Bruce returns to the Friday stage with a letter extraction effort. Seeing the commonality for this theme was very tricky as the remaining words- GAS, ROO, CODY, and E.T.S do not help. This is why he included the reveal which I hope was enough to get you going. I enjoyed the whole effort very much. To make all of this happen, he uses a 16 column grid and has two grid spanners resulting in a grid only an X away from a pangram. With 4 theme fill and a reveal, he uses the customary 3rd/13th row, with a word in the middle. And the extra words in the bigger format allowed for such fun fill like AS A TEAM, BAR SEAT, BIG ASKS, KEEPERS, ON A DIET, OSMOSED, QUE PASA, ROADIES, ROSE TEA, SEASIDE, TRINITY, and WIG SHOP. So let's see what it all added up to.
18A. Torch fuel?: GA
25A. Tragedy involving a Milne character?: ROMEO AND JULIET (12). You have to love seeing that taking the ME out of ROMEO left ROO, the baby kangaroo in the Winnie the Pooh stories. ROO and Juliet was a fun image.
37A. Drawing by Buffalo Bill?: COMEDY SKETCH (9). You need to recall his last name was Cody and work backward to get this one.
53A. Spectator sport aboard a UFO?: WRESTLINGMEETS (12). This one was hard knowing the gimmick, as picturing E.T. wrestling took some imagination.
53A. Spectator sport aboard a UFO?: WRESTLING
And the reveal
61A. "No comment!" ... and a hint to four puzzle answers: LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS(16). A very fair reveal.
Across:
1. Looking to start something new, maybe: BORED. I hope this did not leave any of you bored.
6. Syria's Bashar al-__: ASSAD. Obviously to discuss this man would involve politics.
_03.jpg/220px-Bashar_al-Assad_(2018-05-17)_03.jpg)
11. Ed. promoters: PTAS. Parent Teacher Associations.
15. Combined: IN ONE. The first of much multi-word fill.
16. Some Strads: CELLI. I did not know Stradavarius made a Cello, but you can still BUY one.
17. Minor overhead?: URSA. Our astronomy clue of the day.
21. Refreshing drinks: ADES. Yea me. There is a "me" in this puzzle, it is a CSO.
22. Georgetown athlete: HOYA. The team name is derived from the mixed Greek and Latin chant "Hoya Saxa" (meaning "What Rocks"), which gained popularity at the school in the late nineteenth century. The name "Hoyas" came into use in the 1920s.
23. Is not wrong?: AIN'T. Is not = ain't.
24. Rest, in a way: SIT.
29. Things to hang onto: KEEPERS.
31. Suffer: AIL.
32. Can opener: TAB. Sadly, this brings to mind the recent demise of this teen idol.
33. Reserved: STAID.
34. Noble title: EARL.
36. Sylvia of jazz: SYMS. I have no memory of this SINGER who died while performing at the Oak Room at the Plaza. Apparently, she was a favorite of Sinatra.
41. Spit spots, for short: BBQS. This is what I think of.
44. Smidge: IOTA.
45. "In what way?": HOW SO?
49. Greek cross: TAU.
50. Decline: SAG.
51. Amp transporters: ROADIES. Some of my favorite people were the workers who made rock and roll work.
57. Whale group: GAM. I read the definition (rare) a school of whales, porpoises, or dolphins. I have always thought of this word from noir detective fiction book covers. Hey Splynter.
58. Fix, as a toy: SPAY. Poor puppy.
59. A pop: EACH.
60. Gulf Canada alternative: ESSO.
65. Facility: EASE.
66. 1951 Reagan co-star: BONZO.
68. Slightly: A TAD.
69. Burden-bearing beasts: ASSES.
70. Supported, as a weak ankle: TAPED. It does not have to be weak.
Down:
1. Major requests: BIG ASKS.
2. Losing purposely: ON A DIET.
3. Floral brew: ROSE TEA. My mother, may she rest in peace worked as an OB-GYN nurse for many years and recommended this tea for her patients for its HEALTH BENEFITS.
4. Son of Seth: ENOS. Grandson of Adam reappears a few weeks after being in a Friday JW. C.C. clued using Mr. Slaughter of baseball.
5. Dict. offering: DEFinition.
6. Ones bringing blessings?: ACHOOS. I like this clue/fill even if it is been done many times before.
7. "Later!": SEE YA.
8. "McSorley's Bar" artist: SLOAN. I did not remember the ARTIST but do the BAR.
9. From A to Z: ALL.
10. Handy initials: DIY. Do It Yourself. Not I.
11. Star __: PUPIL. This was so random, but it was already filled by the perps.
12. Fundamental doctrine of Christianity: TRINITY. Three in one.
13. Together: AS A TEAM. I love this being in this puzzle.
14. Down: SAD.
19. Superhero with a hammer: THOR.
20. Spike __: railroad worker's tool: MAUL. This word is back again in a new context.
25. More than fix up: RE-DO.
26. Take the plunge: DARE.
27. Dump: JILT.
28. "Conan"channel: TBS. Does anyone watch him any more?
30. Snaps: PICS.
34. No. from a builder: ESTimate.
35. Sometimes called, for short: AKA. Also Known As.
36. Booted, say: SHOD.
38. Lifebuoy competitor: DIAL. Soap.
39. Classic Yankee nickname: YOGI. Mr. BERRA.
40. Chuck alternative: CHAS.
41. "Incidentally," in texts: BTW. By The Way.
42. It's often a high chair: BAR SEAT. Barstool is the more common term and it has only been clued before as "Stool typically (or often).
43. Granada greeting: QUE PASA. A reference to this Spanish CITY.
46. Top secret store?: WIG SHOP. The idea is that you do not let people know you are wearing a wig- a secret about your top. Witty.
47. Coast: SEASIDE.
48. Diffused through a membrane: OSMOSED. Do we all remember OSMOSIS from high school?
50. Ophthalmologist's concern: STYE. This common infection in the eyelid normally does not require a specialist, as most styes do not require medical care and tend to go away on their own,
51. Right-hand pages: RECTOS. We have had this TERM recently.
52. Second emperor after Nero: OTHO. I only know this obscure man from my oldest son's education. Otho was Roman emperor from January to April 69 CE. Immediately after the assassination of Galba, Otho, the governor of Lusitania, was proclaimed emperor by the army. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.
54. Backed up: SAVED.
55. Bright signs: NEONS.
56. First-aid kit item: GAUZE.
60. Sicilian tourist attraction: ETNA.
61. Field: LEA.
62. Finance deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration.
63. Sister of the moon goddess Selene: EOS. There was a time when I had this goddess of the DAWN often in my Friday write-ups.
64. Thick: FAT. A tough way to end.
Bruce never disappoints; he makes us work but entertains as we go. We are already a month into summer, and more than halfway through 2018. Wow. Thank BH and all of you. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Our Chicago Crossword Corner regulars met for lunch yesterday. Abejo said they "had a great time and gabbed for nearly four hours."
68 comments:
Buffalo Bill on the drawing pad did etch.
They saw what he wanted in the CODY SKETCH.
To unfurl the sails,
See a GAM of whales --
A PIC of the SEASIDE, and CODY'S KETCH!
TRINITY was STAID, but Trinty was SAD.
She'd given the relationship all that she had!
But now she felt wilted
As if she'd been JILTED --
They'd pulled "Dueling CELLI" from the OLYMPIAD!
A woodsman walked in, and took a BAR SEAT
Called to the publican for some kind of treat!
Announced, "I'm Davey Crockett!"
The barman whispered, "Don't talk it!
Frontiersmen like you are just what B'ARS EAT!"
A gorilla named BONZO went to the mall.
He'd slipped past his KEEPERS, one and ALL!
He had been so BORED,
But the scattering horde
Feared that he'd come to the mall to MAUL!
{B+, A-, B+, A.} (After that last one, I wanted to say "carpeting", as if had been left off!
Greetings!
Thanks to Bruce and Lemonade. Really chewy puzzle.
FIR but had to ponder: SYMS, BIG ASKS, MAUL, QUE PASA, WIG SHOP and OTHO.
Have a great day!
Good morning Cornies.
It is raining in Louisville as I Typo. I pray that we are spared the tornadoes of yesterday, and I pray for those who lost everything in them.
Thank you Mr. Bruce Haight for this excellent CWP. I started just after midnight, and had mucho blanco. At 3 I worked some more. I BAILED in the north above 18A. After 430 I checked the theme, and was able to finish it. I found that there was no win for me which really helped the themers, and ergo the perps.
Thank you Lemonade for your excellent review.
CSO to CanadianEh! for 43D - "Canada Greeting". On my final working of the CWP I noticed QUE, and realized it was really 43D - Granada greeting: QUE PASA.
Picard FLN at 12:16 PM
- - Wrote "You seem to have mastered HTML codes that I have not seen before to get the cube effect." - - First, thank you for not mentioning that I had misspelled RUBIK. The mysterious "³" will appear when you do the following: while holding down the alt key, type 0179 using the keys on the right, not across the top of the keyboard. When you release the alt key, your special character will appear. This is how I get my "Ð" with 0208. Google ALT key for a complete list of the special characters.
Ðave
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. This was a toughie Friday puzzle for me.
I confidently wrote down Pod for the Group of Whales. Apparently, there are many names for Whale Groups.
A nice fresh clue for ESSO.
I immediately knew that the Life Buoy referred to a brand of soap, immediately filled in DIAL.
I confidently wrote in Herb Tea instead of ROSE TEA.
Lots of clever cluing. I especially liked Minor Overhead = URSA and Ones Bringing Blessings = ACHOOs.
Sylvia SYMS is a new guest to the crosswords.
QOD: I am not afraid of an army of lions lead by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep lead by a lion. ~ Alexander the Great (traditional dates often ascribed to his lifespan: July 20, 356 BCE ~ June 10, 323 BCE)
Friday puzzles should be tough and this one was. I caught the missing ME at 'roMEoandjuliet' the NW was tough to crack. I had TIRED, IN A DIVE, & AS ONE before BORED, ON A DIET, & IN ONE finally fell. I'd seen GAM of whales before but it took the WIG SHOP fill to remind me that I had to change it from POD. BIG ASK is a term I've never heard before.
SLOAN and SYMS were unknowns solved by perps.
Dr. Bashar al-ASSAD- I doubt this ophthalmologist has been tending to STYEs lately.
Good morning. Thank you Bruce and thank you Lemonade.
Never got BORED with this puzzle, but sure got challenged. Had a really hard time "seeing" the top two theme answers, even after having the lower two. Just wan't getting a lot of help from the downs at the top half.
Had enough with OLY----- to wag it would be OLYMPIcs, OLYMPIAn or OLYMPIAD, but getting the left half of that answer seemed to take forever.
Got 'er done, and each of the theme answers clearly reflects the reveal. But you pretty much have to get the downs to fill in the theme answers, and only then do the theme clues make any sense. CODY SKETCH could stand alone.
One error, again by not paying attention to the perps. Keyed in a Pope's name (OTTO) rather than an emperor's name (OTHO) so ended up with EACt for the clue "A pop."
Hahtoolah, I also had to change pod to GAM.
Big Easy, you may not have heard of BIG ASK before, but have you heard of, "Can you do me a solid ?" It's in the similar vein.
When I posted the link Reader's digest - Regional Sayings and Phrases, I forgot to add that there were two other links contained in the article that some might find interesting. One was "foods that have different regional names" and the other was "commonly mispronounced words."
BTW, I gave DW the Regional Sayings and Phrases test last evening. Her responses to each question was immediate, and matched the heat maps exactly, right down to calling them gym shoes. City girl.
Good morning!
DIETING rather than ON A DIET got me off to a slow start this morning. On the other side of the grid ATE/SAD, PUBS (Publishers)/PTAS and OLYMPICS slowed me down. Needed the reveal to get the theme, but I was able to find all the missing MEs. Velly clevuh, Mr. Haight. Thanx for the tour, Lemonade.
DIY: CSO to TTP
SYMS: I've got her singing I Could Have Danced All Night on my music server.
TAB: You're fortunate if you missed Tab Hunter's 1957 version of Young Love. The Sonny James version was much better.
OSMOSED: Tried learning calculus that way by placing the textbook under my pillow. Didn't work.
TRINITY: Was told in Sunday school that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny weren't members.
I'll award extra points if you can get through all 2 minutes of Tab Hunter's painful rendition. I couldn't do it.
Maybe,in a way,for short,say and way too many"?"clues for me to enjoy this.
Four of us Chicagoland solvers got together for lunch yesterday at Pasta Mia in Bartlett, IL. It was so nice to meet Madame Defarge and WikWak, and to meet with Abejo again. The time flew as we chatted; we were there almost fours hours ! That was a really nice visit and I'm glad we got together. Thank you Madame !
Good morning everyone.
Agree with Lemon's comments about Bruce. Great clues and a fiendish theme. I got early that 'ME' was dropped, but I had a devil of a time figuring out 'where'. ROMEO got me started. At least I got them all before coming here.
Only help was with GAM. I think 'pod' is much more common. Other than that, FIR. Favorite clue was for WIG SHOP, but there were many very good ones. BZ.
I've been ON A DIET since May 25. Lost 17 lbs so far.
Have a great day.
Très difficile. I thought from the onset we would need to add ME, but it took a long time, never-the-less. ROMEO, my first themer, got my mind going in the right direction. FIR.
POD before GAM.
BTW, yesterday I saw "asked for a solid" in the newspaper.
DARE today, DARER yesterday.
A doer of great deeds. A darer of great danger. Kinda poetic.
Owen, Woodsman A+
I used to be an independent DIY person. These days, as the body ages I hire more and more jobs out.
FLN, I have mountains of paperwork to sort out, IMO the most hated chore. You can't hire this job out or ask for help. Expecting my son to sort this out when I am gone is too big of an ask. I also have a closet full of clothing I don't wear. I will wait to go through it because I am ON A DIET and hope to get back to wearing much of it.
Hi guys,
I just posted a picture of the Chicago Crossword Corner gathering. As TTP mentioned, they chatted for almost four hours!
Nice to see you, WikWak! What a great treat to finally meet TTP after so many years of laboring behind the scenes. Thanks, Abejo and Madame DeFarge for the great pictures. So sweet to see you two again. Thanks for making this happen.
Good Morning:
Well, Mr. Bruce almost did me in this morning but my Irish stubbornness kept me going until I finally finished, sans help, after a whopping (and longest time for a Friday) 58+ minutes. I had many w/os including Pod/Gam, Sims/Syms, Tin/Tab, Asia/Ursa, Car Seat/Bar Seat, Dared/Bored, and As One/In One. My first theme answer was Cody Sketch but I didn't catch the theme until filling in Leave Me Out of This.
At least then I knew what was going on but, even after getting the other themers, the NW gave me fits. I finally changed Dared to Bored and As one to In one and realized Losing on purpose was health related, not throwing a game. That gave me On a Diet and the rest fell into place. Big CSO to TTP at 26D, Take the plunge=Dare and, as DO mentioned, DIY. (Self referential fill with Stye from Dr. Haight.) Favorite themer was Roo and Juliet.
Thanks, Bruce, for this brain buster and thanks, Lemony, for the excellent summary. I particularly enjoyed the origin of the Hoyas name as I've often wondered about its meaning. I also enjoyed reading about McSorley's Bar and the fact that they didn't serve women until the 1970's. We had a tavern here in Troy (perhaps there were others, as well) that had a separate entrance and seating area for women. No woman was allowed in the bar proper. Of course, this also changed in the 70's.
TTP @ 8:14 ~ Thanks for filling us in on your get together. I wish the entire Corner family could meet. I have met Hondo and had a few visits from our dear Argyle and would so enjoy meeting all of you. If wishes were horses ...
Have a great day.
Great picture of yesterday's lunch bunch! It's so nice to see all your faces, especially TTP and WikWak, the two newcomers, photo-wise. How far did each of you have to drive to the netting place? CC, thanks for posting this.
Autocorrect's netting place should be my meeting place. ACK, as Cathy would say!
Just finished reading last nites late comments,
(saving todays comments to savor over lunch...)
and I just had to add my two cents!
I save everything!
Even a plastic straw could be useful.
(stuffed with a crayon, stuck in a magnetic hanger,
it rings my windchimes when you come in from the garage...)
Coffee cans?
I keep some in the car, I can't tell you how many times
that plastic lid came in handy after one of the kids puked into it on a long
car drive...
And, believe it or not, a venetian blind metal hanging bracket!
I had a couple after removing old blinds, and could not throw them out!
Then the custom built fireplace screen door broke away from the bricks
on one side. Venetian metal hanging bracket to the rescue!
Just a little bending and it clamped the screen door to the bricks perfectly
without being seen!
I could go on and on...
Great info, Lemon. I always wondered why they were called the Hoyas.
So good to see the Chicago contingent. Nice pic. Didn't we have a young accountant from Chicago who recently married and who worked on supporting prisoners who were unjustly imprisoned?
The trouble with my keeping odds and ends that could be useful some day is that I can never find them in time. And if I throw them away I immediately find I need them.
Good Morning,
I just finished yesterday's puzzle and Corner Comments. I still need to get to today's. I did want to comment on the discussion initiated by Michael last night. The purging as I call it is very difficult, but really essential. Someone else may make better use or even need our "Stuff." I don't want to have my children do that. It is a major burden. Hence, I have begun the process myself. I prefer to call it Triage. Most obvious issues first and then on to the others. It is a process. For me, as Swamp Cat mentioned, books were the hardest. In the end, after MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, they were better off in the hands of young teachers who would use them, and former students who wanted them. I kept what I knew I would go back to reread. It is a slow process--maybe a bit like dealing with grief. I do know what my kids would do--DUMPSTER! This way I have a bit of control. We do have a lot of stuff, don't we? George Carlin did a bit on this, but even though I had lunch yesterday with some of our brilliant pals, nothing technical rubbed off. You'll have to YouTube that on your own. Plus knowing Carlin, it may be off color.
Thanks for asking Anon-T and Irish Miss: Ah yes, the Corner Meet Up. It was grand fun to be in the presence of just three of our wonderful, witty, clever, and interesting Corner friends. We talked for hours. We learned more about each other and our interests, but we also celebrated C.C. and the Cornerites. Everyone brings so much to the success of this group. We shared many of our favorite stories. We also discovered what Disney tried to express: It's a small world after all! Special thanks to Abeyo for stopping in when he noticed my car last Fall.
Full disclosure Anon -T, I did ask if the guys if they thought you actually type of if you simply have some sort of telemetry that sends your ideas directly to the computer--you are so witty, fast, and elephantine in memory. You must have upgraded your synapses to way beyond Terabytes for the common consumer.
What fun! I hope to get to the puzzle and read today's comments TODAY!
Ooooh! I'm glad I am not the only one who saves things. I have letters that my grandmother wrote to me years ago. I just can't bear to let them go. I have been trying to clean out my closet now that I no longer need dressy work clothes. It is harder than I thought it would be.
IM, I've never been to a bar that served women, and I've been to plenty of them. I always had to bring my own.
CC - Thanks for posting the Chicago lunch group. Good looking as per Corner Standards. How would you like to be a fly on that wall during the 4hr Kaffeeklatsch?
For Irish Miss...
Well,
this puzzle beat me up and took my lunch money...
Off to pick up the car from the shop
(broken AC)
and then take the dog to the dog park.
(she loves hanging out the window!)
I wonder if I broke the AC having it go full blast with the windows open
so the dog could get her smells...
Oh well,
I need cheering up,
so,
For me!
Musings
-Bruce, Bruce, it hurts when I do this! Well, I kept it up and had a great time!
-ROmeO gave me the gimmick whose reveal was also fun
-An ALL IN ONE device. I could add many more uses
-FORFEIT and TANKING fit for intentional losing
-Has anyone here ever used/heard ADE(S) used by itself?
-My “Spit spots” B _ _ _ were BIBS first. Anyone else?
-“He flies through the air with the greatest of facility” Hmmm… might need a rethink
-Athletic teams go through miles of TAPE every season
-A principal made a BIG ASK of me in 1970 and saying yes was the best thing I did in my career
-Last night a former student showed me an 18-year old PIC of him and 130 other kids at EPCOT he has saved on his camera. Cool!
-Silly 1904 SEASIDE song (3:21)
-Thank goodness, Blogger and Word have auto-save for BACKUP
-Pictures of our regulars (and irregulars) and a real treat. I have only met C.C. and Boomer so far. I wonder if she ever wears the Husker sweatshirt I gave her.
IM,I remember those separate entrances. "We had a tavern here in Troy (perhaps there were others, as well) that had a separate entrance and seating area for women. No woman was allowed in the bar proper." In the early days when my husband and I went out for a drink we had to sit at a table in a room next to the bar.
Blue Hen @ 9:57, LOL. Too bad you weren't around in "Gunsmoke" days. I believe Miss Kitty's Saloon served women. ;)
Dave, thanks for the cute doggie and kitty pics.
HG, I had bibs at first, too.
Bluehen @ 9:57 ~ A chef and a comedian! Who knew? 😈
CED, I enjoyed both links but, of course, the canines reign! Thanks for many chuckles and smiles.
Madame DeFarge, thanks for adding your comments on yesterday's outing.
As noted by Lemonade even when I got the theme it was a challenge to figure out each case. The reveal definitely helped! Quite clever!
How is TAU a Greek cross? CHI is the cross-shaped Greek letter. Am I missing something? That held me up awhile.
Some clever misdirections including for URSA and SPAY. Hand up for being quite sure it was POD before filling the unknown GAM with crosses. Learning moment about all the whale group words! I was stuck awhile thinking of an OLD FLAME as Torch fuel. Anyone else. Which made the last to fall be OLYMPIAD/PUPIL/URSA area. FIR!
Here is THOR's HAMMER behind us at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. One of my favorite places in the world!
Here you can see the OLYMPIAD TORCH coming right through our neighborhood!
Do you remember the song "Stay"? The Jackson Browne version is his standard finale song and it mentions ROADIES. It is an invitation to "Stay" a little longer at the concert if the workers don't mind.
I bet promoters don't mind
And the ROADIES don't mind
If we take a little time
And we leave this all behind
Singing one more song
CC: Thanks for posting the Chicago group photo. Cool that you all got together! Not sure if that is possible in my part of the country. We are kind of off the beaten path.
D4E4H: Thanks for explaining how you got the unique HTML codes using ALT. Learning moment!
From yesterday:
PK: Sorry if the Titty Totter was a sad reminder! At Burning Man it is a joy to see people of all ages and body types let it all hang out! Or not. Everyone is free to choose!
CrossEyedDave: Glad I could draw attention to BOOB in an enjoyable way! This is not the last of the Burning Man photos. Burning Man etiquette calls for asking before photographing. But I think everyone said yes.
Guessing that you too are not Christian, Robert, the TAU CROSS has been an important symbol in Christianity for centuries. St Francis of Assisi even signed his name with the TAU.
Bluehen, you need to come to South Florida and we will find you that restaurant you have missed.
I love Gail and Bruce puzzles--together or separate--although this was a toughie since it was a Friday. I worked hard and got the bottom half, ironically getting the theme answer with only WRESTLING ETS in place to help me see the missing ME. Then had to cheat to get much of the top part of the puzzle. But it was a lot of fun because there were so many places where you had to think twice to get the answer. 'Spit spots' kept eluding me until I realized it can't have to do with spitting and suddenly remembered BBQ spits. Kept thinking of a name for a cleric who might 'bring blessings' until ACHOOS fell into place. And, of course, I struggled with fixing that toy until I realized it was going to be a poodle and the answer was SPAY. Lots of fun, Bruce--many thanks.
Great write-up, Lemonade, thanks to you too. Only one silly question about the picture of Mary Poppins--what does she have to do with BBQs?
Spitzboov, congratulations on the weight loss!
Liked your last poem, Owen.
And C.C., thank you for posting the delightful photo of our great group of four. Loved seeing it!
Have a good day, everybody!
Wonderful picture of our 4 current Chicago area posters. I remember others from the area who have moved on, I wonder where they hide. Do you ever compare your old map HG?
Bruce Haight, Misty, not Bruce Venzke today. However, I am so glad you asked about Mary Poppins, because it explains how my mind works as I prepare these write ups SPIT SPOT was something I remember vividly from the movie.
Oh dear, my apologies, Bruce Haight. I've clearly got to learn to be more attentive to last names. But I meant everything I said about the puzzle which I loved, even when I needed help with the top.
And Lemonade, many thanks for the link. I've seen the Mary Poppins movie dozens of times since my youth, but for some reason didn't remember her "Spit Spot." Glad to know what this was all about.
Wow, felt a lot like a Saturday puzzle to me. Tough time breaking the theme, especially since I had "analprobings" for 53 across. Really made the down fills hard to crack. But, as all ET abductees say, "I gave it up in the end":( . Once I got gasoftheolympiad, everything fell into place. Have a great day!
I think Jackson Browne's, The Load Out, mentions "ROADIES". Stay plays after it on a version from the album, Running On Empty. But we know what you meant.
Well, I finished this one just before going to bed last night but it was too soon to get Lemon's writeup or to post my comments, so here I am, late for the party again. >sigh<
I was so sure that whales hung about in pods that I held onto PODS much too long. Finally SEASIDE and OSMOSED brought GAM to the top. I remember now that pods aren’t all that whales travel in (busses, trams, Kia Rios…) but it took a while.
Does anyone else feel a little bad about poor cathode? ANODE gets all the press but only does half the work…
I really enjoyed yesterday’s get-together! It was a treat to meet some of the people face to face instead of just keyboard to keyboard. The trip there was pretty quick for me, and would have been quicker if I had only gotten across the tracks before the world's slowest train brought the gates down. I won’t embarrass the company by naming them (it was the Canadian National [hi, C. Eh!]). About half an hour in pretty light (for here) traffic. We sat and gabbed and all of a sudden four hours had just vanished. It was worth the price of admission if for no other reason than that I finally learned how to pronounce "Abejo"! (abba JOE) [Did I get it right]?
Also I learned a lot of eastern Ohio / western Pennsylvania town names and "local color." Fun.
Well, time to go do something productive. Have a great afternoon all!
I have nothing good to say about this mess.....nothing at all, so I will say nothing. Mom would be proud.
I loved this puzzle, which took me plenty of little steps to finally complete. I admire the cleverness of the theme and imagine Mr. Haight searching his memory and whatever documentation he has to find words from which you can add or subtract ME and still have a word (or abbreviation, as in ETs.) I was especially amused at ROMEO becoming ROO and the mental image ROO AND JULIET conjured. It took me quite a long time to see how the ME fit into CODY, and once I saw it I laughed aloud and smacked my forehead. Hand up for too quickly entering POD and then having to change it to GAM, a term which I invariably fail to remember.
I recall an English actress named Sylvia SYMS but didn't know there was also an American singer of that name. Therefore I was reluctant to enter SYMS until the perps proved that was indeed the correct answer.
Thank you for posting the picture of Abejo, WikWak, Madame DeFarge, and TTP, C.C. It is good to see them. And thanks, Madame, for the recap of your meeting.
Spitzboov, congratulations on the weight loss.
Good wishes to you all.
Cathy and Ann were best friends who shared everything. They both had a quirk of speech in which they would say "I knowed it" rather than "I knew it." Everybody thought they did that on purpose, and nicknamed them CATHode and ANode.
Well this CW was slightly above my pay grade and I had to BAIL at the 90% mark. Thanks for the fun, Bruce and Lemonade.
I got the theme with ROMEO, looked up Buffalo Bill to be reminded of Cody, but my SpaceLINGETS at 53D did me in.
Hand up for Pod before GAM, and loving the clues for SPAY, URSA and BBQS (even though I had to come here to see the answer).
I had Reagan AS A TEAM with BonGo instead of BONZO, and wondered if it was a BP gauge in that first aid kit! D'uh!
My opthamalogist was concerned with Eyes- right letters, wrong order!
I commented a few days ago that we Canadians sometimes get "thrown a bone" with ESSO; but your finding a CSO with QUE was quite a stretch, Dave.
More prescience of the blog. I mentioned recently wanting to use Verso as a fill and today we get RECTO.
Also after all the discussion about purging our Stuff, today we get KEEPERS,
Thought-provoking QOD, Hahtoolah!
Great photo of the Chicago group. Glad you had a great time together.
Enjoy the day.
Leave me out of this?
I want no part of this puzzle!
Maybe if I break the computer...
Nooooo!
Misty, Spit Spot is the last line in this clip...
W-W I think it is because CATHODE is too close to CATHeter.
CED thank you for SPIT SPOT SPOT on link.
I had OTTO before OTHO and POD before GAM, but otherwise, this challenge from Mr. Haight was a victory for yrs trly.
I earned my Ta- DA! slowly but surely.
Some of the cluing was a hoot. My fave? 58A "Fix, as a toy."
Lemonade's comment was "Poor puppy," but I must differ. Spaying has no lasting ill effect on the pup and serves a greater purpose in controlling the canine population.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Alas, today's grid is asymmetrical (16x15), so no diagonals.
I am reminded of a great cartoon in The New Yorker. It shows a smallish dog waiting at the pearly gate to talk to God or St. Peter or...? The dog says, "Say, any chance I could get my testicles back?"
Bill G ~
Well, based on the habits of our Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix (AKA "Nacho"), the absence of certain body parts of the nether region does not interfere with his regular attempts at a sporting life.
Maggie, our dignified & lady-like Golden, puts up with his regular attentions - with what I take to be a bemused expression on her otherwise patient face.
My wife waves him off with broad sweep of her hand and a stern "Nacho!" I say, what the heck, he can't do any damage.
And it's probably good for his self-esteem.
~ OMK
Hi Y'all! Midnight, I came to the computer to do the puzzle, saw Bruce's name and almost went on to bed. However, I did stay and start filling it. "LEAVE ME OUT OF IT" was my first fully finished theme entry. I still didn't get it. Kept pecking away here and there. NE was last to fill. PTAS & star PUPIL had to be red-lettered. JULIET finally perped in and the ME-lacking theme finally at long last bopped me on the brain. Duh!
Didn't like the word OSMOSED altho I know "diffus(ion) through a membrane" is OSMOSis.
DNK: SLOAN, SYMS, OTHO. Whale group: pod, cAM, GAM. Ivory before DIAL. Lifebuoy & Ivory were competitors long before DIAL appeared to take over the bathroom.
DIY & REDO: CSO to my former life.
One last shoe comment: a friend of my son called his "tenny-runners". I just call mine Nikes.
The picture of the Chicago Cornerites was very welcome.
Bill G.
is this it?
Microsoft Edge scam. I just now received a message that locked my computer in Edge and wouldn't let me exit. It said I had received adware and needed to give my password and call a certain phone number to continue. I restarted my computer and reopened Edge. Same result. Restarted again and tried Chrome which was okay. I unplugged the computer and now Edge is back and everything seems fine. Need I worry? Norton 360 didn't find anything to report.
I am now reading Jodi Picoult's Lone Wolf. I find her depictions of life's dilemmas very interesting.
PK, I see you liked the first two books of The Cole Trilogy by Noah Gordon. I would be interested in hearing your reaction to the third one.
Lemonade: Thanks for explaining the Tau Cross. Indeed, like Bertrand Russell, I am not a Christian. Thanks for the learning moment!
And thanks for explaining the Mary Poppins SPIT SPOTS reference. I saw the film as a child when it came out. One of the few films I saw as a child. I did not remember that line.
Anon at 1:13PM: Actually, Jackson Browne mentions ROADIES in both halves of the combination. In Load Out and in Stay. The part I quoted is from Stay.
Here are the lyrics of Load Out and Stay and you can see the multiple ROADIES references.
BillG: I remember the testicles cartoon! Thanks for the reminder!
CrossEyedDave: Thanks for finding the cartoon!
Yellowrocks: Way scary about that Edge scam. It seems you did the right thing. I use Chrome for everything unless some site demands something else. You should definitely do another malware scan.
BTW this past Monday marked edition 4,000 of Crossword Corner. Another amazing milestone for C.C.
OMK, I did not suggest any long-term negative for the puppy, just the short-term shock.
I can't imagine a partnering of ROO AND JULIET that would be tragic.
I mean, really? That cute lil' Joey teamed up with darling young Juliet? It would be the epitome of sweetness!
A fable by Aesop or a pastoral comedy, perhaps, but never a tragedy.
~ OMK
Good EVENING! I finally finished the puzzle and read your comments. Thanks for enjoying that the four of us were able to get together. IM: I drove 73 miles round trip, but no big deal. The guys were all similarly located, and I love driving Illinois' best new Highway (I-90). I know how to deal with the truck traffic back and forth and it was a piece of cake. Yes, Anon -T sometimes I was driving 80 with traffic in the 70 zones. BUT here it's not in town. I agree a CC "retreat" would be fun. I've done them for knitting and met many online friends. (The Corner and Ravelry are the only two places I hang out online. No Facebook, Pintrest (?), and on and on.
The puzzle: thanks Bruce. At this point: what most everyone else has already said. I love when ROmeO let me know what was going on. And huh? Isn't a whale group a pod?Lots of false starts. Soda a pop. Very funny after TTP's map from yesterday. Also two days ago whilst I was making iced tea--as I watched the tea diffuse, I said to myself, Madame, that is actually OSMOSIS, since it's passing through a semi-permeable membrane. Ah! Not bad for a dame who never took Chemistry in HS but two years of Bio and one of Anat and Phys. Now all you scientists, don't get on me for that! ;-)
Lemonade, thank you for your usual amazing coverage.
A great Corner week after all. Merci a tout le monde ici!!
Yr: I liked the two earlier books better. I had never read them. I knew I had read Noah Gordon, but couldn't remember what titles. I had read the #3, probably in Reader's Digest Condensed Books when it first came out. It is good, but I didn't like the ending. I wanted her to at least call him and let him know. I couldn't remember how it ended from first reading so I was disappointed a second time. I then started reading the one about the Jew in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, but wasn't in the mood after I got into about 20 pages. Another time.
The Blog has taken some weird turns before, so...
OMG! Hehehehe
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
Got started late on this puzzle. Had a funeral memorial service in the middle of the day. Had to have been 500 people there. The Chief Rabban of Medinah Temple died, and he was also a former Chicago Police Officer (Retired). The Chicago Police Bagpipe band was there in force.
This puzzle beat me a quite a bit. I got it done after about two hours, or maybe more. Caught the theme slowly. First hint was ROO AND JULIET. The rest slowly appeared.
Lots of unknowns as well. Too many to list. Thank you, perps.
BIG ASKS was tough. ACHOOS was clever.
SLOAN was unknown. I read the comment of no ladies in McSorley's Bar. The Berghoff in Chicago was that way as well. No ladies in the bar. Of course that all changed, and for the better. When Herman Berghoff retired, his daughter took it over and promptly closed it. I think she realized her mistake and reopened after a while. One of my favorite places to eat dinner. Great German food!
I actually got BONZO. I remembered that from Reagan's campaign for President.
Yes, we had a great outing yesterday with four Cornerites. Myself (Abejo), WikWak, Madame DeFarge, and TTP. We talked for about 2 1/2 hours before we ordered our food. The waitress kept looking at us. It was a fun time. And, yes, WikWak, you pronounced Abejo correctly.
Well, I hope Saturday's puzzle is easier than today was. I may find out tonight if cruciverb works.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
FLN. Thx for that Ringo link. I listen to Sirius Beatles and I have come to greatly appreciate Mr Starr. Not to speak just of his drumming.
I see PBS is airing a baseball documentary for which a 60 year old Color film (of Ted Williams)has been unearthed. Perhaps the Mistys, Picards etal might want to check this out as it's going to be much more than just baseball.
Fe. Because of the corner I've become interested in Joyce and Star tmTrek and even learned some square dancing.
Now for Bruce's killer. One fiendish clue after another. Yes, I had TANKING and BIBS. Who'd athunk Dump would be JILT. Duh. And of course, Christian fundemental? CHARITY(1 Cor. 13)
And of course, even after getting 61A I never"Got it".
It was taking so long I got impatient. I really need to get that Wite-out.
Every false entry noted above I fell for too.
There were three others besides OTHO
I just realized how long this is
WC
Kudos to Bruce, Lemonade, Owen
* I guess if you don't know TW....
Forgot to express my gratitude to Bruce for the puzzle and Lemony for the expo. Thanks.
Hi All!
Nope, nada, zip, ouch. Learning-day a day early - the puzzle felt very Saturday. Like CED, I TITT, unlike Misty, I got the North(ish) but the SW would not crack. BIG FAT DNF.
Thanks Bruce but I wasn't worthy to even see the THE--; I didn't get a single themer! (Not a Spike NAIL... That bolloxed-up two themers and I had COon SKETCH [didn't know the soap :-( ] ).
Thanks LEM for stopping the bleeding [auto correct made it bleating at first; and that works too :-)]
Fav: WIG SHOP was LOL and made me think of Laura apologizing to Alan Brady.
{A-, C+, A, A}
What a wonderful PIC of the Corner's Chicago Contingent! Thanks for sharing.
MdF - well, the synapsi did me no favors today... [I do type; often too fast and expect the parser to find my errors]. A four-hour greet tells me y'all had fun.
Misty - rookie error. Or maybe not so rookie - I thought the same thing Bruce-wise a few weeks ago :-)
YR - Edge issue... Some newer (last 2 years or so) viri are memory resident only (Until it gets rights for persistence). If you restarted w/ powering down the virus was likely still in memory waiting to be hooked (by Edge - there's a critical bug Microsoft fixed this week). A full power cycle probably solved the issue. Curious - what website did you go to when that happened [email me off-blog; don't want anyone clicking it :-)]
Ode to coffee cans - CED, I have them everywhere (mostly under my workbench). They are handy for extra potting-soil, eggshells (for the tomatoes), pistachio shells (keeps slugs away from the cukes), rabbit poo (did you know you could order that online?), and various other stuff.
I also have (almost) three coffee cans full of coins and small bills. I figure in a hurricane or zombie apocalypse, I can pay for stuff and I won't have to give up a $ 'cuz the seller can't break a $20 :-)
Speaking of disaster... Did anyone else think of Genesis Genesis' Land of Confusion at BONZO?
Cheers, -T
ABEJO, glad to know how to say your name. I was calling you ah-bay-oh. I think you told us what Abejo means, but I can't recall.
That is why I am taking notes on each of the regulars. Sometimes I ask myself who said what. What an interesting,colorful group you are.I am happy to know you, my virtual friends.
Big asks??? Oh please!!!! What dictionary was used here?
Diversity and connection, a wonderful mix. Anyone else watching the Open? It streams live so while I work, I have one of the screens tuned in. I am not much of a links golfer (actually after last year's surgeries I am not much of a golfer) but is fun to watch those who can figure out that game. Tom Watson was a whiz and Bernhard Langer made the cut at 60.
The Pleasures of a large building:
- - This afternoon a storm knocked out our power. It was back on in 20 seconds, but it caused a capacitor to fail on a motor of a pump on the chiller, ergo no cold air. We had a hot time in the old dining room tonight. Some residents even took off their sweaters.
- - The system was back on line in less then 4 hours, but it will probably be morning before we are once again cool.
- - To add dessert to the day the fire alarm just went off. A new phone system is being installed, and it triggered the alarm. My aide was with me, and left to insure that there was indeed no blaze.
Chicago Crossword Corner regulars Thanks for the PIC. You inspire us by your party.
CanadianEh! at 1:51 PM
- - Wrote " ...finding a CSO with QUE was quite a stretch, Dave."
Please allow me to explain my error more clearly. When I first read the clue, I thought 43D read "Canada greeting". when in reality it read Granada greeting. I was unaware of any unusual Canada greeting except between Canada geese, and when I noticed the letters QUE already present from across answers, I cleaned my eyes and read "Granada." Sorry CEh! no CSO for you today.
Bill G at 2:27 PM
- - Here is a Far Side take on the neutering issue.
Ðave
Well, I wish you coulda been here. About five minutes ago, the International Space Station passed almost directly overhead. It was the brightest non-moon object in the sky, about as bright as Jupiter. It rose over the neighbor's house, passed directly in front of the bright half moon overhead and then headed off northeast at a rapid clip. It was crossing in front of the moon for about one second. I couldn't see it then even with my 12x IS binoculars. (The moon's brightness drowned it out.) My astronomer friend took photos and a video. If they turn out well, I'll post a link.
Heh heh. Good Far Side. Thanks.
Lovely clip, CrossEyed Dave, many thanks.
And liked your references, AnonT--thanks for those too!
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