Theme: Tyro Torrent - all the theme entries are novices in various guises:
28A. *Fresh face in a newsroom: CUB REPORTER. The opposite is "a grizzled newspaperman". Now there's a phrase. It was used to describe Chicago Herald-Examiner reporter Ben Hecht among others: "... he had already developed the crusty style of a grizzled newspaperman ..." A mark of respect.
58A. *Fresh face at online gaming: NOOB. Via "Newbie" and "Newcomer" we get to NOOB. Language evolution, folks, I love it. If you are an expert, you used to be "L33T", as in "elite", but I'm sure that has gone the way of the dodo now.
59A. *With 60-Across, fresh face at a dojo: WHITE paired with ...
60A. *See 59-Across: BELT
3D. *Fresh face at boot camp: RAW RECRUIT. Don't mess with your Drill Sergeant.
11D. *Fresh face in the Boy Scouts: TENDERFOOT
51A. Error the answers to starred clues might make: ROOKIE MISTAKE
One thing to note right off the bat is that the symmetry of this puzzle is not "normal", meaning left-right and top-bottom, it is "mirror" symmetry, in this case left-right. This is often done to accommodate an attractive theme that can't be placed in a normal grid, I'm guessing this is the case with this one from C.C. (I could go ask her, but I'm taking a wild stab in the dark).
Another example of when you might see this variation is when there is a pattern or picture depicted in the white/black squares, but unless we've got a four-legged Space Invader/Pokémon hybrid I don't think that's the case here!
Let's see what else jumps out:
Across:
1. Passé saver of fave programs: VCR
4. Energized: AMPED UP
11. Sales add-on: TAX
14. Parseghian of Notre Dame: ARA. "The era of Ara" - Notre Dame football from 1964 to 1974, rescuing the program from mediocrity and winning national championships in 1966 and 1973. You wouldn't want to get this look from him:
15. "Alas, it's true": I FEAR SO. I had a few goes at this one, ended up correctly, eventually.
16. Juan Perón's wife: EVA. Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.
17. Level the playing field?: MOW. When I went to watch Chelsea FC play in London in the 80's, the appearance of the ride-on mower pre-game to give the pitch a final trim would be accompanied by this ditty, sung from the terrraces, as he drove, Zamboni-like, up and down the pitch:
"One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow.
One man and his dog (Spot), went to mow a meadow.
Two men went to mow, went to mow a meadow
Two men, one man and his dog (Spot), went to mow a meadow.
Three men went to mow, went to mow a meadow
Three men, two men, one man and his dog (Spot) went to mow a meadow.
Four men went to mow ...."
You get the idea. Amused us greatly at the time. I think the slowest mowing was something like "86 men went to mow ....."
And an excuse for a shameless Chelsea fan link!
18. Was felt very strongly: RAN DEEP
19. Say no to: NIX
20. Medicare section: PART B
22. Big name in shoe stores: DSW. Confession - I was Natick'ed again, two weeks in a row, with this one. The "W" got me.
23. "Same here": AS DO I. ME TOO didn't work. SO DO I didn't work. Eventually got the right letter combo.
25. Camper's heater: STERNO
27. Links targets: GREENS
32. ORD airport postings: ARRS. Arrivals at Orchard Field, now better known as Chicago O'Hare. One of my favorite airports for a layover, it's just a really nice space.
34. Get hitched on the run: ELOPE
35. Giant in nonstick sauté pans: T-FAL. My non-stick skillet is cast iron. Works a treat, but it gives the biceps a workout.
38. Big oafs: LOUTS
40. Saw: MET
41. Galaxy, e.g.: PHONE. Very nice, took me a while to see this one.
42. Practice frugality: SKIMP
43. Tense NFL periods: O.T.'S
44. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis: LEONA. Thank you, crosses. Close to another Natick here. See 41D
45. Beat in a pie contest, say: OUT-EAT. Don't go up against Joey Chestnut. It's not just Nathan's hot dogs that he likes.
47. Booted out: OUSTED
48. Turncoat: RAT
50. Cable network since 1972: HBO. I tried HSN. Was wrong.
62. "Try again": NOPE
63. Zeus' shield: AEGIS. I knew it! Woo Hoo crosswords!
64. Bike signal: BELL
65. Website for handmade jewelry: ETSY
66. Egg holders: NESTS
67. "Match Game" host Baldwin: ALEC
Down:
1. Improvises, in jazz: VAMPS
2. Dubrovnik resident: CROAT
4. Site with many home pages?: AIRBNB. Lovely clue. I started using AirBnB this past year for weekend trips. No complaints at all, some lovely accommodations
5. CalArts degree: M.F.A.
6. Await a decision: PEND
7. George of "MacGyver": EADS
8. Picked from the deck: DREW
9. Find a place for: USE
10. Keith Haring genre: POP ART. We had Op-Art last week. What's next week - Impressionism? I'm taking bets.
12. French postcard word: AVION. "Par Avion" - or Air Mail.
13. Graph line: X-AXIS
21. "I wouldn't lie": TRUST ME
24. Is really boiling: SEETHES
26. Mining find: ORE
27. Hurdle for a future Ph.D.: G.R.E. Or the Graduate Record Examinations test to give it a long name.
29. Red Muppet: ELMO. Ticklish chap.
30. Frost, e.g.: POET
31. Goes (for): OPTS
32. Too: ALSO
33. Amazon Fire TV Stick alternative: ROKU
36. Hathaway of "Ocean's 8": ANNE
37. Take charge of: LEAD
39. __ plug: SPARK
41. Plum-apricot hybrid: PLUOT. I'm sure it's a thing, I've just never seen one, nor, to my knowledge eaten one, cooked with one or written one down.
46. Where bubble tea originated: TAIWAN. AKA boba tea. The upcoming ban on plastic straws here in California is causing some consternation. Now what?
47. Persistently haunt: OBSESS
49. Little laugh: TEHEE. Not sure how to punctuate this. I guess I'll leave it alone.
50. "Start the music!": HIT IT!
51. Carrot or turnip: ROOT. I cooked roasted parsnips on Sunday with a roast chicken. Kind of a carrot-turnip hybrid root. I love the caramelized sugars when you roast root vegetables.
52. "My bad": OOPS
53. Follow orders: OBEY
54. "Top Gun" enemy planes: MIGS
55. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" group: ABBA. Late in the day, but here's a music link. ABBA were great listening to when I was a teen. Perfect pop music. Of course, we were all too cool for school to admit it.
56. Ship's backbone: KEEL
57. Glamour rival: ELLE
58. Mobile-to-Knoxville dir.: N.N.E.
61. Dr. Mom's skill: T.L.C.
A couple of abbreviations to wrap things up, and with a background of ABBA - Mama Mia! Here's the grid:
Steve
28A. *Fresh face in a newsroom: CUB REPORTER. The opposite is "a grizzled newspaperman". Now there's a phrase. It was used to describe Chicago Herald-Examiner reporter Ben Hecht among others: "... he had already developed the crusty style of a grizzled newspaperman ..." A mark of respect.
58A. *Fresh face at online gaming: NOOB. Via "Newbie" and "Newcomer" we get to NOOB. Language evolution, folks, I love it. If you are an expert, you used to be "L33T", as in "elite", but I'm sure that has gone the way of the dodo now.
59A. *With 60-Across, fresh face at a dojo: WHITE paired with ...
60A. *See 59-Across: BELT
3D. *Fresh face at boot camp: RAW RECRUIT. Don't mess with your Drill Sergeant.
11D. *Fresh face in the Boy Scouts: TENDERFOOT
51A. Error the answers to starred clues might make: ROOKIE MISTAKE
One thing to note right off the bat is that the symmetry of this puzzle is not "normal", meaning left-right and top-bottom, it is "mirror" symmetry, in this case left-right. This is often done to accommodate an attractive theme that can't be placed in a normal grid, I'm guessing this is the case with this one from C.C. (I could go ask her, but I'm taking a wild stab in the dark).
Another example of when you might see this variation is when there is a pattern or picture depicted in the white/black squares, but unless we've got a four-legged Space Invader/Pokémon hybrid I don't think that's the case here!
Let's see what else jumps out:
1. Passé saver of fave programs: VCR
4. Energized: AMPED UP
11. Sales add-on: TAX
14. Parseghian of Notre Dame: ARA. "The era of Ara" - Notre Dame football from 1964 to 1974, rescuing the program from mediocrity and winning national championships in 1966 and 1973. You wouldn't want to get this look from him:
15. "Alas, it's true": I FEAR SO. I had a few goes at this one, ended up correctly, eventually.
16. Juan Perón's wife: EVA. Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.
17. Level the playing field?: MOW. When I went to watch Chelsea FC play in London in the 80's, the appearance of the ride-on mower pre-game to give the pitch a final trim would be accompanied by this ditty, sung from the terrraces, as he drove, Zamboni-like, up and down the pitch:
"One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow.
One man and his dog (Spot), went to mow a meadow.
Two men went to mow, went to mow a meadow
Two men, one man and his dog (Spot), went to mow a meadow.
Three men went to mow, went to mow a meadow
Three men, two men, one man and his dog (Spot) went to mow a meadow.
Four men went to mow ...."
You get the idea. Amused us greatly at the time. I think the slowest mowing was something like "86 men went to mow ....."
And an excuse for a shameless Chelsea fan link!
18. Was felt very strongly: RAN DEEP
19. Say no to: NIX
20. Medicare section: PART B
22. Big name in shoe stores: DSW. Confession - I was Natick'ed again, two weeks in a row, with this one. The "W" got me.
23. "Same here": AS DO I. ME TOO didn't work. SO DO I didn't work. Eventually got the right letter combo.
25. Camper's heater: STERNO
27. Links targets: GREENS
32. ORD airport postings: ARRS. Arrivals at Orchard Field, now better known as Chicago O'Hare. One of my favorite airports for a layover, it's just a really nice space.
34. Get hitched on the run: ELOPE
35. Giant in nonstick sauté pans: T-FAL. My non-stick skillet is cast iron. Works a treat, but it gives the biceps a workout.
38. Big oafs: LOUTS
40. Saw: MET
41. Galaxy, e.g.: PHONE. Very nice, took me a while to see this one.
42. Practice frugality: SKIMP
43. Tense NFL periods: O.T.'S
44. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis: LEONA. Thank you, crosses. Close to another Natick here. See 41D
45. Beat in a pie contest, say: OUT-EAT. Don't go up against Joey Chestnut. It's not just Nathan's hot dogs that he likes.
47. Booted out: OUSTED
48. Turncoat: RAT
50. Cable network since 1972: HBO. I tried HSN. Was wrong.
62. "Try again": NOPE
63. Zeus' shield: AEGIS. I knew it! Woo Hoo crosswords!
64. Bike signal: BELL
65. Website for handmade jewelry: ETSY
66. Egg holders: NESTS
67. "Match Game" host Baldwin: ALEC
Down:
1. Improvises, in jazz: VAMPS
2. Dubrovnik resident: CROAT
4. Site with many home pages?: AIRBNB. Lovely clue. I started using AirBnB this past year for weekend trips. No complaints at all, some lovely accommodations
5. CalArts degree: M.F.A.
6. Await a decision: PEND
7. George of "MacGyver": EADS
8. Picked from the deck: DREW
9. Find a place for: USE
10. Keith Haring genre: POP ART. We had Op-Art last week. What's next week - Impressionism? I'm taking bets.
12. French postcard word: AVION. "Par Avion" - or Air Mail.
13. Graph line: X-AXIS
21. "I wouldn't lie": TRUST ME
24. Is really boiling: SEETHES
26. Mining find: ORE
27. Hurdle for a future Ph.D.: G.R.E. Or the Graduate Record Examinations test to give it a long name.
29. Red Muppet: ELMO. Ticklish chap.
30. Frost, e.g.: POET
31. Goes (for): OPTS
32. Too: ALSO
33. Amazon Fire TV Stick alternative: ROKU
36. Hathaway of "Ocean's 8": ANNE
37. Take charge of: LEAD
39. __ plug: SPARK
41. Plum-apricot hybrid: PLUOT. I'm sure it's a thing, I've just never seen one, nor, to my knowledge eaten one, cooked with one or written one down.
46. Where bubble tea originated: TAIWAN. AKA boba tea. The upcoming ban on plastic straws here in California is causing some consternation. Now what?
47. Persistently haunt: OBSESS
49. Little laugh: TEHEE. Not sure how to punctuate this. I guess I'll leave it alone.
50. "Start the music!": HIT IT!
51. Carrot or turnip: ROOT. I cooked roasted parsnips on Sunday with a roast chicken. Kind of a carrot-turnip hybrid root. I love the caramelized sugars when you roast root vegetables.
52. "My bad": OOPS
53. Follow orders: OBEY
54. "Top Gun" enemy planes: MIGS
55. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" group: ABBA. Late in the day, but here's a music link. ABBA were great listening to when I was a teen. Perfect pop music. Of course, we were all too cool for school to admit it.
56. Ship's backbone: KEEL
57. Glamour rival: ELLE
58. Mobile-to-Knoxville dir.: N.N.E.
61. Dr. Mom's skill: T.L.C.
A couple of abbreviations to wrap things up, and with a background of ABBA - Mama Mia! Here's the grid:
Steve
Lovely puzzle and write up. Discount Shoe Warehouse in case you need to recall the W in the future, Steve. PLUOT does not sound like a word but I can see the portmanteau of PLUm and apricOT. Never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteGEORGE EADS is a CSI alumnus.
I guess I thought NOOB was a cross between a Newbii and a boob.
Thank you Steve and C.C.
We always got paper straws at the drugstore counter for fresh created coca colas and carried our groceries home in paper bags which made fine kindling in the fireplace. I think we will survive the straw change.
ReplyDeleteSTRAW TALK
ReplyDeleteDSW actually stands for Designer Shoe Warehouse.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle today, but quick for a Thursday.
Good catch anon 6:15
DeleteFIR, but erased eta for ARR and ditto for AS DO I. Didn't know LEONA Lewis, Geo EADS, Keith Haring or bubble tea. Like our tour guide I thought: PLOUT - is that a thing?
ReplyDeleteMy camper has a 3-burner stove and a convection / microwave oven for heating. Taking it to Durham for Thanksgiving week at the in-laws. I'll bet that more STERNO is used for buffets than for camping. When I was a girl scout (my mom was a troop leader so I got to hang out) I learned how to make "buddy burners". They used small tin cans (like tuna tins), cardboard and paraffin. We cooked on upturned empty 3-lb coffee cans placed over the buddy burners. Good bacon and eggs!
Lemony, I didn't get any pictures with the article on straws, probably because of my ad blocker. Very interesting anyway. I wonder how much difference it would make to plastics in the oceans if the entire USA converted to plastic straws? That's how it is being sold, but everywhere I've lived we've disposed of our trash in landfills.
Thanks to CC for the fun, Thursday-easy puzzle. My favorite was "Frost, e.g." for POET. And thanks to Steve for another fine review. Maybe we can stretch my favorite clue to "frost-ing" just for you.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteSaw all the beginners, so I guess d-o got the theme. Fell into the SO DO I trap. (Hi, Steve.) I think C.C. made up the PLUOT -- looks like a dyslexic's spelling of PLUTO. The guy's dyslexic wife called him Origami, because she thought he was a fold art. Thanx for the diversion, C.C., and for the expo, Steve. (I've also got a Lodge cast-iron skillet. Don't use it very often.)
CUB REPORTER: Have you been following the Acosta story?
EADS: He had a serious role in CSI, but plays for laughs in MacGyver -- not that successfully.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you C.C. and thank you Steve.
Well, I made a few ROOKIE MISTAKEs that led to what seemed like a longer Thursday solve.
Started out with Vhs, hyPEDUP, tried to fit in afraid so, me too where AS DO I fit, Reb instead of RAT, NewB instead of NOOB, hulL instead of KEEL. Also managed to spell RECRUIT as recriut.
Never heard of a PLUOT.
All was well in the end, but it just took a bit longer.
Liked the clue, Passé saver of fave programs. Still wondering why I typed in vhs.
Jimmy Olsen was a CUB REPORTER for the Daily Planet.
That's R. Lee Ermey in Steve's RAW RECRUIT pic, probably from Full Metal Jacket. "Kubrick later indicated that Ermey was an excellent performer, often needing just two or three takes per scene, also unusual for a Kubrick film." So, I would interpret that to mean that even as a relatively inexperienced actor, he didn't MIS many TAKES.
Good morning all.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the workout this morning .
Thanks CC and Steve .
Needed some look up help to fill it all in.
Change HYped up to AMPED UP, as am I , me too to AS DO I . On me to OOPS, scimp to SKIMP.
A little messy.
My first grade teacher , God rest her soul, would have rapped my knuckles with a wooden ruler for such a messy page.:-/
Busy day ahead and then tomorrow its TGIF.
Going out for steak dinner on Saturday to use up a gift card given to us by friends on our anniversary.
We don’t often go out for steak as we find the portions much to small for the price, especially since I’m usually in charge of meat for family on weekends ,be it baking , roasting , cooking or
bbqing. Sunday lunch is anywhere from four to fifteen around the table. Grandkids are growing up and bringing friends . Allways room for one more it seems.
Chow
Hi Y'all! Worthy Thursday opus, C.C., thanks. Thanks, for a good one, Steve. I agree O'Hare is a nice place for a layover.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up Dubrovnik right off the bat. Just typed it in and CROATia appeared in a list. Okay!
Galaxy was not a passe' Ford model but a PHONE.
SKIMP: no stranger to this. Getting over the habit is hard. I no longer need to cut open the toothpaste tube to get the last smidgens. "Waste not, want not". Just toss it, PK!
ETSY was filled before I got to the clue. Goody. Didn't know it. Other DNKs: AIRBNB, PLUOT, POPART guy, ROKU, HBO, AEGIS, DSW.
My niece just fixed up a cabin for an AIRBNB. Bed-n-Breakfast, I get, but don't know why AIR? Anybody, please explain.
Excuse me, but PLUOT doesn't sound edible. The things we learn here!
Oas: Congratulations on your anniversary. How many?
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen PLUOTs in the store but haven’t tried them.
ReplyDeletePART_ needed a perp, and took a while before _NB finally popped AIRBNB
Misread Mobile as Memphis, so my compass was confused at 50D
Fifty golden years and counting
DeleteInteresting Thursday with just enough crunch - but able to get done before work!
ReplyDeleteAEGIS and PLUOT were learning moments. PLU-OT made me think of Kum-quat and loquat which I have eaten.
Thanks CC and Steve! I'll now have ABBA songs for my earworms today after the video Steve!
No ROOKIE MISTAKES today but it took a few perps and an educated WAG to complete. Congrats CC, especially cramming I FEAR SO and AS DO I into the grid. With RAW in place RECRUIT was an easy guess and that opened it up.
ReplyDeleteSTERNO- didn't know it was used for anything other than warming food.
ARRS- every airport I've ever been in has ARR but ETA seems to live in crossword-land.
AIR BNB- Steve, as much as you travel, why would you want to take a weekend trip?
NOOB, VAMPS, DSW, LEONA, EADS, AEGIS were unknowns. PLUOT was a never-heard-of-before word.
DSW- the only 'designer' that I care about is the one who designs the INSIDE of the shoe so that it feels comfortable the first time I try it. Nothing else matters.
Clues were tough today (i.e., 4D, 18A, 63A) Made me think twice before I put in my fill. My two college kids use AIRBNB all the time for their breaks. They get unbelievable places for below market prices.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHad one Natick close to Steve's; couldn't suss the EADS/DSW crossing to get the 'S'. Never watch MacGyver nor follow DSW shoes.
Every thing else fell in nicely and eventually I got the theme.
AEGIS - Is a Navy weapon system.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a tad crunchy in places, but perps were more than fair, so no real stumbling blocks. Several unknowns, as clued: Aegis, Taiwan, Pop Art, Eads, and Roku. Complete unknowns were Leona and DSW. I, too, have seen Pluots in the market but never knew what they were. I liked the Belt ~ Bell crossing and the Bell/Elle, Opts/Oops pairings. I also enjoy puzzles with both across and down themers. Nice CSO to Tin at Croat.
Thanks, CC, for a fun solve and thanks, Steve, for a fun review.
Have a great day.
What’s a Natick?
ReplyDeleteWhat a slog.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-PLOUT/LEONA is right, Bob’s your uncle and all’s well!
-As Steve mentioned in his fine write-up, the placement of the themers was very different and refreshing
-The Aztec Field in Mexico City needed more than a MOWING and so the NFL moved the game out of there
-The STERNO heaters (and their distinctive aromas) are used for receptions where the couple does not ELOPE
-60˚F today! GREENS, here I come!
-Jimmy Olsen CUB REPORTER and a Ford Galaxy leapt into my 72-yr-old brain today
-That guy who said, “TRUST ME” two years ago? Voters may have OPTED to OUST him/her last week
-BEET RED fit in _ E E T _ E _
-When I had 50 kids waiting in O’Hare, they ate at McDonalds when there was a Chicago Hot Dog kiosk by the entrance! No, really!
-We went to this fabulous concert (scroll down and play the preview) last night. If it’s near you, GO!
Thursday tussle. Thanks for the fun, C.C. and Steve.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme but needed a couple of Google helps to finish- (for EADS and Haring).
Hand up for So Do I before AS DO I.
I had Lord before LEAD for "take charge of", and SAT before GRE (not as familiar with those exams).
NOPE for "try again" was a little meh for me. But I do "get it".
Thanks Lemon and Anon@6:15 for explaining DSW. I don't think they are here in Canada. (Oh, I LIUed and see that they do have some Canadian presence. Another learning moment!)
I live in the fruit belt and have never heard of PLUOT. I LIUed and discovered that a PLUOT is 70% plum/30% apricot, while a Plumcot is a 50/50 hybrid. What we don't learn through CW solving!
Prescience of the blog: I quoted Frost Poetry the other day - "The Road Not Taken".
Like inanehiker, I now have an ABBA earworm.
Wishing you all a great day.
@Magilla Go-Rilla: basically, when two nouns cross and you don't know either of them, the crossing letter is your "Natick". It comes from a New York Times crossword blog authored by Rex Parker. One of the puzzles he was reviewing had just that situation, one of the entries being a relatively obscure district in Boston called Natick. His rule of thumb is that if one of the nouns is obscure enough to be unknown to 75% of the solvers, the other should be relatively easy to avoid the problem.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle, thanks to CCB, could have been done by a Greenhorn, except for the NC (North Central.) Didn't know George Eads, although I know a David Eads here in our state who was indicted on conspiracy to bribery of the mayor of Providence about twenty years ago. Didn't know CalArt, althought there is a CalArt tower in Providence,(http://www.roadarch.com/07/8/calart2.jpg). Never heard of ROKU, LEONA, AEGIS (I'm gonna use this word somewhere in my novel, "My word! You can't be serious - that man is a cub reporter and under the aegis of the Los Angles Times, he can't possibly go to Taiwan and root out the Croat who has lain like a rat in a nest." "Trust me," I said. "We all make rookie mistakes, perhaps a tenderfoot will provide the spark we need to oust the louts.")
desper-otto PLUOT to PLUTO, Plout to pluto. I eat lots of fruit, plums I like, not so much plouts. They're kind of hard.
The guy's dyslexic wife called him Origami, because she thought he was a fold art. We have many places here in Rhode Island called FOOD MART. Actually that would be a spoonerism if you wish to exchange those letters.
Thanks to Steve, cheerio.
Thank you, C.C. and Steve! This was a Thursday thrill!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see VASPS confirmed because I had serious doubts about it. And like Steve, I played around with ASDOI and SODOI.
In high school we grafted a plum branch onto a peach tree and named the resulting fruit a pleach. It was juicy and tasty! Yes, our biology class was unusual.
Yesterday my daughter stopped by to get some TLC; she was having a hard week.
OH, that George EADS! I never saw MacGyver but am familiar with CSI.
Have a pleasant day, everyone!
oops. VAMPS not vasps.
ReplyDeleteThe name Natick comes from the language of the "Massachusett Native American" tribe and is commonly considered to mean 'Place of Hills'. However, a more accurate translation may be "place of (our) searching", named to celebrate John Eliot's successful search for a location for his Praying Indian settlement. - from wiki
ReplyDeleteToo busy with a several day visit from a graduate school friend to get on the blog yesterday. But when I saw it was a C.C. puzzle this morning, I just had to check in and say Congratulations, C.C. Loved the theme with all those kids. Many thanks for a delightful puzzle romp. And fun write-up, Steve!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, everybody!
Hi everybody.
ReplyDeletePluots are available at the local Farmers' Markets around here. I'm not crazy about them. It's all downhill after you've had Santa Rosa plums. They are hard to come by though. They have a short growing season.
Tepee and Tehee always seem wrong to me. If I didn't know better from doing crosswords, I would have bet on Teepee and Teehee.
I am weak on poetry but Robert Frost speaks to me. I love the 'Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.'
Spitz@ 8:48 -- "Had one Natick close to Steve's; couldn't suss the EADS/DSW crossing to get the 'S'. Never watch MacGyver nor follow DSW shoes."
ReplyDeleteI'm in excellent company today! Same here ... guessed at EADe/DeW, but couldn't figure out why some shoe store would be named after the Distant Early Warning line.
HuskerG @ 9:46 -- The only thing 'Trans-Siberian' I ever thought of, was the railroad. If I was 20 years younger (and much richer), I would fly to Vladivostok, take the Trans-Siberian RR to Moscow or St. Pete, then to Warsaw, to Berlin, Paris, London, then the ferry to Ireland: the journey of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteMichael - Now if the clue were part of this information: "Opened in 1874, Eads Bridge was the first bridge erected across the Mississippi south of the Missouri River (St. Louis). Earlier bridges were located north of the Missouri, where the Mississippi is smaller. None of the earlier bridges survive, Eads Bridge is the oldest bridge on the river." , I would have gotten EADS.
ReplyDeleteFun theme!
ReplyDeleteBut a fun theme is spoiled for me by a truly impossible crossed pair of Naticks. Hand up EADS/DSW utterly, totally, completely unknown. And, impossible to WAG. Except I did. So, I FIR.
Also, shouldn't there be an indication that this random set of letters DSW is an abbrev?
Big Easy I agree that with shoes I just want them to fit and be comfortable walking long distances on hard pavement. I save my designer flair for my shirts!
LEONA/ANNE also a Natick cross, but guessable. Only know ARA/VAMPS from these puzzles.
Once again, here I was at MAMMA MIA, the ABBA tribute.
No puzzle connection, but DW and I were treated to this harp performance by a friend who organized it.
This guy Josh Layne was flown down from Canada just to perform in our little town. I was zoomed in on his fingers and I have no idea how he was making those sounds. Especially the Bach Fugue which has three interwoven parts. I kept counting his hands and I could only see two.
Hmm, Rookie mistake?
ReplyDeleteI had really tough time with this puzzle that
The Newark Star Ledger said was constructed by Robert E. Lee Morris!
3 WAGs, of which only one was right.
Wanted "Ditto" for "same here."
DNF top dead center. My perps pooped out...
Anywho, I was intrigued to get on this constructors wavelength,
so after a snowy white 1st pass, I kept at it,
got the theme, and ALMOST finished thinking I just do not
know this guys style. But was confused by Etsy, and Bubble Tea = Taiwan
thinking these aren't usually guy go to clue/answers...
Imagine my surprise to read the Blog and
find out my local paper made it's usual Rookie Mistake using yesterdays
constructor!
(one of) My 1st rookie mistakes was buying a Sterno Stove for camping. Luckily my best friend took pity on me and gave me
a Xmas present of a Svea white gas powered pocket stove/rocket engine! (never looked back!)
The usual rookie mistake...
However, Homer Simpson handled it quite well when he almost started WWIII.
Ta ~ DA!
ReplyDeleteWasn't sure I had it made until I read Steve's Corner commentary. C.C. is very clever about providing perps to help us get lesser known proper names, but I am not always certain I've arrived at the correct fills until coming on line.
I still didn't know what DSW meant until I read Anonymous' explanation, and I'm not sure PLUOT is a real thing--although it ought to be.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two, one on each side. The main line offers an anagram of...
"LEAST OVERWORN,"
which I think aptly describes the better of my two old cardigans.
(Yes, I know that should be LESS OVERWORN, but C.C. could not have known how many sweaters I wear.)
Know the difference between a Rhodes Scholar and a proctologist? Well, the Rhodes Scholar is a smart feller.
ReplyDeleteA tasty crunchy Thursday puzzle....finished the North Central last...I thought it was EADS, had no clue about D-W, so left the S in, success.
ReplyDeleteA clever theme with no giveaways, nice.
SET b4 USE and HARASS b4 OBSESS.
And that was that. See you Friday.
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said
ReplyDelete"NIX, NIX"
Am I hearing there's a new McGyver?
Not a typical easy CC for a Thursday. Although after finishing I told ol' self that perhaps not so tough as things like AIRBNB were familiar.
My only glitch was not reading my own inky mess. I had EBOB for the NOOBy. I think I too mixed up Mobile and Memphis
WC
When all else fails: LIU. I learned AIRBNB is a company brand name for private accommodations thru the internet. Hmmm!
ReplyDeletePK - the air refers to an air-mattress which was basically how the company got started. Here's the story on NPR's How I Built This.
ReplyDeletePlay later. -T
It's been hard to get and stay in a good mood lately. You don't suppose that political strife and wall-to-wall coverage of fires and memorial services on TV might have anything to do with my glum state-of-mind do you?
ReplyDeleteMaybe a nap might help.
Keep calm and carry on...
{Keep Calm and Carry On is a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Although 2.45 million copies were printed, and although the Blitz did in fact take place, the poster was hardly ever publicly displayed and was little known until a copy was rediscovered in 2000 at Barter Books, a bookshop in Alnwick.}
I liked this puzzle. Cool theme; I see all the ROOKIEs but where's the MISTAKE? Same near-naticks as several of you. Would not have gotten DSW without knowing who George EADS is and figuring DREW. I recall reading something years ago about George Eads and Jorja Fox getting OUSTED from the CSI show because they demanded too much of a salary increase; I think they eventually backed down and were reinstated.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of a PLUOT; I think I'd rather see than eat one.
My eyes widened at seeing BELL, BELT, and ALEC parallel to one another and at the sight of ROOK, NOOB, and NOPE all in the same neighborhood. Then there was OUTEAT, OUSTED, and Booted out.
I agree with Bill G about the spelling of teepee and teehee. Would Misty ever say wohoo? I liked the character Tee Hee Johnson played by Julius Harris in the movie Live and Let Die.
Jinx, I also remember making "buddy burners" as a kid. I always found it more fun to light them up than to make them.
Personally I think bubble tea is an abomination, not to speak of the danger of choking it poses.
Best wishes to you all.
Another fine CC puzzle and sparkling Steve review.
ReplyDeleteI'm with all the others who had a "natick" @ 7d/22a (the S) - I had absolutely no idea of either one. Turned on red letters and tried a few that seemed to make sense, and nothing was right (I had PEND but didn't have the D in RANDEEP or the W in DREW yet either).
Also about 1d, since nobody mentioned it yet, in practice vamp just means to keep repeating a short section of music, usually 2 or 4 bars, until a singer or soloist starts. In the dictionary on my Mac, that's meaning #2 (#1 is the upper front part of a boot or shoe - Huh? Never heard of that either). Under Origin, it does say that the musical sense developed from the general sense 'improvise', though that isn't mentioned anywhere previously or in any of the definitions.
By the way, I agree with Bill G. and Jayce about 49d. These are made up words (in English, anyway)*, and I think should be spelled as they're pronounced. Nobody would say teh-pee or teh-hee. How about peewee - don't think we've ever seen that as pewee, have we?
ReplyDelete*OK, I know one is probably borrowed from an American Indian language and the other is onomatopoeia - almost the same thing as made up, as shown in the recent list of words for animal sounds in different languages.
Very funny, Jinx!
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteWhoot! Third Thursday in a row! Thanks C.C. for this "Fresh" puzzle. Thanks Steve for the expo [really?, taunting the grounds keep?... only you Soccer Hooligans :-)]
WOs: was tentatively trying to fit afraid SO @15a, Hand-up: so DO I. There's something under the M in VAMPS but I can't make it out.
ESPs: EADS, AVION, PLUOT / LEONA (WAG'd L), AEGIS
Fav: HBO - nailed it. 1st step-dad had it in the 70s. I remember watching Harper Valley PTA on HBO
Like others, that N.Central was a WAG-fest and my last fill. I started w/ DRAW, guessed AMPED-UP, POP, filled SO @end of 15a, USE(?), PEND(?), DSW
Aside: ok, I knew this 'cuz there was a big DSW on my commute when I first came to Houston [on Westheimer inside the Belt for those who care]. One day I went in to find out what it sold (books?, kitchenware?, I donno!) and, to my great disappointment, discovered it was a giant shoe store.
Where was I?
_FEAR SO (oh, I only need a one letter now!). AIR? PART_ == B. Aha! AIRBNB (cute C.C.). Whew!
{AWOL}
Rick@10:24 - I see what you did there GREEN HORN... //nice introductory sentence :-)
BillG - sometimes we do get TEE HEE or 1/2 end of one in the puzzle.
Spitz - your EADS could lead to a true Natick :-o
Jayce - Mistakes was in the clue: "Error the answers..."
How does a CUB Scout become a TENDERFOOT? EATs a brownie...
//I'll see myself OUT... :-)
Cheers, -T
So DSW caused a furor among those who apparently don't buy shoes. Not from there anyway. Now you know how I feel about sports clues!
ReplyDeleteDSW is just that. The initials just happen to represent a name but are never called by that name, only DSW. BTW, their wide selection of shoes is impressive.
Finally got the PC running again after a momentary power failure
ReplyDeletefried it. Here's hoping it stays up.
6" of wet snow have paralyzed the area because people were just not ready for it.
DW is stuck in NYC because traffic is total gridlock.
LIRR shut down in & out of NYC
Channel 7 news says they cannot report on port authority because they ccannot
get in because the place is packed like a sardine can.
News at eleven...
In other news:
ReplyDeleteI wanted you to hear what a Svea 213 camp stove sounds like.
running full blast between 2:50 & 3 minutes...
I once read a camping book that recommended this stove because
no Bear in its right mind would go into a campsite that
was hissing like a stuck Blimp!
Awesome stove!
Learning moment: Vamp
I always thought is was something undesirable or x-rated
because of this Sonny and Cher bit...
What is a Pluot? I still don't know after this video...
And watch out!
The Bubble Tea Police are coming!
@Bill G - almost right about "Keep Calm and Carry On". Actually, the poster was produced in advance of the anticipated invasion by the Germans. It was intended to invoke the stoicism of the British in the face of adversity. As history tells, the invasion never took place and the poster was never used.
ReplyDeleteAh, now I got it about the MISTAKE. Thanks, Tony
ReplyDeleteMaybe they should produce the poster now. There is much adversity looming for the current administration in Britain these days. Mass exodus and vetting lines being posted for Mays' departure estimate. Instability across the pond today had many on Wall St. mumbling, "keep calm, carry on" to themselves today.
ReplyDeleteHi guys. Once again I am late.
ReplyDeleteI worked the CW, and afterward noticed that it was by C.C.. Thank you for this crunchy Thursday masterpiece. I was able to FIR.
Thank you Steve for your excellent review.
Ðave
This is late night fodder:
ReplyDeleteRe. Naticks. This town west of Boston was the HS of Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie. To call his post college career "checkered" would be an understatement.
Along with playing for Donald Trump's NJ Generals Flutie singlehandedly ended the 1987 NFLPA strike by selling out Sheafer Stadium for a replacement game.
But... Patriots players would have nothing to do with Flutie deliberately going offsides in preseason. Regardless, injuries occurred and Flutie took the Pat's to the playoffs only to be replaced himself.
Banished to the CFL, Flutie flourished only to return to the NFL Bills, lead them to AFC title game only to be benched again.
C-eh, probably knew the Natick son.
WC
~ I always push when I should pull. I have doorlexia.
ReplyDelete~ I have some trousers with five legs. They fit like a glove.
Bill G: TEeHEE!
ReplyDeleteWC - you mean NFLPA's Generals was a scam?!? Colour me shocked...
ReplyDeleteJayce - once in a while, I can be USEful.
PK - Sorry, I didn't realize earlier that the NPR link didn't transcribe and required 44m of listening. Here's the thumb-nail re: AIRBNB.
Steve - as I recall, from lore, the posters were found later and used in an 'ironic' way. [early hipsters, I suspect]
CED - Did DW make it in? I tried to find Snowblind for you [YouTube has a live version of Styx's version and I found ALSO Black Sabbath's completely different song] but it/they kinda suck (music-wise) so I found you a nice Horse sans Name while you wait. Chord that. :-)
Cheers, -T
BillG - Doorlexia: my third fav Far Side.
ReplyDeleteMy CMU buddy (the same that brought over a bottle of Absolute for the "State of the Union, Baby!" drinking game during Clinton's 7th 'cuz he didn't own a TV) from my DOD days "photoshop'd" Larson's cel to read "MIT School for the Gifted" and put it on his office door.
That Wild & Crazy guy...
Cheers, -T
AnonT, I was thinking of that Far Side too.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your other two favorites?
Cat Fud [Pop labels the cat-food shaker [sic] such :-)) and Bummer of a Birthmark.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Car!... Oh, I can't even pick my top 10! Larson was too good to name a favorite child... Cheers, -T
Lucina @ 5:32 -- the "DSW" clue works if and ONLY if one buys ladies' shoes. If one is differently shod, no clue. (Plus, it turns out the closest store is in Vallejo, CA, probably the last place I'd go to buy ladies' shoes -- or anything else, for that matter -- so the 'saw-it-on-the-way-to-work' subconsciousness idea doesn't click either.)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I remember Bummer of a Birthmark for sure!
ReplyDeleteMicheal - That was me on the 'saw-it-on-the-way-to-work' subconsciousness'. For reals, that was on my way to work. It was near the Barnes & Nobles (hope!) and the a Williams-Sonoma (double hope!), so I thought DSW was a competitor in the market.
ReplyDeleteAlas, a girly shoe-shop :-(
I just finished reading Crenshaw's op ed in today's H.Chron. Recommended reading, left & right (and out-rage'd).
BillG - we could go on all night re: Far Side. Good stuff, that.
Cheers, OverPoster,-T