whale"- All whales are predators. Some eat other whales, some eat squid, some eat fish, some eat seals, some eat krill, but none are vegans.
DO @ 4:13 ~ The explanation given to me was that it was store policy. Believe me, this store has one of the most user-friendly web sites I have ever used and if they wanted a second gift card entry field, they would have it. As I said, though, it's not a big deal and I'm happy with all other services they offer. It's probably the first and last time that I would have two gift cards, anyway. All is well. 😉
ReplyDeleteChairman Moe at 10:50 AM
ReplyDelete- - Your Moe-ku #1: inspired me. - I belong to the Church of the Brown Paper Bag, that's "Sack Religious."
Ðave
PK @ 3:00 re finger prints
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago at an airport security check I was sent for secondary inspection.
Since my finger prints were not in their system they decided to put them on file.
The electronic scanner couldn't capture a satisfactory image of my finger prints.
For more than 30 minutes they tried till I feared missing my flight.
They finally decided they had succeeded and sent me on my way .
I supposed that 40 years of working my fingers to the bone had erased my unique individuality!
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteIf I hadn't misread so many clues (e.g. @18d Premier Datawise), I'd been done a few MIN sooner. Thanks C.C. for going the EXTRA mile for us today. Ditto JzB; enjoyed The Boss & Borge. Oh, and your title was cute.
WO: Done b/f DEAL (hi C, Eh!), PUmet [sic] (hi CED!), and MOLeR.
ESPs: ROXIE, TIMOR
Fav: Misdirection @ MINER. I kept thinking picking == selecting and couldn't stop imagining Bridezilla picking her own engagement ring.
Lots of other c/a sparkle too: PUCKy Ducks, PANDORA, ERIC; ABBAS
ABBAS - Two Swedish groups? :-)
{A-} {ha!, groan :-), cute, nice!}
Thanks go to xtulmkr for the C&H comic and Picard for Santana (no, didn't think of 'em from the clue). CED, you already have a standing "Thank You" for your nutty links every day :-)
IM (and Jinx) I was going to say the same thing as D-O@4:13; their systems just aren't setup for it. IM, I bet if you were there in person, they'da swiped both (kinda like when I see folks using 2 credit cards to pay for a purchase they obviously can't afford).
PK - LOL; REIN in that dirty mind :-)
Cheers, -T
OAS: glad the airport security didn't decide you were a major criminal who had purposely used acid to delete your fingerprints! I have no ridges at all. I think mine could have been lost from all the paint remover & solvents I used remodeling our old house. I wore cotton gloves.
ReplyDeleteAnonT: no way I can REIN in that dirty mind. That's the only place I have any fun at all. LOL!
D4: Sack religious. LOL!
MALALA gives Dave Letterman one of his more charming interviews on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, his Netflix series. I find myself mildly flabbergasted by the contrasting qualities in this young woman. I am impressed by her intellect and wit, yet at the same time aware of her youth. Her warmth and humanity are constantly present.
ReplyDeleteOn camera she leads Dave around her Oxford college, and we're reminded that she's still an undergrad - with exams to study for!
~ OMK
Glad that some people at least vaguely remember East TIMOR in the news. In 1975, Kissinger met with the Indonesian dictator Suharto. Why? To guarantee US support for brutally invading and occupying what indeed was the sovereign nation of East TIMOR.
ReplyDeleteHundreds of thousands of people were murdered by the Indonesian government with US support. US corporate media coverage was almost non-existent. Even when the Indonesian military murdered members of the Australian media who were covering the brutality.
I have been donating to the East TIMOR Action Network for years. Here is their brief summary of the history as of around the year 2000 when things finally began to change for the better.
Glad to have the memory and history revived by this puzzle entry!
Here I was able to find an archive of my article on MALALA back in 2015.
The original was destroyed by hackers, along with thousands of others on the news site. Glad this archive exists, even though it is quite slow to load.
OK, I finally have a minute to post about the puzzle I finished so long ago that it seems like yesterday. We've been tending to pumps and moving stuff out of the basement as our whole neighborhood has been surrounded by water from very heavy rains. It seems to finally be going down now, but after having 8+ feet of water in the basement TWICE in the past 10 years we are a little gun shy.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how quickly the puzzle went for me today; several minutes faster than my normal Wednesday time. I thought of Gary at PUTTER AROUND, and loved the duck-puck clue and answer.
A favorite restaurant of ours has advertised Bubble Tea for lots of years now; last year I finally got around to asking them what it was, so TAPIOCA was no problem. Now, if I actually had to drink the stuff, I imagine that WOULD be a problem.
JzB, I really liked your image for TATTOO. Hard to believe that someone would make that sort of mistake, and equally hard to know why the tattee didn’t notice.
Off to check the water level again. At least so far it’s not like last time when we had kids kayaking in our front yard. And no, we’re not near a river or stream.
G'night, all.
Anonymous T, I appreciate your tact, kindness, and humility.
ReplyDeleteAnd in conclusion...
ReplyDeleteNo post of this puzzle would be complete without a reference
to Victor Borge.
However,
We have posted him many, many times.
So, Perhaps, we should revisit some of his earlier works,
Here, we have his Carnegie Hall Performance.
(skip the 1st 10 minutes,, he plays piano...)
But, we get to see how the routines were (fine tuned?) over the years.
I give you, Early Victor Borge.
(Actually, he was doing it for years before this...)
More cool photos Picard. Like w/ CED - I don't say thanks everyday but I do appropriate the links -- The Corner is Lagniappe.
ReplyDeleteCED - I'm only up to 28m but LOL! The best part is watching the other performers who can't hold in their laughter.
YR - I knew I read this earlier today but I just now found it. More to do re: Router Reboot from Bleeping Computer.
Jayce - I hope that wasn't sarcastic :-) Thanks - and I enjoy your posts too.
Cheers, -T
Er, appreciate [ehh, sometime appropriated too] the links.
ReplyDeleteIM - I just learnt Youngest got +10 bonus for the cake bringing her APA BIO grade to 108(?).
Now, if she'd put that much effort in APA Geometry...
She's got an 82, so I joked "A pyramid cake?"
"No, that's too much waste in all the layers."
She obviously knows the subject :-)
Cheers, -T
Dear DO:
ReplyDelete"Irish Miss & Michael -- It's likely that the company uses a computer system to process those sales. There may be only a single entry field, allowing just one gift card entry per transaction. It may not be policy, just the only way they can get it done."
Sure, I hadn't thought about bad software, but the programmer's choice -- to limit the field to one entry -- amounts to the equivalent of a policy decision ... and adds frustration. Another example: I'm in a book club; I want to quit, but the on-line customer disservice program won't let me do that on-line, so I have to call them.
I'm glad for IM's sake that this was acceptable to her -- but we just saw, was it yesterday? -- that one puzzler here gave up on the LA Times after decades. Not everyone is as tolerant of ineptitude.
D4E4H:
ReplyDeleteSack religious: too funny!!!!
Greetings, I did this earlier but was busy and then tired. Plus I finished LEN Deighton's "Winter". For an Art major he seems very familiar with British Intelligence. One of his spies was a Greek Studies major.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all who make the xwords, write-ups and blog interesting.
WC