Theme: Military Maneuver - as the reveal at the "foot" of the puzzle tells us:
53D. Spring time ... or a military procession involving a word sequence hidden in 15-, 31-, 41- and 61-Across: MARCH
15A. Trying to overcome a late start, say: PLAYING CATCH-UP
31A. "Any minute now": IT WON'T BE LONG
41A. Critical shuttle maneuver: EARTH RE-ENTRY
61A. NBC soap since 1965: DAYS OF OUR LIVES. That's 13,455 episodes I need (?) to catch up on, as of today.
A neat theme from C.C.; the hidden words are all nicely scattered around in the theme entries, and the "THREE" spans a word divide and a hyphen to obscure things a little. I don't think it would be possible to see the theme without the reveal, which is placed nicely at the bottom of the puzzle in the down entries.
Two pairs of stacked 8's in the downs, and two 14's and two 12's in the theme make for a nice construction job; C.C.'s definitely an expert at that.
There might be a shout-out to some puzzle bloggers - ARGYLE for sure, and "Splinter" group and STEVIE almost make it. She's been a MENTOR to a lot of puzzle constructors and bloggers, so that works nicely too.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Smudge: BLOT
5. Splinter group: SECT
9. Instagram or Snapchat: APP. I still don't know quite what the point is of these two. Apparently I have an Instagram account, it came with something, I have no idea what.
12. Past time: YORE. Days of.
13. Union agreements?: I DO'S. Nice one.
14. "Get outta here!": SHOO!
18. Clemson's conf.: A.C.C. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Now includes some schools from the Midwest and the Northeast.
19. Silicon Valley setting: BAY AREA
20. Hoops net holder: RIM
22. Deli order: SALAMI
24. New York prison in 1971 headlines: ATTICA
26. Wine glass feature: STEM. My daily use wine glasses are stemless. I kept breaking them off in the dishwasher. I keep the stemware for special bottles, then break them off in the dishwasher.
27. Suffers from: HAS
30. Prince Harry's alma mater: ETON. Harry is an "old boy" of Eton, an "Old Etonian". I'm an "Old Symondian", from Peter Symond's School in Winchester.
36. Org. with Jays and Rays: M.L.B. It's World Series time, and neither the Jays nor the Rays are anywhere to be seen.
39. Elastic bikini top: BANDEAU
40. Org. with an annual Codebreaker Challenge: NSA
44. Skier's pick-me-up?: T-BAR
45. Summer hrs.: DST
46. Archipelago part: ISLE
50. Sweater pattern: ARGYLE
53. Salieri, to Liszt: MENTOR
55. Streaming delay: LAG
56. Spiritual leader of Nizari Ismaili Muslims: AGA KHAN
60. Actress Mendes: EVA
64. Mineral sources: ORES
65. Poolroom powder: TALC
66. Gimlet garnish: LIME
67. ACLU concerns: RTS
68. Cross with a top loop: ANKH
69. Creepy glance: LEER
Down:
1. Go around: BYPASS
2. Humorous feline meme: LOLCAT. A lolcat's language is "lolspeak".
3. Prophecy source: ORACLE. Every self-respecting Greek city should have one. The best-known Oracle was at Delphi, she cornered the market in predictions to the great and the good.
4. "The Daughter of Time" novelist: TEY
5. Six-Day War peninsula: SINAI
6. Pushing boundaries: EDGY
7. Soft-drink word since 1886: COCA. COLA went in without a thought, then had me wondering, and rightly so.
8. Deposed Russian ruler: TSAR
9. "That feels good": AHH!
10. Pull out all the stops: POUR IT ON
11. Katy Perry and Mariah Carey: POP ICONS
14. "Get outta here!": SCAT!
16. Watson creator: IBM
17. Beverage with dim sum: TEA. I love dim sum. On my first trip to Hong Kong my first stop was a dim sum restaurant in Kowloon for Sunday lunch. There was a slight snag in that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing at plates on other tables got me fed. I learned all the names of the dishes after that. The tea came without me asking, so that part was simple.
21. Comics read vertically: MANGA
23. Montréal mate: AMI. Or a Canadian-South American fusion cimarrón, but that wouldn't fit.
25. __ Aviv: TEL
27. Perfected: HONED
28. Mints brand with mountain peaks in its logo: ANDES. I did not know that. Now I do.
29. Surgical tube: STENT
32. "Speaking frankly," in texts: TBH. To Be Honest - and, to be honest, why wouldn't you be?
33. Armed conflict: WAR
34. Home run hitter?: BAT
35. Spain's cont.: EUR
36. Like virtually all golf club heads nowadays: METAL. I can't remember when I last saw a persimmon club head. My first set of clubs had persimmon for the driver, three- and five-woods.
37. __ retriever: LABRADOR
38. Blowhard: BRAGGART. I always forget that the final "T" isn't a "D". As I did in this case.
42. Push to the limit: TRY
43. Yang's opposite: YIN
47. Memorable guitarist __ Ray Vaughan: STEVIE
48. 2009 Justin Bieber hit: LOVE ME. Awkward neighbors; Stevie Ray and the Biebster.
49. Correction device: ERASER
51. Highlands girl: LASS
52. Big 38-Down feature: EGO
54. Bigger photo: Abbr.: ENL.
57. Mennen lotion: AFTA. After-shave lotion. Simple enough to remember it once you've heard what it is.
58. Zen question: KOAN
59. "Incredible" hero: HULK
62. "Of course!": YES
63. Not well: ILL
And that's about it from me. Back in New York for a couple of days - what happened to the nice LA weather? Oh, I left it in LA, silly me.
Here's the grid, nicely tricked out with the theme words highlighted for y'all.
Steve
53D. Spring time ... or a military procession involving a word sequence hidden in 15-, 31-, 41- and 61-Across: MARCH
15A. Trying to overcome a late start, say: PLAYING CATCH-UP
31A. "Any minute now": IT WON'T BE LONG
41A. Critical shuttle maneuver: EARTH RE-ENTRY
A neat theme from C.C.; the hidden words are all nicely scattered around in the theme entries, and the "THREE" spans a word divide and a hyphen to obscure things a little. I don't think it would be possible to see the theme without the reveal, which is placed nicely at the bottom of the puzzle in the down entries.
Two pairs of stacked 8's in the downs, and two 14's and two 12's in the theme make for a nice construction job; C.C.'s definitely an expert at that.
There might be a shout-out to some puzzle bloggers - ARGYLE for sure, and "Splinter" group and STEVIE almost make it. She's been a MENTOR to a lot of puzzle constructors and bloggers, so that works nicely too.
Let's see what else we've got:
Across:
1. Smudge: BLOT
5. Splinter group: SECT
9. Instagram or Snapchat: APP. I still don't know quite what the point is of these two. Apparently I have an Instagram account, it came with something, I have no idea what.
12. Past time: YORE. Days of.
13. Union agreements?: I DO'S. Nice one.
14. "Get outta here!": SHOO!
18. Clemson's conf.: A.C.C. The Atlantic Coast Conference. Now includes some schools from the Midwest and the Northeast.
19. Silicon Valley setting: BAY AREA
20. Hoops net holder: RIM
22. Deli order: SALAMI
24. New York prison in 1971 headlines: ATTICA
26. Wine glass feature: STEM. My daily use wine glasses are stemless. I kept breaking them off in the dishwasher. I keep the stemware for special bottles, then break them off in the dishwasher.
27. Suffers from: HAS
30. Prince Harry's alma mater: ETON. Harry is an "old boy" of Eton, an "Old Etonian". I'm an "Old Symondian", from Peter Symond's School in Winchester.
36. Org. with Jays and Rays: M.L.B. It's World Series time, and neither the Jays nor the Rays are anywhere to be seen.
39. Elastic bikini top: BANDEAU
40. Org. with an annual Codebreaker Challenge: NSA
44. Skier's pick-me-up?: T-BAR
45. Summer hrs.: DST
46. Archipelago part: ISLE
50. Sweater pattern: ARGYLE
53. Salieri, to Liszt: MENTOR
55. Streaming delay: LAG
56. Spiritual leader of Nizari Ismaili Muslims: AGA KHAN
60. Actress Mendes: EVA
64. Mineral sources: ORES
65. Poolroom powder: TALC
66. Gimlet garnish: LIME
67. ACLU concerns: RTS
68. Cross with a top loop: ANKH
69. Creepy glance: LEER
Down:
1. Go around: BYPASS
2. Humorous feline meme: LOLCAT. A lolcat's language is "lolspeak".
3. Prophecy source: ORACLE. Every self-respecting Greek city should have one. The best-known Oracle was at Delphi, she cornered the market in predictions to the great and the good.
4. "The Daughter of Time" novelist: TEY
5. Six-Day War peninsula: SINAI
6. Pushing boundaries: EDGY
7. Soft-drink word since 1886: COCA. COLA went in without a thought, then had me wondering, and rightly so.
8. Deposed Russian ruler: TSAR
9. "That feels good": AHH!
10. Pull out all the stops: POUR IT ON
11. Katy Perry and Mariah Carey: POP ICONS
14. "Get outta here!": SCAT!
16. Watson creator: IBM
17. Beverage with dim sum: TEA. I love dim sum. On my first trip to Hong Kong my first stop was a dim sum restaurant in Kowloon for Sunday lunch. There was a slight snag in that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing at plates on other tables got me fed. I learned all the names of the dishes after that. The tea came without me asking, so that part was simple.
21. Comics read vertically: MANGA
23. Montréal mate: AMI. Or a Canadian-South American fusion cimarrón, but that wouldn't fit.
25. __ Aviv: TEL
27. Perfected: HONED
28. Mints brand with mountain peaks in its logo: ANDES. I did not know that. Now I do.
29. Surgical tube: STENT
32. "Speaking frankly," in texts: TBH. To Be Honest - and, to be honest, why wouldn't you be?
33. Armed conflict: WAR
34. Home run hitter?: BAT
35. Spain's cont.: EUR
36. Like virtually all golf club heads nowadays: METAL. I can't remember when I last saw a persimmon club head. My first set of clubs had persimmon for the driver, three- and five-woods.
37. __ retriever: LABRADOR
38. Blowhard: BRAGGART. I always forget that the final "T" isn't a "D". As I did in this case.
42. Push to the limit: TRY
43. Yang's opposite: YIN
47. Memorable guitarist __ Ray Vaughan: STEVIE
48. 2009 Justin Bieber hit: LOVE ME. Awkward neighbors; Stevie Ray and the Biebster.
49. Correction device: ERASER
51. Highlands girl: LASS
52. Big 38-Down feature: EGO
54. Bigger photo: Abbr.: ENL.
57. Mennen lotion: AFTA. After-shave lotion. Simple enough to remember it once you've heard what it is.
58. Zen question: KOAN
59. "Incredible" hero: HULK
62. "Of course!": YES
63. Not well: ILL
And that's about it from me. Back in New York for a couple of days - what happened to the nice LA weather? Oh, I left it in LA, silly me.
Here's the grid, nicely tricked out with the theme words highlighted for y'all.
Steve
69 comments:
FIWrong. BLur > BLOT, ACi (a WAG) > ACC, and ACC and TEY were completely unknown. uRAiLE, with two wrong cells, was undecipherable as ORACLE.
Even with the reveal, the gimmick escaped me until I came here.
I sort-of had another fall this evening. I use a peddler for ~30 minutes a day to strengthen my legs, not only for walking, but also getting up from seats -- particularly the toilet seat. I thought I was improving, but this evening, I just couldn't do it! After 20 or 30 tries, I gave up, got down on the floor, and in two hours crawled the 15 ft or so to my bedroom, where I was when LW came home. But even with her help, I wasn't able to climb up on the bed.
Had to call 911, for the 3rd time in two weeks! This was just to get off the floor, much simpler than the other 2 times, and since I got down on the floor on my own, there was no question of my going to the ER.
All together 3 hours I was down. Now I'm almost afraid to use the bathroom. I already had the highest seat raiser I could find. Now I've got a second one on top of it. They don't nest well, but it's all I can do. See my poem over at the Jumble Hints blog.
A BLOT on the escutcheon of many a SECT
Is the way they treat the matter of sex.
They treat women as chattel,
No better than cattle,
A sex good for little but sex!
A robot from the BAY AREA
Rode a bike that hadn't a carrier.
For his paper route
The matter was moot,
Since he printed them out his posterior.
{B-, A-.}
Hello Puzzlers -
Zoomed right through without noticing the constructor’s name. I thought Argyle was just a coincidence - not any more! Very enjoyable, C.C.
About Andes mints: these are the yummy, chewy chocolate and peppermint things, the size of two Scrabble tiles. They are individually wrapped in shiny green foil. Those wrappers have a useful side benefit. In high school I worked at a busy restaurant that handed out Andes mints with the check; the mints were always eaten, and the spent wrappers gave a clue to us busboys that a given table was vacated and ready for clearing.
Oh, and it was common practice to snack on the Andes now and then in back of the waitress station. :-)
LOLCAT, TEY and KOAN were unknowns but FIR in 18:22 as Perps and WAG's helped me to prevail. Was able to figure out the theme when finished. Fun puzzle.
Good morning!
I'm beginning to learn that if you want to understand the theme, you should probably read the entire reveal clue. But only beginning, the theme remained a mystery. Didn't know TBH or ANDES, so BANDEAU (which I also didn't know) wound up as MANTEAU. Bzzzzzzt! DNF. Ya got me, C.C. Steve, thanx for 'splainin' this one (COLA and D/T were stumbles for me, too).
Given a choice, I'd relish playing mustard rather than catchup.
Hi Y'all! Great fun puzzle, C.C.! Never trite! Enjoy your expos, STEVIE (just for today), always something interesting.
Got the theme after seeing MARCH and then the THREE jumped out at me. This struck a chord with me having been a part of a small school MARCHing band. I recently enjoyed seeing videos of two of my grandsons in a very impressive band at state MARCHing contest. However, they do a lot of performing these days besides what we called MARCH.
I wasn't filling the first bloc so LIU: TEY. Never heard of Josephine. Also unknown: LOLCAT, MANGA, KOAN, TBH.
Picard: FLN As a land owner-food producer and former water activist journalist, I can only say this about the water usage article writer you cited: Hogwash!
"HUP" "TWO" "THREE" "FOUR"
US Army Drill Sgt's marching commands
Hidden in the theme
Thank you C.C. For your offering abd Steve for the tour.
Well done and yes I miss him too .
FIW x 2! BLOb and sOAN were my downfalls. Didn't know TEY and BEY looked good, but should have caught AGA KHAN.
Erased AhH, POP stars, imo, and SIanI. Bad spellers of the world UNTIE!
TBH, I DNK TBH. U?
Bittersweet to see ARGYLE grace today's grid. Best fill of the day, IMO. Also liked SHOO x SCAT.
When I filled BANDEAU I thought "oh yeah, I know them. I like them. In fact, I like nothing better." Viva la French side of St. Martin.
Thanks for the fine challenge, CC. And thanks to Steve for the nifty write-up.
Well that's hup, two, THREE C.C. puzzles I've worked since last Saturday. But this one had FOUR fills that I had never seen or heard but luckily got by perps and one WAG. LOLCAT, KOAN and the WAG intersection of TBH & BANDEAU. MANGA- that was also perped, along with TEY and LOVE ME. Didn't know any of them. ANKH & KHAN- I always have to think: is it KH or HK.
TBH- I was thinking maybe it meant "truth be heard" but had no idea. If anybody texts me with any abbr., I always respond by asking them what they meant.
Maria Carey- I had the misfortune of having to sit through her off-key wailing some unknown (to me) songs last year before Lionel Richie took the stage for a fabulous concert.
Good Morning, Steve and friends. Very clever theme indeed. I found the MARCH, but couldn't piece together the HUP TWO THREE FOUR.
I liked the crossing of SCAT and SHOO, which both used the same clue.
As noted above, it was bittersweet to find ARGYLE in the puzzle.
I was at the ORACLE in Delphi years ago in late MARCH. It was snowing during our visit.
I immediately thought of BAT for the Home Run Hitter, but the clue and answer still made me laugh.
QOD: The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare. ~ Bobby Knight (né Robert Montgomery Knight, b. Oct. 25, 1940)
Clever theme today - took a longer look to see the MARCH sequence, but saw it after I'd filled it in. CSO to Argyle made me smile- thanks CC!
I didn't know TEY - so was debating with BEY as both BLOT and blob would fit in the other direction. WEES about Cola before COCA.
Thanks Steve!
A little crunchy, but FIR. I did not find the marching commands. Yes, THREE should have been the give away. Neat puzzle, CC. Fine expo, Steve.
I prefer stemware for wine. I use a less delicate kind for every day. My dishwasher has special prongs to hold stemware. I wash the more delicate ones by hand.
As the cat said when she caught her tail in the screen door,"IT WON'T BE LONG" now.
For blowhard, I wanted to write politico. It is fitting that BRAGGART was so near to EGO.
I love ANDES mints.
Off to our commute. Alan has been well for months.
Good Morning:
Another CC gem, with a well-hidden theme and an Aha! reveal. I had absolutely no inkling of the theme until filling in March and then going back to find the commands. Brava, CC. I, too, liked the Shoo/Scat crossing and I, too, went with Cola before Coca. Unknowns were Tey, Manga, Koan, and "Love Me." I've heard of Josephine Tey, but not any specific novel. I wouldn't know a Justin Bieber song if I fell over one.
Seeing Argyle brought a wave of nostalgia. Somehow, Stevie doesn't evoke our Steve.
Thanks, CC and Steve, for a challenging solve and summary.
Owen, I'm sorry you've been dealing with such adversity.
FLN
Wilbur C, if it's all the same to you, I would prefer not visualizing boa constrictors in any way, shape, or form! 🙃
Have a great day.
Good morning everyone.
TBH - This was a pretty good puzzle. Daunting at first but gradually clawed my way to the answers. Couple lucky WAGS. ANKH and LIME were in the WSJ within the last few days, so that helped (on recall).
Dim sum - I was introduced to Dim Sum by Ontario -Hydro as part of day-long meetings at their HQ in Toronto. I aways appreciated Canadians' capacity not to rush things, so lunches were a highlight; especially in Toronto.
You mean people pour wine out of a perfectly good bottle before drinking it? Had I only known before I went on the wagon.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, zsteve, for a fine review.
In Johnsonburg for a few days. Got through the puzzle this morning via cruciverb. It was a typical Thursday level. A little tough.
Got the theme after some study. I remembered what I did in August. I marched in our drill team in Indianapolis. So, the commands were familiar.
A few tough words today: BANDEAU, AGA KHAN, LOLCAT, TEY, MANGA, KOAN. PERPS TOMTHE RESCUE!
Now I have to report on yesterday's puzzle that I did on the airplane to Pittsburgh.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
C.C. Thank you for a FUN Thursday puzzle. I liked the MARCH theme.
There were several high school students in our Japanese class at County College. They were deeply into MANGA and wanted to read them in Japanese. These kids were highly motivated and did very well in the class. The serious adults did well, too. Not so, the actual college age students. They gabbed in class, fooled around and didn't study. On the first day of class one of them said he was studying Japanese because he tried Spanish and it was too hard. Tee hee.
KOAN was ESP, but them I recognized it. TEY, TBH, LOLCAT, and STEVIE were new to me, but solved with perps and wags.
Owen, sorry to hear of all your troubles. Being stuck on the hard floor for so long must have been difficult. Could you carry a cell phone in your pocket in case of emergency?
Musings
-Subbing in history on a cold, drizzly morning
-Koan IS a thing and “Bob’s your uncle” (I really like that silly phrase)
-C.C. trademarks – A great theme (across two words) and wonderful fill!
-This NASA guy would prefer to see a space vehicle REENTER the atmosphere and not the EARTH :)
-Omaha’s Creighton University now plays in the Big East conference. Huh?
-A famous coach separating the net from the RIM. Can you spell his last name?
-My friend’s son just got a job in the BAY AREA. The son’s rent for a studio apt. is incredible!
-Many think MLB should play the World Series a month earlier for better weather and less NFL competition
-TALC may not be safe as it can be found near asbestos deposits
-Some coaches get way ahead and continue to POUR IT ON
-There’s the bell, gotta run, here come some sophomores eager to learn about the SECT created by a guy named Martin Luther
The so called Lutheran sect became a denomination very quickly.
"Most of the well-known denominations of the U.S. existing today originated as sects breaking away from denominations (or Churches, in the case of Lutheranism and Anglicanism). Examples include: Methodists, Baptists, and Seventh-day Adventists.
LIU Amazon sells a safety frame for toilets with arm rests to help one pull up to a standing position.
Amazon
Thanks, CC, for this wonderful MARCH - not a romp, not a struggle, just marching on to the TaDA. I loved Home Run hitter for BAT, Past time for YORE, and Union agreements for I DOs. It was also fun seeing The Incredible HULK again after Eric Banta a few days ago. Thanks, Steve, for the expo.
Owen, how awful. I have no advice. Just good thoughts and prayers.
Clever, clever theme.... too bad I never got it till the reveal. Solved the puzzle though.
Interesting theme, but I never got it. Kept looking for the longest... it was right there.
Steve, you astutely point out one truism: anywhere in the world you travel, finger pointing will help get you fed. Almost always.
And the food items continue, today with references to dim sum and SALAMI. The first time I had dim sum it was in San Francisco's china town, or was it Heaven? I know I thought I had died and gone to heaven... without much pointing necessary.
PK @ 6:57, What does FLN mean? I've forgotten my abbrevs. Are you saying the writer is Hogwash? Or his views on water usage?
I am of the opinion, without trying to be disrespectful of anyone else's, that the water subsidies to meat producers are undermining the economies of every western state. Well known out here, but accepted. In the Pacific NW, meat production accounts for over half the water consumed in the entire region! They have to import. Oh, well, enjoy your steak. I'm not here to change anyone's habits. Most everyone knows this stuff. (What bothers me most is that these industries are indirectly trying to convince children that hamburgers grow on trees. Really.)
Thanks, C.C. for a very nicely crafted puzzle. Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Picard, and Lemonade, for all your contributions.
I kept looking for some mention of Erik Agard but never saw any. He got beaten last night on Jeopardy! . He answered Cape Town. Bloemfontein was correct.
Rainman, FLN means "From Last Night." So when you talk about dim sum, you're not talking about the check in a poorly lit restaurant?
Good morning. Thank you C.C. and thank you Steve.
Got MARCH but didn't study the theme answers. Was too busy trying to figure out which letters were needed at the intersection of T-H and -ANDEAU, as well as AGA-HAN and -OAN. I was stumped.
Don't know a lot of texting abbreviations, don't know much about Zen, know nothing about Nismari Islami Muslims, and I would have thought those BANDEAUs were called bikini tube tops.
Finally took a guess with mOAN and parsed the cross as AGAm HAN. Then threw in an L for no obvious reason to create lANDEAU. Wasn't expecting a TADA at that point, and didn't get one.
Still enjoyed the challenge, but now wish I'd have looked for the cadence.
D-O always nice to see your work as a pun-dit.
ANKH & KHAN anagrams unite! KOAN Not a Jewish priest who cannot spell but ZEN BUDDHISM . MANGA was popular in my house and my children studied Japanese for a while. Some of it is quite explicit. So are some BANDEAU BIKINIS.
I am a big fan of ANDES and of C.C. puzzles and Steve's wite-ups.
Ooh, always exciting to see a C.C. puzzle, though I feared it would be a toughie because it's a Thursday. On my first try, the top was hard, but I started to get the middle right and then the bottom, and then worked my way up until I had everything but the northwest corner. Yay! Had to cheat only a tiny bit to finish, wonderful way to end up! Thank you, C.C., for this lovely treat! No, I didn't get the theme until I read Steve's expo, but maybe if I had looked at the themes more carefully I would have. And I'm afraid I still don't understand KOAN, and MANGA. But also enjoyed your write-up, Steve, many thanks.
Owen, what a heartbreaking account of your experience. I'm glad you're getting some good suggestions, like carrying a cell phone at all times, and I hope you'll continue to be safe. Our hearts are with you.
Have a good day, everyone!
Nice puzzle with lovely expo. Thank you, C.C. and Steve!
Natick at MANGA/NSA so left a blank cell at A.
No time to read. Hair cut appointment.
ANKH and KOAN I learned from CWs.
Sigh. CSO to ARGYLE
I have visited the ORACLE of Delphi but it was mute.
Have a marvelous day, everyone!
Owen, I thought your jumble poem was depressing when I read it earlier, but had no idea what a serious state of affairs you were actually coming from. Now I'm full of admiration for the way you can sublimate your problems into poetry.
I hope things are better soon.
I learned about Josephine TEY (1896 ~ 1952) from doing the crossword puzzles. She has made frequent guest appearances in the past. She was a Scottish writer best known for her mystery novels. I have not read her books, so was not familiar with the title in the clue, but when the _EY appeared, I guessed the author was TEY.
Great puzzle. Everything you want from CC and Thursday. Clever cluing, tough answers, and learning moments. Gotta love it. Brilliant, witty expo as always, Steve. Thank goodness you could explain the theme to me, because I sure didn't see it. Like others have said, the northwest corner was the last to fill and contained the most learning moments. Many thanks to both CC nd Steve.
I'm preparing sort of a mashup of turkey mole poblano and chili con carne tonight. Wish me luck. If this turns out to be my last post ever, you'll know either the meal or my family did me in tonight. Sure wish I could have found some honest-to-goodness Mexican chocolate, like Abuelita, for example. Oh well.
One Final Thought: Re. koans. Zen Buddhist to hot dog vendor, "Make me one with everything"!
Cya!
OwenKL - If you don't have them already, get grab bars installed in your bathroom and bathtub/shower. There are even toilet paper roll dispensers with an integral grab bar. Any cost is greatly offset by the safety improvement. Always use your stair railings to steady yourself.
Owen: I know you don't like sympathy, so I'll just say I'm sending you uplifting thoughts. Can you get some kind of occupational therapist in to advise you. My 6'5" brother is "losing his legs" and falls often. It is so agonizing. A therapist came in and helped my SIL make some valuable changes to their living quarters. She has had to have the EMT's in to get him up more than once. Call your county health service and see what might be available. Cell phones are great, but seem too often to be just out of reach when a person falls. I had that experience myself when I fell and broke my foot 3 yrs. ago.
Rainman: I firmly believe the figures you guys are quoting are unrealistic. Half the water usage in the Pac NW? C'mon, Guy!
I liked this puzzle but stumbled over BLOT/TEY and TBH/BANDEAU. Sure enough, I put in B instead of T and L instead of B, for two wrong letters. I learned that Salieri was a MENTOR to Liszt. Schubert and Beethoven, too. I also learned that TALC, not chalk, is the poolroom powder. I also learned the term LOLCAT, with which I was totally unfamiliar.
DNF, (just ran out of time.)
Could not figure out a whole section because I thought MLB was "NBA."
Saved the Koan explanation to read when I have more time.
Ditto on the Braggard, making me wonder what RDS has to do with ACLU.
(Actually, I am still wondering what RTS has to do with ACLU?)
Got allthe theme answers, but never saw the HUt TWO THREE FOUR.
Question,
if Manga is read vertically,
how is Hentai read?
HUT TWO THREE FOUR and flash back to Ft Hood, TX summer 1957 ... drilling at 103 F and adlibs which generally started "I don't know but I've been told" with a cadential punch line. Could be shouted by any one in the moving formation.
I recommend every single one of the Josephine Tey books to you Cornerites. She's a fantastic writer. The Daughter of Time is a detective story that takes place in a hospital room!
Owen....sounds like its time for a Life Call device....”I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” is their whole deal.
Rather crunchy Thursday, LOLCAT and TEY were new to me.
The rare triple write over.....POPSTARS 2 POPIDOLS 2 POPICONS. Geez.
I.M.-Agnes-"Unknowns were Tey, Manga, Koan, and "Love Me." I didn't know them either but we can sing a duet for the song neither of us had heard.
TTP-" Was too busy trying to figure out which letters were needed at the intersection of T-H and -ANDEAU, as well as AGA-HAN and -OAN. I was stumped". So was I but I knew the AGA KHAN. The T_H cross with _ANDEAU was a WAG.
Got the MARCH reveal right away. But I was very slow to grasp the theme, even after several theme answers. I was expecting multiple theme words inside of a theme answer. Then I got it: A PROCESSION of hidden words; one hidden word per theme answer. Very clever and enjoyable, CC!
Even as sports terms go, ACC seemed pretty obscure! Stuck awhile with STAYING before realizing it was PLAYING. Got the shout out to our dearly departed friend ARGYLE.
Anyone else try ROTATE before BYPASS for Go around?
I did vaguely remember LOL CAT from previous puzzles. Unknowns: EVA/LOVE ME cross, TEY and TBH/BANDEAU cross. Learning moments! FIR! I expected the two "Get outta here" clues to result in opposing answers. Anyone else?
Rainman thanks for the encouragement!
Here I was encouraged to dig out some of my MONTREAL photos.
I very much enjoyed my visit, especially with helpful tips from mes AMIs who live there.
I have TEL AVIV and SINAI and ANDES photos. Perhaps another time.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and Steve.
I got the theme at 61A and went back and filled in THREE and TWO and looked in vain for ONE in PLAYING CHATCHUP. Thanks Steve for giving me HUP! D'uh.
No Ides in the MARCH today.
We know that C.C. likes baseball and she managed to get MLB into this CW. Too bad those Jays did not even make the playoffs. We've transferred our hopes to the Maple Leafs.
I've never seen LOL CAT (only Grumpy Cat), did not know MANGA, Clemson conference, or Salieri. Perps to the rescue. We have had ANKH but I needed perps for the strange spelling.
I debated between COLA and COKE; COCA filled in eventually.
It took a minute to parse POP ICON. (Could Justin fall into that category too?)
I smiled at the clecho SHOO crossing SCAT.
Smudge can be an aboriginal ceremony with smoke, but I didn't think that meaning would be in a LA Times Crossword. No, it was the "smear" meaning - BLOT.
Never heard of KOAN so I LIUed. "A koan is a riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves" per HuffPost. (BlueHen: It took me a minute, but LOL!)
ARGYLE was special! Never forgotten here.
Spitzboov - love your recollections about Toronto and Canadians. (We might be a bit more rushed now!)
Owen, I echo Misty. "Our hearts are with you."
YR - I'm almost afraid to say how thankful you must be that Alan has been well; don't want to jinx anything!
Thanks for the recommendation Becky. I'll put TEY on my reading list.
Yes, Rainman. I was impressed by Eric Agard's general knowledge. He did well overall, taking home $66,802 over his three day winning streak.
Have a great day, mes AMI(e)s.
Rainman thank you for your point about subsidies with regard to the previous STEAK discussion. So often the ones who are getting the most subsidies are the ones who talk most about free markets. In many cases the subsidies are so well hidden, the beneficiaries are often blissfully unaware they are receiving them.
From the recent past:
AnonT thanks for your wonderful story of luring the scammer into your sandbox! Can you please tell us a bit more about how to set up such a sandbox?
From yesterday:
Here again are my BIGHORN sheep photos
This was one of the most magical experiences in my life to have an extended close interaction with these rarely seen animals.
Aha, a veddy clever pzl, C.C.!
You caught me off guard with a couple of naticks: LOLCAT & ANTES/BANDEAU. Otherwise this was a happy experience.
Of course I didn't see the cadence count until enlightened by Steve, but I was suitably impressed by it. I am always appreciative of the mental/verbal acuity involved in creating such an intricate pzl.
Owen! ~
I feel for you, buddy! What a wretched experience. I have some of the same problem rising from chairs and, while I can manage my floor exercises, I often have to crawl to reach support to rise again. I had a fall last week & can still feel pain from it. My condition is not as tough as yours, but I can see that I am headed in that direction.
What is wonderful to note is that your mental dexterity is not hampered in the slightest. It's these damned *#@! bodies that give out on us.
OAAFS!
~ OMK
Picard - loved your Montreal photos. Especially Notre Dame and the Olympic Dome (although that fiasco nearly bankrupted Montreal!), and the colourful areas of Old Montreal. But the icing on the cake was the Canadian flag on the second-last photo!!
PK @ 12:53, yeah, the figures (meat industry water subsidies) are startling. Mind-Boggling. With meat consumption steadily going down, they may have changed a bit but the Pacific Northwest is unique when compared to the other western non-hydroelectric producing states. My information came from a Cornell economist and associate with reports from GAO, the Rand Corporation, and the Water Resources Council, through the Vegetarian Times publication. The rivers (Snake and Columbia) producing hydroelectricity are the same ones providing water for livestock production, but at points upstream from the power plants. The water remaining to generate electricity is substantially reduced. If you want more details, I'd be glad to help at another venue than here... but to summarize, at one time WA, ID, and OR lost enough billions of kwhs/year to livestock production, enough to light every house in the entire country for 45 days. That may not be true anymore. I don't have the latest figures, but they're out there. Maybe Picard? California, where we live, is much worse, especially during dry years. Nosotros pagamos! (We pay. We all do.)
Best to all, particularly best wishes to Owen. I'm sure you can get past all this. Who was it that said, "Hope doth not butter me parsnips." ? Well, hope is often all we have. Hang in there, daddy-o.
I found this to be just a tad crunchier than most Thursdays but managed to FIR in just under 15 minutes. Thanks, C.C. and Steve, for what you do!
I saw words in the long entries but not all the ones I was supposed to. 15A: LAYING, 31A: BELONG, 41A: THREE [Hah! Got one!], 61A: FOUR [Well, 2 out of 4..]
Liked the sneeze 🤧 at AHH crossing SHOO.
Great SO to Argyle from C.C.
Owen, that has to be tough to deal with. Hang in there; you’ve got lots of friends thinking about you.
Am finally catching up on sleep lost at the hospital; I am down to fewer than ten naps per day. Wait... did someone just say "nap"? OK; great idea! Have a super day, all!
Yellowrocks, forgot to say how wonderful to hear that Alan has been doing so well.
CanadianEh and Rainman, thank you for reminding us about Erik Agard's performance on "Jeopardy." Since he conceded that crossword constructors don't earn much money, I was really hoping that he'd have one of those long "Jeopardy" runs that would equip him with a really good income for the next few years. But I'm happy that he did as well as he did. Hope he checks in with us sometime so that we can congratulate him.
Good puzzle from C.C. and nice tour through the grid by Steve.
Like IM and others I didn't know a few answers like KOAN, LOLCAT, TEY, etc., but with the help of perps they ultimately were filled in. However, I didn't get the theme until I read Steve's write-up.
I don't know how many of you watched Jeopardy for the last few days, but I enjoyed Erik Agard's performance. He was pretty quick on the button and knew many of the answers, some of them a little obscure. I imagine his CW construction background helped him answer some of the clues. However, he missed the final jeopardy answer (Bloemfontein) last night, so, I wouldn't be surprised to see it in one of his future puzzles.
I hope Paul Coulter gets to appear on Jeopardy.
Fall is upon us. Get ready for the coming cold temperatures.
YR et al.: I don't go out of the house without my cell hanging in a pouch around my neck. But inside the apartment, I just keep it beside me, and don't wear it for something as mundane as going to the bathroom. I do leave it on the bed with the cord purposely hanging over the side, for just something like this. But LW turns her phone off unless she's expecting a call, so didn't answer her phone, and was home by the time I finally gave up trying, alone or with just her help.
Thanks for that Amazon look up! The ones I'd seen before were too low to help my tall frame, but some of these looked like they might work for me! LW got two risers to nest somehow, so I shouldn't have to worry about that particular problem for a while.
PK et al.: Thank you for sparing the sympathy. Uplifting thoughts are fine! I had a poem on using hardship a couple days ago on _J, so I used this incident to inspire today's poem over there.
The paramedics said they would send an advisor over, and my dr. has tried to set me up with a homecare nurse, but scheduling has been a problem.
I had DETOUR > BYPASS, GRUMPY > LOLCAT
PK @ 12:53 -- I am completely with you about the abuse of the use of 'statistics.' It is as if we can support the validity our ideas, by waving a magic 'statistic' over them ... and said 'statistic' is unverifiable or with no clear source.
One example: a certain veterans' supporter always claims that "22 veterans a day commit suicide." If so, that's 660 vets a month, and almost 8,000 annually. I think such a number would be noticed ... if it were legit.
At the moment I'm "curing" my new cook pots which I bought to cook the meat for tamales. I've been using my dutch ovens but they are shallow and the water overflows when it reaches boiling so decided to buy bigger ones.
In the meantime, I will comment only this to the current discussion. Rainman, you read about water problems in the Vegetarian Times? I believe I would look in a more objective publication; not that they would skew facts or anything like that.
Owen:
I, too, shall withhold my sympathy but do hope that you resolve the problems with some of the suggestions given here or your visiting practitioner.
Yr:
What good news about Alan!
ACLU says its mission is to defend and preserve individual rights, abbreviated rts.
Japanese was originally written vertically. Today manga and other Japanese writing is sometimes written vertically and sometimes horizontally.
I'm not going to make any attempt to step in it on this water discussion. But I am going to just leave this article here for consideration. It's lengthy, but well researched and worth reading. And it amply illustrates the water war issues that the western portion of the US will face in coming years. Copy and paste the link into your browser. I've long since forgotten how to make it a hot link. Mind how you go.
https://klcjournal.com/in-dealing-with-the-ogallala-aquifer-western-kansas-is-running-out-of-water-and-time/
Avg Joe's HOT LINK
Thanks Spitz. And Bill G....if there was any doubt about my sign off above, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. I like that.
Hi All!
Great puzzle C.C.! A stumble/inkBLOT or two, a WAG or three, and I didn't parse the HUP-2-3-FOUR until the very end. It all came out in the wash for a satisfying FIR / I be smart :-).
Steve - I didn't need to crib from your grid this time, but, I did run straight to it to check my WAGS (K or C in KOHN?). Thanks for your always witty & food-inspired expo.
WO: YeN b/f YIN [untie!]; I started w/ Alloy | ALEast for my golf-club | MLB teams; had _DT (- Daylight Time) until I got a mint [ANDES]
ESPs: TEY, AGA KHAN; BANDEAU & TBH came together for another WAG-win
Fav: Already having read the by-line, I smiled big at ARGYLE.
Sparkle: C, Eh! already called it out.
{B, A-} //Good to know you're getting help coming in -- you gotta take care Bro!
Picard - I actually use a cloud-service for my sandboxen now (much easier than spinning crap up/down & keeping VMs (Virtual Machines) up-to-date). There are some VM appliances that you can download for fun and profit. If you really are interested, email me off-line and I'll look at what's the latest.
Lucina - When's Tamales? I'm hungry :-)
HG - LOL; Though the Soyuz had a EARTH REENTRY two weeks ago shortly after launch.
Joe, Ave, 1EA - Nice to see you.
So, in '88 DW & I had our first date; a date auspicious because it's when all WARs start.... MARCH FOURth.
//Ok, not as good as BlueHen's "One with everything," but a true story nonetheless!
Cheers, -T
Bluehen, your crockpot old world stew sounds yummy. Would you mind sharing the recipe, please?
Avg Joe: Thank you for the article on water. I only read about a third of it, but this writer knows her stuff. I've been out of it for 20 years, but the problems haven't changed much. Water is one thing that if you don't use it you lose it. It evaporates or runs down the hill/channel to somewhere else. Basically, if you don't have water, you can't make food and you sometimes have to decide whether it is more important to grow food in the country or pretty lawns in a city. People seem to forget that. In these water fights, farmers have invested big amounts in trying to grow food for people, borrowed money to buy equipment, relying on their right to water. Bureaucrats & ignorant people do some of the darnedest things to interrupt a smooth operating system that puts food in their stomachs. Food is so plentiful in the USA that people take it for granted and have no idea the effort that goes into providing it. If food production isn't safeguarded, the next generations may not eat as well as we do. I'm done ranting.
YR - I'm w/ you on BlueHen's recipe - sounds delicious...
Ok, while we're on the topic of food. DW got back from China and ordered 4 cookbooks and a Wok - she wants that flavor again (and doesn't really cook).
I've never done Chinese cuisine. I've read a bit and I think I have the staples (hoisin, rice wine, garlic, ginger, tumiric, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, peppers) but I have no real idea what to mix - the recipes I read are too much; I need simple to start with.
Crowd (and Steve!), source me :-)
Cheers, -T
Picard, nice Montreal photos. I drove through there once. Did you ever go to Sherbrooke by chance. It's on the way from NH to Montreal. I never knew it existed.
And.. If the ACC is "obscure" then you know nothing about Sports. Equal to my knowledge of music and art.
I'm not much on Pop Culture but I might have a slight edge there.
Perhaps CC had an early CSO to veterans ahead of 11/10,11. I looked back up after the theme clue and was looking for "ONE" too.
I was with my son Phil so naturally asked him about MANGA and TBH. I almost tried TANDEAU.
WC
FYI. This is how to link.
Text
What should I use for my sample link? Well
Redsox
Of course.
Btw. I see Curt Schilling was snubbed on a first pitch thingy and is unhappy about it. I'm guessing politics was involved.
WC
AnonT
Check youtube/Netflix if you have not already.
Simply Ming used to be on Saturday mornings on PBS. He would start you with the Master Recipe and then show you how to vary.
I seem to remember Alton Brown from Good Eats doing an episode or two on his to properly choose and cook on a wok. If you haven't used your work yet he may change your decision on which one will work* for you.
*at my favorite local Chinese restaurant a cookie** cutter sign that states "all employees must wash hands before returning to work" has the 'r' in 'work' scratched out. Makes me smile every time I see it. The owners must find it funny also as it has been like that for years.
Oops, this is what "Text" was supposed to be
"*a href="URL">Text</a*"
Delete the leading "* and trailing *" .
Share the link to clipboard, replace URL and put a description where it says "text".
I do it from smartphone.
WC
WC
According to Mark Twain, there are lies, damn lies and statistics.
Great point about statistics. Let's stop gathering facts. It is so time consuming.
By the way, Twain did not invent the statement. Twain actually used it in a larger context to explain why it is necessary to be careful with statistics.
@10:23 - I remembered Yan Can Cook, but not Simple Ming. Pointing me to find a Good Eats is a good idea too. Thanks.
@10:54 - funny, I was going to post that but decided against it :-)
WC:
<a href="http://www.ou.edu">OU!</a>
gets you OU!.
//HTML to get < was < > is > to get & type & Meta enough? :-)
Cheers, -T
AnonT:
Tamales coming up! Sunday! We're preparing the meat tomorrow. The cook pots are cured and ready.
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