Today is a very special day for us at the corner as we recognize one of the true foundations of our activities at this site - Literacy. Today is International Literacy Day.
We denizens of this site greatly value literacy and contribute to each other's store of this virtue as we blog here. I lift my glass to all of you today to celebrate this noteworthy day.
My solving experience was typical for a Saturday as some of the long fill and crossword staples proved to be very helpful.
Now let's see what else this Ivy Leaguer has for us today
Across:
1. Way to get up in Gotham: BAT ROPE - How they filmed the BAT ROPE for the TV show (note Batman's cape) and then how it looked when played back including Sammy Davis Jr. providing one of the many cameos on this campy production.
8. Obeyed a laryngologist: SAID AH - Anyone else have a "gag reflex" issue?
14. Ones on the left: LIBERALS - The 1789 French Assembly seated the conservatives who supported the King on the President's right and the liberals that opposed the monarch on his left
16. In a showy way: ARTILY - Any port in a literary storm
17. Aptly named barbell brand: IRON GRIP.
18. Furniture wood named for its color: RED ELM 19. "Hah!": TOLD YA red elm makes beautiful furniture
20. Activewear shoe brand: AVIA.
22. Fig. targeted in some hacks: SSN - Mine starts with 50- like many around me. How 'bout yours?
23. Humble abodes: HUTS - Ginger or Mary Ann?
24. Knight clubs: MACES - Or perhaps one for a damsel
26. "Oye Como Va" songwriter Puente: TITO - "Hey? Hows it goin'" Santana's version
27. Superman and Supergirl: ET'S - Both hailed from Krypton
28. Crony of Captain Bildad, in "Moby-Dick": PELEG - These two owners of the Pequod are featured on cards in this game
29. Jaguar spot?: CAR AD - Car name chicanery again. The number syllables in this car name depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside
30. 2014 title role for Mia Wasikowska: MADAME BOVARY - Flaubert's 1857 novel was immediately banned on sexual grounds
32. Works that are up and down?: TRAGICOMEDIES - My nomination in this portmanteau category
34. Where some get sloshed at sea?: BOOZE CRUISES - I'd like to cruise but not on one of these
35. Onetime members of the Winnebago Nation: OTOES - Nebraska has a city named Winnebago and a county named OTOE
36. Put to rest: INTER - Brando's turn as Marc Antony in his speech with the most famous use of the word INTERRED
37. Put up: BET - I'd have to give 5pts if I BET on the Huskers today against Colorado
40. Pickup line?: RAMS - Dodge pickups are now called RAM. Ryan went to the vehicle name well twice.41. River critter: OTTER.
42. Pair of British puzzles?: ZEDS - Z is ZED in Britain and puzzles does indeed have two of them
43. Minolta Maxxum, e.g.: SLR - A ground breaking Single Lens Reflex Camera introduced in 1985
44. "Dragonwyck" novelist Seton: ANYA - First published in 1944
45. Film with Manny the Mammoth: ICE AGE.
47. Escape __: CLAUSE - If our marriage license had one, Joann could/should have exercised it years ago
49. "Yeah, right": I DOUBT IT
51. Offers?: HIT MEN - They will "off" someone for a price
52. They're free of charge: NEUTRONS - Ryan threw us science guys a bone
53. Disc golf starting point: TEE PAD - From the TEE PAD, through the woods, off a tree, off the ground and up into the "hole" (metal basket). Wow!
54. WikiLeaks editor: ASSANGE - A hero or villain ,depending on your point of view, who has asylum in Ecuador for now
Down:
1. Buoyant: BLITHE - In Noel Coward's BLITHE Spirit a medium conjures up long-dead Elvira by accident and her light heartedness is a big part of the play. I think you can surmise which character below plays Elvira who who can only be seen by former husband Charles in the middle back
a2. Ventilate: AIR OUT - Do politicians have to AIR OUT their clothing and their consciences after making decisions in a smoke-filled room
3. Hardware with crosspieces: T-BOLTS.
4. Rips: RENDS - _ E _ _ S gave me TEARS first. You?
5. Frenzied revelry: ORGY - Google at will
6. Accident scene arrival: PARAMEDIC- Our hometown PARAMEDICS saved my good friend's life7. Drug company founder Lilly: ELI - He was a Civil War colonel who founded a pharmacy company that pioneered gelatin capsules and fruit flavoring
8. One-piece garments: SARIS - कैसे साड़ी है in Hindi
9. Bailiwick: AREA - From Middle English Bailiff meaning sheriff and wik meaning dwelling place. Today means "sphere of superior knowledge"
10. "__ better be good!": IT'D
11. Second section of Verdi's "Requiem": DIES IRAE - (Day of Wrath) - Our multi-voweled crossword buddy
12. League's best: ALL-STARS.
13. Sacred song collection: HYMNODY and 25. Eagerness: ALACRITY into each life a little learning must fall
15. Tomorrowland attraction: SPACE MOUNTAIN - SPACE MOUNTAIN is lower and slower than most all other coasters but its dips and turns are COMPLETELY in the dark which makes it terrifying (shown here at the start)
21. Australian food spread: VEGEMITE - Vegemite is a thick, black Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. Yum?
26. Smiley formerly of PBS: TAVIS - He is currently caught up in the "He, she said" swirl of the #METOO movement
28. House helpers: PAGES - Here are the House PAGES in the state capitol in Olympia, WA
29. One with app-titude?: CODER - Here is some AppCODE for the OSX platform
30. Confusing tourist attractions: MAZES - Cornfield MAZES are popular this time of year here on the Great Plains
31. "Don't kid around!": BE SERIOUS - or "You can't BE SERIOUS" (:13)
33. Hotel door posting: ROOM RATE has to be posted but are always a 32. Real whopper: TOTAL LIE
34. Soup often served with sour cream: BORSCHT. Борщ часто подается со сметаной (Borscht is often served with sour cream)
37. Pummel: BEAT ON - Most big time FB schools BEAT ON an inferior opponent to begin the season
38. Bed border: EDGING - We use landscape bricks in our yard
39. Sub-Saharan menace: TSE TSE - This mosquito is the most dangerous animal in Africa
41. Without stopping: ON END - Principals can talk ON END to staff who want to go do something useful
42. Eyeball-bending critter: ZEBRA.
44. Between ports: ASEA.
46. Stops shooting: CUTS - "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn!" CUT!
48. Masked worker, perhaps: UMP - A foul ball caroms off one masked worker to another
50. Org. featured in TV's "Weeds": DEA.
I would invite the very literate members of our cadre to comment at will about Ryan's puzzle.
DA GRID
FIWrong. A total natick at dITO + dAVIS.
ReplyDeleteIt took an IRON GRIP, I should hope,
To climb a tall building on a BAT ROPE!
Robin did it with ALACRITY
Yet something we never see,
Is the teen on line taking CUTS. Nope!
I'd like to write a l'ick about a TOTAL LIE,
But mention politics and it's "say bye bye!"
So I'll defer to Ambrose Bierce
Who pre-echoes something fierce
In DIES IRAE! I'll let you guess which guy.
Can we raise a melody
To the LIBRAL'S HYMNODY?
Songs so BLITHE
Of human rights,
Have with the Right no harmony!
{C+, P❌, P❌.}
uf, total 91% of correct, them resorted to show errors. Upper left and lower left where a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteHad Madame Bovary as first fill, as I know Mia played her. I have seen the Irish rendition of that story in Ryan’s daughter. Strange movie.
Struggled with spelling of Borscht - it is pronounced as in Borshtsh in my opinion. I am a huge fan of Batman stories, still could not figure out the BATROPE. ASSANGE is actually on the embassy of Equador in London.
I had guess a lot, had a lot of aha moments. Let’s hope for a clean shield tomorrow.
I watched Ready player one yesterday. It had its moments, a whole section of the movie took place in Shining hotel. Unfortunately, they are dumbing down the movies for the younger audience. Storytelling through explanatory voiceovers. Ugh.
Wake up world! It is raining here, but summer in SoFla is generally some heavy rain and some sunshine every day. A different Saturday solve for me, and some true unknowns. I am not sure if you all know the word HYMNODY but I do not, and this is its first appearance in either the NYT or the LAT. I do not think -ody is an actual suffix.
ReplyDeleteI also have missed the TAVIS SMILEY PBS show and the allegations that have been made.
I am not sure why we need the CODER when it seems to be a PROGRAMMER but I am sure our more computer literate members will enlighten me.
Thank you, Ryan and Gary. I repeat my condolences to you and your family for the horrible loss of one so young.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteHYMNODY? Really? I think they made up that word in the decades since I was a church-goer. News to me. Hand up for TEARS, Husker. With the T in place, tried TRUMP before TOTAL showed up. CAR AD was my final fill. It finally came to me during a brief respite in the "library." Nicely done Ryan. Husker, very sorry to hear about your niece.
45 minute fill here...consider me another member of the "what's a HYMNODY?" army...for some reason, i never wrapped my brain around HITMEN being correct and actually came here assuming it was a wrong answer...hope everybody has a great saturday...gearing up for 14 or so hours of college football and plan to enjoy every second of it
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis came very close to being a DNF but P and P (and Irish stubbornness) saved the day and gave me a much-savored Tada, sans help.
The NW corner was my nemesis until I parsed the Bat Rope/Blithe crossing. Never heard of Hymnody, Manny Mammoth, or Iron Grip. I have heard of Vegemite but, based on HG's description, it will never cross my lips. W/os were Tears/Rends and Aides/Pages. I liked the pairing of Maces and Mazes and my favorite C/A was Offers=Hit Men. It was also fun to see Paramedic instead of the ubiquitous EMT. The only nose-wrinkler was Artily. Nice CSO to CanadianEh and Steve at Zeds.
Thanks, Ryan, for a difficult (just shy of an hour) but satisfying solve and thanks, HG, for an entertaining and enlightening wrap up.
Our weather has taken a turn for the better, IMO. Today's high will only be in the upper 60's and, right now, it's on the gloomy side. Goodbye and good riddance to those nasty nineties!
Have a great day.
HYMNODY and TAVIS are new, but at least I knew TITO.
ReplyDeleteDisagree on SPACEMOUNTAIN being terrifying. In the dark there's no anticipation of what's coming. It's those five seconds at the peak and start of the plunge of a roller coaster that get's my heart racing.
The incorrect paragraphing and spacing format in my post is due to Google Gremlins, "Not I", said the Little Red Hen! 🐓
ReplyDeleteThe only hiccup for me was that I couldn't get TRAGICOMEDIES at first because I kept thinking it should be two words with two 'C' s... but I was wrong. Other than that a normal solve time for Sat.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend all!
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteA toughie, for sure. Never heard of hymnody.
Now Vegemite was familiar. While in Australia, my hosts made sure to have me try out a Vegemite sandwich. Evidently it’s an acquired taste; I was told that every Aussie kid is fed the stuff, for nutritional purposes, and it just sort of becomes part of life. For my part, I thought it was right at the edge of unpalatable.
I stopped in at a Hungry Jack’s - the Australian version of Burger King - and to my surprise, there were little tiny packages of Vegemite among the condiments.
The corresponding English product is Marmite. I gather it has fewer loyalists than Vegemite.
Space Mountain: I first rode the famous indoor coaster in 1981. At that time, the space was completely dark (except for flashes from special effect lighting) and the ride operated at full speed. A few years later, I rode it again, and found it disappointing. The inside had a lot more light, thus spoiling the effect, and it seemed that it ran more slowly. Haven’t been back since.
Morning Husker, thanks for soldiering on despite your loss, and please accept my condolences.
Back to reality after a week down the shore at Wildwood Crest. We spend the long holiday weekend with David and his wife at their lovely condo and then a few more days at a motel. We would be welcome to spend the entire week with David, but Alan also wants to stay in a motel near the boardwalk. David and Motoko love the sun, sand and surf. I love sitting on the porch overlooking the ocean and reading. I also I love the great seafood. Alan loves the boardwalk. He was thrilled to win three stuffed animals. Almost everyone is a winner. You pay $5 to win a $2 or $3 prize, but the thrill was worth it to him. Alan is a winner health wise, too. His good streak continues.
ReplyDeleteMy mind is still down the shore. I used quite a few red letters on this great puzzle. I couldn’t parse CARAD. Duh! Thanks, Ryan. Also thanks, Gary, for your always fun, wit and wisdom. Loved the eye-popping zebra pic.
Gary, my sincere condolences on the passing of your niece. What a brave and loving sacrifice for her child.
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Ryan. Nicely done. Thank you. My fave today was your cluing for ZEBRA. MADAME BOVARY broke the middle open for me. We Mesdames must stick together. ;)
Gary, Thanks for another very fine Saturday walk-through. Please accept my sincere condolences. I was so sorry to hear your devastating news. My best to your family as you adjust to a new version of life.
OMK: I really got a kick out of your dissertation tale. I did a Masters Thesis in '99. It had been a long time since college. I was thrilled with how easy it was to write, edit, save, and copy. The computer made the work a breeze--well, except for the parts my brain had to do.
Like IM, I'm enjoying the cooler weather. Still cloudy, but the humidity is gone for now. Have a pleasant weekend.
To this Christian ed. Major and PK, hymnody was a gimme. It is not new or made up. It’s first recorded use was in 1711 and it is still frequently used in church circles today.
ReplyDelete“This course will examine some of our best-loved hymn texts and look at the broader tradition of western hymnody.” Washington Post Mar 10, 2017
“It was the supreme achievement of Bach's genius to assert the faith and idealism of Lutheran hymnody with the fullest resources of his technique.” Forkel, Johann Nikolaus
“Some of them, like the hymns to which they were set, are derived from the more ancient hymnody of the German and Latin churches.” Bacon, Leonard Woolsey
Late Latin hymnodia, from Greek hymnōidia, from hymnos + aeidein to sing.
The -ody part is related to ode.
Hi Y'all! Such a fun puzzle, Ryan! To BE SERIOUS, that's a TOTAL LIE. The wave-length of a Kansas farmer's wife is so different from a Princeton nerd, this was a slog. Made me want to go for an ORGY on A BOOZE CRUISE or BEAT ON something. But I DOUBT IT would help. Probably just need a PARAMEDIC!
ReplyDeleteBLITHE/BAT ROPE was the last fill. I never watched BAT Man enough to know they used a rope.
HYMNals before HYMNODY. Hand up for never seeing this before.
House helpers weren't "maids" or "butle.." or "vacuu.." but PAGES. I knew that. Two of my kids were PAGES for our state rep.
One son drives a RAM. Did that help me fill this? Duh!
AIR OUT: smoke-filled rooms caused me to not only AIR my clothing, but rinse it in vinegar to get out the residual smell. I quit my job twice because I needed to AIR OUT my lungs. Rejoiced when laws passed against smoking in public places.
Gary, bless you for blogging despite your recent bereavement. Thinking of you with compassion.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you Ryan McCarty and thank you Husker Gary.
I really enjoyed this puzzle. Started it in the middle of the night when I woke up in pain from over exertion*, and couldn't get back to sleep. Seemed that it took about the same time as most Saturday puzzles, but I'm not sure. Was also watching a series called "800 Words" on PBS, that I find captivating.
Anyway, got on a run on the east side, north to south, and replaced HYMNals with HYMNODY early. Never heard of that word, but the perps were solid. Moving westward, VEGEMITE, SPACE MOUNTAIN and MADAME BOVARY came easy and provided ample footing to secure the middle and leave only the NW and SW corners.
Semi-CSO to our MADAME, the not bitter knitter.
NW filled easily, although I did not know BLITHE meant buoyant. Like HYMNODY, I left it because the perps were solid. In the SW, BORSCHT and ROOM RATE also came easy, as did OTOES, RAMS, and SLR and good old ASEA. Did not think of UMP, but seeing gold old ASEA made me change TEEbox to TEEPAD. ANYA was another unknown that perps dictated.
All in all, a very good puzzle in my opinion.
Husker Gary, our condolences to you and your families on the loss of your sister's daughter.
Welcome back Yellowrocks.
* Should have used the dolly in the shed, rather than hefting the concrete bird bath that was blocking my staining progress.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day.
I think anyone who claims to have completed this in minutes needs to have their watch checked out. Ha!
ReplyDeleteHusker: Wonderful, informative write-up. GO BIG RED !!!
ReplyDeleteFave today, of course, was 34-a, "Where some get sloshed at sea?" BOOZE CRUISES.
I've never been on one ... but I do enjoy "ALL Inclusive Resorts."
Hope everyone's team wins today.
Cheers!
Dudley, IMO it's well past the edge. Anybody else think of this I Love Lucy episode?
ReplyDeleteVitameatavegimen! (3:26)
The RAM truck is no longer a Dodge product. Chrysler decided to make RAM a stand-alone product line. That way any Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat or Jeep dealership could sell 'em.
I’m literate enough to say that this puzzle, for me, (all expletives deleted), was a toughie. DNF!!!��
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGood expo, Husker. It helped me see why RAMS was right.
Tough and gnarly but fair. Got most of it without help, but did get aid with ALACRITY and HYMNODY allowing an educated guess about TITO/TAVIS. Favorite clue was for MACES, but there were many quite good ones. Thanks Ryan for a pleasing solving experience. I seemed to be on Ryan's wavelength a lot, so that helped.
OTOE - Wondered about Cree for a while before entering OTOES. I think Cree are mostly a Canadian Native People. Vowel rich making it popular.
DISC GOLF - A learning today; I feel like a sports Luddite. I don't think it's played in our bailiwick. We're more a Bocce ball AREA.
Well, after my wonderful triumphs with the Thursday and Friday puzzles this week, I came crashing down to earth today, as I knew I would. What a toughie! On my first run-through the puzzle I got ELI, OTTER, ASEA and ANNE (which turned out to be ANYA). I wanted to put in HUTS, AIR OUT, and ORGY, but was afraid they'd be wrong. Then started cheating, and cheating, and cheating to get the rest and finish up. But I still found it a pretty clever puzzle, Ryan, thanks. Clues like OFFERS, which turned out to be HIT MEN (oh, Off-ers), cracked me up. Never heard of HYMNODY, like others. Anyway, interesting Saturday experience, and terrific write-up, Husker Gary. Your ZEBRA picture was amazingly eye-ball bending!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful time you and Alan had on the shore, Yellowrocks! So glad to hear it.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Typical puzzle for Saturday. I had to cheat on a couple of things. You are right about space mountain, I rode it about 25 years ago, I could barely stand up when I got off of it. I guess I was in my middle 50's at the time.
ReplyDeleteFrom yesterday:
ReplyDeleteLucina I would love to hear your CARPET story! Mine gave me a real boost in the decency of humanity!
OwenKL Thanks for your stab at the SLAT. That was my guess, too. That a ski is a SLAT of wood. But I was wondering if any people who ski can confirm that SLAT is a term they use?
AnonT Glad you enjoyed the Grateful Dead version of CASEY JONES!
Here is an amusing Pete Seeger version of CASEY JONES as a scab against the railroad union.
Not historically accurate as far as I know. But as a child I got to see Pete Seeger perform it!
Picard, your giant desert figures intrigued me so I had to LIU. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteLIU
Especially, see the figures at the end of the article.
Anon@949. Not minutes by any means. About 3 hours. I have a rule, never give up, never cheat. I really didn't think I'd get this one and had a couple of misses: AVEA-AVIA which caused me to miss the easy SARI. And TITO although TAVIS Smiley is familiar in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteCAR AD was a V8 and I needed Gary (Hope the family is doing ok)to explain RAMS.
TG PELEG came to me. I had ANNE and IDLED which messed me up. And EMT before UMP. I actually am familiar with HYMNODY.
TITO could have been Fuentes
Nothing like baseball for obscure refs.
I'm not too upset about the little misses, this was what a Saturday xword is supposed to be. Impossible then doable.
WC
Ps. I had to stop and go a few times including Misty's Jumble trick
Space Mountain in the dark,
ReplyDeletenot being able to anticipate the turns
and brace for changes,
proved to be a big pain in the back for me...
I prefer it with the lights on!
Okay, I’m joining the “never heard of HYMNODY” army. I went with “hymnoty”, figured “carat” was some never heard of word for the spots on a Jaguar’s back...hahaha. Never saw “car ad”.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, still a toughie.
Still wondering how Sam Elliot didn’t make the moustache list yesterday.
Pro football Sunday, I don’t watch games, I watch Red Zone.....all action.
Me too! Like WC my rule is also never give up, never cheat. This took at least two or more hours in two separate phases. The NE block yielded fairly quickly if not ARTILY since I had to erase REDOAK for REDELM, got the HYMN____ part and waited for the rest. TITO is very familiar to me, still only had HYMNOD_. I stopped, did some chores then resumed.
ReplyDeleteIn the SW once I saw CLAUSE, UMP and ASEA I could guess the downs. And so it went, little by little. I didn't see the movie MADAME BOVARY, but guessed that, too. The NW gave me the biggest challenge but I finally let go of TBNUTS (wrong!) for BOLT and IRONGRIP fell. This was a very satisfying solve in which I didn't have to LU anything.
Thank you, Ryan and Gary. I echo the sentiments of others who praise you for soldiering on despite your sorrowful loss.
Have a fabulous day, everyone! Our temps here are also decreasing and it's almost pleasant.
G-Day Mates.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to work the CW, or the Jumble. What am I to do?
Work them.
Ðave
Kicked my A double ess
ReplyDeleteSaturday special. Thanks for the fun, Ryan and HuskerG. (Thanks for blogging in the middle of what must be a terrible weekend for your family.)(I loved the MAZE of Zebras!)
ReplyDeleteMany inkblots in my newspaper today; I finally had to resort to Google for the centre section.
Hand up for Tears before RENDS, Aides before PAGES, Hymnals (although clue did not call for plural) before HYMNODY (I have heard of it).
I had Gamer before CODER, BEAT Up before ON.
I agree with Picard that NEUTRON clue was a favourite.
The cross of TITO and TAVIS was a Natick for me.
My Pickup line was a Rim (thinking of style line) until TOTAL LIE gave me RAMS.
Offers?=HITMEN was a lightbulb moment when I got here.
Yes, I saw the ZEDS but thought the clue was a little off (but Pair IN British Puzzles? might have been too easy).
AVIA today not NIKE.
I have heard of VEGEMITE but have never tasted it. Don't plan to do that either.
I have been on SPACE MOUNTAIN even though I am not a lover of "rides" and I survived. Not as scary as I thought it might be, but I was happy to stay behind with my 3 year old while the others went on it again. That was long ago (back in the ICE AGE!).
No politics - but Canada's two main political parties are The Liberals and the Conservatives. NDP (New Democratic Party is the third largest.)
I thought of OMK when TRAGICOMEDIES finally filled the centre.
Glad you had a good holiday, YR, and that Alan remains well.
Enjoy the day. We are cooler also but may get a lot of rain from the tail end of Gordon.
YR: missed you, but suspected you were at the Jersey Shore. I had a few moments reminiscing about our trip there in 1985.
ReplyDeletePosting later than usual today ~
ReplyDeletebecause
Mr. McCarty's pzl kept me going longer than usual. In the end I came to a near-Ta-DA!, but can't claim a pure victory because I needed a couple of sly cheats in the end. Still, I appreciated the beauty of today's cluing.
Like Irish Miss and Misty I really enjoyed 51A ("Offers?"), and there were many runners-up. Good job!
Alert Alert for Jumble solvers! ~
If you do the daily Jumble and/or if you appreciate Owen's often brilliant poetic contributions to this site, you really must come over and check out the colorful, dedicated Jumble site. It's a beauty!
Four to six of us are regulars over there, and we'd love to see more of our comrades join us.
Use this Jumble Link to go there. Just click on it, and when you're there, click again on the current date along the lower right side.
Yloul rlealy ejony het stei; trsut em!
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Blanko today.
Jumble Link
BTW, if you don't get the Jumble in your regular news or web source, you'll find it reprinted - in full color - over on the special site.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry: you won't see the answers right away, as we only allow hints, not solutions, until the end of day.
Once again, here's the connection to the site (remember to click on the current date once you're there):
Jumble Link
The not entirely literate Cornerite say...
ReplyDeleteHi All!
DNF. I just couldn't crack the center-fill and the NE. RED oak was close but no cigar and I couldn't think of another word for 'parking spot' for the Jag. I had no chance with 30a & 32a. I did get PELEG sans perp, so I guess I'm somewhat literate :-)
Thanks Ryan for the fun puzzle to play during Ask Me Another and working getting iApps happy with the NFC YubiKey.* SEC tech consultant, eh? Can you do anything about automated trading? Been a while since a flash-crash but I smell one coming.
Excellent Expo HG - Loved the Zebra pic and the Hole In One from the TEE PAD. A: 34 and Mary Ann. After I TITT, I used your grid for extra-play to extend the suss'n'. Thank you.
VEGIMITE is nasty - a buddy from Perth gave me some once -- Once! :-)
WOs: I wish RED oak was one; w/ the K there I was thinking Sanskrit or something akin. As soon as I read elm in HG's expo, hymnals went in; aha! it's AH SAID.
ESP & WAG: IRON GRIP
Sparkle: C/as for ETS, MACES. ASSANGE
Fav: c/a for HIT MEN. TOTAL V8 moment!
NOT FAIR!: the clue for 29d was split in the paper so it looked like the hyphen between apt and titude was to keep the word together.
{C+, A, A+}
Welcome home YR! Good news about Alan health-wise. Thanks for that learning-bit on 'ODY == of ODE'.
Lem: Don't take this and put in in your HYMNODY(?), but I think of Coding in higher-level scripting languages and programming is closer to the hardware. E.g.: I code in Python & Perl; I program in C.
Dudley - I just had a bit on a cracker but Men at Work mention a VEGIMITE sandwich is such a thing. I can't imagine more than a taste!
Time to go look at Picard's Glyphs - I've seen those but didn't know a thing about 'em until YR linked it (thanks!)
Cheers, -T
*For two-factor authentication on the go. NFC == Near Field Communications - what you use if you pay with your iThing/'Droid at the gas station. The idea is to have a second "are you really you?" before you Tweet on the go.
Yes, Madame Defarge ~
ReplyDeleteThe coming of computerized word processing and ubiquitous Xerox machines have really changed the ordeal of writing theses and dissertations in my lifetime. I sometimes think of it in terms of lost skills, like 1890s' horsemanship giving way to 1930s' auto service from AAA - and of even broader life experiences.
I think of how many skills used to be involved when traveling a mere 100 miles. Today, we drive or fly and rarely need to think of taking food with us or wonder where we'll sleep between here & there. Back in the day, you either had to write ahead to several inns, or if you didn't know what amenities lay along your route, you had to take a chance of finding hospitable farmers along the way.
Who would look after your horse? How would you protect your money?
What social skills did you need to talk strangers into the help you'd need?
Who would you be sharing a bed with?
How many days would it take to let your family know you'd arrived safely?
And what if you had to write your dissertation by hand?
Aargh.
~ OMK
OMK - I'm just imagining all the "Dearest nephew" letters to travel 100 miles. Air transport is nice.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone wondering why HG asked about your SSN [he must be an uber-hacker!], states of issuance. By telling you 34, you know I got my SSN in IL.
C, Eh!, do y'all have a similar 'by province' for SINs?
Have a fun eve all! -T
I liked this difficult puzzle and took a long time to finish it. Didn't understand CARAD until coming here; I thought it was a zoological term for a spot on a jaguar's coat. Took me forever to get BAT ROPE; I had heard of, among others, bat-mobile, bat signal, bat phone, and bat cave (the four letter bat-thingy I so much wanted it to be) but had never heard the term bat rope per se. Well, at least I knew TITO Puente and TAVIS Smiley. Somehow I got PELEG quickly, too. Oddly, I was able to get HYMNODY, which I had not ever heard of, because I had heard of a PSALMODY. And even though I have never heard of Mia Wasikowska, with a few letters including that V filled I did get MADAME BOVARY. Never heard of a BOOZE CRUISE but I assume it must be a real thing to be in a puzzle. Filled in the O from BORSCHT and so filled the rest for OSAGE, and when that didn't work I tried OMAHA, but that didn't work either. O! (ha ha) it was OTOES with the E and an S. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteLooking back (I seem to do a lot of looking back lately) I realize and appreciate what a well-made puzzle it is. Oh, and speaking of puzzles, I resisted ZEDS because of the way the clue was worded which led me to ask what a pair of puzzles in Britain would be called.
Best wishes to you all.
Not sure a Zebra is an eyeball bending critter just because it has stripes. But then again Saturday puzzles are supposed to be the most difficult sometimes requiring stretching clues to that end
ReplyDeleteWell I finished it while watching Serena act like an idiot today, while losing the US Open final. Illegal coaching, smashed her racket, and screamed at the umpire. Warning, point penalty, and game penalty. Osaka was beating her badly. At least McEnroe had a case on his accusation. Not Serena.
ReplyDeleteHYMNAL- I know; HYMNODY? All perps with a WAG on the O of TITO. I filled HIT MEN by perps, kept looking at it, and left it because ON END was so solid. I wanted HIT MES (blackjack).
TRAGICOMEDIES- never heard of but the perps were solid.
RENDS- I also had TEARS first.
ELI Lilly- I used to purchase a million $/month from that company.
I know of MADAME BOVARY but who is Mia Wasikowska?
JAG-U-AR- a crummy car, still after all these years.
RAMS- They're still DODGE trucks.
VEGEMITE (marmite)- scraped from the vats after the beer has been removed. Tastes like ****.
BOOZE CRUISES- went on one in the Bahamas and if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it. The captain on the boat went under a limbo bar that was just high enough for his head-turned sideways- to get under.
HYMNODY I knew (LW is an organists who collects hymnals).
ReplyDeleteI tasted VEGAMITE once. As I recall, it tasted like salt mildly flavored with 💩. Which, come to think of it, is about what I thought of my only taste of caviar as well.
I've seen those disc-golf poles in a park or two here'bouts. I'm a decent Frisbee thrower, but how they can get in those "holes" is beyond me!
Had dEad aa'S > NEUTRONS
The JumbleHints site was founded to keep _J discussions out of the Corner, so, flattered as I am by OMK's flattery, I also apologize for it. I do think a more subtle approach would be better, such as noting the DIES IRAE link in my poems today. Hints, not direct reveals!
It would be better to say buoyant can mean BLITHE, rather than BLITHE means buoyant. "Happily carefree" is the primary meaning of BLITHE, while only a tangential/metaphoric meaning of buoyant.
BTW, do you remember U.S. President Blythe? He was one of 3 or 4 who was elected as something other than their birth names.
Do you know where Batman relieves himself?
The bat-room.
Thank you Mr. Ryan McCarty for this extremely difficult CW. I needed all the Ps I could find, and a good helping of WAGS to come close to completion. I BAILed at 29 A & 11 D which allowed me to complete the CW.
ReplyDeleteThank you Husker Gary for your review which is excellent.
I was sure that 1 A was BATROBE.
Ðave
Yellowrocks Thank you for following up on my BLYTHE desert figures. I love those aerial photos! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThere is not much else to see or do in BLYTHE. I was amused that the locals I talked to had never even visited these sites!
AnonT Hope you also enjoy the BLYTHE photos!
CanadianEh Glad you also liked the NEUTRONS clue!
Wilbur Charles and Lucina Good for you that you persist and do not cheat! I am the same way. Even if I have to set it aside multiple times throughout the day, I will do so. I don't begrudge those who cheat in different ways. We each have different ways of enjoying the puzzles, different knowledge bases and different thresholds of frustration. It is just not for me.
I love it when I get an answer after setting it aside if the problem just required thinking outside the obvious box. My gripe is when the solution requires obscure information and no amount of creativity will solve it.
I almost forgot: HYMNODY one of those words that is unknown and sounds wrong. The cross with the difficult to parse CARAD was a challenge. But CAR AD was one of those that was solved by setting it aside!
OK! I have been inspired to dig out this set of photos on California Highway 1 where many CAR ADs are filmed.
Have others enjoyed the amazing beauty of this highway?
Don't know why you all think doing research and getting a hint is "cheating". This isn't a semester test over material you were supposed to learn for a grade. The teacher isn't going to whack your hand with a ruler or dock your grade for looking at an answer. This is a mental exercise and no one but you cares how you do it.
ReplyDeletePicard - interesting re The Blythe Intaglios or Blythe Geoglyphs. Thanks YR for the link to more info. I have seen Agawa Rock pictographs (from 17th or 18th century) north of Sault Ste Marie, but these are different and much older. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteAnonT - I think I did not get back to thank you for the photo of the second beautiful cactus.
Your question about Canadian SSNs was a new thought for me so I LIUed. Yes, the first number is based on the province of issue. I checked mine and DH to confirm. Learning moment!
Picard at 12:19 PM & Yellowrocks at 12:39 PM
ReplyDelete- - The BLYTHE Intaglios are interesting. I defined Intaglio and realized it is the opposite of a cameo where the figure is raised from the background. In an Intaglio the figure is indented into the background.
Picard at 8:18 PM
- - What is the structure over the highway?
Ðave
Took a while, but finally finished, except for HYMNODY and TAVIS. Tougher than usual Saturday, which are tough enough.
ReplyDeleteThe word "cheat" is not my invention.
ReplyDeleteFor my own solving experience I rarely do a lookup. The reason is my own psychology. If lookups is an option I'd be doing it all the time and never solving anything.
Even today, lost and befuddled as I was I knew if I quit the answers would kill me .
And..
When I get to the last corner my mind starts playing her little tricks. Same difficulty but now my mind won't function.
Time is an element here as is the blog itself. So I log in here where I can wait forever with NYT because I get it a week late anyway. I just FIR 8/26 yesterday.
WC
Thank you, for giving everyone the Jumble link, Ol'Man Keith. I too would love to see more of our blog friends who enjoy working the daily Jumble to come and check in on our site and give us their experience. That would be lovely!
ReplyDeleteWhether I resort to LIU or red letters or not is usually a matter of having time and undivided attention. Tomorrow I will be very busy and distracted. We are having a retirement party for my all time favorite pastor. Knowing I will not have time to concentrate, I solved the Sunday puzzle just now. With no time constraints, I FIR without help.
ReplyDeleteWhen buoyant refers to mood it is very close to blythe. I feel buoyant during vacation. Recreation = re create. I feel created anew.
Owen, my friend ~
ReplyDeletePlease don't apologize for me. I am trying to help drum up interest in my own way. Several of us happen to enjoy your poetry and wish to encourage others to join us in our appreciation of your good work.
And while it's true that we have been asked to keep Jumble discussion out of this Corner, I don't believe a link or two amounts to a full-on "discussion." So far, no one - to my knowledge - has suggested we not mention there is another site, or that we shouldn't provide an easy link to it.
I'm sorry if you found my postings offensive. I really am. I don't like jeopardizing friendship.
~ OMK
PK, I agree completely.
ReplyDeletePK - I agree and don't w/ you and Bill G.
ReplyDeleteI approach the puzzle wondering "How dumb am I today?" So any lookup, even spellings (BORSCHT I actually got right!) I eschew because they evoke an inner monologue of "You be stupid -T"
Mondays, I'm pretty freakin' sharp; Saturdays, not so much. :-)
I don't "cheat" until "That's it, I cannot fill another square -- wait what's this? SLR..." and, an bit later, TITT. I then flog myself for missing the obvious [see: BOO--C--I--S == BOOZE CRUISES]. Cathartic in a way :-)
Finally, it's time to learn what I really didn't know. See: MADAME BOVARY today - I've heard that but had no idea what it's about (nothing to do with the Butterfly Madame I need to look up later).
And then the Corner enlightens me more.
Today - C+ for fill and A- for learning. Kinda like most Saturdays.
Cheers, -T
Right now is the first chance I've had to return since this morning. My family combined August and September birthdays for a total of ten honorees. We had a good crowd, very good food and wonderful conversation. When we start reminiscing about things or people past, I notice the very young ones, listening om wonderment. I hope they learn some of the family lore from these talks.
ReplyDeleteSo now I'm being entertained by all your comments. When I say "cheating" it's with tongue in cheek because I do know I'm my only judge. It has taken me many years to arrive at the competency level where I am today and I'm well satisfied with it. It disappoints me when I can't get the answer on my own and have to look it up and it's not because I'm a fount of knowledge, though I have amassed a good deal of it. Most of my solve, if I don't actually know it, is through good guessing from experience.
AnonT:
Thank you for answering my question about the diameter of the cactus bloom.
Worked off and on (mostly off) all day. When I finally tanked and fell asleep I just looked at answers. No wonder!!"artily" - "booze cruises" - "hitmen" --- silly, silly, silly! C'mon!!! Let's get back to understandable English answers and clues! Sad that I have to go to bed with a bitter pill in my craw. Sorry I didn't write this more artily ... must have just got back from a booze cruise!
ReplyDeleteGood Sunday afternoon, folks. Thank you, Ryan McCarty, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWell, I finished a day late. This was a tough puzzle, IMHO.
I will not go through all the words I had trouble with. There were many.
SPACE MOUNTAIN took me forever, even though I have ridden that ride in Florida many times years ago. Oh well.
PELEG I did remember because we had him within the last week.
Anyhow, I have to run. see you tomorrow.
Abejo
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