Theme: Monthly Planner - as the reveal nicely explains:
38A. Today, e.g. ... or what is found in 12 puzzle answers: FIRST OF THE MONTH
It's that time of the year when I usually buy a new planner, and those JAN, FEB, MAR tabs down the pages are pristine and speak to a new year of possibilities. Jeffrey comes up with a great way to represent all twelve of those with each entry's "first" letters being the month abbreviation, and in calendar order to boot. So, here they are, one after the other:
1A. Keys sound: JANGLE
7A. Running a temperature: FEBRILE
16A. Coldplay lead singer Chris __: MARTIN. He seems to be a polarizing character, I've had quite a few people tell me that they like Coldplay, but don't like Chris. I'm not sure why, I've looked through the interwebs for pictures of him being mean to puppies or stories of him buying an island and evicting all the residents, but I came up blank. Anyway, great music and here's an example. Maybe a tad over-produced, but I don't think that's his fault.
21A. Home Depot employee garb: APRON
25A. Yucatán native: MAYAN
28A. Deep-sixes: JUNKS. I tried SINKS before I saw the theme.
45A. Minty cocktail: JULEP. The Derby, "My Old Kentucky Home", hats and juleps.
47A. Drilling tool: AUGER
51A. Calyx part: SEPAL
61A. Rating at a pump: OCTANE
66A. Catholic devotions: NOVENAS. Decades, Novenas, Forty Days, it always seems a long, long process being a Catholic. How long was Moses wandering around the desert?
67A. Irregular paper edge: DECKLE. I know a different DECKLE, and this is my favorite - it's the point cut of the brisket - the piece that you don't get if you buy brisket in the market, you get the flat cut. There's a reason why you don't get the deckle - it's the tastiest, fattiest cut and it goes to the deli. Solution? Buy the entire brisket and brine/corn/pastrami it yourself. If you want to get technical with your butcher, you want the IMPS cut "119", not the "120". I'm not sure how I know that.
Wow, that was a lot of theme! Congratulations to Jeffrey for a great construction job on this. I always avoid the theme reveal if I glance down and see where it is, and this one I had no clue that I was filling in month abbreviations from top to bottom. Well concealed, and a happy moment when the grid-spanner had me looking.
Let's see what else (what else is left?!!).
Across:
14. Become too old to qualify: AGE OUT
15. Howled: ULULATED. Awesome word. Usually funeral-related, as in howling in grief.
17. Lamp fuel: KEROSENE
18. Dude: BRO
19. Quarter: AREA
22. Italian thing: COSA. Many people know it from the Mafia-related "cosa nostra", literally "our thing/"
24. Farm enclosure: STY
31. "Wayward Pines" actress Melissa __: LEO. Lovely crosses, thank you. I'd no clue - I've never seen the show, I had no idea about the actress. My favorite LEO works works in production at CBS. Here's to you, Victoria Leo.
34. Cooler in an apt. window: A/C UNIT
36. Bridal bio word: NÉE
37. Suggestion: HINT
41. Having a fancy for: INTO
42. On the __ vive: QUI. "Who lives?" or "Who goes there?" To be on the alert.
43. Just this far: TO HERE
44. Govt. prosecutors: AG'S. Attorneys General, don't get the "S" in the wrong place or I'll be coming for you to give you a lesson in pluralization.
48. Usher family's creator: POE. The Ushers of the collapsing house. I once wondered why they didn't get some engineers in to shore up the foundations, then realized that underpinning wouldn't solve the family problems.
49. Long-dist. weapon: I.C.B.M. Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, if I recall correctly.
54. Lyft rival: UBER. I'd call this one the other way around, but point taken.
56. Mix with a horse: TOM
59. Vex: IRRITATE
64. Suffered greatly, in Sussex: AGONISED. Take out a Z, slip in an S unnoticed, and suddenly you're 6,000 miles and a common language apart. Now, there are the counties of Sussex and Essex, there's a historical county of Wessex, mostly now Hampshire and Dorset, and there is Middlesex, which may or may not be a county any more, although it still has a cricket team. But nowhere is there a Northsex, or a Norsex, or anything relating to being north and a county. There's south - Sussex - West - Wessex - East - Essex - in the middle - Middlesex - but the atlas is silent on anything north of London. "Here be demons" - or William Wallace, although he was 300 miles further north.
65. Hard-to-take complainer: WHINER. We all know one.
Down:
1. Doorway side: JAMB. We had a whole discussion about stairway parts a while ago. What's the top of the doorframe called? I forget.
2. Bio lab gel: AGAR
3. Archie's boss, in detective fiction: NERO. Archie Goodwin, the narrator in the Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout. I sound awfully clued up about these people. 15 seconds on Wikipedia makes anyone an expert. Thank you, crosses.
4. Understood: GOT
5. That guy, to Guy: LUI. Guy Maupassant springs to mind. "Him" in French.
6. Old lab burners: ETNAS. We called 'em Bunsen burners back in the old country. Much the same thing, I'm sure.
7. Bug with bounce: FLEA
8. U.K. locale: EUR. Some Brexiters will disagree, but geography doesn't lie.
9. Swells up: BLOATS
10. Hoarse: RASPY
11. Ancient Roman road: ITER. Ancient or not, they're still in use. One of the scariest rides I've taken was from Rome to Fiumicino Airport in a taxi when I made the mistake of telling the driver I was running late for a flight home. He channeled his Formula 1 Driver alter ego. This was in a Fiat about the size of my suitcase.
12. Car-collecting comedian: LENO. He's a common sight around here. Most notably driving his Stanley Steamer - you don't see many of those.
13. Early venue for nudists?: EDEN
15. Luau strings: UKE
20. British rule in India: RAJ
22. Childish response to a dare: CAN SO!
23. "Will do!": ON IT!
24. Sport invented by hunters: SKEET
25. Criminal group: MAFIA. See "cosa nostra" earlier.
26. Delivering excellent service to?: ACING. Tennis, the perfect serve. "THWOK!". Pause. "Fifteen Love".
27. Asian tents: YURTS
29. Loosen, as a bow: UNTIE
30. O.T. book: NEH. Handy things, those bilbical abbreviations.
31. Where to claim miscellaneous credits on a W-4 form: LINE G. Ach - I'd have turned somersaults to avoid this one - yes, it's a thing, yes, it's accurate, but where, ever is this used in common parlance? "Did you file in time?
"Yes, but that LINE G was troublesome
"On your W-4? You should have called me
"I will, next year, thanks".
Said no-one, ever.
32. __ nous: ENTRE
33. Survey choice: OTHER
35. Culinary topper: TOQUE. I think these are quietly going the way of cream sauces on everything and cheese on lobster.
37. Hardly stimulating: HO HUM. "Meh." I do love how the language continues to evolve. I love "meh.
39. Ending with hand or fist: -FUL
40. Utah city with a Biblical name: MOAB
45. Baseball's __ Joe: JOLTIN' Congratulations to the Red Sox for a very well-deserved World Series win. One day, Dodger Stadium will be the venue when the home team clinches. Joe DiMaggio, of course, was the clue/answer.
46. Dessert slice: PIE
48. "These are the times that try men's souls" writer: PAINE
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Those of you who can, please go out and vote on Tuesday.
50. Lots of people: CROWD
51. Phillips of "I, Claudius": SIAN
52. Logician's word: ERGO. "Therefore". There is a logical fallacy, "Post hoc ergo propter hoc", or "after that, then this happened" which is a handy way to cloud causation with correlation. I refer you to my comment on 48A.
53. B.C. or P.E.I.: PROV. Oh Canada! The provinces of British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.
54. Sport-__: vehicles: UTES
55. Garden area: BED
56. Propane container: TANK
57. Turow memoir: ONE L. Harvard Law.
58. Just: MERE
60. Simile words: AS A
62. Guerrilla Guevara: CHE. Let's have the iconic portrait, just for fun:
I did dig a little deeper - this was the original photograph taken by Alberto Korda in Havana in 1960 - I'm not sure I've ever seen the original:
63. Little jerk: TIC
Ok, muchachos, I think that's me done for the week. Here's the grid! I hope you survived tricks, treats and candy overload.
Steve
38A. Today, e.g. ... or what is found in 12 puzzle answers: FIRST OF THE MONTH
It's that time of the year when I usually buy a new planner, and those JAN, FEB, MAR tabs down the pages are pristine and speak to a new year of possibilities. Jeffrey comes up with a great way to represent all twelve of those with each entry's "first" letters being the month abbreviation, and in calendar order to boot. So, here they are, one after the other:
1A. Keys sound: JANGLE
7A. Running a temperature: FEBRILE
16A. Coldplay lead singer Chris __: MARTIN. He seems to be a polarizing character, I've had quite a few people tell me that they like Coldplay, but don't like Chris. I'm not sure why, I've looked through the interwebs for pictures of him being mean to puppies or stories of him buying an island and evicting all the residents, but I came up blank. Anyway, great music and here's an example. Maybe a tad over-produced, but I don't think that's his fault.
21A. Home Depot employee garb: APRON
25A. Yucatán native: MAYAN
28A. Deep-sixes: JUNKS. I tried SINKS before I saw the theme.
45A. Minty cocktail: JULEP. The Derby, "My Old Kentucky Home", hats and juleps.
47A. Drilling tool: AUGER
51A. Calyx part: SEPAL
61A. Rating at a pump: OCTANE
66A. Catholic devotions: NOVENAS. Decades, Novenas, Forty Days, it always seems a long, long process being a Catholic. How long was Moses wandering around the desert?
67A. Irregular paper edge: DECKLE. I know a different DECKLE, and this is my favorite - it's the point cut of the brisket - the piece that you don't get if you buy brisket in the market, you get the flat cut. There's a reason why you don't get the deckle - it's the tastiest, fattiest cut and it goes to the deli. Solution? Buy the entire brisket and brine/corn/pastrami it yourself. If you want to get technical with your butcher, you want the IMPS cut "119", not the "120". I'm not sure how I know that.
Wow, that was a lot of theme! Congratulations to Jeffrey for a great construction job on this. I always avoid the theme reveal if I glance down and see where it is, and this one I had no clue that I was filling in month abbreviations from top to bottom. Well concealed, and a happy moment when the grid-spanner had me looking.
Let's see what else (what else is left?!!).
Across:
14. Become too old to qualify: AGE OUT
15. Howled: ULULATED. Awesome word. Usually funeral-related, as in howling in grief.
17. Lamp fuel: KEROSENE
18. Dude: BRO
19. Quarter: AREA
22. Italian thing: COSA. Many people know it from the Mafia-related "cosa nostra", literally "our thing/"
24. Farm enclosure: STY
31. "Wayward Pines" actress Melissa __: LEO. Lovely crosses, thank you. I'd no clue - I've never seen the show, I had no idea about the actress. My favorite LEO works works in production at CBS. Here's to you, Victoria Leo.
34. Cooler in an apt. window: A/C UNIT
36. Bridal bio word: NÉE
37. Suggestion: HINT
41. Having a fancy for: INTO
42. On the __ vive: QUI. "Who lives?" or "Who goes there?" To be on the alert.
43. Just this far: TO HERE
44. Govt. prosecutors: AG'S. Attorneys General, don't get the "S" in the wrong place or I'll be coming for you to give you a lesson in pluralization.
48. Usher family's creator: POE. The Ushers of the collapsing house. I once wondered why they didn't get some engineers in to shore up the foundations, then realized that underpinning wouldn't solve the family problems.
49. Long-dist. weapon: I.C.B.M. Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, if I recall correctly.
54. Lyft rival: UBER. I'd call this one the other way around, but point taken.
56. Mix with a horse: TOM
59. Vex: IRRITATE
64. Suffered greatly, in Sussex: AGONISED. Take out a Z, slip in an S unnoticed, and suddenly you're 6,000 miles and a common language apart. Now, there are the counties of Sussex and Essex, there's a historical county of Wessex, mostly now Hampshire and Dorset, and there is Middlesex, which may or may not be a county any more, although it still has a cricket team. But nowhere is there a Northsex, or a Norsex, or anything relating to being north and a county. There's south - Sussex - West - Wessex - East - Essex - in the middle - Middlesex - but the atlas is silent on anything north of London. "Here be demons" - or William Wallace, although he was 300 miles further north.
65. Hard-to-take complainer: WHINER. We all know one.
Down:
1. Doorway side: JAMB. We had a whole discussion about stairway parts a while ago. What's the top of the doorframe called? I forget.
2. Bio lab gel: AGAR
3. Archie's boss, in detective fiction: NERO. Archie Goodwin, the narrator in the Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout. I sound awfully clued up about these people. 15 seconds on Wikipedia makes anyone an expert. Thank you, crosses.
4. Understood: GOT
5. That guy, to Guy: LUI. Guy Maupassant springs to mind. "Him" in French.
6. Old lab burners: ETNAS. We called 'em Bunsen burners back in the old country. Much the same thing, I'm sure.
7. Bug with bounce: FLEA
8. U.K. locale: EUR. Some Brexiters will disagree, but geography doesn't lie.
9. Swells up: BLOATS
10. Hoarse: RASPY
11. Ancient Roman road: ITER. Ancient or not, they're still in use. One of the scariest rides I've taken was from Rome to Fiumicino Airport in a taxi when I made the mistake of telling the driver I was running late for a flight home. He channeled his Formula 1 Driver alter ego. This was in a Fiat about the size of my suitcase.
12. Car-collecting comedian: LENO. He's a common sight around here. Most notably driving his Stanley Steamer - you don't see many of those.
13. Early venue for nudists?: EDEN
15. Luau strings: UKE
20. British rule in India: RAJ
22. Childish response to a dare: CAN SO!
23. "Will do!": ON IT!
24. Sport invented by hunters: SKEET
25. Criminal group: MAFIA. See "cosa nostra" earlier.
26. Delivering excellent service to?: ACING. Tennis, the perfect serve. "THWOK!". Pause. "Fifteen Love".
27. Asian tents: YURTS
29. Loosen, as a bow: UNTIE
30. O.T. book: NEH. Handy things, those bilbical abbreviations.
31. Where to claim miscellaneous credits on a W-4 form: LINE G. Ach - I'd have turned somersaults to avoid this one - yes, it's a thing, yes, it's accurate, but where, ever is this used in common parlance? "Did you file in time?
"Yes, but that LINE G was troublesome
"On your W-4? You should have called me
"I will, next year, thanks".
Said no-one, ever.
32. __ nous: ENTRE
33. Survey choice: OTHER
35. Culinary topper: TOQUE. I think these are quietly going the way of cream sauces on everything and cheese on lobster.
37. Hardly stimulating: HO HUM. "Meh." I do love how the language continues to evolve. I love "meh.
39. Ending with hand or fist: -FUL
40. Utah city with a Biblical name: MOAB
45. Baseball's __ Joe: JOLTIN' Congratulations to the Red Sox for a very well-deserved World Series win. One day, Dodger Stadium will be the venue when the home team clinches. Joe DiMaggio, of course, was the clue/answer.
46. Dessert slice: PIE
48. "These are the times that try men's souls" writer: PAINE
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
Those of you who can, please go out and vote on Tuesday.
50. Lots of people: CROWD
51. Phillips of "I, Claudius": SIAN
52. Logician's word: ERGO. "Therefore". There is a logical fallacy, "Post hoc ergo propter hoc", or "after that, then this happened" which is a handy way to cloud causation with correlation. I refer you to my comment on 48A.
53. B.C. or P.E.I.: PROV. Oh Canada! The provinces of British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.
54. Sport-__: vehicles: UTES
55. Garden area: BED
56. Propane container: TANK
57. Turow memoir: ONE L. Harvard Law.
58. Just: MERE
60. Simile words: AS A
62. Guerrilla Guevara: CHE. Let's have the iconic portrait, just for fun:
I did dig a little deeper - this was the original photograph taken by Alberto Korda in Havana in 1960 - I'm not sure I've ever seen the original:
63. Little jerk: TIC
Ok, muchachos, I think that's me done for the week. Here's the grid! I hope you survived tricks, treats and candy overload.
Steve
60 comments:
Irish Miss ~
From yesterday:
My wife got an Instant Pot about 6 months ago - and she has treated us to many wonderful meals, both simple and complex, ever since.
The quick cooking time inspired her to try recipes she would normally find too long and too labor-intensive to prepare.
There are three of us. We routinely have two servings each and enough food for at least two nights.
I don't see why this wouldn't be good for you - unless you don't want left-overs.
Happy Cooking!
~ OMK
Rabbit Rabbit
Hello Puzzlers -
Simply superb. J. Wex, nicely done.
Morning Steve, another enjoyable write-up. Hand up for Bunsen burners, that’s what we had in school; I never heard of an Etna until it appeared in a crossword.
Hi Y'all! Well done and fun, Jeffrey, thanks. Thanks, Steve, for another learning experience: never knew what Essex, etc. meant.
Got the theme as soon as I read the reveal with MAYan in close proximity. Really neat progression.
Last to fill: "Q" in TOQUE/QUI. I thought the "culinary topper" would be edible. Never heard of "On the QUI VIVE".
Did not know: LUI, ETNAS, ITER, MARTIN, LEO.
My 45, Baseball's Joe was JumpIN, then JiveIN before JOLTIN' my memory.
Only saw two little trick-or-treaters with their dad walking on by as I closed the curtains last night. I haven't served candy but once in 10 years and that was to the next door neighbors. I quit the year after some enterprising thieves were sending their kids for candy and once the door was open, doing a home invasion. Sorta spoiled the fun somehow.
Happy All Saints' Day!
Good morning!
Stumbled here and there with TO date and Tug, but things pretty well. Don't believe I've ever heard of DECKLE before. TTP and I will accept the CSO at 56a. Didn't go looking for the months until after I'd finished, and there they were -- in order and symmetrically placed. Very cool, JW. Enjoyed the tour, Steve. If some folks have their way, Middlesex (among others) will be unrecognized on this side of the pond.
LINE G: Most folks sign their W-4 the first day on the job, and never see one again. It's the form that sets the tax withholding from your paycheck.
JULEP: Foster's My Old Kentucky Home is definitely non-pc today. Can you hear the melody without hearing the words in your head?
Thanks J W and Steve .
Fairly easy for thursday with some head scratching at FEBRILE, YURTS,SIAN, and ONEL.
Che
Rabbit, rabbit.
I didn’t know ULULATED until I got BLOAT.
I also stumbled over RAJ and JUNKED. Needed red letter-help for those.
There are many YURTS in south Phillips County in Montana that you can rent. Only $2000/night/person with minimum 2 nights and 2 persons required. A tour of the prairie comes with. I’ll stay away from the politics involved.
During the Cold War there were 200 ICBMs in the area where I now live. I’m 40 miles from Malmstrom Air Base. Now there are only 50. When I was an elementary kid, we had civil defense training in school. Those missiles were considered a prime target.
We had a bomb shelter in our basement as did most of my classmates. I have read that some public shelters still have supplies for 100s of people. When the fear went away, they were just left sitting.
Have a good day, everyone.
Montana
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for a fine puzzle. thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
Canadian-Eh: Thank you very much for your commentary on medicines, half-lives, etc. I was happy to add to my already slim knowledge on that subject.
The puzzle was excellent. I never got the theme until I came here. I worked it last night via cruciverb and when I finished I crashed.
What a clever theme. Great job!
Some tough words: FEBRILE, ULULATED, COSA, SEPAL, DECKLE, NOVENAS, LINE G, SIAN, JOLTIN. Many perps to the rescue.
Well, I walked the dog, came here, now off to my crossing guard stint for the morning. Then to church for an hour of instruction. Then cleaning up leaves, then to Lodge for the evening. That pretty much shoots my day.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
ULULATED: A word that evokes Tarzan (or Carol Burnett).
Wow! Quite the theme - JW outdid himself this time!
WEES about the Bunsen Burners - ETNA is a lab burner when they want a variation on the Italian volcano clue.
Some recess of my brain got "on the QUI vive" before the TOQUE. I had an English teacher who had a unit on these kind of phrases - and somewhere it decided to stick!
TOQUE for a chef's hat I only learned now that there are all these cooking shows- I don't watch them at home, but they are usually on the screens at the Y when I'm on the treadmill.
Thanks Steve!
FIW, missing ENTRa x AUGaR. Bad spellers of he world (29d) UNTIE! Also erased pen for STY, incan for MAYAN, das for AGS, thrng (huh?) for CROWD. Many unknowns, including not knowing that LEO can be a last name (says the man whose first name is James).
Keys? I also have spurs that jingle jangle jingle. Don't tell DW that I told you.
I wanted Archie McNally, the hero/fop in the Lawrence Sanders series.
I'll bet Picard has pix and stories from MOAB, as in 24 hours of mountain biking.
D/O, if you watch the Derby you know that they now sing "tis summer the PEOPLE are gay". I wonder how long the "gay" part will remain.
FLN: Wikiwak, maybe next Field Day you could get someone to go to Nunavut and work him or her to finish up the series. BTW, I had an Army surplus ARC5 receiver and a home brew 80 meter transmitter for most of my ham career, so it can be fun even on the cheap.
FLN: IM I was thinking that Instant Pot must be a souvenir from Colorado to which you just add water.
Thanks to JeffWech for the fun puzzle. I was fortunate to have only one bad cell. And thanks to Steve for another fine review. Congrats for sneaking in a FOOD! reference.
Rabbit 🐰 , Rabbit 🐇 !
FIWrong. Didn't know LEO, and was pretty certain of either eTHER or iTHER, didn't even think of OTHER. (The intersection of LUi + MARTiN could have been another natick but I WAGed it correctly.) Beside those, DECKLE was a new word to me.
There once was a Mormon from MOAB
Who wouldn't take Uber, Lyft, nor cab.
He said that if the bus
Doesn't go there, I must
Assume that there's no where-there there to be had!
ULULATED is a word to love,
AGONISED is a thought to dispose of.
JANGLE, as a sound,
Needs a jingle around.
KEROSENE is a fuel to find the OCTANE of.
[It's about 15.]
Good Morning, Steve and friends. This was a fun and easy Thursday puzzle. I easily got the FIRST OF THE MONTH, so knew that I was looking for the abbreviations of the 12 months.
I knew Melissa LEO from the 1990s show, Homicide: Life on the Street. Since she was the only Melissa I knew with a 3-letter surname, I guessed she must be the actress in Waywood Pines.
My favorite clue was Early Venue for Nudists = EDEN. A nice fresh clue for Eden.
I learned of TOQUEs from doing the crossword puzzles.
I learned that a Quarter is not a Coin, but an AREA.
Steve, it is a Lintel that is the piece on the top of a doorway.
Fun to see two of the Canadian Provinces today after the brief discussion yesterday.
QOD: The only currency I value is the coin of the spirit. ~ Kinky Friedman (b. Nov. 1, 1944)
{A, B+.}
A super, cleverly designed puzzle, definitely not HO HUM, that I somehow was able to finish only because Jeffrey's 38A fill- FIRST OF THE MONTH- allowed the correct fill of DECKLE and TIC. Everybody I know calls jerks "dicks". Maybe a TICK could describe a moocher.
I've never heard of DECKLE, FEBRILE, ULULATED, Archie or his boss NERO, LEO, Melissa LEO, SIAN Phillips, or Chris MARTIN.
As for the reveal, I also try to avoid filling them until the end. But it saved the day for me. AGS should be ASG, as in Attorney-S General; they're attorneys, not generals. Atten-hut.
Perps to the rescue today and in spite of all the unknowns I finished it faster than the normal Thursday puzzle.
Wanted ROOM AC, DAS, and JINGLE before AC UNIT, AGS, and JANGLE took over. LINE-G, well it fit because I certainly don't know the lines on every IRS form.
FLEA, TOQUE, and Tom MIX clues were great. I was thinking CRUST for the topper but the other two had me stumped.
Trick or treaters- it's hard to describe how many our subdivision of 435 houses had. We hire SIX police, allow no cars on the street, and request that everybody turn out the lights at 8:00 pm. I gave out over 500 pieces of candy by 7:30 and there were at least 100 people in the street in front of my house when I ran out.
And to all the anonymous posters, don't be a WHINER.
What a wonderful theme! I forgot to look for it when I completed the puzzle so I missed out on the fun.So easy to see. PROV, a CSO to Canadian Eh! Mix with a horse was clever, hi Tom.
Very easy. The only new fill for me was SIAN, but it had solid perps.
I love the word ululate, accurate onomatopoeia. Wolves and lions ulululate, too.
The name, COSA Nostra, the crime syndicate, means our thing.
I have read quite a few historical novels about the RAJ in India.
Febrile can also mean "having or showing a great deal of nervous excitement or energy." as in "these febrile days before the election."
Steve, exactly my thoughts when I saw Paine's "these are the times that try men's souls." VOTE!!
I have never made a NOVENA but have often heard of it. I thought only the Roman Catholic church had this tradition. LIU. I see Lutherans and Anglicans do too. But in my many years in both of these protestant, but liturgical denominations, I have not seen it.
I knew deckle edged paper, "the irregular, untrimmed edge of handmade paper, often used for ornamental effect in fine books and stationery, now often produced artificially on machine-made paper." The paper looks frayed on the edges. In Japan we made hand made paper that had deckle edges. LIU, I learned that deckle is also a frame.
Big Easy, "AGS should be ASG, as in Attorney-S General; they're attorneys, not generals. Atten-hut." This just proves that the English language is frequently neither logical, nor consistent. My Japanese teacher always claimed that the Japanese language is entirely logical and consistent. When we pointed out anomalies, she'd say, "That's just the way it is." Robert Burns:"O wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as ithers see us!"
Of course, the illogical in Japanese is far far less than in English.
,
Musings
-Two proper names crossing foreign words and other “far out” words were probably necessary for such a clever puzzle. Got ‘em all! Natick get thee behind me
-Me too Steve, I skip the reveal when solving but I kept looking for 12 ONES after I was done. Dang trees hid the forest!
-KEROSENE heaters made laying bricks in JAN. possible but I went home nauseous
-Gene Autry sang, “I got spurs that jingle, JANGLE, jingle…”
-Of our 275 trick or treaters last night, it appeared that some of them had AGED OUT but I’m not Scrooge
-A very famous “CAN SO”
-Most candidates are fine people but OTHER looks attractive after all the negative ads this time of year. Does he/she really want grandma to die?
Good Morning:
The "Wizard of Word Play" strikes again! I loved this puzzle for two reasons: 1) The theme was a total surprise, and clever, to boot, and 2) It sparkled with gems like Toque, Ululate, Deckle, Qui (Vive), Jangle, Febrile, etc. The placement of Jan and Dec was perfect. Unknowns were Sian, Liu, and Qui, as clued. I had no w/os except for misspelling Joltin Joe with an E. As mentioned, CSOs to CanadianEh and DO and TTP, our two Toms. I knew Deckle from ordering a book that was described as having Deckle pages.
Thanks so much, Jeffrey W, for a stunning start to November and thanks, Steve, for the pleasant tour, particularly the Essex, Sussex, Wessex explanation.
Jinx @ 7:57 ~ I loved Archie McNally, he and his red (?) Miata and his Maker's Mark, not to mention his impeccable wardrobe. I think Lemonade was also an Archie fan. It took me a moment or two to catch your Colorado/Instant Pot Bon mot.
BigEasy @ 8:18 ~ Jerks=Tics are in the verb form. (You probably knew that. 😈 )
FLN
OMK, thanks for the detailed and helpful information on the Instant Pot. I'm not a fan of most leftovers so that's certainly a factor for me. I believe there are 3, 6, and 8 quart sizes. Perhaps the smallest would fit my needs. What size is yours? Does the pot come with a recipe book?
Hahtoolah, have you never heard of the French Quarter?
I don't know tic as a verb. I was thinking of tic as a sudden meaningless movement due to nerves, such as finger tapping, throat clearing, JERKing the head or other body part.
D-O: Very funny! Coin was just the first thing that popped into my head, and it fit in the spaces. News reports say there is flooding in Houston. Is it bad? I am headed to H-town tomorrow.
Hahtoolah, flooding was restricted to those areas that always flood in heavy rains. The rain has moved offshore, so you should have no problems tomorrow.
Good morning. Thank you Jeffrey and thank you Steve.
Got the months but failed in the solve. No TADA. Thought his name was MARTeN and LUe seemd to be ok for the unknown LUI.
Corrections were start OF THE MONTH, DAs to AGS and TO date. No idea on LEO either, but perps were solid.
My first definition of DECKLE would be as Steve indicated. The point cut of the brisket. When you buy prepackaged corned beef here, you cab buy either the point or the flat. Both COSTCO and Walmart here sell whole brisket, with a trimmed fat cap. Probably better for pastrami, which I have never made.
In Texas, I shop at HEB and the local IGA and buy the brisket "packer cut" with a substantial fat cap. Both the whole and the packer trimmed briskets have the deckle, or point, but the packer cut - with a little home trimming - is better for low and slow cooking on the smoker. I'm talking about a 14 to 16 pound brisket smoked and cooked for 16 hours. The point gets cut off for burnt ends and/or chopped beef sandwiches, and the flat is used for sliced beef sandwiches or dinner plates with smoked sausage, potato salad, slaw, beans and the like. Texas BBQ. Because it's such a large cut of meat, the process is reserved for parties with a large crowd. My smoker is large enough that I can smoke three packer cut briskets at the same time. Or twelve or so racks of ribs.
BILL G from last night. I think he just doesn't care for Halloween and being bothered. I don't understand why he goes through the charade.
Pinch, Pinch ...
WOW what a wonderful theme! Thank you Jeffery.
Cheers!
Good puzzle by Jeff. I didn't get the really neat theme until I read Steve's write-up. I enjoyed both the puzzle and the tour through the grid.
I had a few disconnects today. I wanted FEVERISH before FEBRILE, but it didn't fit. I had BUD before BRO, DAS before AGS and PEN before STY. ULULATED and DECKLE were unknowns that perps filled in ultimately.
We made up 59 bags of candy for the Ghosts and Goblins last night and have 7 bags left, so it looks like we had 52 kids show up. This was a pretty good number considering the rain that kept falling during the two hour window allowed for trick or treating. They mostly all said thank you when they got their treats.
Have a great day everyone.
Hand up for DAS. While Attorneys General is correct, the initial is treated as a singular noun so I think AGS is ok
Spent Halloween at my daughter’s new house where she got about 100 trick-or-treaters. Escape from my own house where the number has climbed to over 350 in recent years, most not from the neighborhood.
Hooray for me! I finished a JW puzzle! Of course, it’s only Thursday and it took all morning. And although I technically won, you still beat me up pretty bad, Jeffrey. To many write-overs to list.
But lots to love. TOQUE was a delicious deception, Mix with a horse probably dates us, and those bouncing FLEAs will remain in my mind. Thanks, Jeffrey, for all the fun.
Owen, thanks for the chuckles!
Got the solve despite the new to me DECKLE...not bad for a Thursday.
The neighbor putting out the empty candy container is fooling no one and cementing his status as “that guy”.
Happy November!
I love Jeffrey Wechsler puzzles even though Thursdays are always already a bit tough for me. But I got quite a lot of this before I had to start cheating, and thought it was clever and fun. But when I came to the blog and saw Steve's noting all the months of the year, it blew my mind. Brilliant puzzle, Jeffrey! I had trouble with many of the same words as Abejo, except for NOVENAS. When I was a young, my family went to a NOVENA at church once a week--I think on Friday nights. So I remembered that. Like Hahtoolah, I found the clue for EDEN the most clever and funny. So thanks again, Jeffrey and Steve.
Well, I had a basket of Snickers ready for the trick-or-treaters and not a single one showed up. Not one. Next year I'm going to turn the front lights off and keep the house as dark as possible. But it makes me sad--I used to love Halloween as a kid.
Hope you all had a good evening, and have a great day, everybody.
Got the theme reveal quickly. But I was amazingly slow to figure out the theme answers! Duh! That helped with some of the answers.
But the SE was just impossible for me. Wanted something to do with DECOUPE for torn paper. Anyone else? No idea about TUROW or his memoir. And then there was the horse thing. I am sorry if I am dense, but I have no idea what that meant.
Can someone please explain Mix with a horse and TOM?
Here is Mrs Robinson which is how I know JOLTIN Joe
Jinx not sure if I have MOAB photos, but thanks for asking!
But here are some photos of us in UTAH!
YURTS are no longer just in Asia.
Here are YURTS near the start of one of my favorite trails here.
I have lots of photos in the PROV of BC. I have not been to PEI, but my best friend when I first moved to Maryland was from there. He had the French name Michel which always had to be explained is not the girl's name Michelle. He now goes by "Micky".
One of my closest friends in grad school was a real MAYAN from Yucatan. I would have to dig to see if I have a photo. I had very little money for film then. He disappeared after that and I was sad to find out he died before I got to see him again.
From yesterday:
AnonT yes, I got to meet Richard Feynman. I have a story. But I have to run now!
Hello, everyone.
Some new word as others have said. Didn't 'get' the full theme until coming here, but Jeff does not disappoint. I vaguely remember ULULATE from a few years ago.
Some French today: - TOQUE, QUI, NEE, LUI, ENTRE
DECKLE - From the OHG meaning "cover". I grew up with DECKEL meaning cover or lid. When my Mom would comment on how certain couples ever got together, she would say: "Jede Putt find sien Deckel". (Every pot finds its cover.)
Such a masterful puzzle from Mr. Wechsler. Steve's informative and humorous write-up was icing on the cake. Thank you both. The connection between Mix and TOM went right over my head until reading here; sheesh. Today I have learned what a DECKLE is.
I guess there is, or was, a Norfolk and a Suffolk, and dukes thereof, several hundred years ago. No Weffolk, Eafolk, or Middlefolk, though. Then there's that fictional Midsommer place where so many Murders occur.
Happy first day of the month to you all.
Picard, TOM MIX was the first movie cowboy star. Most of his films were silent.
I was instantly on Jeffrey's wave length and finished quickly! Thank you, JW and Steve. I like your remarkably frank admissions.
Not much time to comment or read except to say I really enjoyed the solve and discovering the months embedded in there; not I, but Steve.
I'm off to a wedding in Fallbrook, CA.
Until next week!
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
Although he died six years before I was born, TOM MIX was an easy fill for me due to the Saturday matinees at the neighborhood theatre of my youth. One of my cowboy heroes along with Rocky Lane, Lash LaRue, Hopalong Cassidy and others.
Hopalong Cassidy had a black hat back in the days before the "good guys wear white hats" rule was established. Of course, he did have a white Topper.
Damn!
I forgot to say Rabbit Rabbit.
I guess I'm doomed for another month. Gotta wait till December!
Irish M ~
I'm not sure of the quart size. My wife isn't home this week (visiting kin in PA) but I'll check w/ her by email. Meanwhile, I looked at the pot and it says "Ultra mini" on the settings panel, so I guess that means the smallest.
And yes, it does come with a recipe book.
Misty ~
Sorry about your Halloween disappointment. But join the club. We haven't had any tricksters for years. I kept the lights off, but I'm not sure it was necessary. Maybe there's a good side to this. The last time we had any customers, there was a band of 20-year olds, university students with barely any attempt at costumes.
It felt like a hold-up.
Today's pzl : Ta ~DA! Definitely one of Mr. Wechsler's easiest, while also being very entertaining with his FIRST OF THE MONTH theme.
Great to see a word like ULULATED.
I remember the first time I ever noticed authentic ululation. No, it wasn't in the Tarzan movies or Carol Burnett. It was a film that had a scene in North Africa in WWII when a victorious Allied general (was it Patton?) was greeted by a CROWD of ululating tribeswomen. The sound was thrilling and chilling all at once.
Afterward, I practiced and practiced until I got it down. My version requires a throat bray filtered past my curved tongue flapping against the sides of my cheeks.
~ OMK
____________
DR: A 3-way on the mirror side. Offering an opaque anagram (maybe a sly reference to ululation?) -
"TONGUE TAKE"
I should have also commented, as oc4beach did, about how polite all of the children were last night.
So many were just so cute. Keep thinking about the one little ballerina that said thank you, and then asked if she could also have candy for her little brother.
Also, the three girls who each did a cartwheel as they ran across the lawn. DW recognized one of the three as the daughter of the young woman that works at the golf course restaurant.
Funny, as I was having a candy bar yesterday afternoon, the song One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx came on the radio. More like One Piece.
Spitzboov, your deckel comment made me recall bierdeckel. I had a fair collection of them when I returned from Germany.
YR @ 9:34 ~ You are absolutely correct. I "spoke" without thinking it through. Sorry, BE.
OMK @ 1:37 ~ Thanks for the additional info.
I had nary a trick or treater but I didn't expect any, either.
Thanks for the Halloween sympathy, Ol'Man Keith.
I had some internet trick-or-treaters. Several nieces and my DLW sent pictures of their kids in costume. I have only one grandchild young enough to still want to dress up. He had a skeleton costume, but he's not Red (as per yesterday). DIL posed him in front of the black fireplace pit and all you could see were the white bones. Very effective. One niece and her daughter were dressed in short white outfits with wings. I'm still not sure whether they, being very religious, were angels or fairies. I guess the angelic is needed to overthrow the devils.
IM: I did a double-take on your request for a little pot.
I had 5 circled WAGS, which panned out. (Thank you Perps.)
But had to resort to looking up names to finish.
I put in "Martin" @ 16a and thought the perp "LUI" looked strange.
Then, I just went with it thinking, well if I don't understand it,
it must be French... (but why is Guy French?)
Febrile? Ululated? Normally I wouldn't give a flea, but it fit, so I left it.
However, after finishing the whole puzzle, I had no idea what the theme clue was
referring to. 1st of the Month? I had no idea until I saw the Blog.
Impressive constructing I must say!
I always liked abbreviating names, but I have to hand it to Jinx
for the reference "Jeffwech!"
(sounds like sandwich...)
Yes, I would love to get my teeth around another Jeffwech puzzler! Yessir!
(Spoken like this "Guy" here...)
(and no, he's not French!!)
(I don't think...)
Enjoyed "Mix with a horse." I remember Tom Mix from those
pocket knives every kid had to have to go with their
six gun.
(very unPC these days, you'd think you were giving the kid a Nuclear Weapon or something...)
PK @ 2:16 ~ Not to worry, Dewar's is my only vice. 😇
Guy Maupassant is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story. He delighted in clever plotting, and served as a model for Somerset Maugham and O. Henry in this respect. Guy in French is pronounced to rhyme with key. It means guide.
English translation of Guy's Original Short Stories.
Link text
Guy (Fawkes) of the Gun Powder Rebellion is pronounced to rhyme with die, which is what he did. "Weakened by torture and aided by the hangman, Fawkes began to climb the ladder to the noose, but either through jumping to his death or climbing too high so the rope was incorrectly set, he managed to avoid the agony of the latter part of his execution by breaking his neck." -Wikipedia
The Fifth of November
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England's overthrow.
But, by God's providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A stick and a stake
For King James's sake!
If you won't give me one,
I'll take two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!
FEVERED>FEBRILE
Montana: You got BLOAT? Sounds uncomfortable.
I wondered what the connection between a cartoon caveman and an architect was. Then I saw the periods. Canadian PROVinces
CED: Father Mulcahey used his TOM Mix pocket knife to perform an emergency field tracheotomy.
WEES
FIR
Brilliant puzzle and exposition!
FWIW, we had 34 T-o-T-ers last night, from about 6:50 to 8:39-ish. I'm not sure how it's measured (kilotons??_), but we have some spare candy -- just bring the winch, and it's all yours!
Rabbit, Rabbit.
Good morning Cornerites and Cornerettes. Oops, it is now evening. My PC battery suddenly ran dry, and shut me down. My desktop had icons across the bottom. Now they are up the right side. How do I switch them back?
Thank you Mr. Jeffrey Wechsler for this enjoyable Thursday CW. I had to BAIL at the Natick of 67 A - DECK"L"E, and 57 D - ONE"L". Otherwise it was easy for Thursday.
Thank you Steve for your Calendar review. I did not see the months.
Ðave
Irish M ~
My wife reports that her little pot is the 3 quart one, and her larger one is 6 quarts. She usually works with the larger, so you may want the smaller if you aren't into leftovers.
In any case, you can always cut back proportionately on your ingredients to make smaller meals.
As for recipes, she says Yes, they come with booklets, but she gets most of her delicious ideas from a web site that specializes in ideas for the Instant Pots. She sings the praises of this chef, Jeffrey, who presides at https://pressureluckcooking.com/.
(I'd be jealous of the guy, but I eat his food too - terrific!)
Again, good luck!
~ OMK
I hope you enjoy the global jack-o-lantern from last night.
Ðave
Greetings!
Thanks to J. W. and Steve!
Only problem was DECKLE. SIAN took a while to spell correctly.
Have a great day tomorrow!
@D4E4H (6:53): you could try rotating the PC 90 degrees—or lie on your side… :-P
Boy, I like JW puzzles. And Steve, I usually learn something from your expositions; today it was all the ****EXs.
Liked seeing TOM Mix and like others thought the cluing for EDEN was great. FEBRILE, ULULATED, OCTANE, KEROSENE (Steve, do you call it "paraffin"?) were great fill. CAN SO, TO HERE, and BRO, not so much but probably necessary to make the month abbreviations work out.
FIR but it did take more than one or two WAGs, which fortunately panned out.
Jinx, were you volunteering to make the trek northward next June? And I too had an ARC 5 receiver and also had the companion transmitter (modified for 40 meters) but can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. I was in my early years of high school at the time. These days I’m all solid state.
Thanks for the FIRST OF THE MONTH fun, Jeffrey and Steve.
I got the theme reveal and went back to fill some blank AREAs in the top.
Smiled to see the PROVs. Yes they are on opposite sides of the map we were discussing.
Of course, this Canadian does not think of chefs' hats for TOQUEs.
I wonder why I spell AGONISED the American way with a Z, but grimace over liters instead of litres,, and the missing U in color.
ULULATED on a Thursday. Wow. I think of wolf howls.
Abejo - you are welcome. I am retired but just had to chime in on drug resistance.
Picard - thanks for asking about Tom. I did not know about Tom Mix either.
Enjoy the evening.
Hi All!
Oh, I so needed the theme for all those $2.50-words and names [see: BigE's list]; 1/2 the puzzle would still be snowy otherwise.
Thanks JW for a very well executed theme (all months in order as Steve pointed out) and an ultimately doable (with a heavy dose of P&P) grid.
Steve great expo sprinkled with interesting information (eg. all the Xsexes counties) and dripping with wit.
TOM Mix(?) w/ a horse(?). Is that a brand of a mixer for a Tom Collins? Nope. LUI (look'd up it), I did.* Movie star from 1909 and 1935.
Um, yeah Swamp, I'd say it dates you :-)
I thought we only had to know Negri or Bara from the silents for xwords... Oy!
WOs: FLEe (Untie!), started writing carte [crap!] b/f MAFIA.
ESPs: See: BigEs & CED's lists ++French [sans ENTRE Nous - that, I know from RUSH.
Fav: I'm w/ Hahtoolah on the fresh EDEN clue
"Key's sound" was not cribbed from English drinking song. [think: Francis Scott, 1EA]
{B+, A}
TTP - now that's a smoker! Do you tow it to TX? (HINT, HINT)
I will second how polite all the kids were. One wee-one was parent-asked, "What do you say?", and the response was "Thank You." Mind you, that was before the wee-one said "Trick or Treat" or I gave her candy :-)
As for cute: I had a fairy princess and her coordinated friend, the unicorn, show.
C, Eh! - Thanks for starting the PROV conversation last night. That help'd the penny (slowly) drop. //I was on roy@3:12's wavelength thinking exactly the same.
Picard - I'd love to hear Feynman story. [Off blog if no one else says they do too]
OMK - Now that's a secret message in your DR!
D4 - they've taken Halloween too far... :-)
Cheers, -T
*I see D-O & xtulmkr answered this... When posting this late - I have to draft as I read or I'd never get done. :-)
D4E4H,
I am confused, you said your PC battery died.
Personal Computers are usually big, and plugged into the wall.
Are you sure you did not mean Laptop?
Personal Computers always have a mouse, making The Task Bar
a simple thing to move by pressing the left mouse button,
and dragging it to wherever you want it.
Laptops have a trackpad, more difficult to left click and drag,
but it should still be possible...
Just hold down the left button below the trackpad and swipe to
see if it moves it anywhere. Good luck!
Now, off to check Wiki about Guy Fawkes.
Yellowrocks intrigued me...
Oh, and the puzzle silly link? Real tough today.
Nothing I could really use, except maybe this one.
The caption reads:
Well, since he arrived on the first of the month, we are calling him Bill...
WikWak at 7:54 PM
- - I followed your advise, and ended up standing on my head.
CrossEyedDave at 9:38 PM
- - You are correct. I am using a laptop. Thanks to you, the task bar is once again at the bottom of the screen. Much grass!
Anonymous T at 9:14 PM
- - Not to worry, the Pacific is blue tonight once again.
Ðave
CED - I didn't need look up Guy Fawkes as he (and the mask) is now (since the mid-aughts) part of Hacker Culture [read all the way through for the irony]. #Lulz #Anon :-)
As for "Hacker Culture" - Jinx & WikWak are true hackers* w/ their hams... No script-kiddie s*** that.
Cheers, -T
*Def: passionate tinkerers who make things that wern't out of stuff they have - bending the rules a bit, if they have to, they guess. //apologizes to Red Green
Winding down w/ the funnies say...
CED - Your JULEP link* had this Alton Brown bit that foodies will love [and IM rethink the Skoch (of) Pot(?)]
Cheers, -T
*It took until unveiling the "masher" that I realized it was Alton :-)
I thought I lost this post. I had it in the wrong message string . Obviously very late . I just finished Wednesday btw . An excellent Halloween stumper. I'll visit those posts eventually.
Aaarrgghhhh!!! I had it in the clipboard and Lost it while editing .
I should never try to use this blog editor even for a few words .
WC
Post a Comment