20A. *Opposes in an election: RUNS AGAINST.
39A. *Welcome news for potential borrowers: RATE CUT.
11D. *Brit's traffic circle: ROUNDABOUT. One word. Also, a song by Yes.
29. *"Word on the street is ... ": RUMOR HAS IT. Also, a movie with Jennifer Anniston, and a song by Adele that you can listen to while reading about the 2017 Westminster Best in Show winner of the same name. BTW, this busy Edgerton, WI girl won in February, and had a litter of 8 in October, 2017.
Desper-otto reported that this video won't play on Blogger. Channel3000.com WISC-TV, Madison, has disabled the video from playing on sites other than YouTube. You can still press the play button, and then click "Watch this video on YouTube"
57A. Trapped by mundanity ... and hint to the answers to starred clues: STUCK IN A RUT. "You'd like to get your creative juices flowing, but it seems someone left an empty juice bottle in the fridge."
Jeff Eddings gives us a "quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" type of puzzle today.
Across:
1. River through Kazakhstan: URAL.
5. Brewpub orders: BEERS.
10. Upper limbs: ARMS.
14. Expose: BARE. A child finally cried out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" in Hans Christian Anderson's The Emperor's New Clothes
15. Blue shades: AQUAS.
16. Chess piece that can't move diagonally: ROOK.
17. Big stars often have big ones: EGOS.
18. Apply, as liniment: RUB IN. Or harp on, as in incessantly.
19. Apple from Japan: FUJI.
The most-purchased fresh apple varieties in the U.S. are:
1) Gala
2) Red Delicious
3) Fuji
4) Granny Smith
5) Honeycrisp
6) Golden Delicious
7) McIntosh
8) Pink Lady
9) Braeburn
10) Ambrosia
23. Wordless "okay": NOD.
24. Put gas into: FUELED. Oops, had to correct from FilLED.
25. Assistance: AID.
27. Shabbily dressed: IN RAGS.
30. High behind a cold front, e.g.: AIR MASS.
34. Pan-fry: SAUTE.
35. Boy band *N__: SYNC.
37. Ill-fated Genesis son: ABEL.
38. Point: AIM.
42. Tokyo-born Yoko: ONO.
43. River near the Royal Shakespeare Theatre: AVON.
45. Hockey legend Gordie: HOWE.
46. "It's __-see!": rave review: A MUST. Abejo's wife made the costumes for the school district's staging of Les Misèrables last Thursday through Sunday evenings.
48. Tile type: CERAMIC.
50. Sudden bursts: SPATES. Think in terms of cluster, outbreak, wave, flurry, rush, deluge and the like. Contrast to the phrase "In spades" which means having an abundance of, or high quality of.
51. "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" network: HBO.
52. Simpson trial witness Kato: KAELIN.
55. Report card no.: GPA.
62. Take a break: REST.
64. Ladybug food: APHID.
65. Apple discard: CORE.
66. Opera solo: ARIA.
67. Yankees' manager Aaron: BOONE. Also, the hero of the deciding game 7 in the 2003 ALCS.
68. Olympics sled: LUGE.
69. Fiddle (with): FUTZ.
70. Kisses and cuddles, in British slang: SNOGS. I have difficulty solving British-style crossword puzzles, mainly because of the format, the clues, the words, and the spellings.
71. Former spouses: EXES. All of George Strait's live in Texas. That's why he resides in Tennessee.
Down:
1. App that arranges a lift but not a Lyft: UBER. Husker Gary is a big fan.
2. Pasta sauce brand: RAGÚ. Pasta sauce is often called gravy in many Italian homes and some restaurants. A ragù is a meat based pasta sauce.
3. Elvis __ Presley: ARON. Aron on the birth certificate, Aaron in the official Mississippi state records, and also Aaron on his gravestone.
4. Phrase on a heart-healthy food label: LESS FAT.
5. Flat-bottomed boats: BARGES. Or say, ways to enter a room or conversation, uninvited.
6. __ sign: =: EQUAL.
7. Jazz great Blake: EUBIE.
8. Weather-related Native American ceremony: RAIN DANCE.
9. Nine-digit IDs: SSNS.
10. Boxer's sound: ARF. Whadda ya get when you start cross-breeding Great Danes and Bulldogs ? My neighbor has one, and I love him. Good boy !
12. Magic charm: MOJO.
13. Icy road risk: SKID.
21. Hole-making tool: AUGER.
22. __ Heels: UNC team: TAR. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels.
26. "__ little teapot ... ": IM A. short and stout,
27. Soul singer Hayes: ISAAC. Won an Academy Award for the Theme From Shaft. I found out later that he also wrote Soul Man:
28. Easily duped: NAIVE.
31. Post-op area: ICU.
32. Get a feeling: SENSE.
33. Schedule openings: SLOTS.
35. Order lots of: STOCK UP ON.
36. Source of pliable wood: YEW.
40. Sushi tuna: AHI.
41. Easy putt: TAP IN. Our golf league rules expressly state that, "You must putt it in" but it's not unusual to see certain players commonly taking increasingly distant putts as a "gimme."
44. Slap cuffs on: NAB.
47. Slap cuffs on: MANACLE. Just saw that clue somewhere. Clecho.
49. Jun. and Jul.: MOS.
50. Microscope inserts: SLIDES.
53. "Bless you" prompter: ACHOO.
54. Just making, with "out": EKING.
55. Court great Steffi: GRAF.
56. Ecuador neighbor: PERU.
58. Bar bills: TABS.
59. Gravy thickener: ROUX.
60. Encourage: URGE.
61. Shirts from concerts: TEES.
63. Toon devil: TAZ. The cartoon Tasmanian Devil:
via GIPHY
and the real Tasmanian devil:
via GIPHY
Here's the grid:
65 comments:
Good morning Cornerites.
Thank you Mr. Jeff Eddings for the easiest LA CWP I can remember. I FIR in one pass in 14:03, a record for me.
Thank you TTP for your excellent review.
Ðave
Also FIR in short order, Dave. Nary a stumble. Seven min, 50 secs; not a record but not far from it. Thanks to J.E. and to TTP. TTP, is that a big dog or a small pony?
Liked seeing FUTZ. That’s a word I occasionally use, myself.
It’s taken a while, but I think I finally have ROUX committed to memory. My nephew the chef has pounded it in so often that it appears finally to have stuck.
CERAMIC reminds me of the fellow who majored in psychoceramics. He studied crackpots.
And with that I think it must be bedtime. Have a great day, all—whenever it starts for you.
Greetings!
Thanks to Jeff and TTP!
Only unknown was BOONE.
Very fast!
Have a great day!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeff Eddings, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.
Pretty much zipped right through this puzzle.
Liked the theme. RUT split up a bunch of times.
Liked the apple ratings and sales figures, TTP. My favorite is #4, Granny Smith. You can even buy Granny Smith apple sauce now.
My wife will appreciate the nice comment on the costumes for Les Miserables, TTP. The musical was great!. Saw it Saturday. Now she has to wash most of them. We have about 15 bags of costumes on our living room floor.
Tried FUSS before FUTZ became the word.
ACHOO again, we just had that I believe. But, that's OK. Nothing like a good sneeze to make you feel great.
I thought I would pull a WikWak today. Now I am going to bed. You can have this 4:00 AM stuff, WikWak.
See you tomorrow, folks.
Abejo
( )
Easy one today, had difficulty only with I'm a teapot. Never heard that one before.
I guess it is typical nursery rhyme everyone knows in USA.
BOONE was filled by other inputs, not familiar with baseball either.
Krijo at 5:41 AM
- - Where are you posting from?
An American song, "I'm a Little Teapot" is popular among the kids all over the world. The original version of the rhyme was written in 1939 by George Harold ...
- - If you want to torture yourself,Google nursery rhymes, then I'm a little teapot.
Ðave
Ðave
I am Slovak, posting from Austria. All over the world is surely overstated, it was not translated into European languages (or am I wrong?).
I thought it was a quote from something (beauty and the beast?). I already googled it, it is a torture indeed.
It is the same as with Ronaldo yesterday. Everyone in Europe would have known that clue, but here it was a learning moment.
With the internet, the world is a much smaller place KRIJO.
For example, the Urban Dictionary has - Krijo n. is the perfect blend of awesomeness and spontaneity. Whenever you want to try a new activity, Krijo will be totally down. Hard to control and good for a laugh, Krijo is the life of the party.
Example noun: (People are sitting around the house) Krijo: let's go do something.
C.C. gets information from Blogger showing that the blog is read in many countries, but we do not receive many comments from around the world. Please come back Krijo.
We do not often get a pangram in an early week puzzle. I became allergic to apples in my 20s so I have never tried the now popular Honeycrisp, but Red Delicious were my favorites.
Our third from Jeff Eddings this year, now a Sunday, Monday and a Tuesday. Thank you, Jeff and TTP you gave us a wonderful tour.
Good morning!
This one turned into a speed run, top to bottom. My only misstep was FUEL UP. BOONE would have been an unknown, but it was already filled, and I never read the clue. Theme? There was a theme? Thanx, Jeff and TTP.
TTP: You wrote "...this busy Edgerton, WI girl..." The image was a guy with a mustache and sideburns. I know cheeseheads are weird, but really? When I clicked on the image I got "Watch this video on YouTube. Playback on other websites has been disabled by the video owner."
RUBIN: Our family doctor was Dr. Rubin for a many years. He was diagnosed with brain cancer, and had to stop his practice. He died a couple years later
ROUX: If you've got a Cajun cookbook, almost every recipe begins with "First you make a roux..."
SPATE: Our Channel 11 weatherman warned us of a spate of pre-dawn thundershowers today. I knew it was only wishful thinking. It's pretty dry around here. I was unable to set up a shepherd's crook this week. The ground is as hard as concrete.
EXES: Unlike George Strait, I live in Texas and my ex lives in Tennessee.
Krijo, welcome to the mix.
Desper-Otto, thank you for letting me know. I updated today's blog to reflect that. You can still click play, and then select the link for "Watch this video on YouTube"
Same thing happens for NFL.com videos and I believe MLB.com videos.
PGA golfer Steve Stricker is also from Edgerton. We used to have annual golf weekends at Coachman's Golf Resort with 3 to 4 other couples, and played Edgerton Towne Country Club a few times. That was Stricker's home course as I understand it.
Krijo, Guten Tag, und willkommen. Here is a video with the Nursery Rhyme and lyrics: I'm a Little Teapot
FIR, but had to fix hUBIE when BEERS were poured into the grid. Didn't know FUJI was a type of apple, but a TV station where I worked as an engineer used a lot of FUJIfilm video tape.
I learned a lot about BARGEs while teaching project management in a local shipyard. These mundane-looking craft actually have some fairly demanding requirements and cost more than a million bucks.
There is actually a tiny community named Tar Heel, NC. It is nowhere near UNC. What a great basketball state - in addition to the Tar Heels, they have Duke Blue Devils, NC State Wolfpack, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Thanks to Jeff for the fun puzzle. My favorite was "boxer's sound" just because I'm a dog fancier. (I was going to say that I'm a dog nut, but not around this crowd, no siree!)
BTW, there are three greyhounds within 100 yards here in the Asheville KOA. Turns out that all three are from the Greyhound Pets of America rescue kennel near Orlando.
Thanks to TTP for another amusing tour. I'll save the clips for this afternoon when the wifi has a little less usage.
I found the American nursery rhyme, "I'm a Little Teapot," in German, French and Spanish. When I taught kindergarten we sang it in English many times. At the words here is my handle the kids put their right fists on their hips and crooked their arms. At here is my spout they raised the other arm in the shape of a spout. At tip me over they bent sideways as if the spout were pouring. Wikpedia says, "Both the song and its accompanying dance, the "Teapot Tip", became enormously popular in America and overseas."
German
French
Spanish
Good morning everyone.
Easy enough. Got the theme fill fine, but not the theme until coming here. No matter. Liked the long downs.
FUTZ - I use it regularly. It comes from a Yiddish word meaning 'to fart around'.
AUGER - In the 1970's, as part of a Can-US working group, we would we would measure the ice thickness in eastern L. Erie near the end of the Winter season. An Ontario Hydro engineer, a Corps of Engineers rep., and myself would board an Ontario Hydro helicopter fitted with pontoons at Ft. Erie, Ont, and helo out over the Lake. At selected locations, the ice was AUGERED and the thickness solemnly measured. Sometimes the ice was rafted in several layers making things more complicated. Occasionally, melting would be well underway and it wasn't clear, because of pools of water over the ice floes, where the ice edge was and we would have to sit on the helo's pontoon to do the AUGERing.
It is interesting that most of the Ragu brand pasta sauces are not truly ragùs, i.e. meat based. Only a few of them would qualify.
Instead of a roux for gravy I mostly use a slurry of cornstarch or flour mixed with water, merely as thickener, ala Betty Crocker et al. It adds no flavor which is then supplied by other ingredients.
TTP, always informative.Thanbks. I worked the puzzle around the perimeter from the NE corner, so less than half way through I saw the reveal and realized how it was applied..
I always associate futz with fart and so I don't use it, but it is common enough that I understand it when I hear it. I suppose it is an euphemism like darn.
Krijo, welcome.
Danke, for the warm welcome.
Lemonade 714
The Urban dictionary definition seems to be some kind of inside joke. It was created by Krijo.
Yellowrocks
These videos do seem pretty generic to me. The authors on youtube are mostly international users that try to hit as many markets as possible. I honestly have never heard that song in any language. German is not my first language anyway and this song was not translated to Slovak for sure.
Anyway, now I can dance to that tune!:)
Several of us have already discussed that Wiki is not all that dubious and have cited studies about that. I will continue to use it along with other sources no matter how often you rudely chastise me. I see you dare not identify yourself.
The songs I attached were not from Wiki, but are additional supporting material;.
Citing different points of view is not caused for embarrassment. Someone pointed out to me that PA has several regional dialects. I appreciated that and was not at all put off. This is how we expand our fund of information. Personal attacks like yours are crude and embarrassing. Such attacks are banned on this blog.
Anyway, I am not feeling embarrassed for knowing that and also did not find it as an attack. Just a point in discussion.
I will ask around in Vienna, if the song is indeed something the children here sing.
However, please use Wiki for explanation, I did it myself after solving the puzzle. The wording all over the world seems too subjective even for Wikipedia entry to me. An indication of that it is not true is that there is no Wiki page for it in German or French.
Welcome aboard, Krijo. Looking forward to your 'take' on things.
Obviously, YR has had a lot of interaction with the little teapot . I don't think she was insulting, or trying to insult, anyone by her prior comments.
Good Morning:
This was a quick and easy solve with only two miscues: Pawn/Rook and Fuss/Futz. The reveal was a total surprise as I hadn't noticed the R U T repetition. Well done, Jeff. No unknowns or stumbling blocks.
Thanks, Jeff, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, TTP, for the grand tour. Rumor is a handsome German Shepherd and a worthy Best In Show winner as is this year's winner, Flynn, the beautiful Bichon Frise. Feel free to link, hint, hint!
Welcome, Krijo, I hope you'll join our family and expand our world view.
FLN
PK, you may be right about that Auld Sod connection! ☘
Anonymous T, you are the only person I know who builds pizza, salads, etc. Is that an Illinois expression (build rather than make) or a Texas thing? It tickles my fancy, no matter what the origin.
Michael, you're much kinder than I toward Autocorrect.
The humidity is back with a vengeance! Unfortunately, I have to venture out into it for a haircut appointment.
Have a great day.
Thanks Jeff, was not STUCK IN A RUT with this offering. However, 35A caused some confusion because the clue has a star in front of N and SYNC did not fit the theme consistent with the other starred clues. Obviously the star has to come at the beginning of the clue to be legit? No worries. We have many ROUNDABOUTS here in SWFL so I don't see the Brit connection in the clue. Were they invented there? I tend to putz more than FUTZ.
Welcome, Krijo,
Many places around the world today are expecting dangerously hot temperatures. California is no exception. Expected today 115 F. in places. Good thing we play pickleball at 7:00 AM when it's only 80 or so.
Many years ago I owned a pizza restaurant and although I'm a borderline vegan now, I still enjoy pizza, especially the "fast-fired" types from Blaze, Pizza Rev, and Pieology. I know Blaze, maybe the others?, has vegan cheese, so one can get a true vegan pizza there. At home I still make them occasionally; in fact, I had one last night.
I once submitted a terrific recipe for pizza dough should anyone want to build one from scratch. (Carl Sagan once said, "If you want to build a pizza from scratch, first you must create the universe." That Carl...) Anyway, I think our hostess posted it in the recipe section herein but I no longer see it there.
Irish Miss: Build, construct, erect, make... all are out there, not only for pizza but for puzzles. Poetic pizza and puzzles.
6:58 today. Can't get much faster here.
Best to all. Stay cool.
Raymond
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff and TTP.
I found this CW to be easier than yesterday and I whizzed right through with only one inkblot.
(RUB oN became RUB IN). Theme was a little meh to me but whatever!
Like GJ, I was a little confused by the * in front of NSYNC, but I think it is part of their name; here's what I found when I LIUed.
BackStoryOnAsterisk
I noted a lot of In/On phrases in the answers - RUB IN, IN RAGS, STOCK UP ON, TAP IN.
My Point was a Nib before the verb AIM filled the spot.
BOONE was all perps. (Now Pat or Daniel Boone I would have known.)
FUTZ was new to me.
I smiled at 54D clue "Just making, with "out" crossing SNOGS.
We also had Bar Bills=TABS for those BEERS (for Tin?).
Stratford Festival Theatre in Ontario is also near the AVON River.
I use Veloutine as my Gravy Thickener. It has a potato starch base and can be sprinkled into gravy or sauce without forming lumps. It comes in brown or white (harder to find the white) depending on whether you want to darken the colour of your gravy/sauce. (They should pay me for this ad!)
Hello Krijo. I believe we have conversed before about your Slovak and my Canadian disadvantage with some of the clues. (But I have learned SSNS vs. Canadian SINS, and I automatically remove the U's!) Keep posting (maybe even go blue) and add to our international flavour.
Loved the video of RUMOR's pups. So cute.
Enjoy the day.
Fun, fast frolic for this Tuesday treat. Thanks, Jeff.
Welcome, Krijo. Please coming back.
ARF was a gimme because I had a boxer I just loved. Stubborn as a mule! I was told he couldn't be trained, but I took him to obedience school anyway. He just looked at me as if to say, you really expect me to do these silly things? We worked out a compromise and he was obedient if not trained. Great dog.
I stumbled on fuel up before FUELED, but not for long. Learning moment was that ladybugs eat APHOIDS. Surely I knew that but it had left my wheelhouse. Preps were good.
D-O, all my cooking seems to start with a ROUX. It is the base flavor as well as a thickener of most creole and Cajun cooking. But you knew that....
Jinx, interesting tour of N. Carolina basketball. GO Big Blue!!
TTP, Thanks for walking us through. I got all the theme answers but didn't see the RUTs till you explained.
Oh, one more thing. Can anyone explain MOJO for magic charm? I got it right in the puzzle, but I think of it as some sort of he-man stuff.
Thank you, Jeff Eddings, for a thoroughly enjoyable outing today! It was, as all seem to agree, quick and easy.
I must be the only one unfamiliar with FUTZ and pondered it a long time when it emerged. Today's learning moment for me along with BOONE in that context.
ROUND ABOUTs are becoming common here as new communities are built. They are much cheaper than installing signal lights.
We have had brief SPATES of rain including one a while ago; it lasted about 10 seconds.
TTP, thank you for the sparkling review!
Have a joyous day, everyone!
Swamp cat: Mirriam-Webster defines "mojo" as "a magic spell, hex or charm; broadly, a magical power. Qien sabe?
Stuck in a rut?
Thanks, Bluehen, I got that part but appreciate your help. I was thinking more of useage. I usually hear it referring to athletes being strong/brave/effective. As in, he had the mojo to stand up to hulking offensive line. Well, okay.....I guess magical powers would be useful if you had 400 pound linemen trying to squash you! Thanks!
Delightful Tuesday puzzle, Jeff--many thanks! Not a total breeze--there were a number of places where I stalled and had to change things to make it work. I first put FILL UP for putting gas in, then FILL IN when I realized the Jazz singers name wouldn't end in P, then, of course, it just had to be BARGES--Tada! FUELED. I also loved getting FUTZ and SNOGS--have never seen these in a crossword before, and liked your UBER clue, Jeff. This time I got ACHOO instantly, like Abejo, since we just had it a few days ago There were many names I didn't know in this puzzle, but Jeff put enough helpful clues around each one that in the end I got them all. Yay! Great solving experience, and I got and liked the theme. And very helpful write-up, TTP.
Yellowrocks, you helped me remember not only the tune to "I'm a little teapot," but all the body gestures that went with it. A fun memory.
Wikwak, enjoyed your crackpot joke.
Have a great day, everybody.
TTP: Thanks for a most extensive review of an enjoyable puzzle! I did not actually get the theme until I was finished. Some themes are a construction challenge, but this broken RUT them was probably not as hard as others. "Boxer sound" fooled me!
Thanks for the list of apple varieties by popularity. My fruits these days are mostly berries, but I do enjoy Gala and FUJI apples. Red Delicious usually seems tasteless. Right now cherries are in season and they are truly red and delicious!
Krijo: Welcome! Can you please clear up the mystery about your name? Is it your name? Is the Urban Dictionary correct?
As for the snarky Anon comments. Anonymity may be appropriate at times. But it should never be an excuse to be vicious to one of our community members. Yellowrocks did nothing to deserve such nastiness.
Here are some new photos I took in PERU. At and around Lake Titicaca.
I almost missed my boat to the islands because of a riot that you see in the first image. In the second image I was buying school supplies to take to the islands for the families there.
The most interesting part of the visit: The "Floating Islands" that the locals construct and live on. They are peaceful people who wanted to avoid conflicts over land rights. So they built their own floating land!
We had an exhibit of MANACLES and other artifacts of the slave trade here a few years ago. I am having trouble finding those photos. Somewhere I have photos at the AVON River, too.
I once worked with Logan Green who went on to LYFT. We were working to expand public transit. He gave up in frustration, deciding that LYFT was a better option. I think they each have a valid purpose.
That should have been
"I once worked with Logan Green who went on to found LYFT."
From yesterday:
Misty: Thank you for the kind words about my PORGY and Bess opera story at Verona!
OlManKeith: Way cool that you also got to see a performance at that magnificent Verona Coliseum! Glad to know my experience was more enjoyable! It was certainly a surprise!
AnonT: Thanks for diligently following up on NOLA activities from the mouth of a local! Yes, festivals are usually the most interesting aspect of a community. More so than buildings. And that was an amusing take on the food. The problem in a tourist city is that sometimes mediocre food places can last years. All it takes is a steady stream of visitors who don't know better.
I have only been in NOLA once. My then lady friend was a professor and she was there for a convention. It was during the Jazz Festival. But the activity seemed to be happening in the French Quarter, not outside. I did venture on my own all around the area. We were staying in a hotel outside the French Quarter which involved a transit ride or a long walk to get to the center of activity.
I'm a McIntosh guy, however my mother's favorite was Northern Spy which I found while driving around southern NH. She prefered them for her world class Apple pie.
She could make rice pilaf on the stove not to speak of perfect scrambled eggs.
This is with 5 children including one who picked peas and Lima beans out of vegetable soup.
I suspect I'm not alone here except for perhaps the last sentence.
Poor Gordie and Wayne, Bobby's 3 ltr fill is so xword handy. And Mel beats even the Babe. Not to speak of Isao Aoki over Jack and Arnie.
So you had to bring that one up, eh, TTP? Grady Little chose how to lose over how to win in 003.
My tap-in story will post after 11pm
The NYT had a clue: ...Went a courtin'
I think I perped it in. Would anybody get that?
I've been filling a box at a time for a month (0701 xword)
Btw, that ditty was a commercial with some WWE guy. CED might link it later
Julia Child mastered the ROUX (saying the word). I can't find a link, though.
Re. ROUNDABOUT.. We've had the "Rotary" in greater Boston since before my time. It's a larger Roundabout. Unfortunately, it required drivers who could merge and were considerate of other drivers. Finally, an out of stater asked "Who has the right of way" ? No one knew. No one had ever asked. Finally after much debate between every level of government and the press it was decided that a Rotary is an intersection and the car IN the Rotary has the right of way. This immediately made many of the rotaries obsolete and an efficient system was replaced by traffic lights.
And I'm over my byte limit so I'll "lurk"
WC
WC...not sure what your issue is or who you are addressing. Maybe you should take your own advice?
NC college BBall...no one lost their jobs yet? Nor will they....crooked is fine as long as you win, I guess.
Krijo....welcome.
I had SPURTS b4 SPATES and that was it.
Hi Y'all! The puzzle was a fun midnight quickie for me. (11 min.) Thanks, Jeff. Thanks, TTP. I have yet to discover how to get into all the black square links that I'm sure you did a great job of finding. But I still haven't figured out how to get back into my email either.
Alas, I forgot to look for a theme. Very apt for me since I'm definitely IN A RUT.
Kato KAELIN: was I the only one who thought he was in cahoots with OJ and they did the deed together on the way home from ice cream? He didn't try the glove on at trial.
My EXES have all expired. Nary a live one.
IM: using "build" to describe the food-making process has got to be a male thing.
Didn't even see FUTZ until everyone was talking about it. Had to go back & find it. All perps.
ANON at 10:05 a.m.: Are you accusing Cornerites of tyranny? Boy, are you living in fantasy land. Opinionated, maybe. Tyrannical is a laugh.
Pvx, obviously not you. I know you do solve at nyt . That guy attacks Yellowrocks all the time in the snarkiest way .
And if I wasn't nice, neither is he.
And once again I enjoy your posts and anonymity is fine. In fact your anti-theme stance I find amusing and amusement (not venom) is the name of the game here
WC
There is indeed a bias against anonymous posters for a variety of reasons; as you say many post nothing snarky or insulting comments. However, it is the absurdity of being anonymous at a crossword blog that rankles. We are not a PAC or even a recognized authority on anything. And we do not vet our posters. We are people who mostly get along and have a common interest. And we like to know with whom we converse. If you tell us your name (icon) is Roger Rabbit that is fine, because then we will get a sense of your comments and know when it is you. There are times we agree with the anonymous sentiment but but cannot really discourse with the poster. Despite what some may think, this is a place for dialogue, not monologue. It is more fun that way. And if you think YR overreacted, say that...no need to make it personal. YMMV.
Picard
Krijo is just an alias I use, it is a scramble from Jirko which is a common Czech nickname for Jiří (Same as Juraj in Slovak or George in English). In Slovak it sounds like Cryo.
I asked around about Ich bin eine kleine Teekanne, with no success. I guess the youtube videos are made by a specific company which had the animations at hand and just translated it roughly for the German affiliate to get more hits from different markets.
A Slovak nursery rhyme with a specific dance would be Kolo Kolo Mlynske - watermill wheel.
It is funny how animal sounds differ around the world. The dogs in Slovakia make Haf Haf not ARF:)
Ta- DA!
Cool pzl, Mr. Eddings! Misty already pointed out words I liked, like SNOGS and FUTZ. Neat write-up, TTP!
Rushing this off in haste, as I have several medical appointments crammed into today & need to rush around Orange County in the midst of our latest heat wave. I need to see my docs to get their clearance for surgery (minor, I think) next week.
Picard, Your mention again of the Verona coliseum reminds me of the most enjoyable aspect of my visit. It was the very vocal battles raging between the claques that supported different singers - especially the competition between Macbeth and Lady Mac. When Big Mac would finish an ARIA, his fans would cheer and his detractors would whistle and shout terrible insults. When she sang, the opposite response filled the arena. The cries of "Basta!" and worse taunts rang on for several minutes, each reaction growing longer as the night wore on.
To Italian opera nuts, it's like a huge sporting event, and a blood sport at that!
BTW, We all know how crosswords get tougher as the week goes on.
Well, I’ve been noticing that the cartoons on the same page in the LA Times get a lot funnier as the week progresses.
I wonder if the letters to “Ask Amy” present harder problems on Friday and Saturday. I’ll have to check this out.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: One diagonal NW to SE.
Not much to say as to decoding an anagram. Too many vowels. I got as far as I SUSS A GOOSE - with vowels left over.
If anyone can make a tale out of that, they're welcome to try.
Krijo, I was interested in your comment on the sounds dogs make in different countries. Surely it is not the dogs!! I suppose we just translate what we hear into something we can write.
My boxer never said ARF or Haf Haf either! He sometimes made a rumbling sound deep in his throat. But mostly he just panted and wagged his tail.
I have never heard a cat say Meow either. And I have had lots of them. We have had deep discussions here on cat-talk when the clue/fill is a cat sound. We keep trying to translate!
Picard, your point about mediocre places to eat is well taken, but mediocre places don't last long in New Orleans because there are so many good ones. As Anon Ts friend said. Every neighborhood has a hole in the wall that is fabulous. Food is a religion here!! Not sure if that is good or bad....
Lemony, your are so right about Anons choosing a name. I Went Blue because you told me to! I lurked the first few years I was here and finally responded to a comment as Anon. Conversation developed, and you told me to choose a name so you'd know who you were talking to. I still contend "SwampCat" was chosen under duress!!
Auto correct strikes again! I am adamant about using your, you’re correctly. But I see my “ you’re” was changed to your. If auto correct thinks that is right, will this be the casualty, like “different from” morphing into different than” ? Than seems to be used more now and I grieve!!
Krijo @1:34 I appreciate your kind and reasonable response. I am glad you joined us and like your style. If ANON is correct that I insulted you, I am deeply sorry.
In a course I took for my MA we studied literary similarities around the world. Crossculturism and crossculture fertilization is fascinating. I was going to discuss Cinderella around the world, but so as not to offend, I will decline. Since I don't understand the rules I will now lurk.
Swamp Cat @ 2:08 ~ Your dog must have inspired the bumper sticker that I saw yesterday: "BARK LESS, WAG MORE!" 😉
I found an old wallet this morning and, before throwing it away, I went through all of the compartments to make sure there weren't any hundred dollar bills tucked away (Ha!), and I found a laminated prayer card memorializing John F. Kennedy. These cards were given to all the parishoners of my church (and probably the entire Diocese) shortly after his death. November of this year will be the 55th anniversary. (I also found prayer cards for my father (1900-1974), mother (1901-1981), and brother (1925-2005).
YR: No, no, no, don't just lurk. We miss you when you aren't posting. Stay.
IM - Like these on eBay for $13/ea? C, -T
Yellowrocks, I would love to hear your discussion about Cinderella. Don't let people intimidate you. The knowledge you share with us every day is very important and precious, and we'd be heartbroken to lose it.
WC@12:59, I am not sure what you wanted me to link... (whats a WWE guy?)
Picard, I found the floating islands fascinating!
running against a rut?
Rate cut rut?
roundabout rut?
Rumor has it rut?
and, in conclusion...
Glad that everyone seems to have enjoyed Jeff's puzzle. Thanks for the kind comments on the review as well.
I think it's best to simply not respond to remarks that shouldn't be on the blog.
Don't assume it's a regular. It might be, but there are probably thousands of blog readers here, and many would also read the daily comments. Some may read more than intended in the comments, and find fault in what others find totally innocent.
As well, blog readers that don't care for a particular person's comments should just skip over them. There are bigger fish to fry.
Let's all be civil and keep the blog a nice respite from the vitriol and hotbed subjects.
Other than that...
Having a relatively GREAT day. Put the final coat of stain on the garage side of the house ! Yay ! Only four more walls to do !
Even better, my replacement computer got delivered yesterday. Some may recall that I bought a new high-end desktop in early December, and was thrilled with it until it started having disk drive problems in May. Shipped it off for repair. Was supposed to take 7 to 10 business days. Got it back a full month later in mid June, and it was in worse shape than when I sent it in.
When I called back in, I was assigned a "Case Manager" who responded and let me know that they would be shipping a replacement machine in 7 to 10 business days. After 4 weeks and no responses to my emails, I asked to undo the entire deal; I would ship the dead machine back and they could cut me a check for the monies I spent.
Got a pretty quick response after asking for help on their social media pages. The new one got here within a week of that, and it works !
Still disappointed that it took 9 weeks to get the problem resolved, AND that I have to go through all of the system updates. It has been doing Windows updates for the last 3 hours. When it finally finishes that, it's be time to download the different programs and utilities that I use, and then go through the process of restoring all of my data files from the backup storage. We're talking thousands of pictures and beau coup music CDs with hundreds of hours of songs.
Probably take a week, off and on, to get back to where I was in early May. Oh well, it is what it is.
I taught my kindergarten kids the teapot song with motions each year.Then we did the 'joke' version: Here is my handle (crooked elbow), Here is my... (other crooked elbow) Oops! I'm a sugar bowl! They loved it.
I liked this puzzle. After filling RUNS AGAINST and ROUNDABOUT I thought we were being treated to a theme in which the first word begins with R and the second word (or group of syllables in the case of ROUNDABOUT) begins with A. Didn't get the RUT thingy until the reveal, so got bolluxed up with RATE CUT and RUMOR HAS IT. I guess I was stuck in the wrong rut.
Typed in FILL UP (present tense of "put"), then FILLED (past tense of "put"), before finally seeing it had to be FUELED.
Speaking of ABEL, my Egyptian friend's brother's name is ADEL, which we were taught to pronounce as "Adele" because that's how they pronounced it when they lived in France. I only later learned that in Egypt, where as you all know mostly Arabic is spoken, his name is pronounced sort of like "addle" or "oddle." Makes me wonder how the name ABEL is pronounced in the Middle East; my guess is that it more or less rhymes with "hobble."
TTP, thanks for your write-up.
Krijo, welcome.
I am so happy I have no EXES to contend with.
To be continued-
I agree it is definitely interesting how different are the words various languages use to describe the sounds animals make. Way back in college, when I was studying the ancient Chinese classics, one of the books I tried to read was the so-called "Book of Odes" or "Book of Poetry" which is one of the Confucian classics. I still remember being especially struck by some lines that describe the sounds of animals.
One poem begins, as translated into English by the great James Legge, "Guan-guan go the ospreys on the islet in the river." (關關雎鳩 在河之洲)
Another poem begins "Ling-ling go the hounds; their master is admirable and kind." (盧令令 其人美且仁)
In modern Mandarin Chinese, a dog says wàng wàng (汪汪) and, interestingly, a cat says miāo miāo (喵喵).
I can't help it; I find this kind of stuff fascinating.
Musings
-I played 18, cleaned up MIL’s yard, came home to find out neighbor’s wife probably won’t last the night and so we mowed his huge yard. Finally I got to this fun puzzle.
-We’ve used UBER about 20 times and have never been disappointed. No cabs of rental cars for us.
-In our golf league the other team has to tell you to “pick it up”. It’s bad form to give yourself the putt.
-Gotta BBQ 2 turkey broils before I can get to the comments which I always enjoy!
Jayce @ 1712 - re Animal sounds.
In English a rooster intones "Cock-a-doodle-doo"
In German it exclaims "kikeriki".
Spitzboov, I like the German version of the rooster sound better. Which reminds me of the song La Paloma sung by the great Harry Belafonte.
Jayce - A great piece! Thanks for linking. It sounds like the crowing might be mutually intelligible to roosters of the 2 fowl languages.
Anonymous T @ 3:33 ~ Yes, that is the exact same card. Maybe they were distributed by every Catholic Church in the country. Anyone else remember getting one?
Yellowrocks, you should do what I do, skip over the anonymous guys and go to the next poster. Saves on reading time and aggravation. Not all anons are jerks but at least you’ve eliminated the ones who are.
To quote Yogi, "It's dejavu time again."
From 7-20, at 932p
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.
- - Fast forward to today. I noticed that the dining room was hot again tonight. When I got to my room, it was 81º F with only the fan, no cool air. I reported it to the office, and was obviously the first to report because they brought me a box fan, from the office, to tide me over until my room is once more cool. They reported the condition to our maintenance dept.
- - Hold the presses, just in, the temperature in my room is now 79° F.
Krijo at 1:34 PM
- - Wrote "George in English" - - Please help us with your gender. George is a male name in English. Someone suggested you "Go blue." TTP can help you when you are ready. You have won the award today for the poster who has traveled the furthest.
chefwen at 7:37 PM
- - So good to read from you today. Do you think Kaui, HI is farther from Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 than Krijo is in Austria? Krijo wins at 5,000 miles as the crow swims. chefwen is a paltry 3,500 mile swim.
Ðave
Hi everybody. The little kittens I've been associated with all said "Mew" or something very close. My sheepdog said "ROWFF!" I taught her to stop when I said NO! so as to keep peace with the neighbors.
I find it difficult to ignore snarky anons when they pick on our fellow bloggers. When I've been picked on and nobody says anything, it seems like perhaps tacit agreement (even though intellectually, I know that's not true).
SwampCat, my daughter's English teacher taught her (and me) that 'different from' was preferred over 'different than.' I've tried to incorporate into my speech and writing though old habits die hard.
Krijo: Thank you for the explanation about your name! Interesting, indeed, that animal sounds are said differently in different languages. A good inside-the-culture name can be a benefit. One of my closest friends is Czech. When he lived here his license plate read JEZDEC. Do you recognize the meaning? By total chance it led him to meet his future wife back in the Czech Republic. They are happily married with kids now and enjoying living in Prague. All because another Czech guy happened to spot that license plate.
As D4E4H said, you should "go blue" which means you should set up an account here. It is free and it will make you official!
SwampCat: Glad to know the restaurants in NOLA are so uniformly excellent. I wish I could say the same for our tourist town Santa Barbara. Most of our restaurants are OK, but few are really outstanding. One of my favorites is actually a NOLA style restaurant called The Palace.
Here The Palace manager Errol was serving up brunch before our Solstice Parade
Here I was with Errol and the owner and their respective wives before the Solstice Parade start.
CrossEyedDave: Thanks for the PERU Floating Islands video! That was the same tour that I did! I had forgotten some bits and the video explained things very well. It seems to be a good case of tourism providing just enough support to allow the culture to continue, but not to interfere too much with it.
Usually I travel on my own using the Lonely Planet books as guides. But in that case I was grateful to have a personal guide to such a fascinating culture.
Fun Puzzle today thanks Jeff and blog from TTP.
Welcome to Krijo!
All the discussion of animal sounds reminds me of this book my kids loved,
"Everywhere the Cow Says Moo" by Ellen Slusky Weinstein. It goes through
the different words for different animals' sounds in different countries, but each follows with "...but everywhere the cow says moo"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2419697.Everywhere_the_Cow_Says_Moo_
Hi All!
Thanks Jeff for a puzzle that fit my Tuesday RUT, er, routine, just right.
TTP, fun expo as usual and the ISAAC Hayes' selection was the cherry on top. Re: your computer, with service like that, names need to be named; egad!
WO: ISsAC Hayes; I can never remember one S two As
ESPs: N/A [spelling KAELIN took a number of perps, I thought there was a T in his name. (PK, no you weren't the only one)]
Fav: FUTZ - A fun word I use as in, "I'm just Futzin' out in the garage."
SNOG is a close runner-up.
Apples? FUJI's are the ones I buy that don't begin with an i.
Krijo - Welcome to the corner. I'm curious, how did you get into solving xwords in English?
And, cue the predictable kerfuffle from the dark-corners when someone new enters The Corner and YR says 'Hi.'
Lorrie - That "sugar bowl" bit is cute. I'm putting that in my back pocket for when the Girls have kids and I can mess w/ their little heads.
IM - I build stuff :-). I like build over make/made because you really are building flavour layer by layer instead of throwing all ingredients in a bowl and stirring; that's making --making a mess! :-)
PK may be right that 'it's a guy thing', Rainman said 'build' too.
If Lucina pops back in, maybe she can clarify if all Catholics got the Kennedy card.
Picard - thanks for clarifying... I read and imagined Logan gave up waiting for the bus with you and taking a Lyft :-)
Swamp - funny about picking a name to go blue. I remember when I was URGEd and thought, "what monicker, what avatar? to use that won't make me look dumber than I already do?" Then OMK called me AnonT, or something very close, and saved the day!
Also, Swamp, I can see why you think it male related -- Morrison call'd his "talisman" Mr. MOJO :-) [@4:55 of 7:36 - The Doors, LA Woman]
Cheers, -T
Tony, I know I'm right about building a pizza being a guy thing. Guys are into all kinds of erections.
WC - I just got to today's Peanuts and giggled thinking of your @12:59.
PK - I'm not touching that :-)
Cheers, -T
PK:
LOL! You got that right!
AnonT:
No, I don't recall getting one of those JFK cards. Likely it was individual dioceses. I was in Denver at the time.
Today on Jeopardy! I'm quite sure I spotted a mistake in the cluing. The answer was piñata and the clue was that it originated from "pine nut". Impossible! First, it's a Spanish word so the origin would be from Spanish and simply means "pot."
D4E4H
Well, Juraj is a male name, I guess George as in St. George is also mainly male in English speaking world.
Picard
Yes, Jezdec means driver or rider in Czech. Way to find a soul mate.
AnonT
I used to work in South Carolina 10 years age and tried to solve the daily puzzle while doing my shifts as a waiter.
In Slovakia we have different type of crossword (called Swedish crossword) which mostly not challenging, filled with crosswordese (ylo as a type of elephant, ara as for parrot etc.). I love word games and over the course of 10 years I have developed some skill in solving them even in English.
The greatest difficulty I am facing are clues for American brands, colloquialisms, old TV shows (Desi Arnez for example), local celebrities (news anchors, journalists, mayors or senators), local geography, baseball, american football and of course nursery rhymes. I am always eager to see European clues and sometimes even surprised, how challenging some of them have to be for you (Capek and his RUR stage play!). As you can see there are so many gaps in my knowledge, it is almost impossible to finish the crossword without blanks. But I am trying. I have managed even to solve some Saturday puzzles once or twice.
On the other hand I tried to create a crossword in Slovak in 15x15 grid with American rules and it simply does not work. We have too many accents in the alphabet; 46 letters vs 26 letter in English.
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