Theme: "The French Disconnection" - LE is removed from the end of each theme entry.
23A. Painting of an annoying bricklayer at work?: MORTAR AND PEST. Mortar and pestle.
30A. 15th-century food-stained collectible?: GUTENBERG'S BIB. Gutenberg's Bible.
46A. Fabulist's Cheer alternative?: AESOP'S FAB. Aesop's Fable.
63A. Dollar for a shot?: BELT BUCK. Belt buckle.
67A. Dollars for shots?: ROUND TAB. Round table. Classic John Lampkin clue echo.
82A. "Snow White" witch's download?: POISON APP. Poison apple.
94A. Mud, slop, pig, etc.?: ELEMENTS OF STY. (The) Elements of Style. There's a stray LE in the first word.
107A. Sailing maneuver to avoid a pirate's threat?: DEFENSIVE TACK. Defensive tackle.
43D. Vehicle hired to carry steeplechase horses?: JUMPER CAB. Jumper cable. The only Down entry. Expertly placed in the middle.
Reveal:
113. French article whose singular form is "disconnected" from nine puzzle answers: LES.
I actually read the title as "The French Connection" and thinking ET might be added to each theme entry.
Great to see John back. No one entertains like he does. Just look at these fresh and original clues:
I actually read the title as "The French Connection" and thinking ET might be added to each theme entry.
Great to see John back. No one entertains like he does. Just look at these fresh and original clues:
4. Their pockets aren't deep: PITAS.
7. Movement at a boring concert?: NOD.
7. Movement at a boring concert?: NOD.
28. Bios unread by their honorees: OBITS.
44. Tip for changing your answer?: ERASER.
56. Tip for solving in ink?: NIB.
Across:
1. Dropped-jaw stare: GAWP. Not GAWK.
5. Like loving caresses: SENSUAL.
12. Audio units: Abbr.: DBS. OK, decibels.
15. "The Americans" agcy.: FBI. Never saw this series. Starring Keri Russell. I like her "Felicity". Very sweet.
18. First name in erotica: ANAIS. And 105. 18-Across and family: NINS.
20. Place for a bootee: TOOTSIE.
21. Seedy motel, say: RAT TRAP.
25. Japan's emperor: AKIHITO. Since 1989.
26. Like many forest roads: UNPAVED.
27. Suffer: AIL. Glad you can be out of the hospital today, WikWak!
28. Least obfuscated: OPENEST. Tiny dupe with the clue 36. Breezy and open: AIRY.
29. Football laterals, e.g.: TOSSES.
33. Beachcomber's pace: STROLL.
37. Glance: PEEK.
38. Chaotic mess: SNAFU.
42. Bot head?: ECO. Wiki says "EcoBot is short for Ecological Robot
and it refers to a class of energetically autonomous robots that can
remain self-sustainable by collecting their energy from material, mostly
waste matter, in the environment."
43. Harbor protector: JETTY.
45. Dutch South Africans: BOERS.
48. "Exodus" author: URIS.
49. Chickadee kin: TIT. Old Man Keith has a good blue tits story.
50. Undocumented Nepali?: YETI. Fun clue.
51. Peak in Thessaly: OSSA.
52. Big D cager: MAV. owned by Mark Cuban.
53. Annoy: IRK.
54. PC linkup: LAN.
57. Mexican mama bears: OSAS.
59. Slip away: ELAPSE.
61. Popular Oahu beach: WAIKIKI. And 45. 61-Across wear: BIKINI.
66. "Hmm": GEE.
68. Piles up: AMASSES.
69. Captain Hook's creator J.M. __: BARRIE.
71. Eight furlongs: MILE.
72. Caught: GOT.
73. Erstwhile U.K. recording giant: EMI.
74. Kind of trading, briefly: OTC.
75. Sweet Sixteen org.: NCAA.
77. With the bow, in music: ARCO. I learned from doing crosswords.
80. Of __ mind: ONE.
81. Qatar's capital: DOHA.
84. Refine, as ore: SMELT.
87. Stick on the grill: KEBAB.
Popular street food in Xi'an. Often marinated in a mix of hot red
pepper and cumin. I don't recall any other Xi'an food with cumin.
88. Beat it: LAM.
89. Jamaican hybrid fruits: UGLIS.
90. Fine-tune: HONE.
91. China-related prefix: SINO.
92. Irritates: EATS AT.
98. Mist and such: VAPORS.
103. Show great respect for, perhaps: IMITATE. This is true.
104. Mythical flapper: ROC. Very popular skin care brand as well.
105. Gulf of Guinea country: NIGERIA.
106. Easy time: LEISURE.
110. City on the Elbe: DRESDEN.
111. Morning paper, e.g.: EDITION. Tiny dupe: 114. Newsroom VIPs: EDS.
112. "Gymnopédies" composer: SATIE. Erik.
115. Boot protectors: TOECAPS.
116. Smartphone component: LENS. John is a great nature photographer. And a pianist.
Down:
1. Full range: GAMUT.
2. "That's __!": A NO NO.
3. Twists: WARPS.
5. Dutch town: STAD.
6. Geological period: EON.
8. Twin-but-not-Twins' city: ST PAUL. Our local crossword tournament used to be held in St. Paul.
9. Half a fitness motto: USE IT.
10. Freezer __: AISLE.
11. Allow: LET.
12. Window hanging: DRAPERY.
13. Where brownies come together: BAKERY. Not the girl scout brownies.
14. Wasp's weapon: STING.
15. Disc golf "ball": FRISBEE.
16. More eccentric: BATTIER.
17. WSJ news bit: IPO. Uber soon.
19. Sets money aside: SAVES UP.
22. What an X may mark: THE SPOT.
24. Arm or chin follower: REST.
30. Universal: GLOBAL.
31. Endemic: NATIVE.
32. Neh. and Esth.: BKS.
34. Penalty callers: REFS.
35. Ric of The Cars: OCASEK.
38. Opinion: SAY. So lucky to have Inanehiker (Dr. Nina) to turn to for advice.
39. French word in bios: NEE.
40. Home of Elaine, in Arthurian legend: ASTOLAT. Learning moment for me.
41. Forces fraudulently (upon): FOISTS.
47. Cavalier "My bad": SO SUE ME.
49. Emotional wounds: TRAUMAS. VA Hospital has this wonderful slogan for their PTSD patients: Strong Enough to Serve, Strong Enough to Recover.
53. Iconic WWII island, briefly: IWO.
54. Unlike idioms: LITERAL.
55. Going by, for short: AKA.
58. Not in class: ABSENT.
60. Mystery award: AGATHA.
62. "Constant Craving" singer: K D LANG.
63. Carousel item: BAG.
64. Broody rock genre: EMO.
65. Long-running forensic series: CSI.
67. Put more varnish on: RE-COAT.
69. Owie: BOO BOO.
70. Not out-of-bounds, as a ball: IN PLAY.
76. Goals: AIMS.
78. Cost-of-living no.: CPI. Consumer Price Index.
79. Photo possibilities: OPS.
80. Bama rival: OLE MISS.
81. Tightly packed: DENSE.
83. Some leave you powerless: OUTAGES. Another great clue.
84. Miss, say: SHE.
85. "Tartuffe" dramatist: MOLIERE.
86. Foes: ENEMIES.
87. Cute calendar subjects: KITTENS. Now we can't live without Google Calendar and D-Otto's sturdy pill box.
91. Caught: SNARED.
92. "Blah, blah, blah," briefly: ETC ETC.
93. Tel __: AVIV.
95. Liszt work: ETUDE.
96. Middle Corleone brother: FREDO. No spine.
97. Mezzo-soprano Anne __ von Otter: SOFIE. Swedish. Another learning moment.
99. Part of a flower: PETAL.
100. Speak: ORATE.
101. "Breaking Bad" toxin: RICIN.
102. Benefits: SAKES.
106. Cholesterol letters: LDL.
107. Tigers' home: Abbr.: DET.
108. Vardalos of film: NIA.
109. Bread, for stew: SOP.
Boomer updates:
Boomer got his ELIGARD (hormone) shot on Tuesday after the MRI and bone scan. He'll also receive Zoledronic acid shot next month. This shot is supposed to protect his bones. This will be repeated every 3 months. The hormone shot is every 6 months.
We're going to meet with a radiation oncologist on Nov 6th, 2018 to discuss the radiation process for those bad spots in his back. Dr. Thomas Downs and their neurosurgery department are quite concerned with those spots as they're too close to the spinal cord. Boomer also has a fractured T11. No wonder he has been in so much pain.
They're going to provide Boomer with a special brace to protect his back during this period. We're waiting for the fitting call.
Lots of tests, scans and treatments ahead, I hope you continue cheering Boomer up on Mondays (He does not read other days' blog posts). Thank you!
C.C.
48 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to John and C.C.!
Only a few hangups: ASTOLAT. K D LANG, CPI and SOFIE.
Thinking of Boomer frequently. Give him my best!
Have a great day!
FIWrong. ARCh + hPS. No idea on the musical term, and thought maybe Hewlet-Packard for the photo.
Some folks are SNAFU, they'd be safer held in straps.
Whether cursed or stupid, the world plays them as saps.
When two of them are married,
And a brand new babe is carried,
The best shower gifts of all are BOOTIES with TOE CAPS!
Birds have GOT a system they call the InterNest
All the calls are vocal, so it is the OPENEST!
They twitter and they tweet
Up and down every street,
But when troll crows cut in, they really are a PEST!
{A-, B+.}
Hello Puzzlers -
Ecobot was unfamiliar, and I usually struggle to get Ric Ocasek’s name right, so that was a mini-Natick. Otherwise smooth sailing in this well crafted JL creation.
Morning, C.C., your mention of the VA slogan brought back images for me - for many years my mom was the chapel organist at the VA facility here in Leeds, MA. In the last years I acted as chauffeur to get her to and fro, and thus found myself on campus often, seeing inspirational messages like yours on banners and the like.
A funny story from my mom’s employment goes like this: back when she was merely in her 80’s, and still driving, there came a big Sunday snowstorm. The city snowplows couldn’t keep up, and at the VA campus, well, the snow was really accumulating. The chaplain considered canceling services that day, even though the chapel was connected to all the other buildings via glass-covered sidewalks. However, once he saw my mom’s old Toyota claw its way into the parking lot after an eleven mile voyage, he figured the services really could proceed on schedule.
Thanks C.C. for all the kind words. Yes, JUMPER CAB was intentionally placed as a down entry so that it would be "jumping." So nice to be understood by a colleague!
And hey, everyone, C.C. has a fun weekend puzzle in the Wall Street Journal! It can be solved online or printed out on legal-size paper after resizing it. 143% works on my machine.
How fun to wake up to a John Lampkin, especially a Sunday where he can show off his wit so many times. Like C.C. and Fermat, I did not know ASTOLAT or SOFIE . Also as C.C. pointed out, no one does the clecho better than John.
Also, John is not only an accomplished pianist and piano teacher, but he is also a composer. I have had the pleasure of seeing him play and watch one of his students as well.
Thanks, John and C.C.
Good morning!
Missteps galore this morning: GAPE/GAWP, O'CASEY/OCASEK, SEPAL/PETAL, etc. Thought the BELT BUCK and ROUND TAB clechos were brilliant, plus they were placed on the same line. DRESDEN was a gimme -- dw's niece and her family live there. Great effort, John. Enjoyed the tour, CC. (I've also had zoledronic acid Reclast infusions in years past. You can get flu-like chills the first time.)
There is no Morning Edition in the 6-7 am hour on weekends, so I listen to music while solving. Usually it's SATIE, but this morning it happened to be k.d. lang (no caps).
Had gape, then gawk before gawp was revealed by perps. Had to look up gawp.
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. I found this to be a very challenging Sunday puzzle, with lots of fun clues. I did catch on to the missing LE with AESOP'S FAB(le).
I learned that It's Not a Wrap but A NO NO!
I learned that Not is Class is not a Truant, but Absent.
I liked how the BIKINI crossed with WAIKIKI.
My favorite clues were Their Pockets Aren't Deep = PITAS and Tip For Changing Your Answer = ERASER.
CSO to our old crossword friend DOHA Doc.
Wishing Boomer all the best.
QOD: Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not. ~ Ursula K. LeGuin (née Ursula Kroeber; Oct. 21, 1929 ~ Jan. 22, 2018)
Thoroughy enjoyable puzzle :)
#BoomerStrong
Thanks for stopping by John and for being a true 21st century Renaissance man. Also for the WSJ heads up.
Good Morning:
This was a delightful offering that had just the right amount of crunch. My first themer to fill in was Elements of Sty, so that, with the title, announced the theme. The other themers were still difficult to parse because of the tricky cluing, but, little by little, everything fell into place. Not too many unknowns for a Sunday: Sofie, Astolat, Eco (bot) and Satie and kd lang, as clued. Ocasek is known but perps are needed for the correct spelling. W/os were few as well: Gape/Gawp, CIA/FBI, Passes/Tosses, and Look/Peek. Oh, I also had Nag before Bag because I was fixated on the musical carousel with horses. Liked the Osas ~ Ossa entries. CSO to CED at Kittens and my favorite C/A was Undocumented Nepali=Yeti.
Thanks, John, for a smooth and "enjoyab" Sunday solve and for dropping by and thanks, CC, for the Cook's tour and informative commentary. Loved all the pics.
Owen, both deserve A's, IMO.
Dudley, your story hit home in a big way. My mother was the organist at our parish church. She rose every morning at 5:15 and would then walk to the church to play and sing at the 7:00 Mass. The church was only a few blocks from our house but it was halfway up a very steep hill. No matter how cold and windy it was or how much snow she had to trudge through, she never missed a day. Many a morning, she and the Priest were the only ones in the church. How lucky we are to have had such strong role models!
Have a great day.
Thanks John and C.C. Wonderful puzzle and write-up, and it's always a treat to hear from the constructor.
Best wishes to Boomer. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you, C.C. for keeping us up to date.
Good morning everyone.
Enjoyed John's whimsical offering. Needed a few red letters, but it was fun to work on.
46A. Fabulist's Cheer alternative?: AESOP'S FAB - - Doesn't FAB have the same root as in the clue? No big deal to me but I was wondering.
FLN - - Mike Serling @ 2235. I took the post down because I mistakenly commented on NAE. I didn't want to confuse folks. On RAS, I had noticed its use on maps showing capes or headlands so I looked it up. Found that the Arabs had borrowed it from Amharic, another Semitic language (of Ethiopia).
I didn't get the MORTAR AND PEST immediately because I never heard the term GAWP or of "The Americans" shows, and didn't know that ANAIS NIN(S) wrote erotica. Only know of the name from X-words and I guess his books would have been A NO NO in my school libraries. I noticed the missing LE at GUTENBERG BIB and with PEST in place the first half of the pharmacy staple was an easy guess. FOOTSIE before TOOTSIE and RAT HOLE before RAT TRAP. No other problems in the northern territory.
ECOBOT, ASTOLAT- never heard of either. Perped along with the other unknowns- MOLIERE and RICIN. I was thinking merry-go-round for Carousel instead of the airport luggage ones. BAG slowly made it way onto the grid because of the unknown ASTOLAT and my incorrect fill of SO SORRY. SUE ME finally finished that area.
Down in the Rio Grande I confidently filled LSU for my 'Tigers' home' but their DEFENSIVE TACK(le) forced me to change it to DEN, which was wrong again. I had no knowledge of SOFIE whats her name and NOECAPS just didn't look right. Oh, the DETroid TIGers. And the LSU Tigers beat OLE MISS handily a couple of weeks ago, but BAMA is in two weeks; hope it's a close game.
Dudley- I have no idea who RIC OCASEK or The Cars are but they show up in puzzles very often. And I have no idea what EMO music is either.
Lampkin- I worked it yesterday and sent C.C. a note congratulating her.
Spitzboov- I noticed the FAB and 'Fabulist' also. Cheer, FAB, Tide, Gain, ERA, Dreft, Ivory Snow (with Marilyn Chambers as the spokeswoman)- all Procter & Gamble products at one time
Thank you, John Lampkin! Seeing your byline I knew it would be fun and it was.
It took me a while to suss the theme; GUTENBERGBIB did it for me. Knew it was BIBle LES at 113 confirmed it.
Though I've read much Arthurian literature ASTOLAT does not ring a bell; I was thinking Avalon but that didn't fit.
TOOTSIE and BOOBOO were fun fill. ELEMENTS OF STY(LE) is my favorite because I used Strunk and White's so much.
Time to go. Thank you, C.C. and please give Boomer my best wishes.
Have a grand day, everyone!
Thought I'd dredged up ASTOLAT from Tennyson, but Lord Alf's poem was The Lady of Shalott, apparently now an alternate spelling, so I don't know where I got it.
Musings
-Wow, what a wonderful, witty slog! ECO was right and “Bob’s your uncle”!
-Clever themers educed (hey, I used that word!) smiles from me each time
-Me to on “fresh and original clues, C.C.!
-GAPE/GAWK and MASON/MORTAR were put in with certainty and slowed the beginning
-I start to NOD at some concerts where the music is very unfamiliar
-My normally meek daughter got a full refund from a RAT TRAP in Ames, IA
-Actually seeing and hearing Emperor Hirohito after Hiroshima greatly changed Japan
-As long as the ball travels backward, a LATERAL can be a 50 yard throw
--Mister Bates saved Lord Crawley’s life in the BOER War
-Thanks for the update on Boomer.
-Joann has a Kohl’s coupon burning a hole in her pocket, so we are off to Omaha!
I ended last night with Laverne Baker and after thinking I FIRd'e this Lampkin lulu I turned to fifties and Hubba hubba there she was again. But....
GAWK was GAWP. One lousy box(and counting???). GAWK Had to be right but KITAS had to be wrong. Let's continue the write-up...
Oops there's another one. The cross of ECO(EGO-like that know it all, Data). I don't know post Beatles music so EGASEK seemed ok
Re. ASTOLOT. Here is Lord T's version of
The Lady of Shalott
Speaking of Wasps... Betsy had a painful encounter with one yesterday. Her hand swelled up dangerously, extreme pain. The net has a thousand wasp sting remedies and she tried every one. It's much better now. Benedryl helped.
I was trying for PRISM as in Magic Mirror before CPI saved me. My big "Cheat" was an ounce of regular added to my decaf. If I'd gone for the French Vanilla I'd've been a contenda.
That's all for now
WC
Ooh, a Sunday John Lampkin puzzle! Exciting. I almost despaired on my first run-through, when I got vary little until I got to the bottom. But the bottom began to fill in, and then I worked my way up the eastern part to the top, and then other sections began to fill in here and there. Big challenge, but lots of fun, especially because the clues were so clever. My favorite was "Bios unread by their honorees." Couldn't figure it out at first and then OBITS popped up--of course! Never thought of ANAIS NIN as a figure in erotica. Maybe I never actually read her work. Nice to see MOLIERE in a puzzle, and SATIE and BARRIE--lots of nice culture. Anyway, many thanks, John, for a great Sunday puzzle, and for checking in with us. And thank you, C.C. for your always wonderful write-up, and your promising update on Boomer. Am looking forward to his commentary on the puzzle tomorrow.
Dudley, I loved your story about your mom.
Have a great day, everybody!
What kind of PITA has a pocket that's "not deep"? Relatively, the entirety of a PITA is a pocket.
GAWP is a British form of "gawk." Where's the French in that? The real "French disconnection" was LISZT (Hungarian composer living in France).
All wounds are TRAUMAS, not just "emotional wounds." E.g., STING is a trauma, not a "weapon."
Profanity allowed? I guess SNAFU is not an acronym for "situation normal all FUCKED UP."
I loves me a good John Lampkin, and a C.C. expo is just icing on the cake.
I think 🤔 💠that I fell into every single trap that others mentioned: gape/gawk/GAWP, RAThole/RATTRAP, cia/FBI, passes/TOSSES, I had them all. I found the SW most difficult, North easiest. Took nearly an hour.
Favorite clue/answers were for YETI and ERASER.
Doc says no home today, but probably tomorrow. Thanks for the good thoughts C.C.; I appreciate it.
I could use a nap. Have a great day, all!
Always fun puzzling when I see it's a John Lampkin creation,
but a bit long on Sunday. Tough to keep at it, as it was not easy...
Also, not an easy theme to make fun of...
Les?
French stuff?
I had difficulty finding silly links to fit the theme,
so I had to dissect it.
In looking at each theme entry, I found some silliness,
but I may have to break it up into separate posts...
Mortar and Pest?
Gutenbergs Bib?
Aesops fab?
Belt Buck?
Round Tab was another toughie,
but it got me thinking of the knights trying to put the dang thing together...
Poison App?
MAybe a bad selfie?
I loved this puzzle. So much fun to think it through and find the beautiful and tricky nuggets of cleverness, imagination, and humor. PASSES instead of TOSSES and GAPE then GAWK instead of GAWP caused a SNAFU in that part for a while. MORTAR AND PEST cracked open the theme secret, which helped a lot further downstream. The last letter I filled was the C crossing ECO and the unknown to me OCASEK. In fact, at some point I had OCASE- and blithely filled in Y to make O'CASEY, but that turned out to be A NONO. How to spell KEBAB? Wait on the perps. As the Beachboys said, fun fun fun!
I learned of AnaĂŻs Nin many years ago when I was reading Tropic of Cancer and Sexus by Henry Miller and reading up about his life. Both of their lives are quite interesting!
Best wishes to you all.
elements of sty?
Defensive tack is another curious one to find a silly link for,
I read that they often use water hoses to stop pirates from trying to board,
but to me, it looks like they wet themselves while running away...
The origin of the word "Steeplechase" came about
because the horse often followed the rider...
And the real reason for this lengthy post,
is the trouble I had trying to find silly links for "Les."
Dudley, that's a great story. My USMC chaplain story is full of irony but not inspirational like yours. I'll tell your story to my pastor.
Winston Churchill had an escape from the BOERS for the ages. Since his Avatar (Gandalf) had an escape aided by 'Eagles' I read this Book
Sadly, no help from LES Amis could be detected
Anon@134:. There's no greater praise than to damn with faint criticism*
Wikwak, get well, enjoy the nap. I' d nap except for that darn splash of regular
WC
How's that TTP @ and all. Yes, I've changed the original quote around. SO SUE ME.
CED, LMAO at your links today.
CC, I'm sending prayers for a full recovery for Boomer
WC
Dudley:
I also loved the story about your Mom. That is real dedication!
WikWak:
I hope you will be well enough to go home soon.
CED:
Chuckle-worthy links! Thanks.
I loved this clever puzzle, John. I saw the gimmick quickly, but I still spent longer than on a normal Sunday doing this puzzle, even though my only unheard of fill was OCASEK. OCASEK may have been used in xwords before, but it did not register with me. My first thought was that there would be much French here. I soon found that the letters of the French definite article LE were dropped from English words to form puns like TAB for TABLE. This had nothing to do with the French language.
As a native English speaker, I find the use of the gender of nouns, masculine and feminine in many European languages, and adding neuter in German and other languages, incomprehensible. Here is an article about this anachronism.
masculine or feminine
The wasp's sting is his defense weapon and poor Betsy's wasp sting was her trauma. I am glad you are feeling relieved, Betsy. Language has so many nuances. I do understand that sometimes wasps may sting with little provocation, just as trolls do. Do they sting because they feel threatened?
I was IRKed with myself that it took so many perps for me to dredge up ASTOLAT.
WC, I hope that all is well. I am concerned about you.
Boomer, my hopes for your healing and pain relief are always with you.
Yellowrocks, thanks for your loving concern for DW Betsy. She didn't think much of a lil'ole wasp sting when it happened.
There's a program on NPR on Saturday mornings (The ? Doctor) where they talk about everything. Stings bee, wasp etc was the topic one morning.
Mustard was one remedy. She had, finally, luck with milk. A trip to the ER was a close-to happening.
WC
Btw. That friend of mine, Jim, who had the stroke passed away. I had mentioned him in here because he was AT the Redsox game in 1967 when Tony C got beaned. He put the last piece into the Rashomian puzzle by telling me that Tony had hit his head trying for a ball in the RF corner earlier in the game.
Rashomian you say. Well, the beaning was discussed in John Domick Crossan's book "The Birth of Christianity". ie I went to the Jesus Forum and a baseball game broke out.
WC
Re: Gender. What YR said. In German when a diminutive suffix is added, the noun becomes neuter. Frau, Puppe are feminine while Fräulein and Mädchen are neuter.
Most German rivers are feminine, Elbe, Oder, Mosel, Donau, but Rhein, Nile and Mississippi are masculine.
YR:
That is a very interesting article. Thank you for posting it. I would hate to see Spanish drop its gender attributions; that is in response to the question at the end of the article.
Anon @ 1:34 -- I believe the general interpretation of SNAFU is "Situation normal, all fouled up." I like the former better,however.
Becky
Lucina, thanks for your answer. Please expand on it.I am interested.
Only because it's a slow day and a certain Mr Carroll made a visit to the J I offer this piece of doggerel
The time has come old boo boo said to talk of many things
Of poison apps and rattle traps
And whether a sty has swings
And why the French are Sensual
And what makes good wasps sting
WC
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, John Lampkin, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
Big Easy: Anais Nin is a woman. FYI.
Puzzle was mostly very doable. Some tough spots near the end. Caught the theme right away with MORTAR AND PEST. That did help me with many of the other theme answers.
Got St Paul for 8D, but could not figure out the clue until I thought about it a while. As in Minnesota Twins ball team. OK.
Since HIRO HITO would not fit I went with AKI HITO.
Liked GUTENBERGS BIB. Good one.
When writing things I always say SNAFU: Situation Normal All Fouled Up.
I ate more KEBAB's than I can count. I always spelled it KABAB. Either way works. That is a major meat dish in Iran. Chelo Kabab. Kubideh and Barg. One is ground meat and the other steak type meat.
Could not remember where the Gulf of Guinea is, so NIGERIA came slowly. Perps made it work. I will have to check my globe.
Did not know RICIN for 101D. Had trouble with some of the crosses, so I texted my daughter, who gave me the answer. RICIN. She watched every episode of Breaking Bad. I watched some, but not all. Interesting series.
Wanted EDGAR for 60D, but AGATHA fit. So, I stuck with her. Great writer. I read many of her mysteries.
ASTOLAT was a tough word for me. GOT was not an easy answer. But after much deep thinking I stuck with them. Worked.
Bears lost today, but it was an action packed game. Next week Browns against Steelers. Go Browns!
MOLIERE? Easy. Seven perps and it was mine.
Spent the afternoon setting up the Early Voting Site in my town. We do that for the next two weeks.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Boomer, good luck and keep the faith!
Abejo
CC: Thanks for the Boomer update. Good to know that the pain was due to a fracture and not due to the cancer. Will send good wishes his way tomorrow. Thanks!
Hand up I liked the ERASER clue and the YETI clue! Learning moment that ANAIS NIN wrote erotica. Learning moment that ANAIS NIN was a woman. I needed the NINS in order to figure out the NW corner. PITAS clue was tricky and GAWP was unknown.
The LE in ELEMENTS actually did confuse me and slowed me down in getting the theme. And the FAB in FABulist also seemed wrong. Hand up for that.
Some unknowns: BARRIE, SOPHIE, Breaking Bad/RICIN, ASTOLAT, STAD, TOE CAPS, The Americans/FBI.
Good thing we have seen OCASEK before. Hand up: The ECO/OCASEK would have been a double Natick for me, too. I do know a few CARS songs, but not names of the group members.
Here is the CARS song "Just What I Needed"
I think you would have heard this one if you ever listened to the radio in the late 70s and early 80s.
CrossEyedDaveThank you for the humorous links!
Here are some of my DRESDEN photos
I have TEL AVIV photos. And JETTY photos. And I have more Burning Man TIT photos if anyone is interested. Perhaps another time!
Becky and Abejo, I'd bet Tuesday's Megamillion ticket that Anon @ 1:34 has the original phrase for SNAFU, and "fouled" is a euphemism/bowlderization for the censors.
From yesterday:
CrossEyedDave Thanks for the further Tesla thoughts.
Lucina Thank you for the kind words about my Disneyland photos! I am not clear what you meant in your other comment? What did you mean that twice was enough for you but that my photos were the only way you would see it? Have you been there?
The Christmas music is fine with me. It is so old that most people would not even know it as Christmas music. It is like playing music from a foreign culture.
Jayce Yes, my brother went to Stanford for his PhD and he stayed. Kind of like what happened to me and UC Santa Barbara grad school. So we get to the Stanford campus at least once a year. Quite an impressive collection of Rodin and other art!
Mike Sherline Thank you for the kind words about our Early Music ENSEMBLE. And for the interesting historic bits on the instruments. Yes, those low instruments are a challenge to design and play. But they sound way cool!
Wilbur Charles Thank you again for the kind words of appreciation!
WikWak Thank you for letting us know what is happening with you! Good to know the nap thing was just a running joke! Good luck with the lungs. Glad they are on track to helping you!
The le in elements seems ok to me. The theme is not an le being in the fill, but dropping an le from an inferred word, apple becomes app.
Plus all the LEs that are dropped are at the ends of words.
Picard - Beautiful pictures of Dresden. Now I'll have to reread the history - thought I remembered reading that the whole city was leveled in the WWII firebombing, but a lot of the buildings & a statue in your photos look as though they're from that era or earlier. I wonder if that big hole with all the concrete rubble is a remnant?
CED, WC's post reminded me that I always enjoy your links but I seldom comment on them. So, thank you. Good stuff!
I always thought Anais Nin was male. Live and learn...
Rams and Dodgers. Keep it up!
Thanks all for your kind words about my mom’s dedication. Perhaps you’ll be amused by another example. Within a few years of the snowstorm story, which is to say around age 80, my mom broke her left wrist. The surgeon reassembled it with a plate and some screws, as usual; it would be some weeks before the immobilizing cast could come off. Still, mom had the use of her left fingers, albeit limitedly. Naturally, the chaplain just assumed she’d be off duty all the while. Oh, no, not my mom - she turned up the very next Sunday ready to work. The chaplain was stunned. He asked, “but how will you play with that cast on?!?” Her answer: “Oh, well, I just won’t play all those low notes.”
Picard:
Re: Dizzyland
That is how I view it. Too many crowds, long lines, exorbitant prices. I took my daughter twice and this is all I ever want to experience of it. The "happiest place on earth"? Not for me. I'll take a concert, movie, stage play or other form of entertainment over that any time.
Yr:
In Spanish, and other languages I suspect, the gender of nouns is defined by its article; e.g., la mesa, la casa, el comedor, el arbol, etc. To eliminate the gender I suppose one would have to eliminate the article but in Spanish that would be almost incoherent and it is so ingrained I doubt it would earn much purchase. I can't conceive of saying just mesa, arbol. Even the adjectives un, uno, una are distinguished by gender.
Even in English we identify nouns by article, the table, the tree. The difference is that our articles are neutral and don't specify gender.
I hope I've explained my meaning.
It's surprising some don't know Anais Nin was a woman; I've seen references to her as "her writings", "she wrote", etc.
I remember watching Disneyland being built on some early TV show called something The Wonderful World of Disney. I was a kid watching on my parent's black and white TV set. When I finally moved west, I was anxious to visit the place I had seen on TV. It seemed wonderful to me. The lines and prices weren't too bad. I thought it was great. I would go again every time I had company who wanted to go. Finally the glow began to wear off and it was becoming crowded and expensive.
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