I would reference I.C.E. since the IC replaces E, but that would end up being political. I think I may have exhausted the topic of blindness, but Jeffrey never seems to exhaust his library of wit. In another letter replacement version, he packs in 65 spaces of theme with a central grid-spanner. He uses cheater squares for the 14s, but the rest is just a nice puzzle. Such skill to include IS IT SO, CIERAS, RARE COIN, I'VE GOT TO, TENON SAW all of which are uncommon or brand new for the LAT and the fun word FLAMENCO. The cluing which apparently is too much for CED was fun throughout, so...
16A. Art class model, say?: STATIC EMPLOYEE (14). The STATE employee gets to stand still while being sketched. Some say the DMV employees stand still while waiting on you.
25A. Homeowner's extreme reaction to a hailstorm?: WINDOW PANIC (11). Here we all have hurricane-proof window PANES or shutters.
34A. Ancient Roman's suggestion to a sweat-drenched pal?: CHANGE YOUR TUNIC (15). I wonder if finding this grid spanner made JW change his TUNE?
46A. Where sick con victims seek help?: PATSY CLINIC (11). But do they play her hits over the loudspeaker?
59A. Stand-up invited to a holiday meal?: COMIC FOR DINNER (14). Look who is COMING for dinner? I understand most professionals do not like 'performing' for relatives. I am glad I am not a professional.
A really nice set of themers
1. City in which much of "Moonlight" is set: MIAMI. Academy Award winner; oops. LINK.
6. Lively display of stamps?: FLAMENCO.
14. Long range: ANDES. One of those clues CED spoke of, not far but an extended mountain range.
15. Valuable collectible: RARE COIN. This fill has been in the LAT twice before, introduced to us by Paul Coulter on a Friday I blogged HERE. That puzzle write-ups has two very interesting aspects; pictures of Lucina added by C.C. and the TONSURE of Buddhist monks which I participated in this trip.
18. Singer Jones: TOM.
19. Ashes not caused by fire: TREES. Another deceptive one, where we wanted fire and needed Fraxinus, English name ash, a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae.
20. Notable times: ERAS.
22. Genesis twin: ESAU. When your name is 4 letters and has three vowels, you will live on in xwords.
23. Volcanic rock: BASALT. This is a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a columnar structure. It is typically composed largely of plagioclase with pyroxene and olivine. The dictionary makes that so clear, right?
30. Calculating: SLY.
31. Lot unit: ACRE.
32. Sucker of sorts: LEECH. Not the victim, but THIS.
41. Wise guys, maybe: SAGES. Using 'guys' to lead you to mobsters, not smart people. If you notice it is clued as two words, and not as wiseguys, you will not fall in his trap.
42. Hotel worker: MAID.
43. Asian holiday: TET. As the celebration of the lunar new year, Tet is the most important holiday on the Vietnamese calendar.
50. Went from 50 to 40: SLOWED. Because lying about his/her age would not fit.
52. "Put __ on it!": A LID.
53. Bust size?: KILO. Stop looking for boobie, all we have here is a drug bust. Why do we use pounds/ounces for most things but 'keys' for heroin and cocaine?
54. Flynn of film: ERROL. He is back; no buckling a swash today.
56. Attorney's org.: ABA. American Bar Association. A CSO to Susan and others.
63. "It's my duty": I'VE GOT TO. If you must, you must.
64. Really irk: EAT AT.
65. Cutting tool for making joints: TENON SAW. This full name appeared only once, in 2005, in the LAT. It has never been used in an NYT.
66. Works on a batter: STIRS. No baseball, but cooking. Sorry CED.
Down:
1. It's often rigged: MAST. Another fun clue, right CED?
2. Fascinated by: IN TO.
3. Biblical exile: ADAM. It is so easy to put in CAIN and be wrong. JW! And a mini-clecho 22D. Delightful places: EDENS.
4. Came across: MET.
5. "Can this be true?": IS IT SO? A challenging parse.
6. Clear, as a schedule slot: FREE UP.
7. Fabric with a glint: LAMÉ. You do not get the accent in the clue making it hard to see this fabric with interwoven gold or silver threads.
8. Some dadaist works: ARPS.
9. Brooks with lines: MEL. Not bubbling streams but a shout out to this awesome PUZZLE.
10. Green prefix: ECO.
11. British poet Alfred: NOYES.
12. '80s-'90s Olds models: CIERAS.
13. Score early in the set, maybe: ONE ALL. Tennis anyone?
17. Bird crop: CRAW. Anything about this puzzle stick in your...?
21. Muddy enclosure: STY.
23. Stuttgart suds: BIER. Beer by any other name...German 1.
24. Bank holding: Abbr.: ACCT. Cking or sving?
25. WWII female: WAC. Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the United States Army. The WAC was disbanded in 1978, and all units were integrated with male units.
26. Gigi : je :: Greta : __: ICH. German 2.
27. Org. with frequent firings: NRA. National Rifle Association. Too political.
28. See 57-Down: A LOSS. 57D. With 28-Down, persevere despite hardship: BEAR. Did you write an essay in school about the cross-eyed bear?
29. Fresh, to Franz: NEU. German 3.
33. Like a rainforest: HUMID.
35. Show awe: GAPE.
36. Quaint "Yikes!": EGAD.
37. Equivalent of OTOH: YET. In didactic discourse, perhaps.
38. Photographer Goldin: NAN. Nancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer. Her work often explores LGBT bodies, moments of intimacy, the HIV crisis, and the opioid epidemic. I had to post her photograph she titled "Lemons Never Forget"
39. Sundial marking: III. Another use of Roman numerals to fill difficult places.
40. Health org. with HQ in Atlanta: CDC. What happened to the "P"; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
43. "Naughty!": TSK. Generally in pairs.
44. Draw out: ELICIT.
45. Queen's "Somebody __": TO LOVE.
47. Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary: YARROW. Yarrow co-wrote one of the group's greatest hits, "Puff, the Magic Dragon"
48. Lump of earth: CLOD. Or some of the people I knew in high school.
49. Easter display: LILIES. Lilium longiflorum, often called the Easter lily, is a plant endemic to both Taiwan and Ryukyu Islands.
51. Many suffragists: WOMEN. Hmm, yes women led the movement for women to vote.
54. Young newts: EFTS.
55. "The Godfather" composer Nino: ROTA. He wrote 171 MOVIE THEMES, including Godfather I and Godfather II which won him an Academy Awards each time for Best Original Score. He worked mostly on foreign films, and many for Fellini. These included Fellini's Romeo and Juliet where this Shakespeare quote came from. 60D. "Can __ forward when my heart is here?": Romeo: I GO. Act 2, Scene 1
ROMEO:
Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out.
56. Opposition member: ANTI.
58. Liberal follower?: ARTS. JW will go to any degree to confound and amuse.
61. Fool: CON.
62. D.C. ballplayer: NAT. Will Bryce Harper remain a Washington National?
Another Friday, another great creation from Jeffrey and kinds of things to speak about; I await your comments, critiques and comedy. Be good and see you next week GWATCDR, Lemonade out.
70 comments:
A FLAMENCO dancer from MIAMI
Thought his shoes exceptionally clammy.
When he shook them about,
Two caimen fell out,
And a Disney-world plushie of Bambi!
A RARE COIN dealer from the ANDES
Gave out chocolate coins as candies.
But he cried "Oy gevalt!"
When he saw that the gelt
Were wrapped in real gold origamis!
{A, A-.}
FIRight.
Ashes not caused by fire: CIGAR > TREES.
Misread 22a as Gemini twin, but couldn't remember Castor or Pollux until perps made it moot.
When I was a kid, soldiers was a pretend game we played, with our toy guns, and dirt CLODS made great grenades, the way they burst when they hit the ground (or sometimes another kid)!
Not feeling up to snuff, but improving, slowly.
Hello Puzzlers -
Up early for the final prep stage - looking forward to being done with this.
Another finely crafted J. Wex, lots of consistent themage plus the perfectly placed grid-spanner. Paused at the Oldsmobile clue, couldn’t recall the car right away. Flamenco came as a surprise!
Last time we saw Errol Flynn, I was motivated to see some of his old films for the first time. I started with Captain Blood (1935). I can assure you a good many swashes got buckled.
Morning Lemon, I confess I don’t understand the title “Lemons Never Forget”. Perhaps there’s more than can be seen in the photo.
Couldn't suss that FLAMENCO! (Didn't know lame and could have sworn that Olds was spelled with an 'S'!) After I cooled off, I realized this really was excellently clued. As was a lot of this puzzle.
Good Morning, Lemon and friends. This was a toughie! Once I figured out that we were exchanging the "e" for "ic", the rest fell into place ~ with the exception of the FLAMENCO. Great clue for that, however!
My favorite clue was the Bust Size = KILO.
I needed a perp or two to determine if the Genesis twin was ESAU or Abel.
I recently saw Bohemian Rhapsody. It is a wonderful film about Queen and Freddie Mercury and had lots of their music.
QOD: Give the people a new word and they think they have a new fact. ~ Willa Cather ( Dec. 7, 1873 ~ Apr. 24, 1947)
Good morning to ONE ALL. Typical Friday toughie.
The NE was giving me fits due to a brain freeze and I couldn't think of FREE with UP in place. ALERO wouldn't work because I knew BASALT was correct and it was either ONE or TWO ALL. Olds CIERAS- I don't even remember them. I was clueless about the 'stamps' clue until the very end. With the NW filled and STAT in place I kept thinking STATELY----- and the E to IC change was yet to be discovered. When it was on the PANE to PANIC, I was expecting the IC to be at the end of the fill-wrong.
46A clue with 'con' and 61D answer-CON...rare editor's mistake; or maybe not. But Jeffrey didn't 'fool' me today. Just a few proper names filled by perps- YARROW, NOYES, NAN. & MIAMI.
TENON I knew but didn't know of a TENON SAW.
Have a good weekend.
Lots of crosswordese made this doable. Once I got caught with ALEROS for CIERAS, I solved for the crosswordese which made the longer, more complex fill easier. JW is one of my favorite constructors. I've got my eye on you.
Good morning!
"...a date which will live in infamy..."
Got the theme at WINDOW PANIC. This one wasn't ICk-E at all. I was so proud of myself that I knew SEN for that D.C. ballplayer. D'oh! Changed my SAIL to a MAST, and it was done. Quick'n'easy. Thanx, Jeffrey and Lemonade.
STATIC EMPLOYEE: They've got 'em at the Chase Bank. I've closed my accounts, but still have a safe deposit box there. There's a waiting list for people who want to open an account, get a loan, order more checks, or access the SD box. I take a book, because it's usually 30-45 minutes to get to the top of the list. Why does someone who has a photo ID and the SD Box key need a PIN to get access to the box? America wants to know...well, at least I do.
TENON SAW: The matching mortise is made with a drill and chisel. Picky work.
YARROW: PBS has a new old show about PP&M at the Newport News Folk Festival for their BFM (beg for money) drives. Interesting video, but absolutely horrible sound.
Good luck, Dudley. You're past the worst of it. The actual colonoscopy is a sNAP.
Hahtoolah opens a door for a discussion which may be too much like religion. I doubt anyone else contemplated Cain and Abel as twins. The original language in Hebrew is (like much of the Torah) not precise. If you are interested you can read this ARTICLE . There is a Midrash (a legend) that there were also twin sisters born to Adam and Eve. It is all fun for those who study.
I know Jeffrey reads the blog, and maybe he can let us know if the clue for 61D was changed and that created the duplicate use of con in a clue and a fill. OTOH, these things are not uncommon either here or in the NYT so maybe the editors just don't think this matters anymore.
NE corner last to fall. Had to cheat and look up British poets. After Noyes all fell into place.
Didn’t mean to cross the religious line. It was just stream of consciousness.
Thanks JW and. Lemonade 714
Difficult but preserverence paid off.
FIR on a Friday is a satisfying start to the weekend.
Caught the theme at WINDOW PANIC.
Changed “Mortiser” to TENON SAW and went on from there.
Changed “Omegas” to CIERAS and “Ages” to ERAS.
A little messy but readable :-/
Cheers
Good morning everyone.
Treated to a JW puzzle this morning. His puzzles force me to reach as far as I can reach.
Got the theme with CHANGE YOUR TUNIC, and was able to pre-fill most of COMIC FOR DINNER.Only hiccup was I had AleroS before CIERAS. I had forgotten about them and I had to LIU. RARE COIN and FLAMENCO seemed pretty firm.
Favorite fill was for bust size - KILO.
3 easy German fills helped things along.
ICH - L. German ik, Dutch ik.
NEU - Same as English 'new'. L. German nee, Dutch nieuw. When my relatives would visit and pronounce "New York", it would come out something like 'Nef Jork". The nuances of English 'w' pronunciation are difficult for a German speaker.
Good morning. Thank you Jeffrey and thank you Lemonade.
No sweat. There was enough low hanging fruit to have a solid foothold in every section of today's puzzle. Liked the clever misdirections.
The C and O in FLAMENCO were my last fill. The TADA played. Then I stared at the clue and answer trying to figure out why it fit. It bugs me to no end when I do not understand why an answer fits a clue. I suppose if I had gone to Arthur Murray's school or watched DWTS it wouldn't have taken as long to deduce.
The only other problem was caused by throwing in lilacs instead of LILIES. Didn't last too long. I get those types of errors when I don't read the clue.
Desper-otto, I inferred that Dudley's doctor has him doing the two part prep, and if so, this morning is part two. Hadn't heard of that before this fall until my buddy told me that's what his doctor believes is the best method, and what he had to do. It pretty much dictates an afternoon procedure.
Zipped through yesterday, so today was payback. Got the theme, but still had trouble figuring out the long answers. Finally slogged through it, but it took a while.
FIR, really liked the theme, Jeffrey, which helped the solve. Lemon, interesting info as always.
A few scattered perps gave me FLAMENCO. I laughed out loud. I dredged up NOYES from the depths of my unconscious, after staring at ---ES a while. This use of ROTA was fresh, but unfamiliar.
CAIN before ADAM, the first exile. SEN before NAT. ALEROS before CIERAS for a very brief time.
The NW corner held me up until I accepted ANDES and MAST as correct. That confirmed my guess for STATIC. The the rest fell into place when M---I suggested Moon over Miami. Afterwards I wondered, "What took you?"as my kids used to say.
I loved PP&M. So many good one, Blowin' in the Wind, Marvelous Toy, etc. Do you know of the song about a dad who had no time to play with his son. Then the son grows up and has no time to visit his old dad?
Dudley, it will soon be all over. Horrible prep. I was up and running all night the night before, so I took a pillow and a book and lay on the bathroom floor the rest of the night.
Owen, Flamenco dancer A+.
Good Morning.
Terrific puzzle, Jeff. Thanks. My faves were the clues for FLAMENCO and KILO.
Another fine detailed write up, Lemonade. Thank you.
Ah, yes, Ms. Streep's films you mentioned as faves yesterday are also on my list. That's okay TTP, you can like The Bridges of Madison County.
The sun is out, it's cold and that makes for a beautiful winter day. Have a fine one.
YR, I believe you mean Harry Chapin's
"Cat's In The Cradle"
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, Dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home, Dad
I don't know when, but we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home, Dad
I don't know when, but we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then
Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son
I don't know when, but we'll get together then, Dad
You know we'll have a good time then
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin' home son
I don't know when, but we'll get together then, Dad
We're gonna have a good time then
Gush! Gush! I can think of no words because Jeffrey has used them all up in this masterpiece of misdirection! Too many to list. FLEMNCO stamps. Ash TREES. Suckers, bust size. And on and on. Too much fun!! And I got them all after a while mornings work. Thanks, JW, for the Friday fun.
I also loved STY and SLY, BIER and BEAR.
Biblical exile held me up for a while. Neither Babylon nor Egypt would fit.
Hahtoolah and Lemon, I’m not sure we can avoid talking a bit about religion at this time of year when everything is all mixed together. That’s not the same as proselytizing.
Lemon, fascinating bit about the twin sisters. I always wondered where the wives for all those boys came from.
YR, hope your favorable news continues.
Owen A+, A+ !! Feel better soon.
Good Morning:
I started working on this late last night and was not having too much luck, but going back to it this morning with fresh eyes, everything fell into place quickly. My unknowns were Miami, as clued, Rota, Tenon saw, and Basalt, and my only w/o was Nat before Nan, which was a guess. My favorite themer was Change your tunic and my favorite C/A were Bust size=Kilo and Works on a batter=Stirs. Noticed two sub-themes: Neu, Ich, and Bier and Esau, Adam, Edens, and Lillies. Nice CSO to our two Toms. NRA appears for the second day in a row, clued differently, though.
Thanks, Jeffrey, for a challenging Friday and thanks, Lemony, for your always entertaining and enlightening review.
FLN (Posted this morning on yesterday's blog.)
jfromvt, whom might you be referring to, if I may ask?
Have a great day.
Quite a challenge, but definitely a fun one! Thought I might end up DNF in the north. Tricky clues indeed! FLAMENCO, ANDES, TREES and more! FIR!
I also wondered how CON came to be in a clue and in an answer.
So... Was there a deeper meaning to changing E to IC?
Here is a video I made of one of our FLAMENCO dances this year at our Fiesta celebration.
I have many other FLAMENCO photos and videos from Fiesta.
This Cheap Trick song Surrender makes reference to the WACs.
Here is that stanza:
Father says, "your mother's right, she's really up on things."
"before we married, mommy served in the WACs in the Philippines."
Now, I had heard the WACs recruited old maids for the war.
But mommy isn't one of those, I've known her all these years.
Joe FLYNN was a star in McHale's Navy. Apparently he was not related to ERROL Flynn.
From yesterday:
Did anyone else think of that IN and OUT scene that I linked to from A Clockwork Orange? A very disturbing movie. But that scene was quite funny!
Lemonade my last visit to Asia was 2014. Yes, Asians are getting taller than they used to be. It also depends on the country.
Here is a height chart by country.
My wife is about 5'6" which is a lot more than the Philippines average of 4'11". And still quite a bit taller than the average for other Asian countries. I am happy with women of all heights!
I read today that, for the first time ever, no surviving sailors of the tragedy on the USS Arizona will be attending today's celebration in Hawaii. I believe there are still 5 living survivors but they are unable to travel. It's sad to realize that we losing our living connection to The Greatest Generation. I spent the last two days watching the coverage of President Bush's funeral and I am lamenting the passing of an era. Without being political, I have been comparing GHWB's life service to the country to the last couple of Presidents. And it's not just public service, that generation seem to have different values when it comes to commitment, family, marriage, religion, humility and compassion.
I'm sure we will be just fine and we have some great values of our own like women's rights, concern for the environment and others but it sobering seeing the passing so obviously occurring right before our eyes.
Musings
-Jeff’s incredible/maddening cluing made for a fun exercise!
-It takes five STATE EMPLOYEES leaning on shovels to watch one work
-A RARE COIN staged negotiation (3:25)
-ASHES are falling to the Emerald Ash Beetle not flames
-BASALT rocks on the Moon have been formed by meteor impacts
-LEECHS were used on Grey’s Anatomy to stimulate blood flow
-We saw armies of MAIDS enter Disney properties as our buses left for the parks
-Whistle blowers practice the “I’VE GOT TO” imperative
-My clocks says it is currently X:XII am
-Have you climbed up to “NEUschwanstein (New Swanstone Castle)?
Thanks, Lemonade for Cat's in the Cradle. I love it.
Thanks, Picard, I liked the flamenco dancers and the talk of relative heights in different nations.
"I see," said the blind man, "I see," as he picked up his hammer and saw.
"You're a liar," said the mute, "You're a liar,"as he picked up his wheel and spoke.
"I hear," said the deaf man, "I hear," as he called to his dog and herd. (This one works better orally.)
There were a lot of A-HA moments in Jeffrey's Friday puzzle. The cluing in many cases was devilish, but once you filled it in correctly the V8 can head slap was appropriate. All-in-all it was enjoyable. Lemon added the reasoning behind some of the clues that even after being filled in didn't make sense at first. Like FLAMENCO.
I think I got hung up where most of the others did. The NW corner was the last to fall. But once I got the IC for E substitution the puzzle fell into place.
A few missteps along the way were cured by perps. At first I had SAIL vs MAST, ALEROS vs CIERAS, ANGER vs EATAT and MITERSAW vs TENONSAW. I had to wait for perps to fill in the Sundial Markings, because the answer was going to be III, VII or XII.
Dudley: It will soon be over if it isn't already.
Have a great day everyone.
Joy from Jeff on a Friday!
What a master craftsman is Mr. JW. It took me a while of dodging around to find a foothold but when I did, I loved it! CHANGEYOURTUNIC did it for me.
FLAMENCO, TREES, KILO were all superbly clued. I chuckled when FLAMENCO finally emerged as I was thinking of a postage stamp and couldn't shake it. I saw some fabulous FLAMENCO dancing in Spain.
Alfred NOYES took me way too long; I could only think of Alfred Lord Tennyson.
NAN Goldin is unfamiliar to me.
Thank you, Lemonade, for your always zesty commentary. I'll read the links later.
Owen, I'm glad to hear you are improving.
Have a fantastic day, everyone!
Ack!!!
I had circled all the fiendishly clever clues to discuss,
but Lemon beat me to it...
Not only that, I can't seem to find an appropriate "TILT" video
to describe this puzzle...
TTP @ 8:32,
"There was enough low hanging fruit to have a solid foothold."
Hmm, you must be taller than I am...
I started this puzzle, with begging.
"please Jeff, Please, gimme some gimme's..."
& he did,
TOM jones
Notable times=Eras
Gape,Egad,Wac,CDC, etc...
(I got 1d=mast)
(&2d = into)
(Oooh! and 14a long range - Andes. Yay Me!)
Everything else stuck in my 17down...
Me doing a regular puzzle...
Me doing a J. Weschler puzzle...
In particular, cutting tool for making joints, It's a Miter Box Dang it all!
(which got me into a whole todo with the X's)
Hmm, Yarrow does not end with an X.
Sundial marking, 3 letters, got to be some I's in there,
maybe an X? or a "V". Went with the simple III due to maid,
but had a devil of a time with 33d, like a rain forest, because I wanted "WET."
Got a little sidetracked by Patsy Cline, I only remember Rosemary Clooney.
Perhaps, Patsy should be revisited...
Aand, Finally,
Leeches!
The oneand only end all scene about leeches had to be Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen...
"When Will Weaton pulls his bloody hand from his pants, I think most men wince with sympathy."
Probably not Sheldon.
Anyway, I did not mention today "the day which will live in infamy" for a few reasons. The most obvious being that the puzzle and write-up does not invite any comment on that topic. The most compelling, the desire to avoid politics, and the most practical - I have nothing new to say. I am uncertain if any regular has much recollection; I know we have many who were alive then, but all little.
But your writing, here and on the jumble site, is definitely up to snuff. I give these two poems an A- and an A. I hope everyone goes to the jumble to read that great poem, too.
I love Jeffrey Wechsler puzzles and my heart sank a little when I realized it was Friday, and I usually don't do well with Friday puzzles. But I was determined to give this one my best shot, and working hard from the bottom on up, I ended up having to look up only one single word: FLAMENCO. I knew the clue would refer to a dance and not postage stamps but just couldn't come up with it. But I get everything else--on a Friday--Woohoo! Thank you, Jeffrey, for a very fun experience. I was so lucky that the foreign words were German, ICH, NEU, and BIER. The ashes had me puzzled for ages before I got the TREES. And I of course loved seeing a reference to Peter, Paul, and Mary, my favorites through youth and adulthood. I was so lucky to see a concert of theirs once--it was fabulous! So lots of happy memories as well as a great puzzle. And a helpful write-up, as always, Lemonade--many thanks to you too.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Well, that’s done, and the missus and I are putting a dent in my appetite in our favorite café.
TTP - you are so right. My doctor does the split dose roughly ten hours apart. I find it pretty easy to get two liters of glop down the hatch; the full four liters all at once sounds rough. I rose at 4:00 AM for the second batch, to get settled before a 10:00 appointment. It worked as planned.
I found a drinking straw made the stuff slightly less unpalatable.
Dudley, I suggest you finish denting your appetite and head home before you the flatulence attacks.
Where'd that "you" come from? Did "you" do it?
Hi Y'all! Tough but fun, thanks, Jeffrey! Another fun expo, Lemonade, made more poignant knowing about your eye troubles.
I liked the juxtaposition of COME FOR DINNER over I'VE GOT TO - EAT AT over STIRS.
Puzzled long over "Art class model" = STATIC EMPLOYEE because I didn't know the definition "fixed in a place or position". I LIU after finishing the puzzle. Always something to learn here.
DNK: NAN, YARROW, ROTA.
CED: really chuckle-worthy cartoons the last few days. Thanks!
Dudley, glad you survived your inner photography session. The two-part cleanse sounds better to me. Unfortunately, I had the all-in-one three of the four times. The last one was done by a newly certified gut doctor. She decided she wanted a barium enema/flouroscope (?) too which the nurse scheduled for two days after the colonoscopy and they were insisting I do another Go-lightly cleanse. This would have meant I had nothing to eat for five days so why cleanse? I have trouble keeping my blood sugar level up on the best of days. To complicate things, they used fentnyl which made me up-chuck the milk shake I drank to bring up the blood sugar after the procedure as well as two later small meals. I cancelled three scheduled barium sessions. Doctor was very angry about that despite my telling her I was non-functional -- could hardly get out of bed, dizzy, weak -- because of low blood sugar. That was 8 years ago and I still can't bring myself to go back even tho that Dr. is no longer there.
My apologies to the Anonymous who has a weak stomach. Apparently you haven't arrived at the age when all the indignities you've suffered haven't toughened you up enough to withstand health conversations.
Yellowrocks I am happy that you enjoyed the FLAMENCO video from our Fiesta celebration. In our small city there is a rivalry for some between Fiesta and Solstice. I enjoy each in its own way.
Yes, today we should remember that date that will live in infamy.
Here was my Pearl Harbor survivor friend Tom O'Reilly and his wife Lillian O'Reilly
Tom O'Reilly was a brave veteran of that terrible war. He went on to be a brilliant inventor and very successful businessman. And he never forgot the horrors of war. He worked to stop unnecessary wars as you can see in the photo.
DNF, looking up BAsALT x NOYEs. But no bad cells in this masterpiece! I'm pretty sure that DW puts BASALT in the tub before she soaks.
Hand up for erasing aleros for CIERAS, miter SAW for TENON SAW, IMO for YET, and for some reason jotted in "Somebody TOLd mE" instead of "TO LOVE". And I know Queen music!
FIR T, W Th, but was too tired to contribute. Pretty easy week.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Jeffrey and Lemonade.
My newspaper does not credit the constructor, but I might have guessed that this was a Wechsler workout!
I got the IC to E theme and noted that the preceding vowel changed from short to long sound except for TUNIC (was already long) and COMIC (stayed short).
But I DNFed at the cross of FLAMENCO and NOYES (unknown to me). I was parsing FLAME ?CO and could not see the fill. I see that I am not alone with this.
Hand up for thinking of Cain & Abel before ESAU - they were Genesis brothers but not twins. (Interesting comment on this Lemonade @6:52)
I saw the narc connection with Bust=KILO. Medical/drug references use metric weights & volumes.
I had just enough letters for 49D to make me think of Lilacs (spring but not necessarily Easter) until LILIES became apparent. (Hi TTP)
Filling ALA (Law) instead of ABA (Bar) made me "persevere" with a Lear instead of BEAR until corrected.
Yes HG, our Ash TREES are all being cut down due to disease too.
37D OTOH is texting shorthand and I answered with BTW. YET is not exactly "equivalent" IMHO as it is not texting.
I found a dupe with 61A Fool=CON and 46A "sick con victims". Same meaning of CON. (Oh I see Big Easy, Picard, & Lemonade already noted this.)
Wishing you all a good day.
Gordy @ 11:43,
You didn't click on my African Queen link?
(Remember, "CrossEyedDave" never links what you expect...:)
A well-wrought, witty Wechsler!
And I don't mind boasting of a successful conquest: "Ta ~DA!"
This was a pleasure throughout. I didn't catch onto the trick until my third theme fill. At least it helped me solve the remaining two (WINDOW PANIC & PATSY CLINIC).
Of the proper names, the most obscure was probably NOYES, but I recalled his throbbing poem, The Highwayman, from junior high English:
"... And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door."
Misty ~
Glad to see you did so well. It shouldn't be long before you'll be knocking out Friday (& Saturday) Wechslers like gangbusters!
Weird that FLAMENCO was your only problem. The perps started me on the right track for that one, but I guess it helped that I've always been a fan of the Spanish dance. I loved attending the Zarzuela in Madrid, where the top artistes from Spanish and European Flamenco troupes appear.
Let me recommend a film for you: Blood Wedding (Bodas de sangre), directed by Carlos Saura. It is a gripping version of Garcia Lorca's drama told by a Flamenco ensemble.
I recall one scene in particular (either in this film, or in Saura's Carmen), in which the choreographer is training young male dancers, using a wooden staff to pound out an intense rhythm for the men to pound the floor with their heels. The pace is fast, and it gets faster while the dance master is yelling, "Harder, harder! -
"What are you trying to do? - Save your kidneys?!"
I often think of that line as a serious test of artistic commitment.
~ OMK
Lucina, Swamp Cat, Irish Miss,and any whom I have omitted, thanks for your much appreciated support. More good news: Two of our local counselors came to see us late yesterday. The more experienced one had initiated a casual, informal talk with a member of the critical decision committee. She was told we had an excellent chance if our survey could pass muster. So this counselor and her protege helped us redo the survey, a chance not granted frequently. She assured us that the new survey was up to snuff and we had a great chance of being accepted. I am so thankful that we have many wonderful, caring, knowledgeable people who work with us. Only the faceless bureaucracy is a challenge.
Alan has been having panic attacks off and on for the last week or so. As I am more relaxed and I am careful to be sure he can't hear me discuss this, I think he will calm down and forget about it. I am more encouraged than I have been in quite a while. Thank you, my virtual family.
YR, that's wonderful news. My fingers and toes are crossed for you and Alan.
Yes, YR, that is wonderful, positive news. May it continue!
CED, I LOVE Patsy Cline! And I really enjoyed those two and their great arrangement. Thanks.
"I before E except after C."
Dunno... I guess it's just me but I've always thought that rule was a little weird.
Well....got the solve, despite the clueing. I mean, there’s tough and there is ridiculous. I must say, IMO, the themes were stretched thin....STATICEMPLOYEE ?....please.
Markovers....OPENUP/FREEUP, BARROW/YARROW, KID/CON, IBE/IGO. Not too many as most spaces were blank until filled.
On to Saturday.
I know that some people are freaked out about colonoscopies just like this Zits comic strip.
This isn't a LEECH, but after doing today's puzzle, I came across this article about a Seal and an Eel, which made me think of the LEECH.
Hi All!
I before E except after C unless it sounds A as in neighbor and weigh... or just plain weird. //And BillG beat me to it :-(
JW got me again. I was six-squares short (8d: -R-S, 11d: -O-ES, 13d: -I-RAS) and, after an hour+ noodling (while I did other things), finally looked up NOYES [Hi Bob Niles & Jinx!] which got me everything filled but FLAMENgO [sic] was still wrong. //Flamingos are also lively, stamping one foot at a time! :-)
JW: WEES - we love your puzzles. This one was no exception with the fun cluing and beautiful execution of a challenging gimmick.
Thanks Lem for the expo - love me some Queen!
WOs: Gasp b/f GAPE, I mixed up my EFT & EnTs again... [Hi Dudley!], MooCH b/f LEECH, also tried SATic(E) EMbLO before I realized Emblem had an E not and O (oh, and too few letters for squares).
ESPs: NAN, YARROW [D-O: I caught some of the PP&M on PBS - didn't help me nail this :-0]
Fav: c/a for KILO was LOL
Runner-up: Old-Testament xing of ESAU and EDENs //Swam beat me to it but I'll second: there's no proselytization in your post Hahtoolah, so I don't think it violates the NRR (no religion rule).
{A, A} //Keep getting stronger Mate.
YR - that is wonderful news about the survey mulligan; and having folks that know the system aid, all the better!
D-O: PBS knows who in the audience has money and targets the Baby Boomers w/ nostalgic music collections. I like the music but I'm not buying a 3 DVD set when the best of it is what I just watched :-) //full-disclosure: I'm a sustaining member* of Houston Public Media
Lem - why post just the lyrics when the song is so touching/haunting... YR - Cats in the Cradle [TTP - I can't make fun of you for Bridges of Madison County 'cuz I cry every time I hear this song...]
Picard - ibid. Go Live! Surrender live :-) //I love that song - third on my cycling "mix-tape" to really get the blood pumping
And no - didn't think of the scene but vaguely recall it - I've tried to block Clockwork Orange out of my psyche.
HeroForADad... My thoughts exactly re: service above self. Seeing it again, in today's win-at-all-cost climate, it will take one hell of a man or woman to pull it off.
Cheers, -T
*down-side: I never get any of the NPR SWAG!
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
Puzzle started slowly until i got the theme. Really picked up speed after that.
Our old friend EFTS. I like that little being.
I also liked BUST SIZE, KILO.
Tried MITER SAW before TENON SAW worked.
NEU was unknown. PERPS.
Dudley, you are past the worst. Enjoy the rest. Hope you get a good report.
Off to the Village Christmas party tonight. Tomorrow morning playin the band for the Children's Christmas Party.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I'VE GOT TO say III love love loved this puzzle. It ELICITed plenty of thinking and the solve was extremely satisfying. The clue for FLAMENCO was excellent.
I think SwampCat hit the nail on the head by observing that simply describing people or events that play a specific role in religion, such as the fact that Esau and Jacob were fraternal twins, or having EDEN as a crossword staple, is not the same as proselytizing. I think the "No religion" rule really means "No proselytizing." In the same vein, I think "No politics" means "Don't promote or denigrate a particular political opinion" and doesn't rule out stating historical or geographical facts, or even the describing of one's experience in solving the puzzle, such as when Hahtoolah said, "I needed a perp or two to determine if the Genesis twin was ESAU or Abel." In my opinion, and yes it is just my opinion, saying that is no "worse" than oc4beach saying "I had to wait for perps to fill in the Sundial Markings, because the answer was going to be III, VII or XII."
Good wishes to you all.
I did not mean to suggest that Susan was breaking the religion rule, only the concept of Cain and Able being twins would have opened up an area of religious debate and discussion
Nice puzzle today. YR is way ahead of me with the puns. Thanks for sharing those.
Great, fun puzzle, and expo, Lemon, but somehow I crashed and burned at the simplest clues - knew it had to be STIRS, but I already had in place BEA, so dumbly I thought - BE AT A Loss. Rats - how stupid. Fav as others: FLAMENCO (one of the first fills), KILO. Super cluing.
Anon-T - thanks for the Harry Chapin clip. I wiki-ed Harry Chapin and was surprised to see that his birthday is today (b. 1942). Died in a car wreck at 38 on his way to give a free concert in NY - very sad.
And since I have already broken my "don't feed the trolls rule"... anon at 12:41PM, what in the puzzle, or in my write up do you believe was the catalyst for people sharing their life experiences today? If I did inspire the discussion, great because it is important that all do what they can to monitor the change in the body as age marches on. The reality that much is not pretty is something we must all accept.
Picard, thank you for the height chart. I have a female friend from Bolivia and she is 5'7" buy only half Bolivian. Her mother is 5'2" or so. 4'8" is pretty dramatic as an average.
I also wrote to JW about the con/con conflict and his words where he neither confesses not throws Rich under the bus:
"If you check the LA Times puzzles closely, you’ll notice that editor Rich Norris seems to be rather forgiving with duplicating words in the grid with words in clues – which can sometimes be a great boon to a constructor. Personally, I try to avoid significant duplications – although one must consider the enormous amount of duplication that goes by unnoticed or uncommented upon when the repeats are small: common words like THE, AND, ONE, FOR, etc. I’ve often put a lot of effort into removing duplications, only to notice that Rich has written a new clue for an entry that creates a grid duplication of a significant word elsewhere. This is in no way a criticism of Rich, who is an editor of great skill and experience. In the end, it’s a matter of personal taste and choice – and remembering that a crossword puzzle is ultimately just a pleasant if sometimes challenging word game."
D-Otto - that part didn’t go according to plan. I left the café in considerable discomfort because the aforementioned attack did not arrive. Had me a little scared, to be honest.
PK - bad doctor! No biscuit!
For the benefit of the troll at 12:41, and for anyone else on the squeamish side, kindly bear in mind that there is a benefit in sharing a worry with those in a place to know something about it. Apparently crossword blogs tend to self-select for a predominantly senior audience, and that’s surely a group that can sympathize.
This aging stuff is tricky! Being the youngest in my family at 58, I have much to learn.
TX Ms - Didn't know that re: Chapin's birthday. That he died so young makes the song more poignant.
Lem - some of us did, at the prompt of troll years ago, LIU. You atoned, all is good, and Troll should return to his bridge.
CED - just so you know I actually do read you - I loves me some Bill the Cat :-)
Hahtoolah - I heard the seal/eel "snot" story on All Things Considered this afternoon. They said that the Monk Seal is also back on the rise [most pups produced this year (sans eel) is what I heard/understood]
Dudley - I'm also squeamish [now, there's a word w/ a vowel movement!] about this stuff.
However, reading about yours and others' experience helps to understanding the procedure (and prep) and makes it all a bit less scary [I'm 10 yrs your Jr. - the kid in Oc4's COMIC link :-)]
Cheers, -T
Lemon @ 1720 - - Thanks for that post. It's probably something that needs to be addressed from time to time. The last sentence reminds us: "In the end, it’s a matter of personal taste and choice – and remembering that a crossword puzzle is ultimately just a pleasant if sometimes challenging word game." We should strive to remember that before complaining too loudly.
Chuckle, chuckle
Thank you for the suggestion for the Flamenco dance film, Ol'Man Keith. I don't have any way of accessing movies at the moment, but I'll keep it in mind in case I ever figure out how to start up the program again. Your own experience watching the Flamenco scenes in the move sounds terrific!
Greetings!
Thanks to JW and Lemonade!
FIR. Trouble with NAN, TO LOVE, ROTA (spelled wrong first time) and TENON SAW.
Stopped raining here for now. My girlfriend near San Diego sent a picture of ice on the ground there.
Hope to see you tomorrow!
-T - the prevailing claim is that the prep is worse than the procedure, and that certainly matches my experience. Because I am scared witless of needles, I find the placement of the IV to be the worst part. It’s worth it, though, because the sedative works like magic.
YR@2:42,
Great news! Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Oh Boy, oh boy, oh boy! Santy Claus is going to be good to me...
I went to get Youngest and her friends from the Ballet and, on the way home, couldn't get back to my street due to 3+ feet of water in the road. We had to park at the pool house and slosh our way home. That's not why Santa will reward me though; youngest and I went back out w/ umbrellas and our implements of destruction to clean leaves from all the storm drains [sans one I couldn't find - I called the city for that] and now the streets aren't full of water.
Think I'll finally get that Red Ryder BB Gun? :-)
Cheers, -T
//for those that don’t know, Houston is to get between 6" and 12" of rain between now and 2p tomorrow.
Anon-T - I feel your pain. On last night's news, they even said check your curb for leaves obstructing storm drains!! Went out this afternoon to check out my street's storm drains - all clear except for a corner house at the end of my block - too many leaves had accumulated in their curb to rake and bag. (You do know if you don't bag, the leaves go back where they were by 3AM with this rain?). Before Harvey, I "armed" myself with a rake and bag and did street detail - neighbor two doors down called and asked WTH was I doing. In Oak Forest, they're building McMansions big time, legal easement to legal easement; new home construction behind me has about a 30-ft deep backyard. So, Tony, be thankful you live in the newer suburbs and not inner city. In my 44 years here, I've never had a worry about flooding, but now...
Jayce @ 4:29 has it right:
-- I think the "No religion" rule really means "No proselytizing." In the same vein, I think "No politics" means "Don't promote or denigrate a particular political opinion" and doesn't rule out stating historical or geographical facts, or even the describing of one's experience in solving the puzzle, such as when Hahtoolah said, "I needed a perp or two to determine if the Genesis twin was ESAU or Abel." --
I've got a 'Second!' to the motion.
Just to get rid of my FLN unpost:
In the land of the blind
The one eyed reign
Or so the SAGEs speak
But in the land of the one eyed men
The two eyes man is a freak
YR, that's Jim Croce. No it isn't. Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin. Great song that every prospective father needs to hear .
That clue could easily have been"Sick scam victims". Rich must have a second job
I think we need to listen to Little Boy Blue..
"This aging stuff is tricky!". But as we seniors say, "Think about the alternative". And I was at the VA discussing the C word. Per the VA I have spillover between that doctor and my regular Dr. And for one frightening moment she put the gloves on. *
Jayce, you have a knack for clarity.
WC
* Think that Anon was quesy before?
I'm with PVX/3:35. These clues were a real stretch and the results were worse than the usual groaners. But hey, it was a Friday puzzle.
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