Jeffrey returns with a combination of two of his specialties - add a letter and fun puns. "F" is the letter, which is added to a word beginning with "L." However, he really goes out there to get his sound-alike puns. Every one of the sound words is changed when the "F is added but retain the same sound. Consistent as is all of his work, the F is added to the last word in themers 1/4 and the first word in 2/3. 58 squares of theme fill, aided by four cheater squares, still left room for CULPRIT, HAPLESS, STACK UP, SYNDICS, ANOTHER'S and PURE EVIL. To solve one needs to open one's mind and close one's eyes to "hear" what he is saying. I loved FLORAL AND HARDY and BAGELS AND FLOCKS. YMMV. Let's see what he created.16A. Feature of frequently sheared sheep?: SHORT TERM FLEECE (15). Animals really do not care about a short term LEASE.
Across:
1. Court player: JESTER. So nice to see a J word to begin even if it made me think of basketball and tennis.
7. Accident-prone: HAPLESS. To me, they are not the same.
14. Fuel calculation: OCTANE. An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of the performance of an engine or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating (igniting).
15. Satanic attribute: PURE EVIL. I am not sure that is true, but that would be talking religion. Verboten.
18. "__ everything?": HOW'S.
19. Orioles' div.: AL EAST. Baseball.
20. Chill in the air: NIP. The Cambridge Dictionary says a nip in the air is a feeling of cold.
21. Miss equivalent, in some cases: MILE. A miss is as good as mile probably comes from the 17th century this piece from William Camden's Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine, 1614: An ynche in a misse is as good as an ell. An ell is a now obsolete English measure of length, equalling about 45 inches.
22. Player under Auerbach, familiarly: CELT. Nobody quite like RED AUERBACH
30. Namely: TO WIT. That is to say.
31. Turn heads during the audition: SHINE. Anyone else watching AGOT the Champions?
32. Whodunit revelation: CULPRIT. I love this word. Of course, I read 3 or 4 whodunits ever week.
35. Compare to, with "against": STACK UP.
39. Fathers: SIRES. Verb.
41. Twill fabric: CHINO. It is defined as a tough, twilled cotton cloth used for uniforms, sports clothes, etc. Usually chinos, trousers made of this material.
46. Pennywhistle sound: TOOT. They can be expensive.
47. Take __ empty stomach: ON AN.Part of your doctor's orders.
48. Coffee hour vessel: URN.
Do they earn when they hang at the urn?
49. Prohibit: ENJOIN. It stems from an injunction; English is so hard.
52. It might be used before sandpapering: RASP.
59. "__ Arms": Coldplay song: ANOTHER'S.
60. Brother of Isis: OSIRIS. LINK.
61. Business representatives: SYNDICS. One appointed to represent a corporation, university, or other organization in business transactions; a business agent. A Friday word?
62. Least courteous: RUDEST.
Down:
1. Kid: JOSH. The etymology "to make fun of, to banter," 1845 (intransitive), 1852 (transitive), American English; according to "Dictionary of American Slang," the earliest example is capitalized, hence it is probably from the familiar version of the proper name Joshua. Perhaps it was taken as a typical name of an old farmer
2. Repeat: ECHO.
3. Put away: STOW.
4. Works on a route: TARS. Not a paperboy but a worker on a roadway.
5. Rhinitis-treating MD: ENT. Ear Nose and Throat.
6. Target field: RETAIL.
7. "__ few bars and I'll play it for you": HUM A.
8. Pound sounds: ARFS.
9. Bearskin rug, e.g.: PELT.
10. "Fever" singer Peggy: LEE.
11. Tied: EVENED.
12. Mediterranean island: SICILY. Sicily (Italian: Sicilia [siˈtʃiːlja]; Sicilian: Sicilia) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions, in Southern Italy along with surrounding minor islands, officially referred to as Regione Siciliana.
13. Was out all night, maybe: SLEPT. Love the misdirection. Where were you? I was out all night!
15. Works on one's image, in a way: PREENS.
17. "First Lady of Song": ELLA. Ms. Fitzgerald.
21. 1999 Best Visual Effects Oscar winner, with "The": MATRIX.
22. December display: CRÈCHE. No religion but a model or tableau representing the scene of Jesus Christ's birth, displayed in homes or public places at Christmas.
23. Fraud watchdog org.: FTC. Federal Trade Commission.
24. Comedic Costello: LOU. Louis Francis Cristillo, professionally known as Lou Costello was an American actor, best known for his film comedy double act with straight man Bud Abbott. Costello had started as an athlete, before working in burlesque on Broadway, where he stood-in for Abbott’s partner who had failed to show up. Fun to see Lou along with Laurel and Hardy.
25. Big-eyed flier: OWL.
26. Excitedly tries to open, as a gift: RIPS AT.
27. Cabinet agcy. founded under Bush 43: DHS. Department of Homeland Security.
28. Broadway success: HIT.
29. Pain relief brand: ANACIN.
33. North Atl. country: IRE.
34. "Oedipus __" : P.D.Q. Bach western-themed parody: TEX. The long VERSION?
36. Many bar mitzvah guests: KIN.
37. Chapel Hill sch.: UNC. The University of North Carolina.
38. "MS. Found in a Bottle" author: POE. “MS. Found in a Bottle” The manuscript initially appeared in the October 19, 1833 edition of a Baltimore newspaper, the Saturday Visiter, as the winner of a literary contest for the best short tale. Edgar Allan Poe submitted six stories.
40. Jug band percussionist's tools: SPOONS. Couldn't find a link with spoons.
42. To fit every possible: FOR ANY. Shouldn't it be "possibility?"
43. Well-supplied with: LONG ON.
44. Oklahoma city: ENID.
45. Tried to be elected: RAN FOR.
46. Marching band section: TUBAS. Tuba or not tuba...
49. K-12: ELHI. Ooh, JW, we know it is glue.
50. Very short time pd.: NSEC. Pd? Full stop (or period, in American English), used in coded military communications.
51. Unsettles: JARS. Jarring I know.
52. Source of rage, briefly: ROID. Roid rage is a term given to people who act in a very aggressive or hostile manner after taking large doses, usually on a regular basis, of anabolic steroids, sometimes nicknamed as roids.
53. Farm unit: ACRE.
54. Downhill runners: SKIS.
55. Restrained "Hey!": PSST.
57. LAX stat: ETD.
58. SEC school: LSU. We finish with a CSO shout to all of our Louisiana cornerites.
I once again finish a month blogging a Wechsler masterpiece. I found it quite fun, and I hope you all did. I look forward to seeing your thoughts. Lemonade out.
70 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks to JW and Lemonade!
Only a few hangups: CELT, CHINO, ANOTHER’S, SYNDICS, MATRIX, DHS, UNC, POE and LSU. FIR.
Have a great day!
FIWrong. SYNDICS was an unknown word to me, so I had the cross as ETa instead of ETD.
The theme words took me a while, because I expected them to be, in either pre- or post- F, more connected. I did like that all "misspelled" their F-words from their pre-F version.
Yoric was a JESTER who seemed HAPLESS in his pranks.
His juggling and jokes amused, his riddles were first-ranks!
He posed a batch of conundrums
To be revealed when next day comes.
He was PURE EVIL to die that night -- sans answers, thanks!
Hector was an OWL, who didn't give a hoot!
If there was a mystery, he didn't care who doodit.
He had much more interest
In HOW the CULPRIT did it.
For that info he might give a TOOT!
There was a girl named Cecily
Who wanted to go visit SICILY.
She had problems, TO WIT,
Car break-down -- TOW IT.
A rope was used to pull it, sisal-ly!
{B, B-, B+.}
Love the wordplay! Syndics was an unknown. Slight nit with MATRIX. Made in 1999, but won Special Effects at 72nd or 2000 Academy Awards. None the less, fun and challenging! Have a great day!
Good morning!
Despite the dreaded ELHI, I really liked this one. I'm usually pretty good with "sounds like" themes, and this one was no exception. Zip, zip. Only two write-overs this morning: RIPS UP/AT, FOR ALL/ANY. Looked sideways at SYNDICS but decided it was probably related to syndicates or syndication. Nice one, Jeffrey. Exceptionally good expo, Lemonade.
TARS (route): I reluctantly gave up my M-o-W ROUTE this week. They had added a "customer" who receives a cardboard carton of frozen liquids. During tax season I sometimes have to delay my route by 2-3 hours. That carton can't be left outside in the sun for that long. I plan to resume volunteering with M-o-W once tax season is over.
Is it Friday? Is this a JW puzzle? Fastest JW solve ever, for any day I think. Started in the NE and completed the puzzle in slalom run fashion back to the NW and down the mountain. JW, you're still my favorite!
Is that you CC in the Universal Crossword today?
It came down to a flip of the coin this morning. Was it ETA or ETD because neither SYNAICS nor SYNDICS made any sense. I called Heads but it was Tails. DNF.
I had never heard of Oedipus TEX or ANOTHERS Arms but they were easy guessed.
ANACIN- I still remember their commercial when the older lady says: "Don't you think it needs a little salt?" The one with the headache: 'MOTHER PLEASE, I'D RATHER DO IT MYSELF"
Red Auerbach- I wonder if he could get away with lighting up a cigar during a game these days.
DNF, then FIW. Big trouble in San Diego started with my fill "FOR All". LIU the Coldplay song, which fixed FOR All but left the decision eta/etd. SYN_ICS seemed like it needed a vowel, so went with ETa. My only other erasure was CREsHE (UNTIE!).
How will a motor home driver get his car to the destination? He'll TOW IT.
Nice JeffWech puzzle. My favorite was "miss equivalent" for MILE. Slight nit is that octane isn't calculated, it's measured in the lab. Likewise another fine tour by Lemonade. Thanks to both gents.
Hi Gang -
Jeffrey on Friday -- Pretty much a wow!
I found a SPOONS video.
SYNDICS - total unknown.
STAND UP before STACK UP.. EVEN UP before EVENED.
Grandson JOSH turned 11 on Sunday.
On rather big nit, though. TUBAS are wrong. Nobody marches with a TUBA. The marching band equivalent instrument is the Sousaphone.
Please take note.
Happy weekend everyone.
Cool regards!
JzB
Good morning everyone.
Jeff delivered another very fine puzzle like Lemonade said. Had to do some probing to find workable ares which could expand. Got FLAX EXPERIENCE first and then got BAGEL AND FLOCKS. Found the SW difficult to parse but then refilled my coffee and got ANOTHERS and SYNDICS. Wamted stand-up before STACK UP seemed to accommodate CRECHE much better. And that finished it. Woo Hoo!
CHINO - Favored trousers to wear when Working Khaki was prescribed aboard ship.
Lineman, not only did C.C. create the UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD now edited by David Steinberg, but she also made today's NYT themeless. She is amazing!!!!!!!!!
Jinx and Jazz thank you for your information on Octane measurement and the difference between a TUBA and a SOUSAPHONE . These were not nitpicking but the reasonable correction to increase our knowledge. Since the clues may be Jeffrey's or Rich's I am not sure if they care about being corrected.
Good Morning:
Well, I'm delighted to see the Word Wizard is back to his trademark tricks! This was a fun pun-fest with Floral and Hardy being my favorite, particularly apropos in its cross of Lou (Costello). I went astray with Forbid/Enjoin, For One/Any, ETA/ETD, PTSD/Roid, and SRO/Hi. I needed perps for Osiris, Syndics, and Matrix. Clever theme and lots of fresh fill made for an enjoyable solve.
Thanks, Jeffrey W, for another Friday gem and thanks, Lemony, for the spot-on, savvy summary. (I share your partiality to the word Culprit.)
FLN
I thing Roger's comment about the unbuckled belt was referring to Rust Belt, which can be found at the entries of B(rus)hed beneath As Ye(t).
Have a great day.
Sorry, SRO/Hit.
CRECHE was a gimmie for me. I discovered the term a couple of years ago visiting my wife's family near Dayton, OH. Her alma mater, U of Dayton, holds a collection of thousands of them. Only a hundred or so were on display for the Christmas season. Very nice visit complete with snow and the holy day spirit.
Cant make a true blue link for the CRECHE collection but here's the url:
https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/c/creche-collection-of-the-marian-library/index.php
Forgot to add, if you visit the above link make sure to scroll down to the links of each contries' various contributions to the collection. Theres one for Oo and Sptiz might enjoy the Nutcracker suite.
Here is the LINK to which he refers.
Thanks anon
Anon @ 1020 - Interesting and artful creche examples.
Musings
-Me too, Big Easy, I was HAPLESS trying to guess A or D for SYN_ICS. I biffed it
-I wouldn’t put it past Jeffery to choose this Top Gun character for 1 Across
-Below zero wind chills make for a NIP in Nebraska air today
-Sports fans only :) - CELT not COUZ
-I watched the 1977 Murder On The Orient Express last night. There were 12 CULPRITS! Albert Finney’s Poirot just doesn’t STACK UP to David Suchet’s
-I’ll bet he could!
-Last week here we learned Peggy LEE co-wrote Manana
-“Who’s On First?” by Bud and LOU may be the funniest comedy bit ever
Anon, I showed your link to Oo and she knew all about the tableau and its place in Thai mythology. Thank you again. Another learning experience for me today from the readers.
Loved the theme. My first theme fills were FLOCKS and FLEECE. I thought maybe the theme was about sheep. Soon the light dawned, but this was no zip zip for me. The SW quarter was difficult. Like some others I never heard of SYNDICS. I didn't bother to debate A or D for ET- ETA or ETD. I thought there must be something bigger that was wrong. SYN-ICS ??? One bad cell.
Just now, I have found many archaic references to SYNDIC, but none in current journalism. The modern references seem to be outside the US.
"In France, syndics are appointed by the creditors of a bankrupt to manage the property.
The University of Cambridge has its syndics, who are chosen from the senate to transact special business, such as the regulation of fees, the framing of laws, etc."
SRO before HIT. STAND before STACK.
If Rich reads our blog, he would soon learn the difference between sousaphone and tube. It comes up often.
Each Christmas a priest in a nearby church displays her collection of hundreds of creches from all over the world, many of them made from native materials.
Thanks, Jeff and Lemon for a nice start to our Friday.
Sorry - difference between sousaphone and tuba. Darn autocorrect.
Almost too late to say good morning.
Thanks, Jeff, for some Friday fun. I enjoyed the wordplay. BAGELS AND FLOCKS opened everything for me. My hand up is also up for SYNDICS. Huh ?!?! Thanks for the help with that one, YR.
Another fine explication, Husker. Nicely done.
JazzB: I learned my sousaphone lesson long ago when I was taking my kids to the Northwestern U marching band practices every Wednesday afternoon. Great fun during the arsenic hour--and the students were so nice to the little kids, showing them their instruments.
Great start to the weekend. Stay very cozy. The sun's a red herring today.
Jeffrey is a JESTER! He does JOSH with us!
I liked the F substitutions and found it helped with the solve. All were fun but I especially liked FLORAL AND HARDY!
It took me a while to finally find an anchor and felt less HAPLESS when that happened. However, sports clues really JAR me so I left NLEAST and though RETNIL made no sense I ignored it. I did get CELT because of CRECHE. I have two of them; one was my mother's.
Like others, I didn't know SYNDICS so ETA gave me another wrong cell. I also misspelled ANACIN as anicin. Sigh.
However, I enjoyed the challenge so thank you, JW! And always thanks to Lemonade who clears the fog for me.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
Well, I started out with only ON AN, ENID, URN, and RUDEST on my first run-through with this puzzle. But the downs quickly helped me fill in the northeast, and then it all slowly but steadily filled in until I had to look up only three items in the end. Fun Friday puzzle, Jeffrey--many thanks! And lots of helpful information in your write-up, Lemonade.
Lots of clever clues and fills. FLORAL AND HARDY cracked me up, and I also laughed at SLEPT for 'was out all night.' Never heard of ROID RAGE--thank for explaining, Lemonade. But I have to admit I still don't understand what FLAX or LAX has to do with linens. Are they made out of flax?
Anyway, a great way to end the week. Have a good Friday, everybody!
Misty-Flax is a plant from which linen fabric is obtained; a lot of processing goes into making the fibers and later fabric. There are many who use the names flax and linen almost interchangeably whereas, they are two separate things though linen is a product obtained from the stem of the flax plant.
Yes, Misty, linen is made from the flax plant. Most commoners' clothes were probably linen or wool before increased cotton production in the 1800s.
Only the relation to syndicate made SYNDICs gettable.
I contend that Bud and LOU doing Who's on First? is the funniest six minutes in the movies ever.
Thunderstorm yesterday morning in SW Florida knocked out my condo's internet until today. Now I have to get back to yesterday's xword.
MY FAVORITE CRECHE
For those interested, I just added a picture of my grandson sent to me by my son today to the top of today's write-up. I couldn't resist.
Hi Y'all! Another fun punny masterpiece from Jeffrey. Thanks. Great expo, Lemony.
Like Lucina, I chuckled over the JESTER/JOSH prelude to the theme followed by ECHO. Many of the clues bounced around with the fun.
Hand up: never heard of SYNDICS, altho I'm proud to have WAGd "D".
Target field: Isn't there an arena or ball park called that? I was trying to think of a team name or city. Surprised when RETAIL perped in.
"Satanic attribute": a certain name fit in more ways than one, but politics is also verboten.
My DIL who had the cervical implant surgery last Friday was back at her desk job yesterday. Says her pain is minimal and managed by NSAIDS. She didn't want to take opioids very long. However, she is having a bad allergic reaction to the tape they used to close the incision under her chin rather than stitch it. Itching requires antihistamines. She doesn't dare remove the tape yet. Always something.
I had a strange incident last night. Sneezed in the middle of trying to swallow a pill and somehow sucked it down my wind pipe. Didn't want to leave it there to dissolve, so did a lot of bending over & coughing. Took a while, but it did pop out. Relieved.
A very pleasant, do-able Wechsler today!
billocohoes ~
I agree re. Who's on First.
I used to assign the dialog to student actors who were deficient in their timing. It was tough on them, but once they learned to get it down, their timing was never a problem again.
~ OMK
Jason: Such an adorable little boy. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Lemonade and billocohoes, for explaining FLAX to me.
PK, so glad that you're okay after your scary incident last night.
And here is the King's Guard marching through Frogner Park in Oslo with their TUBAS . I count 6 tubas in the unit.
Anon @ 10:20 ~ I scrolled through Germany and found my Hummel Crèche. The one shown has more figures than mine but all of mine are depicted, although there are slight differences in the colors and features. Mary and Joseph are different, but the Magi are exactly like mine, as are Infant Jesus, the Angel, and the Cow. This was a gift from my husband almost 40 years ago and is the centerpiece of my Christmas decorations. Thank you for sharing this amazing collection.
Madame Defarge @ 11:31 ~ Arsenic hour has me baffled! Help.
Lemony @ 12:24 ~ Owen is a handsome little fella!
Me, too, Madame Defarge.
PK thank you for the kind words about Owen. Be careful with NSAIDS, as I have learned my near death experience from 2017 was enhanced by my kidneys shutting down from using too much ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin to deal with my sciatic pain.
IM, thank you also.
Spitz, that march through Oslo Park was awesome. There were sousaphones and tubas, trumpets and cornets, trombones for JzB and wasn't that a Bassoon I saw in passing? The other link did not open.
I’m sorry, but when you include a word that is a complete unknown to most of the audience, the result is not a masterpiece.
I am referring to “SYNDICS” of course, a word that few have ever seen or heard. Anywhere.
The definition explains why...
1. a government official in various countries.
2. (in the UK) a business agent of certain universities and corporations.
For #1....not in this country.
For #2...”IN THE UK”.....which is also not this country.
Look, I know there is French, Spanish, German, all mannner of actual foreign language words we run across, and also some English words...LOO, LIFT....but to dredge up a complete unknown is somewhat beyond the pale.
I’d also call it cheap and lazy construction. But that’s me, expecting more from one of the better constructors.
I mean, even when you see the word it looks odd and incorrect.
So an incomplete for me, with a big assist from Jeff. Thanks, Jeff.
APVX, there are 7 MILLION hits for SYNDIC om google. The word well not known in the form used was easily inferrable from a word we all know SYNDICATE .
Definition of syndicate
1a : a council or body of syndics
b : the office or jurisdiction of a syndic
2 : an association of persons officially authorized to undertake a duty or negotiate business
3a : a group of persons or concerns who combine to carry out a particular transaction or project
b : CARTEL sense 2
c : a loose association of racketeers in control of organized crime
4 : a business concern that sells materials for publication in a number of newspapers or periodicals simultaneously
5 : a group of newspapers under one management
Because a word is unknown to you does not justify calling out the constructor. cheap and lazy construction is way too harsh. Don't you get any enjoyment out of learning things? I know I do not get paid for correct answers or fined for incorrect ones. I would not play but for free I like new things and learning new things about old stuff. Did you ever wonder where syndicate came from? Please lighten up; constructors are people too.
Lemonade, I wish the blog had a LIKE button. I'd definitely use it for your reply to APVX.
Lemonade, well said. I take syndic as a learning moment. Actually the D for ETD was more likely than ETA because SYNDIC looks better than SYNAIC. Also, being well acquainted with syndicate, I "shoulda" inferred the D. Three lashes with a wet noodle. In an A+ puzzle, this was a one cell loss for me, not a failure on my part. If I were 100% perfect in solving every puzzle I would be bored. As Lemon said, he found many "hits" and I found many references in writing.
JW gets me again. #FridayFail. DNF. It was me 'STAndUP against' [that was] my Waterloo; that and CRECHE(?!?).
Hi All!
Thanks JW for the Fun-puzzle [get it? un-puzzle, like un-cola.. oh, never mind...]. I caught the theme early and it helped tremendously (but not quite enough back East) in the center of the puzzle. I enjoyed your puns JW - you always get me but I always appreciate your grids (even ELHI (hi D-O!) - helped in the South, it did :-))
Mighty fine expo LEM (he's growing fast!). Thanks for those last few squares and MISS MILE meaning. I was left hanging though at:
30. Namely: TO WIT. That is to say.
Where's "FOR ONE"? :-)
WOs: BROTHERS [in] Arms - I was thinking Dire Straits [7:50]. Then I had "A mOTHER'S." Oy, ink was spilt. There's more false-starts but I won't bore.
ESPs: Again, shan't bore y'all with that. Ok, maybe a little boredom; it took 6/7th perps for it to come to mind but I've heard SYNDIC before. Likely from my mates in Aberdeen or Perth, but I've heard it.
//refresh-before-post say: What Lem@2:36 said; ++there's no 'lazy' in constructing; it's hard.
Fav: JOSH / JESTER xing made me giggle. I also liked c/a for SLEPT.
Name that tune: "the Jester sang for the king and queen/in a coat he borrowed..."
//I hope to not die before answering later (OKL's #1) :-)
{A, A+ (doodit! LOL)*, B}
Thanks JzB for the SPOONS video, I was the 1,692nd viewer.
YR - the way you phrased CREHE to Native materials made be chortle -- nativ-ity. Just me, I know.
Is there a common root to the words; I wonder?
BooL - Wish I'd read your FLN before starting on today's puzzle; CRECHE was right there for the pickin'.
PK - yes, the Minnesota Twins play at Target Field. My mind went there too.
No one else thought of Blazing Saddles @23a?
Cheers, -T
*To the near-amusement of DW, when I finish a To-Do, I call it a To-Done.
The Sousaphone is a tuba, specific type. Some people march with concert tubas, using special straps or harnesses to support the weight. It's very difficult. Most of the instruments I could see in Spitz' video of the Swiss band were euphoniums or baritone horns, which are half-sized tubas, sometimes called tenor tubas. It did look as though there were a couple of bass tubas over at the right end of that line, but I didn't see any Sousaphones in that band.
Mike Sherline (lifelong tuba player).
Anon-T, I was almost grown up when I learned it was nativity and not activity. Forty-something.
D-O: Did you also think Pontius Pilate was a more careful, conscientious, pilot/flier? (he even washed his hands!)
I did until I was in my 20s. (and so did DW! - one of those "misunderstood for so long" conversations that popup now and again). Cheers, -T
I'm reposting Marching bands of South Tyrol . Most of the bands include what I would call tubas.
Lemonade. Re: The Norwegians Marching through Frogner Park. We have visited that park. It hosts many sculptures bu Gustav Vigeland, which are unique in their own right. It is a beautiful place and should be on anyone's must see list.
Lemony @ 2:36 ~ Thank you for your measured response to APVX's unwarranted outburst.
Adorable grandson, Lemonade.
I'm not even sure syndic is a Newsday Saturday Stumper word. Almost all the crosses were combos or shortened, very clunky.
Be sure to check out CC's wonderful offering in today's NYT. Since it's Friday and NYT, it's themeless, but with several entries from one of her favorite topics, there's a bit of a mini-theme going on.
Anonymous T, interesting connection between native and nativity. A native is born there.
Both come from the same Latin root.
Merriam Webster: "Nativity is one of many words born of the Latin verb nasci, which means "to be born." The gestation of the word was a long one. "Nasci" developed in Latin into nativitas, meaning "birth," which passed through Middle French as nativité before entering English in the 14th century. "Nativity" has many siblings and cousins in our language; other terms of the lineage of "nasci" include "cognate," "innate," "nascent," "native," and "renaissance."
It was interesting to me how each culture makes the Nativity its own.
I enjoyed the sound change gimmick.
Dnf...Syndics??...sounds like a bunch of bad guys...lol
In FLA, any daytime temp in the 50s is a NIP in the air. In Boston it was teens.
Red's famous
Ice Capades deal
I had a lot of white when I quit Winn Dixie and moved the solving to Wawa.
Anon-T, that would be American Pie not to speak of my Hotel Sonesta doggerel
I did manage to get the FIR. Brain isn't at 100%, I'll need a tune-up to get tomorrow if it gets nasty.
Golf bulletin: at 48 and 49, Phil* and Ernie* are competing.
WC
* Mickelson and Els; the former #2 last week, the latter sitting#2 in Dubai
In my post @1518 I mistakenly referred to the Norwegian bands as Swiss. Sorry. Spitz, thanks for reposting the link to the actual Swiss bands. You can see the various horns much better in most of these. The smaller, oval shaped ones with rotary valves at the ends of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd rows are alto (substitute for the usual round orchestral horn), tenor and baritone. Each of the bands has bass & contrabass tubas on the right ends of the last couple of rows. All of these are hard to carry and play while marching. Note also the rotary valve trumpets, commonly used in Germanic countries - they're held sideways to put the valve levers are on top.
It is great to get all this information on music and instruments and great fun to share my write-ups with such a diverse and wonderful group, but I am disappointed to not see a single comment on my imitation of Jeffrey with the CANDY is DANDY, but LIQUOR is QUICKER morphing into FLICKR is QUICKER.
Anyway, thank you all.
Finally, I remind you that C.C. did the Universal crossword today as well, which I linked above.
Hello Puzzlers -
Tagging on to Anon’s 10:20 post about the UDayton crèche collection: impressive! I saw the name Käthe Wohlfahrt connected with a few of the German examples, either as donor or artist, I’m not sure which. Käthe runs a group of souvenir shops headquartered in Rothenburg, Germany, specializing in all manner of Christmas decorations and so forth.
Give that man (WC) a cigar - Don McLean's American Pie...
When the JESTER sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Lem - I caught the FLICKR is QUICKER but can't comment on everything (I'm long-winded enough).
BooL, Swamp, Hahtoolah, and all our NOLA contingent: Sen Bill Cassidy spent time on the Senate floor outraged... [C-SPAN starting around the 36:30 mark].
Too dry? Here's Colbert & Jon Batiste's reaction to pass interference [stop at 2:35 b/f it gets political].
I was so pulling for the Saints after Texans were out.
Cheers, -T
Creche is a familiar word to science fiction readers. Many stories about alien or far-future civilizations refer to a creche as a communal nursery where children are raised together separated from any parents.
Lemonade, your grandson is adorable. How wonderful for you and your family. Thank you for sharing.
SPITZ @ 1308. His Majesty does have a good band, but I'm especially impressed by HMKG, who use ... you won't believe this ... the venerable Grarand, U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M-1 for much of their drill (which is impressive, BTW).
Try this link for 'spoons' < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xOxHyTP91c >
The group is "Carolina chocolate drops".
Michael - You missed a bit in your HTML.. Cornbread & Butterbeans. I don't know why I know that song but I do and like it aplenty.
OKL - Ok, now I know where (I think?) I've seen the word creche... Bradbury's Brave New World(?) Even if I did see it, it never clicked w/ Nativity.
So..., I was looking for a deconstruction of American Pie's lyrics -- something that spoke to all the allusions -- and found this bit. It's kinda funny but the text is hard to read on the circa '99 webpage [cut & paste to notepad or something for easy on the eyes reading]. Enjoy.
Cheers, -T
Overposter say: D'Oh!, Huxley, not Bradbury, == Brave New World. It's late. My excuse and I'm sticking to it. -T
Tony: Brave New World did involve a CRECHE, but it was by Aldous Huxley, not Ray Bradbury. IIRC, creches played a large part in that story.
"Brave new world" is from The Tempest, Bradbury's "Something wicked this way comes" is from Macbeth.
OKL - Right that. Thank you; Our Friday Shakespeare is complete. :-) -T
And (Alduous) Huxley was a big proponent of acid(LSD) for the purpose of creating a Spiritual experience a la Carl Jung
So what goes around(MacLean) comes around.
WC
Re. PIE. There was a famous football game(Stanford-Cal) where on a last ditch lateral play as time expired the Cal band came on the field as the player was crossing the goal line.
A TUBA* player got knocked flying and Stanford incredibly won the
Game
And I have the teams backwards, Cal won the game
WC
* Ok some kind of horn
Michael and -T thank you for finding a band with spoons; they were very good. Also, the deconstruction of AMERICAN PIE was very interesting.
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