Theme Stock Stuffers. Stuff with "stock" in them.
18A. Target, for one: BIG BOX STORE. Some people like to call the chain "Tar-jay" to make it sound posher.
24A. Dairy producer: CATTLE FARM. Now, I'm not sure I can let this one go. A dairy farm produces dairy. A feedlot, which might be called a cattle farm by some, turns cattle into beef. A cattle ranch produces more cattle. By the way, "cattle" is one of those great words that the more times you write it, the funnier it looks.
51A. Instant Pot function: SLOW COOKER. Strange really - the primary function of an Instant Pot is cook things quickly, not slowly. It's a pressure cooker, first and foremost.
60A. Typical annual meeting attendee ... or what 18-, 24- and 51-Across each can be, in a way: STOCKHOLDER
Corner stalwarts Agnes and C.C. teamed up on this one. Straightforward theme, some nice longer downs, my usual challenges with the TV show talent, but crosses took care of those. Let's see what pops:
Across:
1. Cristal maker: BIC. This is my kind of Cristal - salut!
4. Challenging: HARD
8. English town worth its salt?: EPSOM. Magnesium sulphate, chemically. The salt has quite a range of uses, from lowering blood pressure to acting as a binding agent in tofu. Handy stuff to have around. Here's the original well in Epsom:
13. "Queen of the South" TV network: USA. A drama-thriller adapted from the telenovela which aired on Telemundo. Queen of the South are also a Scottish professional soccer team, playing in the company of other splendidly-named sides such as Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and Heart of Midlothian.
14. Moon of Uranus: ARIEL
16. Goat sound?: LONG "O". Got me again, this long/short stuff is tough for me to parse.
17. Got together: MET
20. "Goodfellas" Oscar winner: PESCI
22. What a muff may protect: EAR
23. Has debts: OWES
28. "Cheers" spin-off: FRASIER
29. Hungers: YEARNS
33. Campus official: DEAN
34. Returning GI's diagnosis: PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
36. Crush a test: ACE IT
37. A bit off: ODD
38. Ad Council ad: PSA. Public Service Advertising.
39. 18-time MLB All-Star Carew: ROD
41. Crime scene letters: DNA
42. Bowen of "Modern Family": JULIE
44. Bunny slope lift: T-BAR. When I skied in the Alps back in the Stone Age, many of the longer lifts to take you up the mountain were t-bars. It took practice not to knock your fellow-rider off when you were doubled-up.
46. After that: THEN
47. Act that warms up the crowd: OPENER
49. Baby bodysuits: ONESIES
53. Player on three FIFA World Cup champion teams: PELE. The only player in World Cup history to do so. Cracking World Cup so far this time around. It's just a shame that the announcers, analysts and play-by-play folks on Fox demonstrate at least once a minute that they have little to no clue what they're talking about.
56. Ballet shoe part: TOE
57. "Molly's Game" actor Elba: IDRIS. This is Cader Idris, or "Chair of Idris" in the Welsh mountains, named for the giant of legend:
64. Words of assent: I DO
65. Nation: STATE
66. Cluster of small stars?: D-LIST
67. Fresh: NEW
68. Aster family member: TANSY. I read "Astor" first and went to look up Tansy Astor to see where she fit in the family. Silly me.
69. Scalawags: IMPS. What do you call a Milanese opera humorist? La Scala wag.
70. Pump output: GAS
Down:
1. Road warning sign: BUMP
2. "It's clear now": I SEE
3. String game: CAT'S CRADLE
4. Patterns that repeat: HABITS
5. "Entourage" agent Gold: ARI
6. Fix: RIG
7. "A diamond is forever" sloganeer: DE BEERS. Founded by Cecil Rhodes, he of "Rhodesia" fame, or infamy, depending on your viewpoint.
8. Golfer known as "The Big Easy": ELS. South African major championship winner. His "Els For Autism" foundation focuses on helping adult ASD sufferers transition to a more independent lifestyle. Great guy.
9. Foggy Bottom river: POTOMAC. DC neighborhood west of the White House and downtown. A diner near me used to serve the "Foggy Bottom Burger" which had peanut butter and jelly along with the patty. No-one ever knew why. The place is closed now, some might say one had something to do with the other.
10. Winter coat: SNOW
11. Tyrant: OGRE
12. Springfield hangout: MOE'S. Homer's hangout in "The Simpsons".
15. Sit around: LOAF
19. Body image, perhaps: X-RAY
21. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0": CAAN
25. What waiters wait for: TIPS
26. Set on: LET AT
27. Audition (for): READ
28. Out of patience: FED UP
30. Distracting literary device: RED HERRING
31. Best-dressed goal?: NINES. "Dressed to the nines". A Scottish phrase, alluding to the nine muses. Robert Burns' "Poem on Pastoral Poetry" has:
32. "American Dad!" dad: STAN. Thank you, crosses.
33. Karate studio: DOJO
35. Pipe cleaner: DRANO
38. Rind: PEEL
40. Nabisco nibble: OREO
43. About 80% of the world's species, according to the Smithsonian: INSECTS
45. Italian tenor Andrea: BOCELLI
46. Like games needing extra innings: TIED. A tie in Test Match cricket is one of the most exciting finishes to a five-day game. There are no extra innings, you all shake hands, toast each other with a cup o' tea and go home.
48. Type of IRA: ROTH
50. Goes around: SKIRTS
52. Mahogany or oak: WOOD
53. Covert "Over here!": PSST!
54. Vocalist James: ETTA
55. Balance sheet liability: LOAN. Depends if you make the loan or take the loan.
58. Creative thought: IDEA
59. Scatters, as seed: SOWS
61. Major: KEY. Let's indulge in a little Canon in D Major played from Pachelbel's original manuscript on instruments of the era. Rather lovely. I feel a little sorry for the cellist and the dude on the theorbo stage left, unless they're deliberately camera-shy!
62. Low-lit: DIM
63. Paranormal claim: ESP. Extra-Sensory Perception.
And the grid:
That's me done!
Steve
18A. Target, for one: BIG BOX STORE. Some people like to call the chain "Tar-jay" to make it sound posher.
24A. Dairy producer: CATTLE FARM. Now, I'm not sure I can let this one go. A dairy farm produces dairy. A feedlot, which might be called a cattle farm by some, turns cattle into beef. A cattle ranch produces more cattle. By the way, "cattle" is one of those great words that the more times you write it, the funnier it looks.
51A. Instant Pot function: SLOW COOKER. Strange really - the primary function of an Instant Pot is cook things quickly, not slowly. It's a pressure cooker, first and foremost.
60A. Typical annual meeting attendee ... or what 18-, 24- and 51-Across each can be, in a way: STOCKHOLDER
Corner stalwarts Agnes and C.C. teamed up on this one. Straightforward theme, some nice longer downs, my usual challenges with the TV show talent, but crosses took care of those. Let's see what pops:
Across:
1. Cristal maker: BIC. This is my kind of Cristal - salut!
4. Challenging: HARD
8. English town worth its salt?: EPSOM. Magnesium sulphate, chemically. The salt has quite a range of uses, from lowering blood pressure to acting as a binding agent in tofu. Handy stuff to have around. Here's the original well in Epsom:
13. "Queen of the South" TV network: USA. A drama-thriller adapted from the telenovela which aired on Telemundo. Queen of the South are also a Scottish professional soccer team, playing in the company of other splendidly-named sides such as Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and Heart of Midlothian.
14. Moon of Uranus: ARIEL
16. Goat sound?: LONG "O". Got me again, this long/short stuff is tough for me to parse.
17. Got together: MET
20. "Goodfellas" Oscar winner: PESCI
22. What a muff may protect: EAR
23. Has debts: OWES
28. "Cheers" spin-off: FRASIER
29. Hungers: YEARNS
33. Campus official: DEAN
34. Returning GI's diagnosis: PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
36. Crush a test: ACE IT
37. A bit off: ODD
38. Ad Council ad: PSA. Public Service Advertising.
39. 18-time MLB All-Star Carew: ROD
41. Crime scene letters: DNA
42. Bowen of "Modern Family": JULIE
44. Bunny slope lift: T-BAR. When I skied in the Alps back in the Stone Age, many of the longer lifts to take you up the mountain were t-bars. It took practice not to knock your fellow-rider off when you were doubled-up.
46. After that: THEN
47. Act that warms up the crowd: OPENER
49. Baby bodysuits: ONESIES
53. Player on three FIFA World Cup champion teams: PELE. The only player in World Cup history to do so. Cracking World Cup so far this time around. It's just a shame that the announcers, analysts and play-by-play folks on Fox demonstrate at least once a minute that they have little to no clue what they're talking about.
56. Ballet shoe part: TOE
57. "Molly's Game" actor Elba: IDRIS. This is Cader Idris, or "Chair of Idris" in the Welsh mountains, named for the giant of legend:
64. Words of assent: I DO
65. Nation: STATE
66. Cluster of small stars?: D-LIST
67. Fresh: NEW
68. Aster family member: TANSY. I read "Astor" first and went to look up Tansy Astor to see where she fit in the family. Silly me.
69. Scalawags: IMPS. What do you call a Milanese opera humorist? La Scala wag.
70. Pump output: GAS
Down:
1. Road warning sign: BUMP
2. "It's clear now": I SEE
3. String game: CAT'S CRADLE
4. Patterns that repeat: HABITS
5. "Entourage" agent Gold: ARI
6. Fix: RIG
7. "A diamond is forever" sloganeer: DE BEERS. Founded by Cecil Rhodes, he of "Rhodesia" fame, or infamy, depending on your viewpoint.
8. Golfer known as "The Big Easy": ELS. South African major championship winner. His "Els For Autism" foundation focuses on helping adult ASD sufferers transition to a more independent lifestyle. Great guy.
9. Foggy Bottom river: POTOMAC. DC neighborhood west of the White House and downtown. A diner near me used to serve the "Foggy Bottom Burger" which had peanut butter and jelly along with the patty. No-one ever knew why. The place is closed now, some might say one had something to do with the other.
10. Winter coat: SNOW
11. Tyrant: OGRE
12. Springfield hangout: MOE'S. Homer's hangout in "The Simpsons".
15. Sit around: LOAF
19. Body image, perhaps: X-RAY
21. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0": CAAN
25. What waiters wait for: TIPS
26. Set on: LET AT
27. Audition (for): READ
28. Out of patience: FED UP
30. Distracting literary device: RED HERRING
31. Best-dressed goal?: NINES. "Dressed to the nines". A Scottish phrase, alluding to the nine muses. Robert Burns' "Poem on Pastoral Poetry" has:
Thou paints auld nature to the nines,
In thy sweet Caledonian lines.
I wonder if he was an Inverness Caledonian Thistle fan?
32. "American Dad!" dad: STAN. Thank you, crosses.
33. Karate studio: DOJO
35. Pipe cleaner: DRANO
38. Rind: PEEL
40. Nabisco nibble: OREO
43. About 80% of the world's species, according to the Smithsonian: INSECTS
45. Italian tenor Andrea: BOCELLI
46. Like games needing extra innings: TIED. A tie in Test Match cricket is one of the most exciting finishes to a five-day game. There are no extra innings, you all shake hands, toast each other with a cup o' tea and go home.
48. Type of IRA: ROTH
50. Goes around: SKIRTS
52. Mahogany or oak: WOOD
53. Covert "Over here!": PSST!
54. Vocalist James: ETTA
55. Balance sheet liability: LOAN. Depends if you make the loan or take the loan.
58. Creative thought: IDEA
59. Scatters, as seed: SOWS
61. Major: KEY. Let's indulge in a little Canon in D Major played from Pachelbel's original manuscript on instruments of the era. Rather lovely. I feel a little sorry for the cellist and the dude on the theorbo stage left, unless they're deliberately camera-shy!
62. Low-lit: DIM
63. Paranormal claim: ESP. Extra-Sensory Perception.
And the grid:
That's me done!
Steve
1) Note from Agnes and C.C.:
Sorry this theme sounds
familiar to some of you. We first sent this puzzle to Rich in early
2017, but our revision query got lost for some time. Then Rich had to
wait a bit as he had just published another puzzle with the same reveal.
2) Here is a note from our Wednesday constructor Jeffrey:
In reference to the comment from Anthony Gael Moral at 9:42 – It is reasonable that many people were expecting a Fourth of July theme today, and some seemed rather disappointed by the lack of it. However, this specific comment seemed to imply that the LA times unpatriotically shunned the Fourth and used an acting theme instead. As a constructor who has had a July 4th themed puzzle published in the LA Times, I think this notion is rather far-fetched. The LA Times puzzle editor has no control over what puzzles are submitted; it’s probably simply the case that there happened to be no July 4th-themed offerings this year. And by the way, about a month ago I thought of a July 4th related theme, but it was too close to the holiday to submit it in time. I will do so next year. Also, I am confident that whether the puzzle is accepted or not will depend solely on the professional consideration of the editor on the objective quality of the theme concept and the filled grid.
2) Here is a note from our Wednesday constructor Jeffrey:
In reference to the comment from Anthony Gael Moral at 9:42 – It is reasonable that many people were expecting a Fourth of July theme today, and some seemed rather disappointed by the lack of it. However, this specific comment seemed to imply that the LA times unpatriotically shunned the Fourth and used an acting theme instead. As a constructor who has had a July 4th themed puzzle published in the LA Times, I think this notion is rather far-fetched. The LA Times puzzle editor has no control over what puzzles are submitted; it’s probably simply the case that there happened to be no July 4th-themed offerings this year. And by the way, about a month ago I thought of a July 4th related theme, but it was too close to the holiday to submit it in time. I will do so next year. Also, I am confident that whether the puzzle is accepted or not will depend solely on the professional consideration of the editor on the objective quality of the theme concept and the filled grid.
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to IM, C.C. and Steve!
FIR! But took awhile to perp everything out!
Did not know immediately: POTOMAC, DE BEERS, D-LIST
TANSY, RED HERRING, BIG BOX STORE and SKIRTS. Had no idea that CRISTAL was a pen!
Have a great day!
STAN was studying ants and bees, and made a surprising find.
ReplyDeleteThey had religions! Even cults for those who were IN SECTS aligned!
Patsy was JULIE's favorite singer,
Strains of "Crazy" in her memory linger!
She emulated her TO THE NINES, for she was so in Cline-d!
George threw a dollar across the POTOMAC
His father said, "THEN you'll not get it back!"
"Father, I cannot tell a lie,
The dollar bill is safe and dry.
The plane I threw
was an I.O.U.
For STOCK in a real greenback!"
{C+, C.}
Good Morning, Steve and friends. I ran through this puzzle rather quickly.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clues were: English Town Worth its Salt = EPSOM, and Body Image = X-RAY.
I learned that Patterns that Repeat are not Motifs, but rather HABITS.
By the time a read the clue for Goat Sound, the perps had filled in the LONG O. Otherwise, I would have been fooled by that clue.
The DE BEERS slogan of Diamonds Are Forever was a brilliant advertising slogan, as diamonds are not as rare as the company would have us believe. The linked article is an interesting story behind the slogan.
The TANSY Flowers are apparently invasive and poisonous. Not good to have in your garden.
Hope everyone had a fun and safe celebration yesterday. Stay cool!
QOD: Satire always benefits when evil and stupidity collide. ~ Gary Shteyngart (b. July 5, 1972)
Good morning all. Thank you Irish Miss, C.C. and Steve !
ReplyDeleteExcellent measured response Jeffrey, and thank you for posting it C.C. I tend to ignore the snide and snarky comments.
Like Steve, I had to pause and try to reconcile CATTLE FARM for "Dairy producer."
The perps filled in LONG O for me, and as I looked to see what the clue was, I thought LONGO must have been a character's name in some fiction I had never read.
Stared for a moment at HABIT Z and wondered what kind of repeating pattern it was. I was fixated on design patterns, or as Hahtoolah wrote, motif. Oh. FRASIER ! No Z.
Steve, were you thinking John Jacob ? Of course that's Astor, and this was aster, so the flower family. Still, I bet many got tripped up for a sec and wanted pANSY just as I did, but pansies are in the viola family. The perp dictated it must be TANSY. Never heard of them. Will have to ask DW if she knows of them.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWell, we're no longer five inches behind in annual rainfall. Wiped out in one swell foop!
I agree that the CATTLE FARM clue was off. Those repeating patterns weren't ORBITS but HABITS. Anybody else think there were lotsa names and proper nouns in this one? Fortunately, the perps were kind. But in the end, I labored to produce a DNF. I WAGged that Cristal was made by Hi-C and the road warning sign read HUMP. Bzzzzzt! Woe is I.
Hahtoolah, that QOD isn't purple prose but it borders on the orange.
Nice Thursday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThe Bic Cristal was first released in December 1950 and is the best selling pen in the world – the 100 billionths were sold in September 2006. Recently, it has become the archetypal ballpoint pen and is now considered ubiquitous, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art has made it a permanent part of its collection. Its hexagonal form and design mimic a classic lead pencil and it is sold in 6 types of point and 16 colors around the world. wiki. It is also the pen my Uncle used to trick us into volunteering for the polio vaccine test group.
ReplyDeleteI found this to be very doable with the normal C.C. signature long fill CAT'S CRADLE and RED HERRING my favs.
I missed the 9:42 comment, but thank you JW for your comment.
Steve, great write-up and C.C. and IM keep 'em coming.
Hi Y'all! Fun puzzle Agnes & C.C. but deceptively HARD! Got the theme when done.
ReplyDeleteGreat expo, Steve. I really liked your "La Scala wag". You are spot on with the CATTLE FARM comments. When I saw Dairy Producer, I wanted Guernseys, Jerseys, or Holsteins. Nope. I had FARM first, but colloquially would say DAiry FARM not CATTLE FARM. We had a FARM feeder yard where we fed beef CATTLE & a CATTLE Ranch where part of the cow-calf herd spent the summer. Doesn't really matter, but it just sounded wrong.
I had trouble with the NW & C blocs. I'd wanted stoP then raMP long before BUMP jarred the daylights outa me. Could not come up with BIC/USA without red-letters. HARD sure was. "Patterns that repeat" weren't geometry or mandala (my daughter just won one of the latter from an artist). Didn't know ARI or RIG or ARIEL. Don't think of Target as a BIG BOX STORE. I just BIG sacks outa there. "Body image": really liked this one when X-RAY perped in. Also didn't know CAAN.
But I did finish. Took 19 minutes. Keep 'em coming Agnes & C.C.!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood job, IM &CC.
Steve. great job on the hot wash-up. I'm still chortling over the TANSY comments.
Got the theme with the reveal. Helped understand the SLOW COOKER clue.
CATTLE FARM does seem a bit stiff, but I think we should grant the constructors some poetic license here. We had 45-50 cattle on our farm at any one time, but if anyone asked, we referred to it as a dairy farm. It was a milk producer. Other parts of the country might use other expressions. Again, I would cut the authors some slack on this.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteZoomed right through, mostly. Hand up for pausing at Tansy, which I only knew as a local girl’s name (her sister was named Plum - interesting family). Another hand up for resisting cattle farm, apparently thinking along PK’s line.
Morning, Steve, glad you pointed out the fast versus slow cooker oddity, I was wondering about that too.
WikWak and others who use Cruciverb - my long-standing bookmark (on an iPad) took me directly to the LAT Archive page. I chose that because, for some reason, a puzzle could be accessed at 10:00 PM of the evening prior to its publication date; using the “Today’s” section doesn’t do that. Now, however, the archive page is just blank white. The rest of Cruciverb seems to be working normally, as Spitz and Canadian learned. I guess I’ll just bookmark the main page and keep on puzzling.
Spitz: Of course, I don't expect two "city girls" & Rich to know cowboy/farm lingo. Just trying to impart a little country information here. I like C.C. & Agnes's puzzles because they aren't any more "technical" than I am.
ReplyDeleteFairly quick one today. WEES about CATTLE FARM vs dairy farm, we have both where I live now, but have lived in WI and husband is from Tillamook, OR - NO ONE calls them CATTLE FARMS- so a better clue may have been "sirloin producer" or "Fuddrucker supplier".
ReplyDeleteI had tough time initially in the NW - because I could only think of the alcohol CRISTAL and got stuck in that mindset.
Otherwise a creative puzzle! Thanks Agnes, CC! and Steve for the fun write-up!
First time I've FIR a Thursday CW with no erasure! Yes, TTP, I really had to wrestle whether to erase PSST x TANSY for PSSp x pANSY, but decided to STET.
ReplyDeleteI wanted kir or cur so some other 3-letter hooch vendor for Cristal maker. I thought an Instant Pot device must be a Denver vending machine. I was a lot more fun and knowledgeable about such things before I got clean and sober.
The US Dept of State is referred to as "Foggy Bottom". My sister has lived in the Greater DC area most of her life and says that when her friends say they work for the Dept of State but are vague about their job, they are assumed to work for the CIA.
I was worried about what OKL might do with the "muff protection" clue.
Overt CSO to the REAL big easy, our Corner pal.
I may have learned it here, but I recently learned somewhere that the most deadly animal in the world is an insect: the mosquito.
Thanks to IM and CC for this fine puzzle. My favorites were "cluster of small stars" for D-LIST and "best-dressed goal" for NINES. As I mentioned yesterday, I like the "LONG O" and "silent m" types of fill. Thanks to Steve for another solid review, but cricket still sounds just awful. Futbol ain't my cuppa either.
I do like a 'Challenging' HARD puzzle and the dynamic duo of CC & IM gave me one today. So much A&E pertaining to TV & movies on shows I've never heard of or watched. USA, ARI, JULIE, IDRIS, FRASIER, STAN, CAAN- all perps. Andrea BOCELLI I know but the Italian names always mess me up, usually with a CC and LL in the name; one of the letters is doubled but not the other. And then Joe PESCI breaks that rule.
ReplyDeleteThe STOCKHOLDER theme I never saw. I've always heard of a CATTLE FARM being used to produce beef, whereas a DAIRY FARM was a milk producer. 'Instant Pot' was an unknown, so SLOW COOKER worked its way into the puzzle. I agree with Steve on that one. Crock Pot- we have five of different sizes. "Instant Pot" sounds like a coffee maker.
BIC 'Cristal'- didn't know if it was a razor or pen- perped. Thanks for the explanation Lemonade.
D-LIST actors- 'Are parking cars and pumping gas' ( Do you know the way o San Jose)
TANSY- that's a new word for me. I wanted PANSY but PSSP? I knew wasn't correct.
FOGGY BOTTOM, aka US State Dept.
Oops! Forgot to thank I.M., C.C. and Steve. Thanx, I.M. C.C. and Steve.
ReplyDeleteOops! Me too. Thanks IM, C.C., and Steve.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat from IM and CC! Favorites were cluster of small stars for D-LIST, and body image for X-RAY . Ernie ELS has always been a favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThis city gal had no problem when perps gave me CATTLE FARM. I don't know one from another. There are no farms in the swamp unless you count alligator farms.
Learning moment was 43d, 80% of world's species are insects. I can believe it when the mosquitos swarm.
Thanks, Steve, for an enlightening summary.
Jeffrey, your command of words stands you in good stead with measured explanations as well as puzzles. Thanks for your reply.
Owen, I chuckled.
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks Irish Miss and C.C. for some fine post holiday fun. Realized the theme at SLOWCOOKER with the STOCK following closely behind. Yay! Not my usual experience. My faves today: RED HERRING, SNOW, DLIST, and finally parsing LONG O.
Steve, thank you for another fine write up. I didn't imagine Cristal as a pen either. Worldwide or not, I prefer the point on the BIC Round Stic when I use a dime store pen. Madame is a stickler for fine writing instruments.
Diamonds are Forever, but the marriage may only last ten years. J. Courtney Sullivan wrote a fine novel about the campaign and the woman at the ad agency who created it. It intertwines diamonds with a family's various experiences in love and marriage. Quite a good read: ENGAGEMENTS.
Thanks, Jeffrey for stopping by with your well-informed commentary.
Have good day, everyone.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of those confused by the Cattle Farm clue as our submitted clue was "Where the beef is". Also, our clue for Slow Cooker was "Counter culinary convenience". Because so much time passes between submission date and publication date, you forget the clues and answers to a certain degree and, when the clues have been changed, it's like solving someone else's puzzle. For example, I needed perps for Bic as I never heard of Christal. When we created this puzzle, we clued it at a Monday level of difficulty. Because Rich ran it on a Thursday, many of the clues were changed to adjust accordingly.
Thanks, Steve, for your cheery expo. I've always wondered about "dressed to the nines" and now I know! Merci! As always, a big thank you to CC, my mentor and friend extraordinaire!
Thanks for all the kind words, especially Spitz's. Keep on puzzling!
Have a great day and stay cool.
Neat puzzle and thanks to Agnes Davidson & C.C. Burnikel. Nice run through Steve - letting everyone know about that Long-O trick. Somehow I thought it was another foreign word - maybe Italian for "Let me go" (Got my goat?). I have now idea what I was thinking.
ReplyDeleteBut, at first I thought it was going to be a killer puzzle with all these celebrities and other pronouns,TANSY,BIC (CRISTAL),DE BEERS, D-LIST, RED HERRING,POTOMAC, USA, ARIEL,PESCI, FRAZIER, JULIE, IDRIS, CAAN, ARI, BOCELLI, STAN?
It turned out to be a relatively easy Thursday, after all.
I had a great story idea for this but my duties called. The left over heatwave here in the East Coast is giving our Furniture Store's air conditioners PTSD and is slow cooking our customers. I am now wishing for SNOW.
Musings
ReplyDelete-CATTLE FARM? was a small price to pay for such a nice puzzle. Thank you C.C. and Agnes.
-C.C.’s hometown Minneapolis references of ROD and TARGET stood out to me :-)
-EPSOM salts go into every hole for Joann’s tomato plants
-Even in a noisy school lunchroom, I could hear something that sounded ODD
-The 20 greatest OPENING ACTS (text is to the upper right of the pictures)
-Incompetent broadcasting would get right by me, Steve. Soccer has not captured my attention
-Our twin toddler nieces’ being IMPS became intolerable when they started breaking things at our house
-I don’t think any of my HABITS have crossed the line into OCD but I do not eat the last French fry if it will make for an ODD number. Yikes!
-Scott CAAN and his famous dad
-Every day is Christmas for waiters. They open “presents” to see if they get something nice or a lump of metaphorical coal
-Our tomatoes have “set on” weeks ago and we are waiting for a color change
-As I mentioned a few weeks ago, every cop show features a RED HERRING up front
-Confrontation at the DOJO (2:27)
-Unlike my mother who never did, I SKIRT certain issues at family events
Good morning to everybody and happy Fifth.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a tansy. Not very pretty to my eye.
I would agree that Target is not a Big Box store. Costco, yes. Target, no.
Thanks Agnes, CC and Steve. Rich too. Very pleasant.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Agnes and C.C., and Steve.
ReplyDeleteMy newspaper does not print the constructor but I noticed some fresh clueing* and wondered if it was a C.C. production. Aha moment when I got here; she was the mentor! (*D LIST,SKIRTS, TIPS, RIG, EPSOM, SNOW, HABITS for example)
But I had a Natick which resulted in a FIW at 20A and 21D. I debated over PESHI/HAAN or PESCI/CAAN and choose the H. D'uh.
I had Shareholder before ETTA forced STOCKHOLDER.
CAT'S CRADLE reminded me of the Harry Chapin song, Cat's in the Cradle.
LONG O instead of Hard G today.
CSO to Big Easy.
MOES filled in with perps thankfully as my Simpsons knowledge is lacking.
I didn't know the flower/weed TANSY but perps were strong and would not allow Pansy.
Like Joann, I put EPSOM salts around my tomatoes and roses.
26D "set on"= LET AT was a bit of a stretch but I guess you could think of LETting your dog AT somebody when you say SIC 'em (different use of SIC than the last few days!)
BIG BOX STORE, Target, did not survive in Canada. People expected the same low prices as in USA and were surprised that prices were no different than Walmart, Sears (which has since gone under also); stock was not available and stores seemed empty. In less than 2 years, they closed up shop.
Thanks to JW for coming here to explain the lack of a July 4th theme yesterday. Perhaps I should work on a CW with a July 1st, Canada Day theme for next year. I will fill it full of EHS, RCMP, CBC, first names of our previous Prime Ministers, SINS instead of SSNS, and "proper" spellings for all those words with U like honour, colour etc. Our local newspaper has a Saturday "Canadian Crossword" which IMHO is poorly constructed (at least in comparison to the LA Times Crossword). But perhaps I should not throw stones when I have never constructed a CW and I am sure there are challenges.
Enjoy the day.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
ReplyDeleteFirst off, does it feel like a Monday to anyone else but me? Last night (at work) it felt like a Sunday, and today's puzzle had more of a Monday difficulty level. These dang mid-week holidays ... my body clock is in another time zone!
When I saw the constructors were IM and CC, I knew I'd be in for a fun solve. CC got her baseball (ROD) and golf (ELS) clues, and Agnes got her former calling (nun) with HABITS (see Moe-ku, #1). Steve wrapped it all up with a neat recap. Thanks for today's entertainment
No WO's, but I at first wrote POTAMIC before seeing YEARNS cross its path at the I. No prob; making an I an A took just a "click of my BIC". I guessed at a few, and like others said, kept TANSY, instead of writing PANSY. Asters, violets, pansies, roses, daffodils - they're all flowers as far as I'm concerned. I'll let Ancestry dot com figure out their lineage, thank you! 😜
Jinx @ 8:31 ---> am I being too presumptive that the overt SO was for my alter ego in 12d??! Also, your reference of the Instant Pot to a Denver vending machine was quite funny!
Owen, I saw your _J reveal in one of your poems, but you called it, last night, that it would be there. I think we need to forbid these kind of antics here, although I'm on the fence as to whether covert hints are, or are not allowed. I know that at times I, too, get stumped trying to figure out the jumbled words. Of course, there are on-line websites (unscramble.com, eg) where you can go mining for help. By the way, 3 for 4 is 75%. Put THAT in your chip dip, why don't you!!
More than enough clues and solves for puns, but here are two that are fit to print:
M-K #1:
Former nuns like to
Wear black. It is very hard
To break their HABITS.
M-K #2:
They started selling
Oolong in Aspen. It's found
At their new TBAR.
{groan} {hah!}
Well, C.C. & IM, you nearly did me in today. For some reason the NE just wouldn’t come together; nothing clicked (unlike my BICs). Finally got enough crosses to pull off an FIR in just under 15 minutes. Thanks for the challenge. And Steve, thanks for 'splaining the ones that didn’t make sense even after I got 'em right.
ReplyDeleteWEES about the CATTLE FARM. I was glad to read that this was not the clue our dynamic duo submitted. Up until now I had never thought about the ways an editor can change a puzzle's difficulty by keeping the same fill but changing the clues. Cool.
Hot again today; this is getting old already. Wherefore art thou, autumn?
Have a day.
Oooh, I love seeing an Irish Miss and C.C. puzzle and prayed I'd get it all. But it's a Thursday, after all, and although I surprisingly got most of it, I had to cheat a little in the end. Have never heard of BIC/CRISTAL, though, thankfully, the perps filled that one in for me. Also, read ASTOR instead of ASTER, and so relied on perps for that one as well. The Ad Council ad gave me problems too. But the one I just couldn't get, alas, was BIG BOX STORE--even though I had ____OX STORE. I haven't shopped in ten years, believe it or not, not since before Rowland's stroke in 2008. I think I better plan to get out a little more this year, and get familiar with the commercial world again. And, of course, LONG O eluded me, as those answers always do. But it was fun getting JULIE, since I've been watching "Modern Family" for years, and I can't believe I even got PELE--a sports clue, no less.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what a fun puzzle--many thanks, Irish Miss and C.C., and great to get your comments, Irish Miss. Delightful and helpful write-up, Steve. And Jeffrey, how nice to have you check in to explain the whole puzzle choice procedure to us. We'll look forward to your 4th of July puzzle next year.
Enjoyed your poems, Owen.
Have a great day, everybody!
P.S. The Jumble stumped me this morning. Any help will be much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMisty @ 12:03 ---> the answers to three of the four jumbled words are in my post, and the fourth word is implied. Owen put the actual reveal in one of his two poems. Hope this helps you - if you'd like hints a different way, please advise... 😀
ReplyDeleteBack in March a New York Times Sunday had tansy as the first entry in the last row. Despite the fact that tansy eradication is a big effort in my county I inexplicably put pansy as the response then and have never forgiven myself. This time I got the answer right away.
ReplyDeleteDNF
ReplyDelete(Ya got me Gals...)
Had trouble with the names, and things like Bic/Bump
Reading last night posts about the guy playing with himself
reminded me of this guy... Most impressive I have ever seen...
Yes OwenKL, you got a chuckle out of me too...
(Ditto Chairman Moe!)
Canon in D, Ah yes! Very nice. But it does get a little repetitive...
My fav version (@9:36) includes impressive variations!
Anywho, having been clobbered by this puzzle,
in front of the entire internet,
I can only say...
I don’t think I had ever seen a BIC Cristal pen before or at least never noticed. This morning, shopping for something else... voila! There was a whole display of BIC Cristal. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteChairman Moe, I actually got all four Jumble words--it's just the 8 letter reveal on the bottom that's giving me trouble.
ReplyDeleteMisty: think of a synonym for hillside. Or a slanted slope.
ReplyDeleteMisty: the hillside and slanted slope synonym is then put into a verb form
ReplyDeleteFIW with PANSY/PSSP. It seemed wrong, but I never heard of a TANSY. Learning moment. ARIEL/ARI a Natick WAG. LONGO confused me for way too long. WEES about CATTLE. When we lived out in rural New England, we were taught the difference between dairy cows for milk and CATTLE for meat. Had me stuck for awhile.
ReplyDeleteAs a STOCK HOLDER myself, I enjoyed the theme! Thanks, CC and Agnes!
Here is my photo of a tribute to another DEAN in Los Angeles Griffith Park.
Here are my photos of George Washington's Mount Vernon home along the POTOMAC.
There are two photos with water. That is the POTOMAC! I have other POTOMAC photos, but I will need to dig for them.
I got to see the filming of the final episode of FRASIER at Paramount. Unfortunately, they don't allow photos there!
But here are my photos of our VIP Paramount tour before and after the FRASIER filming.
Big Box stores - although maybe counter-intuitive, in the retail vernacular, these are stores which have a larger square footage than a comparable retailer in the high street or the mall. It's nothing to do with the size of the box that the goods are sold in. Operations such CostCo and Sam's Club are specifically not big-box stores, they are "warehouse club" stores.
ReplyDeleteI got it! Thank you, Chairman Moe!
ReplyDelete👍: you're welcome!
DeleteTa- DA!
ReplyDeleteVeddy clevuh--this sly pzl from the team of Irish Miss & C.C.!
I probably had more erasures per squared squares than on any similarly sized pzl in donkeys' ears.
But got 'er done, and that's what matters. I thank you, dear ladies, for the challenge.
The Jumble was maybe the easiest in two weeks. Or maybe I just felt so (Hm... what's a synonym for "leaning into it"?).
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: None today. Funny how both the main and mirror lines came a cropper in the same square - square 113. Most unusual.
Sorry I wasn't a tad earlier, Misty.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you are aware (yes?) of the availability of the Word Unscrambler at https://wordunscrambler.me/ . I mean, just in case...
I'm sure it's no greater sin than Googling a Friday or Saturday Xwd.
~ OMK
OMK @ 1:36 ---> I use the word unscrambler website as a last resort; same as with Google to LU clues for the xword. Jumble to me, though, is more fun when I play it like Scrabble. Lately, the puns have been a bit more difficult, and like Misty, I might get all 4 of the scrambled words, only to be stumped by the punned reveal.
ReplyDeleteI used to use the _J for my limerick and haiku "inspiration", but I got caught once (by someone here @ The Corner), and won't do it again!
What's the Diagonal Report?
ReplyDeleteI’m with the Chairman, yesterday felt like Sunday and today Monday. Plus I’m retired....I actually have a “day of the week” clock.
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice Thursday (got it!) puzzle, no issues.
My brain was on SLOW COOK this morning. And I'm FIW right off the bat
ReplyDeleteI had HUMP and HI C. Perfect fits just WRONG!!! I think where there are humps the sign says HUMP. But it might say BUMP. And I see D-O made the same mistake. Great minds...
Speaking of TV, Murdoch left me cold: is it supposed to be like a fictional history Fe. Did the Feds chase down Emma Goldman after McKinley's assassination?
In The Adventure of the Abbey Grange the Inspector thinks Sherlock's"methods" unusual. Holmes replies"But they did result in finding the silver" The Inspector allows himself to be convinced that the Silver was a RED HERRING. I'd better re-read the story.
Owen, C's?? Those two were great. I'm glad you didn't reveal the _J*. I've got the letters and it's not IN CONDITION. I just got it. I had the wrong slant.
Jinx, I thought"pot" had to do with gambling.
Btw re. OKL, MUFF.. Stay worried, plenty of time
Thx HG, I thought Scott CAAN might be fils
C-eh, all you needed was ROD Carew. Btw, I wanted MELS < MOES.
I now see Misty etal has grok'ed the _J. I had problems with the reveal; I assumed the two letter word was IN or ON.
I started_J at 11 am, halted, started xword- imo, our girls had to one-up Jeff-Wesch. I worked wherever I could fill a box. The theme helped me somewhat with the long fills.
Btw, ItWP*, I was asked what grade a LtCmdr was. MAJOR in USMC, O4 pay grade wise. The first sounds more impressive than the latter.
Steve I always chuckle and learn from your write-ups. IM, so you had this clued as a Monday?? I can see about a half dozen Monday clues.
C-Moe, I agree that we shouldn't give the Jumble away. Subtle hints like "Slant" ok. But I've been solving the_J before the xword to stay safe.
I'd never solve anything if I allowed lookups.
WC
*In the Walking Pool
Oh snap. Owen's "reveal" was indeed in lickl #1. You're a genius, bro . I'm going to try an earlier suggestion
Chairman Moe,
ReplyDeleteI don't use the Unscrambler for the Jumble. Defeats the purpose. I use it sometimes to get me started on un-anagramming a diagonal of letters; it can be a godsend there.
I suggested it here for Misty or anyone who feels so stuck they turn to the Corner for hints. The return posts are often so explicit one might as well use the Unscrambler.
In any case, we know the Unscrambler is limited. It's fine for the single words, but it can't untangle multiple words for the final answer.
~ OMK
Mary Keller @2:43:
ReplyDeleteSee my post above. No diagonals today.
~ OMK
I was pleased to see Agnes and C.C. as the constructors and was pleased to solve their puzzle. You both have such good imaginations and senses of humor. I'll come out and say it: I think your original clues were better than Rich's. Fave clues were those for EPSOM, XRAY, EAR, and especially NINES.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I loved your La Scala wags comment. In fact, I liked all your comments.
Best wishes to you all.
Several of you have mentioned that you particularly liked the clues for EPSOM, D LIST, NINES, INSECTS, AND EAR. Credit for these goes to Rich, along with several others throughout the puzzle. 🤗
ReplyDeleteOMK - I think Ms Keller is asking someone to explain what your Diagonal back-and-forth is all about
ReplyDeleteI’m confused. C.C. started this blog to discuss crossword puzzles. Today our own hostess had a puzzle with our dear cyber friend Irish Miss. Surely we should be discussing their wonderful offering.
ReplyDeleteBut some of us are discussing at length the jumble which has nothing to do with the crossword.
That seems to me to be an offense to our hostess whose puzzle we can discuss right now.
Many of us don’t care about the jumble. But we do care about C.C. and Agnes.
Just my humble opinion.
I'll second SwampCat's comment. Why don't you start your own jumble blog?
ReplyDeleteI agree, Swamp Cat. We do discuss things other than the puzzle, but not at such great length and not every single day. Agnes and CC, great puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThanks PK!
ReplyDeleteYellow rocks, I agree. We often discuss other things but today our emphasis should be on C C. and Agnes!
ReplyDeleteToday’s offering was a great puzzle! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Maybe all these sidetrack items have something to do with the attrition rate?
ReplyDeleteHummmm.... I hope it wasn't my side-tracks that caused the likes of Marti, Lois, Ave Joe, and Garlic Gal to go...
ReplyDeleteHi All!
Thanks Steve for an expo fit for IM and C.C.'s puzzle. I enjoyed the lessons of EPSOM (that's a place? Cool!), etc.
WO: N/A
ESPs: Names galore. The ? Clues made the perpage HARDer to come by making this a LONG-'O time a-solvin'.
I did know PESCI (sorry C, Eh!)
Fav: I was going to go with D-LIST but that's Rich's clue... HABITS was cute, I'll go with that.
Hand-up TTP & Jinx: I really thought about changing PSST to PSSp and kvetchin' up a storm at the Corner about PSSp. Instead, I learnt there's a TANSY. [I guess I'd have learnt that either way :-)]
{B, B} {cute, ha!}
Hatoolah - I knew that about DeBeers. Funny thing, over the last two months they've placed ads disguised as "did you know? #Forever #Rare" on the elevator 'TV.' Boils my blood, those diamonds.
Jinx - LOL muff-protection
Steve - and if you ever watched them build one, the stores look like big concrete boxes with giant vertical slabs placed one at a time like Legos on end.
Moe & PVX- Yep, I thought it Monday too. I went to look at the company's cafeteria's menu to see what was on tap for the week from our new contractors... Oh, sadness.
//we sac'd the other contractors - the food was meh and getting worse. New guys start Monday!
Mary Keller - "The Diagonals" is a game OMK plays (with himself?) that tries to find secret messages built into the squares 1 to 225 across the Diag. The reverse is squares 15 to 210. He also likes to solve everything xing the Diag in order as opposed to across the top or section by section. //How'd I do OMK?
Cheers, -T
_J: I got it easily (weird for me)
Anonymous T. OMK plays with himself???
ReplyDeleteMerv - read yesterday for full satisfaction (er, of the joke). -T
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I am so sorry if I caused this problem.
ReplyDeleteC.C. and Irish Miss, I'll get in touch with you this weekend (am out tomorrow for much of the day) to learn how you feel about the Jumble problem.
I apologize to anyone who's been offended by this.
Misty - Fret not kind soul... I don't think anyone was offended; more that the _jChat at table seven was getting louder than the puzzle-talk within the Crossword Corner Cafe's walls (ever so echo-y since Argyle [R.I.P.] resigned as bouncer).
ReplyDeletePK - I thought a while ago about setting up the Jumble Joint just next door. However, I feared that would fracture the Corner's conversation [e.g. WC says something to Misty at the JJ and then C.Moe responds at the Corner --- Ergo, CATS and dogs living together.
Mass Hysteria indeed.
Cheers, -T
D'Oh! First, I didn't close my bracket (]) so syntax error.
ReplyDeleteSecond, my e.g. was not meant to call out anyone inre: _J talk - I was just trying to concoct an e.g.
Hopefully, no puzzlers were harmed in my comment. -T
I'm with AnonT as usual. I haven't been offended. We just need to be careful to keep the J conversation as incidental; an occasional comment or hint seems OK to me.
ReplyDeleteA really nice puzzle and write-up today. Thanks again.
~ Bill G
Anon T @ 9:26,
ReplyDeletePretty well, sir.
In my reports I also count off the number of diagonals present in a given pzl, including the two main lines (NW to SE & the "mirror," NE to SW).
Either main line can be flanked by shorter parallel lines, usually two (called a "3-way"), but sometimes four, but the parallels may not stand on their own.
Diagonals can only be present in symmetrical grids, such as the typical 15X15 weekday grid we face in the Corner.
A diagonal is an uninterrupted string of squares (i.e., not broken by one or more black squares) with the bottom inside edge of one touching the upper outside edge of the next lower square.
~ OMK
Well, my muff l'ick never got posted. Ran out of juice. It is wasn't so much bad as it was bad.
ReplyDeleteRe. Xword vs _J; this corner exhaustively discussed CC and IM's gem of a xword. And per usual much else. Much else having a little_J talk except the talk was about how to talk about it.
And complaints per usual are often about the talkers not what's said. When we go to censorship that's when the real "attrition" will occur.
And.. Our TANSY that regularly and (thankfully) irregularly infects our garden is always happy to make it's presence felt.
Re. Extraneous talk.. -T so what's on that menu this week?
Btw, I tell people that since xword talk is the most unpopular conversational topic going and ERGO Crossword Corner. In the WP, I found a close second: Astrology talk.
Has anyone ever futiley and foolishly attempted to bring up the xword? Not to speak of the mathematics of the walking pool (WP). Btw, I discovered last night that a 36 second lap is 3/5m and thus five laps in three minutes.
So to paraphrase Tolstoy... No never mind
WC