This is one of those rare puzzles where the theme is in the clues - not the fills, which are unrelated two-word common language phrases; brought to us by our own dear hostess, C. C. and Corner denizen Husker Gary. C. C. and I worked a similar idea in a Sunday puzzle a couple years ago. And by some weird cosmic coincidence, Gary blogged the puzzle that day, in quite spectacular fashion.
Today our theme clues are words familiar to football fans - and I'm pretty sure Gary is one. C. C. is more into baseball. Let's we what we have here.
18 A. BLOCK: CITY SQUARE. Most cities have streets laid out in a rectilinear pattern. A BLOCK is the area defined by four streets. More specifically, a CITY [or town] SQUARE is an open public space near the heart of the town, used for community gatherings. Here's a trombone's eye view from the bandstand at Kellogg Park, the town square in Plymouth, MI.
My peeps are out there somewhere
To BLOCK in football is to move a defensive player aside so a ball carrier can advance down the field.
23 A. CATCH: HIDDEN SNAG. I'm imagining an underwater obstruction that a small boat could get hung up on. Figuratively, it could be any unanticipated difficulty, perhaps as a result of poor planning. In football, a CATCH is a reception of a PASS [vide infra], viz. a ball thrown to an eligible receiver to advance the team's position on the playing field.
37 A. KICK: CHAMPAGNE EFFECT. Well, that depends on who you ask.
In football, there are three kinds of KICKS. The KICK OFF happens at the beginning of each half, and after one team scores, to deliver the ball to their foe. The extra point is a KICK after a touch down is scored. Success, attained by sending the ball through the uprights, is called a conversion, good for one point. The field goal is a similar kind of KICK, attempted when the offense stalls somewhere on the field. If successful it nets 3 points.
49 A. PASS: FREE TICKET. A no-charge permit that authorizes entry and access to a venue or event. In football, a PASS is ball launched by hand to an intended receiver [vide supra.]
58A. RUN: HOSE MISHAP. A tear or hole in sheer silk or nylon stockings. A disaster.
In football, a RUN is an attempt to advance the ball by carrying it around or through the defenders. Of course, a RUN is a score in baseball, as well.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here to coach this game. The theme cluing is pretty straight-forward, and the fills are sparkly in this thematically rich puzzle. And we have some extra bits of elegance. Each theme clue can be functionally either an action verb, or the name of the action that is so indicated. And there is a nice element of symmetry. The first and last Theme entries are a complimentary pair, as are the second and fourth. That must have taken some extra effort. And the central theme entry is a grid spanner. So from my view on the side-line, this is a win. Yay, team!
Across:
1. Tot's drink, to the tot: WAWA. Water, when you are just figuring out how to form syllables. Fun times. Also a chain of convenience stores and gas stations located in the eastern U.S. None in our area, but we always fill the tank and grab coffee and donuts when we leave step-son Tom's for the long drive home.
5. Side-by-side truck tires: DUALS. They provide more even weight distribution, and thus greater safety and stability
10. Fifth Avenue landmark: SAKS. An American luxury department store owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest commercial corporation in North America.
14. Help with a heist: ABET. Provide assistance to a crime or other offense.
15. Play direction: ENTER. Tells the actor to go onto the stage.
16. Lint collector: TRAP. Belly button doesn't fit.
17. Sci-fi princess with a twin brother: LEIA. Stars Wars, of course. The brother is Luke Skywalker.
20. Abs exercise: LEG RAISE. Get a leg up with proper form.
22. Take out of the packaging: UNBOX. Open it up.
26. Picnic crasher: ANT. Six-legged interloper.
28. Harrison of "My Fair Lady": REX.
29. Help: AID. Assistance.
30. Tiny Lab, e.g.: PUP. Young dog.
33. "But seriously folks ... " is one: SEGUE. In music, a move from one song to the next without interruption. Here, a little more loosely, a transition in a monologue.
35. Forest ranger?: ELK. Per Wikipedia, these large members of the deer family "range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark." So - yep.
36. Selfish shout: MINE. I get to use this again.
41. "What __!": "I've been had!": A RIP. As in RIP off - a fraud or swindle, often based on something being over-priced
42. Little chap: LAD. A boy. From Middle English, of unknown origin. The word was much more popular a century ago, but has had a recent resurgence.
43. Big dipper: LADLE. Kitchen utensil, not something written in the stars.
44. Many a dad joke: PUN. Strained puns that are anodyne and therefore OK to tell in mixed, but non-critical company.
Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? Great food, no atmosphere.
What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta.
Want to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind it's tearable.
I just watched a program about beavers. It was the best dam program I've ever seen.
Why did the coffee file a police report? It got mugged.
How does a penguin build it's house? Igloos it together.
You get the picture.
46. MADD message, e.g.: PSA. A Public Service Announcement from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
48. __ Lingus: AER. The flag carrier air line of Ireland, now owned by IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia.
52. Legend automaker: ACURA. The luxury vehicle arm of Honda.
55. Alternative medicine staple: ALOE VERA. Extract from the eponymous evergreen perennial succulent.
61. Its oxide makes Mars red: IRON. Rust, an IRON-oxygen compound.
62. Retired tennis pro Kournikova: ANNA. She was born in 1981 and retired from competitive play at age 21 due to spinal problems.
63. Bartlett entry: QUOTE. An American reference book, first published in 1855, now in its 18th edition.
64. Gunk: CRUD. An unpleasantly dirty and messy substance.
65. Woodpecker's tool: BEAK. Used for digging under the bark of trees to get insects, and for communication by drumming on hard surfaces.
66. Go over the limit: SPEED. Driving in excess of the posted limit, which nobody does, ever.
67. Ball elevators: TEES. In golf, the first stroke on any hole is hit with the ball slightly elevated from the ground on a wooden peg, called a TEE. After that, one must play it where it lies.
Down:
1. Outlet site: WALL. A srtucture designed to keep a door upright.
2. Busy as __: A BEE. Oh, honey . . .
3. Reason to purchase a new belt: WEIGHT GAIN. I don't want to talk about it.
4. Pong maker: ATARI. Speaking of back in the day. You can tell your grandchildren that this was once a ground-breaking new video game.
6. Like the name Pat: UNISEX. Non-gender-specific. My sister's full name is Patricia, which removes all doubt. But her initials spelt the short form of her name.
7. When some local news airs: AT TEN. In the evening.
8. Emmy-winning ESPN reporter Bob: LEY. The network's longest tenured on-air employee.
9. Soon-to-be alumni: Abbr.: SRS. Senior class members, hoping to graduate.
10. Smarted: STUNG. If it hurt, how smart could it be?
11. Riyadh resident: ARAB. Riyadh is the capital and most populous city of Saudi Arabia.
12. Pecan pie syrup: KARO. A sweetener made from corn starch, containing varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides [sugar polymers of 3 to 10 units.] High fructose corn syrup is made by further processing that converts much of its glucose into fructose, which tastes sweeter.
13. Glasses, informally: SPEX. Or SPECS, short for spectacles. Speaking of dad jokes - did you hear about the optometrist who fell into the lens grinding machine? He made a spectacle of himself.
19. College courtyard: QUAD. A square or rectangular space, mainly, or partly enclosed on all four sides by buildings. Like a CITY SQUARE, but different.
21. Campaign pro?: AD REP. A person responsible for an advertising effort intended to sell a product or service, not one involved in a political or military campaign.
24. Counter offer?: SALE. Things are offered for SALE on or behind the counter of a store. Clever mis-direction.
25. Goddess of victory: NIKE. Her Roman equivalent is Victoria.
26. Music rights gp.: ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and
27. '60s jacket style: NEHRU. A hip length tailored coat with mandarine collar.
30. Apartment used for overnight trips to the city: PIED A TERRE. Literally, foot to the ground, going back to 18th century France, used to indicate any temporary lodging. Now meaning a secondary residence [but not a vacation home] that is used occasionally during part of the year or part of the work week.
31. "I give up!": UNCLE. North American usage, origin unknown.
32. Saint at a gate: PETER. An image in popular culture indicating St. Peter as the gate keeper of heaven.
34. Official behind a catcher: UMP. Baseball umpire.
36. Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Arts.
38. Away from the wind: ALEE. Nautical term, gong back to Middle English.
39. Beaufort scale word: GALE. A measure of wind speed.
40. Cereal bit: FLAKE. Grains are crushed, ground, and then cooked for several hours, possibly with added vitamins and flavorings. The resulting slurry is then pressed between rollers that flatten the grains. They are then transferred to a heated drum for drying. Additional additives may be sprayed on at this point.
45. Study a lot in a short time: CRAM. To stuff something full - as one's brain with subject matter.
46. Pontius __: PILATE. The 5th prelate of the Roman provence of Judea, serving from A.D 26 to 37.
47. Checked (out): SCOPED. Visually examined.
49. Come unglued, with "out": FREAK. Lose it, go berserk, go ballistic.
50. Lake near California's Squaw Valley: TAHOE. A large lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, straddling the California - Nevada border, famous for its beaches and near-by ski resorts.
51. Throw out: EVICT. A legal process to remove a tenant.
52. Queequeg's captain: AHAB. From Moby Dick.
53. Scoop perch: CONE. Ice cream holder.
54. Military sch. whose mascot is Bill the Goat: USNA. United States Naval Academy, located in Annapolis, MD.
56. Casanova: ROUE. French term for one broken on a wheel, indicating the tortuous punishment such a debauchee allegedly deserves.
57. Common conjunctions: ANDS. Sometimes associated with IFS and BUTS.
59. Brightness figs. not measured in watts: IQS. Intelligence Quotient, indicating mental brightness.
60. "What's goin' on?": 'SUP. Que pasa?
That all, folks. C. C. and Gary gave us a sporting chance.
Cool regards!
JzB
REX was on the fence, he just could not DECIDE
ReplyDeleteHe stood first on one, then around to the other side!
Back and forth, to and fro.
Round and round he'd go,
Until he climbed up on the fence. Thus he did de-side!
ANNA went shopping at Fifth Avenue SAKS.
The money she spent gave her hubby attacks!
But when she UNBOXED
The lingerie frocks --
The miser still sent her to return all in sacks!
He feared it was a TRAP, it had a HIDDEN SNAG.
He knew he could be STUNG, but he liked the swag.
So he accepted the FREE TICKET
To a gathering for cricket-
Loving entomologists, where A BEE sting made him sag!
{A-, B+, A-.]
Thank you Gary Schlapfer and C.C. Burnikel for this beautiful Wednesday CW.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jazzbumpa for your educational review. Andy Griffith said it best in 1953.
Anonymous FLN at 5:10 PM
- - Thank you for noticing my error.
Ðave
Jzb: you forgot the fourth type of KICK...the punt.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteCan you spell "speed run?" I zipped through this one in Monday fashion, so fast that I thought the theme was definitions. Never noticed the sports connection. JzB's expo taught me more about football than I ever wanted to know. And his description of FLAKE made cereal sound absolutely scrumptious! Thanx, C.C., Husker (that Mars clue had to be yours), and JzB.
WAWA: Formerly preceded by BABA.
LAD: A novel from my ute by Alfred Terhune.
SPEX: Specs is a major purveyor of alcoholic libations in our part of the world.
USNA: We heard a lot about it this past weekend.
CITY SQUARE: I recently learned that the idea in North America began in St. Augustine, Florida.
LE GRAISE: Semi-athletic activity of la vache.
Hi Y'all! Fun, fresh & quirky puzzle today. Shake your pompons! Yay, Gary, he's our man; he can score if anybody can! Yay, C.C. she's our queen, best cruciverbalist ever seen! Go, team! Only those two could do a puzzle about football that SEGUEd into something entirely different.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, JzB, as referee of this game. Loved the dad jokes.
Did you see the video of one player drop-KICKing the ball straight into the arms of a guy on the opposing team who then ran a short way to Touch Down?
Liked PIED-A-TERRE right next to a low-down ROUE. We know what some of those second residences are used for!
Not bAbA for "bottle" but WAWA? Really? We start with baby talk? Oh, okay! Carry on.
PASS: I felt like such a real pro the first time I was issued a Press PASS for a state event. On a lanyard even!
DUALS: mentioned by me yesterday in the LUG nut story. Prescience again. LOL
WEIGHT GAIN? Elastic to the rescue. Oops, I looked in the mirror. Gimmee a belt of Jim Beam... (Bean? whatever.)
I don't consider a punt a kick; a punt is a kick performed by a punter, like, say, Hall of Famer Ray Guy. The other kicks are kicked by a kicker/placekicker. Although, I would include free-kick (after a safety) and drop-kick (very rare).
ReplyDeleteVery easy for a Wed.
Wow - way to split hairs!
DeleteIf you don’t consider a punt a kick then why do you defibe a punt as a kick?
DeleteGood morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., and Gary Schlapfer, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
ReplyDeletePuzzle was a solid Wednesday level, IMHO. Theme was great and appropriate.
Finally saw ALOE VERA as one entry.
1D outlet site was clever WALL. Did not get that right off.
I finally spelled SAKS correctly on the first pass.
30D was not Known PIED A TERRE. Perps all the way.
Anyhow, have to go guard the crossing. See you tomorrow. Web will see how today's hurricane does in Chicago.
Abejo
( )
Good morning. Congratulations HG & CC. Now that the GALE, aka Hurricane Gordon (tropical storm?) put us on the LEE side, I got a newspaper today. The football clues were obvious but CHAMPAGNE EFFECT- 'buzz' word for being drunk? New term for me.
ReplyDeletePIED A TERRE- I'd seen it before but really had no idea what it was; all perps, along with Bob LEY.
NIKE- well 'her' stock took quite a tumble yesterday after the company's boneheaded decision.
Brightness is measured in LUMENS, not watts.
Their decision to stand by now. Just like the ad
DeleteBig Easy: Keep your politics out of this. The company took a brave step.
ReplyDeleteWell, I get no kick from champagne (Blazing Saddles version)
ReplyDeleteAnon, your case isn't helped by starting "I don't consider a punt a kick; a punt is a kick..."
By rule, anyone can punt. You can pitch to a halfback who punts when the defense isn't set to receive it (the quick-kick).
Took a while to realize it wasn't a mALL where outlet stores are found.
Fun run with this puzzle- and aptly timed right between the start of the college football season last weekend and the start of the pro season Thursday night!
ReplyDeleteI just read an interesting article about Adam Vinatieri- the kicker for the Indianapolis Colts (Patriots before that). He is the oldest player in the NFL(45) and only needs 7 field goals to have the record for most field goals and 58 points to break the record for most points ever in the NFL.
On the belt clue, I had WEIGHT and waited for perps whether to put in GAIN or LOSS. Unfortunately in America the GAINs "outweigh" the LOSSes probably 40 to 1.
Thanks HG, CC and JzB!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteA nice gem from HG and CC this AM. Had to think some but it all came together nicely. FIR. I liked the theme, too. Managed to include 2 Q's, 2 X's.
WEIGHT GAIN - Just sharing; I've lost 24 lbs. since May 24. Doc's advice. Still a few notches left on the belts' though.
Off to play some bridge.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like this type of puzzle simply because it's so rarely offered, plus it's a fun challenge. No w/os but two unknowns: Ley and Atari; I know nothing about video games. Several pairings caught my eye (and ear): Alee/A bee, Pun/Pup, Arab/Ahab, and Freak/Flake. No surprise that CC managed to slip in a baseball reference with Ump.
Thanks, Gary and CC, for a great gridiron grid and thanks, JzB, for the color and commentary! Touchdown!
Have a great day.
Good morning sports fans ! Loved this puzzle from C.C. and HG, and the review by JzB !
ReplyDeleteHad to put on my thinking cap, but it was askew. Entered ELF for my "Forest ranger ?" and never looked back. Started obsessing on PIED A TERRE. Double and triple checked the perps, and finally left it. Never heard of it before, but going by JzB's explanation, I now understand it.
Great cluing in the puzzle made the challenge a bit more fun. Loved "Scoop perch", "Military sch. whose mascot is Bill the Goat",
Had to rethink a couple of answers. For "Selfish shout", I had Me mE before MINE, and for "But seriously folks ... ", I had SEtUp before SEGUE.
Even the clues that didn't fool seemed fun or fresh, like "Tiny Lab, e.g." for PUP, "Many a dad joke" for PUN and "Take out of the packaging" for UNBOX. Absolutely loved "Ball elevators" for TEES !
Learned today that Luke and LEIA were twins.
Here's a quick rundown of the differences between college and pro ball:
All the Major Differences Between NFL and College Football
Since I'm not a sports fan I liked that the themers SEGUEd into familiar phrases. Good job, Gary and C.C.!
ReplyDeleteWALL? Oh, that kind of outlet. Of course, I was thinking MALL where SAKS would be found.
TEES and PUP were brilliantly clued.
Thank the Lord I no longer have to worry about HOSEMISHAPs!
I'm waiting for the carpet installer to arrive with said carpet; the living room is bereft of furniture.
Thank you, JzB! You really tickled my funnybone.
Have a magnificent day, everyone!
How exciting to see a brilliant Wednesday puzzle by C.C. and Husker Gary. Of course I had to cheat a bit, though I got the northeast corner right off and was tickled to see SQUARE pop up right away. My favorite clue, though, was IQS for the 'Brightness figs. not measured in watts'--a total delight. So thank you both, Gary and C.C. And JazzB, your pictures this morning were just wonderful--thank you too.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to a luncheon this morning. Have a great day, everybody!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteYes a punt is a kind of kick, but since punters and kickers are functionally different categories I did forget about the punts. Note also that they are separate events in the punt pass and kick contests. The quick kick is a sub-category of punt, despite the inconsistent nomenclature.
Kick offs, filed goal and extra points can all be categorized as place kicks with the ball either held on the ground by another player, or on a tee, as in the kick off. This tee is not an elevator but more of a stabilizer.
Spitz - congrats on the weight loss. I just stopped moving in the wrong direction and need to take some corrective action.
Cool regards!
JzB
Lucina I am with you not being a football fan. But also appreciating the puzzle!
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary and CC I find these Clue-Theme puzzles difficult as the answers have nothing in common. But these were all appropriate for a Wednesday. Thanks! And I am happy to share in your football joy for the occasion!
JzB Thanks for the wonderful review and links!
I immediately thought of the KICK from CHAMPAGNE song. That is one of my favorite Blazing Saddles scenes! And there are many favorite scenes for me.
I loved to listen to REX Harrison on the My Fair Lady album my father had as a child. And that song "Why Can't the English" was one of my favorites on the album!
And I loved the St PETER cartoon! So true!
NIKE was a surface to air missile system that was deployed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. It has since been dismantled, but visible remnants remain.
In 1991 I did this bicycle ride with my then-lady friend on the Nimitz Bike Path to one of those NIKE sites.
The NIKE site is that concrete pad you can see past our two bicycles. When I lived there I used to love to ride that path and see all those cows! Plus the spectacular Bay and Hills views.
LEY utterly unknown. And I never knew DUALS was the term for those doubled truck tires. Learning moment with both. Loved the IQs clue!
At Griffith Observatory they have scales showing how much you would weigh on different planets. You would have a WEIGHT GAIN, but you would not need a new belt!
Can someone explain why PIED A TERRE has that meaning? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteHi everybody.
ReplyDeleteHow many times have you heard or read, "The proof is in the pudding."
Growing up, I always heard/read it as "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." You? The second way is a little more wordy and unwieldy but it makes more sense to me.
From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles, WikWak, desper-otto, OlManKeith, AnonT and PK Thanks for the HUAC comments and stories!
I was only ten years old when it ended (was re-named!) in 1969. But it was a big topic of conversation in our home.
Wilbur Charles Yes, I was well aware that Bobby Kennedy was part of this awful HUAC red scare. That is why my parents supported the other McCarthy (Eugene McCarthy) in the 1968 Presidential campaign.
PK Glad to know you knew everything about HUAC except for that abbreviation. Yes, I totally agree there are scary parallels with what is happening today. I am hoping that saner heads will prevail this time and that something has been learned from history.
BillG Yes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" is the correct saying. The other indeed loses the meaning.
ReplyDeleteI asked about this yesterday regarding the Cake quote. It really should be:
"You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
Anyone else?
JazzB: apparently you missed the news about the butcher who accidentally backed into his meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
ReplyDeleteNo more time; running late. Have a great day, all!
Bill G, I've always heard it the first way -- The proof is in the pudding. The cake quote I've usually heard as, "he wants to eat his cake and have it too."
ReplyDeletePicard, pied-à-terre is a French idiom that's been co-opted into English. Idioms seldom make literal sense.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Oh my, I had to work to solve this puzzle C.C. and I constructed a year ago. I remember cluing it while I was subbing
-A fun review and quite a coincidence Ron! Dear hostess and a denizen? Hmmm… :)
-I was thinking of the Sinatra/Cole Porter version of Champagne Kick but loved the Blazing Saddles version
-This pick-up is called a DUALLY
-We had to UNBOX 48 of Lily’s favorite treats from chewy.com and then she played in the box
-Here’s an odd pairing
-The speed limit from here to Lincoln got raised to 70 and driving at 74 gets me there noticeably faster
-How can every WALL plug be behind furniture?
-How do you peeps wait up until 11 for the news?
-Our friend’s daughter in Riyadh loves driving now.
-NIKE stock took a big hit yesterday. You either know why or don’t care
-Don’t go fishing on TAHOE, Fredo!
FIR with no erasure! DNK LEY, PIEDATERRE (was the subject of "The Apartment" one?), and for me, LEG RAISE.
ReplyDeleteRemember the Gilda Radner sendup of Barbara Walters, Baba WAWA? WAY too funny!
I couldn't remember if "lux" is plural, so I waited until IQS snuck in. I also had to wait for PILATE - I knew how it sounded, but not how to spell it.
My Christmas shopping list just got shorter. Nothing with a swoosh on it.
I wanted "ball elevators" to be "jock", but the clue called for a plural answer.
Thanks to HG & CC for the clever puzzle. Much fun. Also to JazzB for the usual chuckle fest. By the way, JazzB - You forgot about the report of a peephole in the fence at the nudist colony. There is a policeman looking into it.
Wednesday workout for me. Thanks for the fun, Gary and C.C., and JazzB.
ReplyDeleteClever football theme. For your cultural advancement, here is Wiki's article on Canadian vs. American football differences. Of course, Canadian football is played in a stadium not an arena LOL! ComparisonofAmerican&CanadianFootball
I quickly entered WAWA and then took a long time to see that WALL (not Mall) was correct for 1D. My first thought with WAWA was the small town on the Trans Canada north of Sault Ste. Marie with the giant goose statue. We have pictures recording the stages of growth of our children taken yearly beside that goose, as we always took a pit stop there on our trek west to see the grandparents and family. The name WAWA comes from the Ojibway "wewe" meaning wild goose. (Makes me think of nene in Hawaii!)
WAWA
I smiled at the HOSE MISHAP when we already had a SNAG at 23A. Thankfully we don't wear HOSE much any more. I also smiled to see LAD enlarge immediately to LADLE.
Also smiled at the misdirection for IQS, CONE, TEES (LOL Jinx), SALE.
(It took me a while to get SALE as I had Salt being offered at the counter of my diner!)
DH had to correct me re thinking of Mohs scale instead of Beaufort and entering Talc; GALE helped me fix up the mess I had made of the CHAMPAGNE EFFECT trying to use Talc and Salt. D'uh!
We use Bee Hive Corn Syrup; I don't think KARO is available in Canada. I also like to replace about 1/3 of the corn syrup with Maple Syrup in my pecan pie recipe. YUM.
If you are a ROUE, can you be EVICTed from your PIED A TERRE?
Thanks for all the Dad jokes. I thought immediately of AnonT.
Enjoy the day. We are still hot and humid.
I just returned from 4 days in Ontario at the 90 th reunuon of my summer camp- still so beautiful. I love Canada!
DeleteOutlet site
ReplyDeleteDid not get why clues were in CAPS until it was explained here.
Apparently today is Punday; keep them coming!
Picard @ 1152 - Based on its translation, I'm presuming the usage refers to the fact that the pied à terre user can locate there in his/her trqvels and basically walk the final few hundreds of feet to the final destination without, say, driving, taking a taxi or carriage. JMHO.
ReplyDeletePicard ~
ReplyDeleteYou'll be glad to know I was "Clean for Gene" in '68.
It's not that I didn't like RFK. His HUAC stint was an aberration attributable to youth, but Gene McCarthy was a more consistent progressive figure. Anyway, it all ended with that infamous "police riot" in the Windy City.
HHH never knew how to handle that dramatic opportunity, and RMN was a real smoothie on his comeback trail.
Jinx & CanadianEh! ~
As I recall, WAWA is the word used in The Miracle Worker, William Gibson's drama of the education of Helen Keller. When her teacher, Annie Sullivan, holds Helen's hands under a water pump for the umpteenth time and alternately holds a palm to her mouth or throat while mouthing the word "water," Helen finally repeats it as "Wawa"!
Not exactly a "Tot's word." in that case.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Another 3-way on the mirror side.
Just stopping in to say congrats to Gary and C.C.!!!
ReplyDeleteI picked up the paper five minutes ago so I could set the puzzle aside. I saw the byline. Yay! I've had such a busy day and there's more to come here. I will get to the puzzle in the early morn and then read all your comments as well as JazzB's account.
Nice surprise for this Wednesday! Enjoy the rest of it.
Oh, the funny puns today! Yes, more, more!
ReplyDeleteOwenKL at 3:36 AM
ReplyDelete- - I DECIDEd that your UNBOXED .poems are the BEE's knees.
Idioms for Idiots:
- - "The bee's knees"
This odd cartoon is from the May 5th 1914 edition of the Fort Wayne Sentinel. The bee's knees
[Text: Now dot I haf adopted Mr Skygack I suppose I haf to feed him. Vot does he eat? He likes bee's knees. Bee's knees? Yes, sure, he is very fond of them. Vell, I guess I got to catch some bees. Diss looks like a bee-hive.]
- - And now the Splynter version.
Ðave
Another kind of Champagne
ReplyDeleteKICK
I knew Gary would get some golf in as in the very last(69a) clue. But of course clue no1 had a golf theme. As in the response when the putt rims the cup.*
* Tyrell Hatton had one rim, teeter, peek at the bottom and then spin back and out. Hatton btw is a notorious whiner - WAWAWA
WC
This went quickly but not without some effort. Had city STREET b4 SQUARE and that was it.
ReplyDeleteI also was thinking of the MOHS scale at first, but left it blank until help via crosses.
I liked this puzzle a lot, themed but no giveaways....nice.
The 12 Step Group at the nudist colony wasn't working out. Instead of identifying they were busy COMPARING
ReplyDeleteOMK, 1968 ended with a bullet to the head of RFK(and not from Sirhan)
Literally, PIED A TERRA would be foot on the ground. Which seems to correspond to the clue.
WC
No time to do the puzzle yet. Been glued to the screen watching the Brett Cavanaugh confirmation hearings live.
ReplyDeleteWilbur C ~
ReplyDeleteWhat does that mean? Your reference to the bullet to RFK's head that didn't come from Sirhan Sirhan?
~ OMK
Just perusing through the blog comments
ReplyDeleteOMK - the interesting thing about Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" - it really
was a tot's words. She wasn't born deaf - she lost her hearing as a toddler due to
infection. So when it finally clicked that water - a word from her past was the water at the pump and the letters her teacher was finger spelling to her- she said it like she said it the last time she was hearing and speaking- Wa-Wa!
Wendybird@2:56 - glad to hear that you love Canada. Beautiful area on Ahmic Lake near Magnetewan for your camp. I'm thinking there were no campers from 1928 at the reunion.
ReplyDeletePicard at 11:52 AM
ReplyDelete- - The literal translation from French to English of PIED A TERRE doesn't satisfy me, but the translation of the definition does.
- - Literal: FOOT A GROUND
- - Defined: Petit logement qu’on habite occasionnellement = Small apartment we live in occasionally.
Ðave
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteWhew! That was a tough (for me) Wednesday from our own HG & C.C. Thanks you two. One look-it-up: I needed REX to finish the North and DECIDE on that v. opt-for and admen/ad-rep... Fresh clueing as TTP pointed out.
Thanks JzB for the expo - yep, I was hummin' that "negro work song" @37a.
WOs: aNySEX(?), ten am->ten pm, six pm(?)->AT TEN; wrong aFFECT. Hand-up w/ tALc
ESPs: PILATE's sp, LEY, ROUE, PIEDATTREE(? Uh, OK 'cuz Love Shack was too short]
Fav: c/a for IQs was pretty dern good.
{A-, A, A}
Welcome back Wendybird.
Heard Duallies not just DUALS.
Here you go Jinx - Baba WAWA.
C, Eh! - Bad Dad PUNS? Ettu? Just for that I'm not looking at your WAWA Goose pic w/ the Canadian flag seemingly propping up its BEAK.
Not a PUN but I told Youngest (16 today!) this 'Dad Joke' the other day:
What's yellow and imaginary? The SQUARE-root of negative banana.
//I'll see myself out.
Cheers, -T
AnonT- LOL I had not noted the propped BEAK. . . Or that goose is going to eat the flag!
ReplyDeleteYou know we love your jokes even as we groan.😀
OMK, RFK Jr is petitioning as we speak for a full investigation of the RFK murder. The bullets and caliber* of same don't match the official version.
ReplyDeleteHere's a fair assessment
WC
* From the link it appears all the bullets were the same caliber . But more were fired than Sirhan's gun held
Look closely - the Second Bloom on the CACTI is not open yet.
ReplyDeleteNeed another Dad PUN? Why did the Judge fall; she slipped on appeal.
//say it aloud, A Peel; did I really have to explain that? :-)
Cheers, -T