Theme: G-Minus. No, not the grade for the puzzle, but explaining the theme:
27A. Reason your ears are burning?: (G)LOBAL WARMING
20A. Girl skipping school?: (G)LASS CUTTING
46A. Farm sound after sunset?: (G)LOW IN THE DARK
54A. Knight game impact?: (G)LANCING BLOW
And the reveal:
Aha! No reveal, a nice Thursday-style theme-and-figure-it-out-yourself. With these puzzles, if they're well-constructed, it can be a big help if you do figure out the theme, the earlier the better. This puzzle from Clive is a good example of the genre. Also, look at the stacked 9's in the downs and "we've got a cracking grid (Gromit!)".
Let's see what catches the eye elsewhere:
Across:
1. Throw out a line: CAST
5. Marner of fiction: SILAS
10. Santa Monica attraction: PIER. Iconic venue here in LA. I've never really looked closely at the famous sign, but now I have to ask - where is the yacht harbor? I've sailed the Santa Monica Bay a number of times, and there's no harbor to be seen anywhere near the pier.
14. Funny Bombeck: ERMA
15. Letter-shaped fastener: U-BOLT. I always thought "Bolt" was a very apt name for another U.Bolt.
16. "Young Frankenstein" Fräulein: INGA
17. Meadows: LEAS
18. Siamese fighting fish: BETTA
19. New Mexico resort: TAOS
23. Plate duster: UMP. Lovely clue. Baseball home-plate umpire clearing the aforementioned of dirt. He keeps a little brush handy for the task.
24. Transparent: SHEER
25. "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. The star, Ronald Coleman, preparing to buckle his swash.
32. Collect over time: AMASS
35. __ juice: MOO
36. Second-largest bone in the body: TIBIA
37. Ticket word: ROW
38. Note from one who's shy: IOU. Very nice. Shy of funds.
39. __ Cruces: LAS. A New Mexico geography puzzle today.
40. Low joint: ANKLE
43. ID with two hyphens: SSN
44. "Totally had you going there!": PSYCH! We had this a couple of weeks ago. Were you paying attention?
49. Backyard game for two: CATCH
50. Saudi money: RIYAL
53. Prefix with pass: SUR
59. Early automaker: OLDS
61. Trunk: TORSO
62. Kitchen floor covering, to a Brit: LINO. We had lino in our bedrooms when I was a small child and no heating upstairs. Getting out of bed on a winter's morning was a bracing experience.
63. Singer's syllables: LA LA
64. Considering everything: IN ALL
65. __ Eats: food delivery app: UBER. I've used these folks a few times when I've arrived home late from the airport and found nothing much to eat in the house. The service is really good.
66. African antelope: ORYX
67. Propagated: SOWED
68. Word on an Irish stamp: EIRE. Here's a nice example. It says "Two Pence" underneath, if you're curious.
Down:
1. "Tainted Love" band Soft __: CELL. Quick, name another Soft Cell hit. In the meantime, here's the 80's again.
2. Measurements made by planimeters: AREAS. Learning moment. Looks like something you'd find in a dentist's office:
3. Tennis shot: SMASH
4. Loafer adornments: TASSELS
5. Many a commuter's community: SUBURB. I went with "SLEEPY" first and had second, third and fourth thoughts until sanity prevailed.
6. Sarcastic comment: I BET.
7. Senate majority leader after Dole: LOTT
8. Some choristers: ALTI
9. Poetry unit: STANZA
10. Racetrack stop: PIT. I was thinking horses for a while. Then .. aha! Motor sports.
11. Lower than low?: INAUDIBLY. INAUDIBLE seemed perfect, until PSECH [sic] emerged.
12. Swellhead: EGOMANIAC
13. Speak harshly: RASP
21. Company VIPs: CEOS
22. Fröbe who played Goldfinger: GERT
26. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: N.M.I. No Middle Initial. I've had two girlfriends with no middle name. One dropped her last name because she didn't like it and used her middle name instead, the other said her parents ran out of ideas after coming up with her first name.
28. Pennsylvania sect: AMISH
29. Relaxed: LOOSE
30. Wired, with "up": WOUND
31. Big cut: GASH
32. Severely damaged Asian sea: ARAL
33. Like a birder's field glass: MONOCULAR
34. With very little grace: AWKWARDLY
41. Burning: LIT
42. Env. fattener: ENCL. The enclosure fattens the envelope.
44. Puritan: PRIG. Likeable clue/answer. Not obvious off the bat. Nice stuff.
45. Landscape artist's shade: SKY BLUE
47. To wit: THAT IS
48. California governor after Gray: ARNOLD. Der Gübernator. I still like the way he pronounced "California". Here's a highlight reel of just that. There's nothing you can't find on the Interwebs.
51. Defensive line?: ALIBI. Very nice clue/answer. Some corkers today.
52. Hermit: LONER
53. 2018 Ron Howard film subtitled "A Star Wars Story": SOLO. Solo. Han Solo. No wait, wasn't that 007?
55. Faux pas: NO-NO
56. Bird crop: CRAW
57. Cruise stopover: ISLE. Had PORT. That's didn't help progress at the bottom.
58. Became frayed, say: WORE
60. Kenny G's horn: SAX. Nice bookend for the theme. The missing "G" appears in the final clue!
World Cup fever continues for me. There's no cure except for waiting out the crisis in Mid-July. Some of the commentary on the Fox coverage is shockingly bad - I find refuge in the Spanish-language feed on Univision.
Here's the griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid! Griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
27A. Reason your ears are burning?: (G)LOBAL WARMING
20A. Girl skipping school?: (G)LASS CUTTING
46A. Farm sound after sunset?: (G)LOW IN THE DARK
54A. Knight game impact?: (G)LANCING BLOW
And the reveal:
Aha! No reveal, a nice Thursday-style theme-and-figure-it-out-yourself. With these puzzles, if they're well-constructed, it can be a big help if you do figure out the theme, the earlier the better. This puzzle from Clive is a good example of the genre. Also, look at the stacked 9's in the downs and "we've got a cracking grid (Gromit!)".
Let's see what catches the eye elsewhere:
Across:
1. Throw out a line: CAST
5. Marner of fiction: SILAS
10. Santa Monica attraction: PIER. Iconic venue here in LA. I've never really looked closely at the famous sign, but now I have to ask - where is the yacht harbor? I've sailed the Santa Monica Bay a number of times, and there's no harbor to be seen anywhere near the pier.
14. Funny Bombeck: ERMA
"Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth."
15. Letter-shaped fastener: U-BOLT. I always thought "Bolt" was a very apt name for another U.Bolt.
16. "Young Frankenstein" Fräulein: INGA
17. Meadows: LEAS
18. Siamese fighting fish: BETTA
19. New Mexico resort: TAOS
23. Plate duster: UMP. Lovely clue. Baseball home-plate umpire clearing the aforementioned of dirt. He keeps a little brush handy for the task.
24. Transparent: SHEER
25. "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. The star, Ronald Coleman, preparing to buckle his swash.
32. Collect over time: AMASS
35. __ juice: MOO
36. Second-largest bone in the body: TIBIA
37. Ticket word: ROW
38. Note from one who's shy: IOU. Very nice. Shy of funds.
39. __ Cruces: LAS. A New Mexico geography puzzle today.
40. Low joint: ANKLE
43. ID with two hyphens: SSN
44. "Totally had you going there!": PSYCH! We had this a couple of weeks ago. Were you paying attention?
49. Backyard game for two: CATCH
50. Saudi money: RIYAL
53. Prefix with pass: SUR
59. Early automaker: OLDS
61. Trunk: TORSO
62. Kitchen floor covering, to a Brit: LINO. We had lino in our bedrooms when I was a small child and no heating upstairs. Getting out of bed on a winter's morning was a bracing experience.
63. Singer's syllables: LA LA
64. Considering everything: IN ALL
65. __ Eats: food delivery app: UBER. I've used these folks a few times when I've arrived home late from the airport and found nothing much to eat in the house. The service is really good.
66. African antelope: ORYX
67. Propagated: SOWED
68. Word on an Irish stamp: EIRE. Here's a nice example. It says "Two Pence" underneath, if you're curious.
Down:
1. "Tainted Love" band Soft __: CELL. Quick, name another Soft Cell hit. In the meantime, here's the 80's again.
2. Measurements made by planimeters: AREAS. Learning moment. Looks like something you'd find in a dentist's office:
3. Tennis shot: SMASH
4. Loafer adornments: TASSELS
5. Many a commuter's community: SUBURB. I went with "SLEEPY" first and had second, third and fourth thoughts until sanity prevailed.
6. Sarcastic comment: I BET.
7. Senate majority leader after Dole: LOTT
8. Some choristers: ALTI
9. Poetry unit: STANZA
10. Racetrack stop: PIT. I was thinking horses for a while. Then .. aha! Motor sports.
11. Lower than low?: INAUDIBLY. INAUDIBLE seemed perfect, until PSECH [sic] emerged.
12. Swellhead: EGOMANIAC
13. Speak harshly: RASP
21. Company VIPs: CEOS
22. Fröbe who played Goldfinger: GERT
26. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: N.M.I. No Middle Initial. I've had two girlfriends with no middle name. One dropped her last name because she didn't like it and used her middle name instead, the other said her parents ran out of ideas after coming up with her first name.
28. Pennsylvania sect: AMISH
29. Relaxed: LOOSE
30. Wired, with "up": WOUND
31. Big cut: GASH
32. Severely damaged Asian sea: ARAL
33. Like a birder's field glass: MONOCULAR
34. With very little grace: AWKWARDLY
41. Burning: LIT
42. Env. fattener: ENCL. The enclosure fattens the envelope.
44. Puritan: PRIG. Likeable clue/answer. Not obvious off the bat. Nice stuff.
45. Landscape artist's shade: SKY BLUE
47. To wit: THAT IS
48. California governor after Gray: ARNOLD. Der Gübernator. I still like the way he pronounced "California". Here's a highlight reel of just that. There's nothing you can't find on the Interwebs.
51. Defensive line?: ALIBI. Very nice clue/answer. Some corkers today.
52. Hermit: LONER
53. 2018 Ron Howard film subtitled "A Star Wars Story": SOLO. Solo. Han Solo. No wait, wasn't that 007?
55. Faux pas: NO-NO
56. Bird crop: CRAW
57. Cruise stopover: ISLE. Had PORT. That's didn't help progress at the bottom.
58. Became frayed, say: WORE
60. Kenny G's horn: SAX. Nice bookend for the theme. The missing "G" appears in the final clue!
World Cup fever continues for me. There's no cure except for waiting out the crisis in Mid-July. Some of the commentary on the Fox coverage is shockingly bad - I find refuge in the Spanish-language feed on Univision.
Here's the griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid! Griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Irish Miss asked about Melissa's granddaughter Jaelyn yesterday. Here she is with her father's day masterpiece. You can click here to see a few more pictures of our beautiful girl.
FIWrongꜟ The very last cell in the grid did me in: WORn+ERIn instead of WORE+ERIEꜟ
ReplyDeleteI expected a reveal like ZERO GEE'S, but I guess this one was obvious enough without it.
My Dad used to call milk "MOO juice", eggs were "cackle-berries", and water was "Adam's ale". There may have been others, those are all I can recall at the moment.
North in New Mexico, near Colorado,
TAOS is where folks ski in the snow!
And south, down below
Near old Mexico,
LAS CRUCES is next to Texas' El Paso!
If you've a problem with your PSYCHE,
You should see a psychiatrist.
If arthritis is aching your ANKLE,
You should see a rheumatologist.
If your TIBIA is in tatters,
You should see an orthopedist,
If with a MONOCULAR you saw
A crow, now stuck in your CRAW,
You should be seen by an ornithologist!
{B+, A-.}
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Clive and Steve!
Cute theme!
Had a few unknowns: CELL and AREAS. Also the Y in PSYCH Caused a pause.
Hope to see you tomorrow!
Good morning Cornerites,and Cornerwrongs.
ReplyDelete- - You didn't miss me while I was gone, but I'm back.
- - Thank you Mr. Clive Probert for this interesting CWP. I groked the theme at 27A, oh "G". This helped each of the other themers. The last square to fall was at the natick of 33D and 66A, the "R" in ORYX. I FIR in 37:11.
- - Thanks Steve for your excellent review.
Ðave
We have had some fun puzzles from Mr. Probert before, and like Steve, I really loved the creativity used in making such cool clues for IOU and ALIBI two very simple words. I do not know if I ever hear of a Planimeter or the name of the band, SOFT CELL though the song is familiar. I did dredge up ZENDA from my small cache of Douglas Fairbanks, Ronald Coleman trivia.
ReplyDeleteThe theme also had some funny results from removing the "G." But it is Steve's reference to LINO that inspired to look up this ubiquitous floor covering of my youth. I learned that it is a material consisting of a canvas backing thickly coated with a preparation of linseed oil and powdered cork. The "lin" comes from linseed oil. Who knew?
Thank you, Steve and Clive.
Monocular had me for a while.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one, including the punny theme answers, though at first I thought the missing letter was C (CLASS CUTTING). Did wonder what a LOWING HEDARK crossing a GHATIS could be...D'oh! Thanx, Clive and Steve (what is that Gromit! business?)
EGOMANIAC: Definitely evokes a colorful mental image.
PSECH: Hand up for that.
Cute granddaughter, mb.
This one was a slower go for me - but got 'er done in the end. D-O- I'm with you on putting lowing in first - because all the other theme answers had an -ING word in them. I had LOWING REPORT first - but it wasn't working with the crosses - especially the GHATIS!! WEES about PSECH before PSYCH.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve and Clive!
Another hand up for PSeCH
ReplyDeleteSpelling of RIYAL (RIAL is Iranian, right?) and not knowing UBER Eat made the SE slow, thinking "shade" meant shadow instead of hue. But knew Erin wouldn't work because of ALIBr
Thanks Clive and Steve.
ReplyDeleteGood workout this morning .
DNF needed the EN in ZENDA
The rest came slow and steady
Caught the theme early which helped some .
Liked the IOU clue . It came to me a little too easily. Makes me think i’ve seen it before not too long ago.
Have a wonderful first day of summer.
Good Morning, Steve and friends. I Loved this puzzle! Like DO, I initially thought we were deleting the "C" instead of the "G", as LASS CUTTING was my first theme fill.
ReplyDeleteINGA appeared in a recent puzzle. Perhaps she is the word of the week.
My favorite clue was Plate Duster = UMP. I laughed when I uncovered that clue.
I wanted Worn in lieu of WORE for Become Frayed.
Another very hot and steamy day, with a heavy afternoon rain predicted.
For the physicists out there, the LIGO Site in Livingston, Louisiana became a Historic Site yesterday. I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ray Weiss, one of the 2017 Nobel Prize recipients recently. He has ties with LSU and the LIGO project.
QOD: Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern despotism. ~ Mary McCarthy (June 21, 1912 ~ Oct. 25, 1989)
Cool puzzle, interesting expo, Steve.
ReplyDeleteDid so miss you, Dave 2. I asked about you twice. Hope you got settled in your new digs by now.
DO and inanehiker, hand up for GHATIS before THAT IS because I expected an -ing in the phrase.
I wanted inaudible, but I knew I needed a Y for PSYCH. We had PSYCH before. Many had not heard of it used this way at that time.
As a waitress I was sometimes asked for Adam's ale meaning water. I had to be careful because we carried several varieties of Samuel Adams ale.
mb, cute pictures, especially the one in the snow suit. That smile!
Yesterday we went to my son David's home for his birthday dinner. It was fun. We don't do birthday cakes. At his request, I brought an English trifle with homemade custard and fresh raspberries.
Another one that had xSECH, so didn’t figure out PRIG, but got the rest. Clever long answers....
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun solve with a cute theme. There were several tricky clues but my favorite was Defensive line=Alibi. I didn't know either Solo or Cell, as clued, and Betta and Oryx were both unknown, although we've had Oryx before. I put Sewed before Sowed, which is a mistake I've made before. The puzzle had just the right amount of crunchiness for a Thursday. Aral is becoming almost as popular as Erie.
Thanks, Clive, for en enjoyable romp and thanks, Steve, for the usual mixture of fun and facts.
Melissa and CC, thanks for the photos of precious Jaelyn. What a smile!
Dave, it's nice to have you back and you missed. I hope you're happy in your new surroundings.
Happy first day of summer to all!
I tried to put "were" missed in Italics but, apparently I did something wrong. Anyway, Dave, the emphasis is on the fact that you WERE missed! 🤗
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Like others GLOWING… had to give way to GLOW IN THE…
-Texas to Florida gave me pause. Me too on PSECH and the “corker” cluing, Steve
-TASSELS talked me out of FISH
-The LEAS/meadows/pastures are really lush around here
-Sometimes the UMP sweeps like that so he can quietly get something straight with the catcher
-Teams use miles of this on ANKLES every season
-We said, “Do you want to play CATCH?” In Field Of Dreams, Ray asks his dad, “Do you want to have a CATCH?” Huh?
-The first STANZA and the start of the second
-Two AMISH girls jumped on our bus to sell us their wares when we stopped at their farm in PA.
-Yeah, yeah, I know what RELAXED fit really means
-GASH follows WOUND
-Jaelyn, U R A Q T
If cell is clued obscurely it must be Thursday but it perped easily. BETTA just emerged and didn't see it until I read Steve's commentary. ZENDA jumped right out. In fact the entire top filled quickly. Hand up for thinking C-minus first.
ReplyDeleteI have to give a CSO to my late mother, LALA.
RIYAL gave me fits because I've seen it spelled RIAL and first I had DINAR. Lots of erasing in that area. And obviously I was not paying attention to PSYCH when it last appeared. I recognize it now but I was stuck with psech. And my GLANCING BLOW was a blot/tore. Drat!
IN ALL, though, it was a satisfying solve. Thank you, Clive Probert.
Good to see you back, D4E4H.
Have a cheerful day, everyone!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteDifficult today with some tough cluing. Got it done, though. ARNOLD clue threw me because I originally didn't get the first name prompt. But my addled brain finally remembered there was a CA gov. named 'Gray' something. I then felt comfortable with ARNOLD.
Wanted 'pennies' before TASSELS.
GERT Frobe also appeared in "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines"
AREAS - In my other life, I occasionally ran a polar planimeter around maps of observed ice-covered AREAS of Lake Erie, for international reporting purposes. Observations were with the Mark I eyeball.
PK - FLN - re: your lobbying efforts. Good for you. Too many of us are too quiet about too many things.
Well, this started out as a real Thursday toughie for me, but pretty soon most of it filled in and I was delighted to even get the fun G theme! Many thanks, Clive. Only two tiny goof-ups in the end. Like others, I forgot to recheck and put the Y in PSECH, and I thought it was GLOBAL WARNING and so didn't get NMI, which of course made a lot more sense than NNI. Still, a lot of fun. Never heard of MOO juice. Nice to see old pals like SILAS, ERMA, and INGA right near the top. Great pictures and a fun write-up, Steve.
ReplyDeleteSweet picture, Melissa.
Dave, since I was away I hadn't heard about your move. Let us know how it went.
Fun J this morning, for those of you who do it. When I saw that long, long answer blank, my heart sank, but, incredibly, I think I got it! Yay!
Have a great day, everybody!
D-O: think Wallace and Gromit. Claymation series from Aardman Studios. Wallace often says "Cracking good ——, Gromit." The blank is often but not always the name of a cheese.
ReplyDeleteWEES about most of the puzzle, except that I knew PSYCH right away. Very enjoyable; thanks, Clive & Steve.
Rain, rain go away! Flood warning for DuPage County. :(
Santa Monica? Gambling on horses; 11D must be OTB. Nope, must have been thinking about Golf. Btw, I see Phil is starting to GET IT.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet folks squirmed a bit on this one. Let's see what folks said:
I see Gulf States gave trouble. My foothold was SIRED. Faux pas Like Misty stuff slowly filled. How about STALL for Low Joint. Been in plenty of those.
Water? City Gin? I held off on ERIN(Go Bragh). HST had no middle name but had the S.
I completely got the wrong idea about Prisoner of Zenda. Read the book, she never showed up.
We also had INGA as well as PSYCH. The latter thank god.
Jumble spoiler hint
Re. _J. If you're completely stuck, reread Owen's prescient l'ick.
I luv Jaelyn. And FLN House of - T
I'm on a streak of FIR's. Weekend looms
WC
It wasn't just G-Minus. It was GL -> G. I enjoyed the puzzle, but I also wonder if there was a deeper meaning we are missing? Hand up for PSECH before figuring it out.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Santa Monica PIER quite a few times. Thanks, Steve, for pointing out the mystery of the Yacht Harbor! I like to ride my unicycle along the beach near there!
PLANIMETERS are a fascinating way to measure AREAS. They do an integral function by purely mechanical means! Way cool!
As an electrical engineer I am in awe of ingenious mechanical designs. Electronics comes naturally to me; mechanics, not as easily.
Here is a video I made of a real LANCING BLOW!
This was at a Renaissance Fair in 2004. I had a bunch of photos, but I was pleased to discover this forgotten video. They are playing for real!
Once again, here is an abundant CATCH that was delivered to our door!
This guy came on one of my recent Sierra Club hikes and this was quite a reward! I am guessing he had to CAST many times to bring in all those fish!
Yes, D4E4H, you were visibly missed! Do tell us about your absence.
DNF,
ReplyDeleteI had Zelda. (Maybe at 62 I am not old enough for these puzzles.)
And it made me wonder what L.M.I. has to do with monogramed towels?
Did not know the word "Prig" went back that far.
(I thought it was just some anonymous Blog readers...)
And a landscape artist that doesn't use trees? (Oh, the painter, not the landscaper...)
Anywho, Psych did not shout out at me because my clue was inaudible...
Anywhowho. I would be glad to get my paws back on the ground after this puzzle,
as it had me up in the air...(I.E.: Zero "G")
I surprised myself by rolling through this one, fairly quickly for me, a tad over 13 mins.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lemon, for your astute and learned observations. Yes, the cool clues!
Now onward to the Friday WSJ crossword contest and to see if I won anything last week. I'm pretty hooked on it as well as on HQTrivia which I have won only once, without free lives. Sunday prize will be $50,000.
Picard, that video of the jousters was frightening. There must be deaths associated with this inane sport. The guy on the ground in your vid certainly looked seriously injured. Do you know?
Best to all.
WEES for just about every false path listed!
ReplyDeleteWC: Now, now. The poem wasn't true prescience. Since all of our discussion about the Jumble a couple weeks ago, I've started doing that puzzle online (at http://www.uclickgames.com/jumble/online/daily/tmjmf) after midnight, but before I write my poems. BTW, I must have missed part of the discussion. Why refer to it as _J ?
Melissa B:
ReplyDeleteYour granddaughter is so cute! Thank you for posting the pics, C.C.
WC:
Good for you on solving the Jumble and thank you for the hint! I was flummoxed by all those vowels until I re-read Owen's poem. so thank you as well, Owen.
Misty:
Good for you on your fast solve, too!
Picard:
Beautiful photos and good videos as always. Though she's not in today's photos I've been meaning to tell you that I think your wife is beautiful.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteFIR; my Natick was the xing of RIYAL/PRIG
Owen,clever poems today; nice use of rhumotologist _J
I think I got the theme from _LASS CUTTING
Lots of WO's: REAGAN > ARNOLD (didn't realize Gray was a first name); IS IT I > ALIBI; INAUDIBLE > INAUDIBLY
Nice puzzle; nice recap
Ok, my non-sensual Moe-Lick:
'Twas an AMISH man well-versed in Trig,
Who was sentenced, and sent to the brig.
'Cause his main ALIBI
Made the jury all sigh;
Said that he had been dating a PRIG.
Moe-ku:
EGOMANIAC
Seemed overconfident. He
Felt LOBAL WARMING
Owen, the much loved and much missed D4-Dave suggested we alert bloggers when discussing the Jumble.
ReplyDeleteHe suggested _J.
Well, I sure was impressed when I saw that l'ick. Another thing I observe is NYT cluing/answers (c)lechoing in here. I don't do NYT that much.
I not only don't time my xwords, quite often I do them in shifts, eg this morning I got 1/3 done then came back and finished. And when I close in on the tada, I have a tendency to choke. My brain freezes. Like in golf*
WC
* Like when you're 70 for 7 holes and a part and bogey will break 80. Ergo ,83
Hand up for INAUDABLe/INAUDABLY, PSeCH/PSYCH, WORn/WORE, LOWINgHEDARK/LOWINTHEDARK. Thank you for the fun, challenging puzzle, Clive P.! Great expo, Steve!
ReplyDeleteMB, your granddaughter is adorable!
WC, thanks for the hint to the J answer. I had the first word but was overwhelmed by all the left-over letters.
May you all have a wonderful rest of your day and evening!
WikWak, thanx for the info on Grommit. Must have been well after my time. Doesn't ring any bells, INAUDIBLe or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGERT Frobe had already been signed to play Goldfinger when the director found out that he spoke no English. Oops! He also appears in The Longest Day.
Just back from the Houston Medical Center. The procedure was a success, The hardest part was no food after 6pm and no fluids after midnight. Seems excessive for a noontime procedure. Now the advice is no alcohol for at least 24 hours. I'll drink to that...
Yet another speed run....or so I thought until I got to the SE. Had RIALS for 50A, which gave me SONER for 52D. Then I saw SKYBLUE and LLIBI became ALIBI.
ReplyDeleteSo a bit of crunch at the last.
Just marking my spot as to how far I have read the Blog
ReplyDeleteZero G?
A relatively easy pzl for a Thursday, I thought.
ReplyDeleteI caught the theme early, or so I imagined, because LASS CUTTING made me think we would be dropping the letter "C" from the start of our fills. I suppose most of us think of "Class cutting" before "Glass cutting" - right, Hahtoolah?
But the harm was temporary, as the next run of theme answers revealed the obvious trick through a string of missing "G"s, (or G-string?).
Thanks to Steve for a well-illustrated commentary. I particularly liked the photo of Ronald Colman in his ZENDA regalia. Colman was a brilliant star in Old Hollywood, but an actor who seems to have faded - undeservedly so - from the first rank of collective memory. Until TCM and other revival channels started re-running his films, I recalled him only as a droll voice on the old Jack Benny radio show.
I'm very glad to see him living again on my flat screen, especially in movies like A Tale of Two Cities, Lost Horizon, A Double Life, and The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Only one today, the dominant backward slash (NW to SE).
Happily, in this single diagonal Mr. Probert has given us an anagram for the situation in which a close acquaintance of a pop singer has to insist that she give it up - after way too many choruses of “Killing me softly….”
I.e,
“ROBBI, I MEAN ‘CEASE!’”
.
Anonymous T,
ReplyDeleteMy son lives in Flower Mound, Texas, a suburb at the apex of a triangle incl Dallas & Ft. Worth.
He moved there years ago for his then-wife to follow a job opportunity. After they split he stayed there to see his two kids through school. They have a great local school system, and he doesn't want to break their continuity.
Matt is a New Yorker at heart, so I expect that's where he will eventually settle. Fortunately for now, his work is all on line, so he can do it anywhere.
Misty, yes, we are all Jumblers now! I joined in after you talked it up in this Corner. Now I blame you every time I can't immediately grok an answer.
You know that period of teeth-gnashing and under-breath muttering that comes with at least one word - at least one! - in every Jumble?
Well, that period I dedicate to you!
Luv,
~ OMK
Loved this one! Thanks, Clive. Too many clever clues to mention and most have been discussed. I got PSYCH before INAUDIBLY so that was no problem. I wanted something fancier than SKY BLUE for the artist. BLUE? Just blue? Such fun. My favorite was IOU.
ReplyDeleteSteve, thanks for the tour.
MB, cutie pie!
Did anyone work Jeffrey Wechsler marvelous mindbender in tha NYT? Great fun.
I seem to be dropping letters. PSYCHed by the puzzle, ya think?
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss!
ReplyDeleteThank you, THANK YOU!
How very unexpected - and what a delight! I was just handed today's mail, including a small packet from an unfamiliar return address.
It turned out to be from you, a most welcome disc of Queen of the Stardust Ballroom.
I look forward to screening it soon.
Thank you again! I promise to share it with other Stapleton/Durning fans.
~ OMK
PS. And a Happy First Day of Summer to you too!
SUMER IS icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteþ after lomb,
Lhouþ after calue cu.
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu cuccu.
Happy first day of Summer!
ReplyDeleteIM:
ReplyDeleteItalics
Bold
To enhance your text, use simple tags. These HTML tags will enhance your text. use a tag < prior to the word and a tag /> after the word you want to emphasize. like in the above example
i=italics
b=bold
If you want to refer to another website....
1. Specify the target (website) with the a href tag (put < before the "a" tag>
2. Then add the text that should work as a link.
3. Finally add a closing "a" tag with forward slash (/) before the tag. This tag indicates where the link ends.
It's very simple. Try it!!!
Enjoy
I loved this puzzle. Good catch on KENNY G, Steve. Terrific fill such as MONOCULAR and INAUDIBLY. Didn't know BETTA at all but it just showed up as I filled the downs. Really good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI knew Oryx and Prig, so I didn't get stuck in an "ot game". With a "g" it would be "got game", get it?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, Lucina. Your comments are always so kind.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, Ol'Man Keith. Well, I suppose if no one bitterly complains about the J, I'll take your gnashing and muttering as a compliment and feel honored. Thank you!
Thanks to Lucina you had a hint about why I was away.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday 6-18, I signed a lease for an apartment in Hoskinson House, the assisted living portion of Wesley Manor. For those who know my surname, something here should stand out.
On Tuesday, Curtis, the new husband of Lynn, my caregiver, had total shoulder replacement on the right. On Wednesday he came home.
I have yet to receive my keys, and start moving in to my new digs. They have WIFI so I will be set.
I have "Long term insurance" which will kick in after 100 days. If at some time it expires, the facility will continue to care for me till death.
Thanks to each of you who missed me. There may be other lapses as I move.
_______________
J
My room is going to look just like the Jumble.
_______________
Ðave
ell, took me all day to fill in all the squares. Unfortunately, they weren't all OK. One goof and I never even questioned it. For 44a I entered PSYCH. Never even knew there was a word spelled PSECH.
ReplyDeleteNever heard about a BETTA, but the wags did! Saudi money is RIYAL? Thought it was something else, something I can't put a name to at the moment. Had trouble coming up with ARNOLD. Gray suggested I was looking for a last name.
Oh well, time to get back to our weekly 12 hours of BLUE BLOODS. Really look forward to it each week.
See Ya
OMK @ 4:00 ~ I'm glad it arrived safe and sound. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteJJM @ 5:29 ~ Thanks so much for your input. My problem was the result of a faulty recollection on how to do it; it's been ages and ages since I last highlighted anything. Maybe I should start practicing! ��
Rainman: Indeed, the LANCING BLOW jousters were not fooling around. Real horses and real falls in full armor. I don't think anyone needed to be taken away in an ambulance, but I would guess that guy who fell was going to be sore for quite awhile.
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)? They have done such crazy re-enactments at least since I was a student in college. Back then, some of our Unicycle Club members would do jousting on unicycles! They turned some of our club unicycle wheels into pretzels! I did later learn to repair some of them.
Some of the people in our Early Music Ensemble are also SCA people. Here are some photos of us with them a few years ago. We had a more recent performance with them, too.
Lucina: Thank you very much for the kind words about my photos and videos. Very much appreciated! And thank you for the appreciation of my wife, too!
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteE or U for @22d G-RT? Guess who chose U for the FIW?
Thanks Clive for the delightful distraction while I waited on my CPU today. Thanks Steve for the wit and the mighty-fine expo.
WOs: Fish off the bat (Hi HG!), PRIm, ibex b/f perps left the SOLO-correct X
ESPs: It's a bit late to find all of them
Fav: I'm going with Hahtoola's c/a @UMP
{B+, A} {ha!, cute}
MB - what a cutie!
OMK - Oh, so your Son's up that-a-way.
Picard - why did I know you'd know the SCA too?
WikWak - I knew I knew Steve's Crack from somewhere.... Thanks for the V8
IM - My chip-ship came to PORT [sorry, Steve, couldn't resist the ISLE of ribbing] and I found them dang good. Thin, very crisp, a little (too?) salty. I shared a bit with Youngest - she really dug 'em too.
Back to work...
Cheers, -T
Dear Isabella:
ReplyDeleteWhy would we go to a dentist in Brighton, Essex? And we are not in the NHS.
Michael - Yes! We don't like SPAM! .
ReplyDeleteJust got off-line getting my buddy in the UK up to date... Let's do this again in 4.5 hours. Oy! Cheers, -T