Theme: Axed - The five theme entries all relate to our tree-felling brethren:
17A. Lumberjack's favorite pirate phrase?: SHIVER ME TIMBERS. Walking the plank springs to mind here too.
22A. Lumberjack's main interest in naval records?: CAPTAIN'S LOG. Did you know that the Enterprise had two captains in the first season of Star Trek - Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Slog? He made the opening announcement in every episode "Captain Slog, Stardate 22117.1 ....."
36A. Lumberjack's way to punch an opponent?: RIGHT IN THE CHOPS.
45A. Lumberjack's preferred ABC News reporter?: DIANE SAWYER
55A. Lumberjack's reaction to an overly hard crossword?: I'M REALLY STUMPED. Happily, I didn't echo the lumberjack today.
Smooth theme today and with a lot of theme squares in the grid. Often that density can lead to a somewhat scrappy fill, but Jeffrey managed to stay away from the clunky stuff for the most part.
Let's take a mosey through the rest:
Across:
1. Fear of spiders, usually: PHOBIA. Arachno. Me. Those little buggers bother me.
7. Google Earth predecessors: ATLASES
14. Aesthetic feature?: SILENT A. This didn't really work for me, I sound the "A", more like "ace-thetic". I'm not sure if that's a British English thing or just me mispronouncing.
16. Hillary supporters: SHERPAS. Sir Edmund Hillary, who jointly made the first ascent to the summit of Everest back in 1953 with Sherpa Tenzing.
19. Theater award: TONY. The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre. Note the spelling of the last word! I go to the movie theater, but to the theatre to see a stage show.
20. Actor Holm: IAN. A good excuse to play the theme from "Chariots of Fire", Ian Holm took the role of athletics coach Sam Mussabini in the movie.
21. Slender Olive: OYL
27. Eero Saarinen's father: ELIEL. Crosses all the way! He was an architect too, I discover.
30. Many Sinatra recordings: LPS
31. Pipe shape: ELL
32. Quick cuts: TRIMS
33. Gig gear: AMPS
35. "__ pinch of ... ": recipe words: ADD A
39. Reverberate: ECHO
40. Baltic capital: RIGA
41. Store __: HOURS
42. Small matter: NIT. Very few in the crossword today.
43. Toon crime-fighter __ Possible: KIM. I didn't know this, but it was a fun guess that made me grin.
44. Check phrase: PAY TO
49. Civil War soldier: REB
50. __ of the woods: mushroom type: HEN. Such an odd name. Funniest-looking hen I've ever seen:
51. Athlete who wrote a history of African-American athletes: ASHE. Tennis legend Arthur.
60. Track foundation: ROAD BED. Usually ballast. They call it a track bed in the UK because, well, it's the bed for the track. Odd folk, those Brits.
61. French's product: MUSTARD. Where would we be without French's mustard on a hot dog? I do use Coleman's English Mustard for dipping asian foods like dim sum though - it's got a nice fiery quality to it.
62. Bottomless pits: ABYSSES
63. Ignore: PASS BY
Down:
1. Sideways whisper: PSST!
2. Crackers once sold in a red box: HI-HO. I tried HO-HO for absolutely no good reason and was happy until SOLENTA looked odd.
3. Actress Lena: OLIN. She crops up in the crosswords quite frequently. Swedish actress. She probably makes the "Shortz List" of a celebrity who appears more often in the crossword than in the regular paper. ERLE Stanley Gardner leads the list.
4. Quail group: BEVY
5. Having four sharps: IN E
6. Pertaining to a heart chamber: ATRIAL
7. PEI setting: AST. Prince Edward Island up there on Atlantic Standard Time.
8. Meteorologist's scale: Abbr.: THI. This one I had to look up once I'd solved the puzzle. Temperature-Humidity Index. Seems a tad obscure.
9. Veal piccata chef's needs: LEMONS. I wanted CAPERS so badly that it took me ages to see this one.
10. Contrary to popular belief, its name is not derived from its trademark sandwich: ARBY'S. The popular belief is that "RB's" is from "Roast Beef". It actually comes from Leroy and Forrest Raffel, the founders - the Raffel Brothers.
11. Described in detail: SPELLED OUT
12. "For all in vain comes counsel to his __": Shak.: EAR. The Duke of York, advising John of Gaunt to keep his breath for staying alive, rather than giving advice which will be dutifully ignored by Richard II,
13. Old draft org.: SSS. Selective Service System. The website is still up and running though, seems odd.
15. Jane Hamilton's "__ of the World": A MAP
18. Med. specialist: E.N.T.
22. "__ la vie!": C'EST
23. A, as in Athens: ALPHA
24. __ dixit: unproven claim: IPSE
25. One who knows the ropes: OLD PRO
26. Tumbler, e.g.: GLASS
27. 13th-century Norwegian king: ERIC II
28. Sensor that detects objects using closely spaced beams: LIGHT ARRAY. This was tough to parse - I had RAY in place and tried to find some kind of ray to fit.
29. Texter's modest intro: IMHO
32. How things are going: TREND
33. Jungian concept: ANIMA
34. Corp. get-together: MTG.
35. Mate's greeting: AHOY! Lots of nautical timber-shivering and hailing going on today.
37. Bearded flower: IRIS
38. Burn a bit: CHAR
43. Food on sticks: KEBABS. Food! Also kabobs, kebobs and any variation between. The Kebab Machine was a chain of fast-food places in London (a couple still exist) which were open late at night to catch the pub crowd turning out after 11PM closing. The doner kebab in a pita bread with shredded cabbage and hot sauce was a favorite. I woke up with one stuck to my face once, but that's a story for another day.
44. Repressed: PENT UP
46. Cries out for: NEEDS
47. "Please explain": WHY? Parental reply: "Because."
48. Cowpoke's polite assent: YES'M
51. Tsp. and oz.: AMTS
52. Places to unwind: SPAS
53. Cilantro, e.g.: HERB
54. Watery swirl: EDDY
55. Nest egg acronym: IRA. Three musicians in close proximity: Herb Alpert, Nelson Eddy and Ira Gershwin.
56. __ rule: MOB
57. Novelist Harper: LEE
58. Mormon initials: LDS. Latter Day Saints.
59. Mex. neighbor: U.S.A.
Picket line duty for me again this morning.
Here's the grid:
Steve
17A. Lumberjack's favorite pirate phrase?: SHIVER ME TIMBERS. Walking the plank springs to mind here too.
22A. Lumberjack's main interest in naval records?: CAPTAIN'S LOG. Did you know that the Enterprise had two captains in the first season of Star Trek - Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Slog? He made the opening announcement in every episode "Captain Slog, Stardate 22117.1 ....."
36A. Lumberjack's way to punch an opponent?: RIGHT IN THE CHOPS.
45A. Lumberjack's preferred ABC News reporter?: DIANE SAWYER
55A. Lumberjack's reaction to an overly hard crossword?: I'M REALLY STUMPED. Happily, I didn't echo the lumberjack today.
Smooth theme today and with a lot of theme squares in the grid. Often that density can lead to a somewhat scrappy fill, but Jeffrey managed to stay away from the clunky stuff for the most part.
Let's take a mosey through the rest:
Across:
1. Fear of spiders, usually: PHOBIA. Arachno. Me. Those little buggers bother me.
7. Google Earth predecessors: ATLASES
14. Aesthetic feature?: SILENT A. This didn't really work for me, I sound the "A", more like "ace-thetic". I'm not sure if that's a British English thing or just me mispronouncing.
16. Hillary supporters: SHERPAS. Sir Edmund Hillary, who jointly made the first ascent to the summit of Everest back in 1953 with Sherpa Tenzing.
19. Theater award: TONY. The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre. Note the spelling of the last word! I go to the movie theater, but to the theatre to see a stage show.
20. Actor Holm: IAN. A good excuse to play the theme from "Chariots of Fire", Ian Holm took the role of athletics coach Sam Mussabini in the movie.
21. Slender Olive: OYL
27. Eero Saarinen's father: ELIEL. Crosses all the way! He was an architect too, I discover.
30. Many Sinatra recordings: LPS
31. Pipe shape: ELL
32. Quick cuts: TRIMS
33. Gig gear: AMPS
35. "__ pinch of ... ": recipe words: ADD A
39. Reverberate: ECHO
40. Baltic capital: RIGA
41. Store __: HOURS
42. Small matter: NIT. Very few in the crossword today.
43. Toon crime-fighter __ Possible: KIM. I didn't know this, but it was a fun guess that made me grin.
44. Check phrase: PAY TO
49. Civil War soldier: REB
50. __ of the woods: mushroom type: HEN. Such an odd name. Funniest-looking hen I've ever seen:
51. Athlete who wrote a history of African-American athletes: ASHE. Tennis legend Arthur.
60. Track foundation: ROAD BED. Usually ballast. They call it a track bed in the UK because, well, it's the bed for the track. Odd folk, those Brits.
61. French's product: MUSTARD. Where would we be without French's mustard on a hot dog? I do use Coleman's English Mustard for dipping asian foods like dim sum though - it's got a nice fiery quality to it.
62. Bottomless pits: ABYSSES
63. Ignore: PASS BY
Down:
1. Sideways whisper: PSST!
2. Crackers once sold in a red box: HI-HO. I tried HO-HO for absolutely no good reason and was happy until SOLENTA looked odd.
3. Actress Lena: OLIN. She crops up in the crosswords quite frequently. Swedish actress. She probably makes the "Shortz List" of a celebrity who appears more often in the crossword than in the regular paper. ERLE Stanley Gardner leads the list.
4. Quail group: BEVY
5. Having four sharps: IN E
6. Pertaining to a heart chamber: ATRIAL
7. PEI setting: AST. Prince Edward Island up there on Atlantic Standard Time.
8. Meteorologist's scale: Abbr.: THI. This one I had to look up once I'd solved the puzzle. Temperature-Humidity Index. Seems a tad obscure.
9. Veal piccata chef's needs: LEMONS. I wanted CAPERS so badly that it took me ages to see this one.
10. Contrary to popular belief, its name is not derived from its trademark sandwich: ARBY'S. The popular belief is that "RB's" is from "Roast Beef". It actually comes from Leroy and Forrest Raffel, the founders - the Raffel Brothers.
11. Described in detail: SPELLED OUT
12. "For all in vain comes counsel to his __": Shak.: EAR. The Duke of York, advising John of Gaunt to keep his breath for staying alive, rather than giving advice which will be dutifully ignored by Richard II,
13. Old draft org.: SSS. Selective Service System. The website is still up and running though, seems odd.
15. Jane Hamilton's "__ of the World": A MAP
18. Med. specialist: E.N.T.
22. "__ la vie!": C'EST
23. A, as in Athens: ALPHA
24. __ dixit: unproven claim: IPSE
25. One who knows the ropes: OLD PRO
26. Tumbler, e.g.: GLASS
27. 13th-century Norwegian king: ERIC II
28. Sensor that detects objects using closely spaced beams: LIGHT ARRAY. This was tough to parse - I had RAY in place and tried to find some kind of ray to fit.
29. Texter's modest intro: IMHO
32. How things are going: TREND
33. Jungian concept: ANIMA
34. Corp. get-together: MTG.
35. Mate's greeting: AHOY! Lots of nautical timber-shivering and hailing going on today.
37. Bearded flower: IRIS
38. Burn a bit: CHAR
43. Food on sticks: KEBABS. Food! Also kabobs, kebobs and any variation between. The Kebab Machine was a chain of fast-food places in London (a couple still exist) which were open late at night to catch the pub crowd turning out after 11PM closing. The doner kebab in a pita bread with shredded cabbage and hot sauce was a favorite. I woke up with one stuck to my face once, but that's a story for another day.
44. Repressed: PENT UP
46. Cries out for: NEEDS
47. "Please explain": WHY? Parental reply: "Because."
48. Cowpoke's polite assent: YES'M
51. Tsp. and oz.: AMTS
52. Places to unwind: SPAS
53. Cilantro, e.g.: HERB
54. Watery swirl: EDDY
55. Nest egg acronym: IRA. Three musicians in close proximity: Herb Alpert, Nelson Eddy and Ira Gershwin.
56. __ rule: MOB
57. Novelist Harper: LEE
58. Mormon initials: LDS. Latter Day Saints.
59. Mex. neighbor: U.S.A.
Picket line duty for me again this morning.
Here's the grid:
Steve
FIW. AoRtic > ATRIAc > ATRIAL, EsIEc > ELIEL (too long since I last saw it) sIGHT ARRAY (also tried m,b,n,r), DIANa > DIANE, KaBoBS > KaBABS > KEBOBS.
ReplyDeleteSeeking to find the deep ABYSSES
Is not a quest for paper ATLASES.
Online we can see
The BED of the sea
And not even need magic GLASSES!
A real Roast Beef sandwich from ARBYS
Has protein and TRIMS much of carb-ies
It makes for a meal
With carnivorous appeal,
And with MUSTARD it tastes good as Hardees!
{B+, B.}
Thanks for looking up THI for me Steve. 'Knew you would!
ReplyDeleteGood write-up for a good puzzle!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to JW Steve!
No problems. Didn't know ARBY'S right off hand. Time for bed!
Have a great day!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteNeeded an alphabet run to get the T in ATLASES, which made me question the mysterious THI. [Clunk] Read "Baltic" as "Biblical" [?????] and couldn't think of any capital. Then RIGA showed up, and I said to myself, "That's in the Bible?" D'oh! Interesting observation on the musicians, Steve. I really enjoyed "Captain Slog." Cute theme. Thanx, Jeffrey and Steve (Did I miss something? What/why are you picketing?)
PEI: Was slow in coming to me, but then I thought of CanadianEh! when it appeared.
ELIEL: I remember a PBS documentary about the Saarinens a few years back.
ROADBED: Steve, we call it that, because it's a railROAD.
Phew what a workout!!
ReplyDeleteFIW but got most of it after a slow start staring at it for a good ten minutes before starting in the center
with RIGHT IN THE CHOPS .
The SILENT A did me in as I didn’t want to give up AORTIC Did’t know IAN so that’s where I met my waterloo.
Cheers
FIR. The trouble began with thinking that PEI was on the west coast, eliciting pST for its setting. Since I didn't know THI I tried hHI, the just-as-well-known (meaning not known at all to laymen) heat-humidity index. I also erred with RaGA instead of RIGA, and had no idea of ANIMA. Should have known RIGA.
ReplyDeleteI wanted "weepers" for Hillary supporters.
In the modern world, The Bard might have written ...comes counsel to his BAR (or for modern egotists, CAR).
Ever notice that people who use IMHO never offer humble opinions?
Can't believe I had to erase "aortial" for ATRIAL. I have ATRIAL fibrillation that can't be converted - my heartbeat is wacko all the time.
Nice CSO to many Cornerites favorite sitcom, WKRP in Cincy (HERB).
According to Mother Goose and Grimm, today is National Tummy Rub Day. Zoe is already celebrating.
Thanks to JeffWech for yet another terrific puzzle. And thanks to Steve for the fun review. BTW, HOHOs are FOOD! too, at least as much as Twinkies are food.
RIP, John Bogle. I probably couldn't have retired without ya.
ReplyDeletePretty easy theme to figure out, but a fun puzzle. And I agree Steve, just how many ways can you spell KEBAB? Constructors must love that word!
ReplyDeleteHIHO- greeting to Chi Minh
ReplyDeleteIMHO- Answer to, "Who's Chi Minh?"
PHOBIA- Fear of Chi Minh
CHOPS- Chi Minh's favorite meat
HOURS- His and yours to Chi Minh
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteAnother fine puzzle from Jeff. Some dead-on comments, Steve. Thank you.
The SILENT A thing got me, too, and had to change aortal to ATRIAL. Also had covy before BEVY, but corrected it early. idn't see the AST for PEI right away; but 'sea' wasn't apt, and Gulf was too long. Nicely done.
CSO to Lemonade on LEMONS.
Liked the 'lumbering' theme. We don't get to use SAWYER much as "one who saws".
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle, Jeff. Thank you. This was a DNF for me, even though I found the theme. A real shocker! I could not see the SILENT A and could not see how the key of E would fit three letters. Ah, IN E! Silly. moi. C'EST la vie!
Nicely, done Steve. Mmmmm. That veal piccata clarifies my menu for Saturday! Thank you!
Have a great day everyone.
What, nobody came up with the all-time tribute to lumberjacks?
ReplyDeleteThe Lumberjack Song by Monte Python
I always groan when I see a puzzle by JW! :(
ReplyDeleteBut today, with only three red-letters, I’m a happy lady:)
The theme was an easy one to spot but the puzzle was hard to complete. There's the spelling of-KEBAB, KEBOB, KABAB, KABOB-ELIEL, IMHO- ones you know but don't really know. I had to change RAIL BED to ROAD BED and A MAN to A MAP (unknown).
ReplyDelete16A- SNOWFLAKES was too long but SHERPAS fit nicely.
LIGHT ARRAY was and unknown term but an easy WAG.
Very fine puzzle, Jeffrey. I loved the theme. Interesting expo, Steve.
ReplyDeleteThe T in ATLASES held me up for a while. The forecasters discuss the THI all summer. In this frigid weather THI does not come readily to mind. Now it's wind chill.
I was expecting something more hi-tech than atlases. Very clever.
SILENT- also held me up awhile. -MAP? Then the light dawned. I don't pronounce the A in aesthetic and I can't hear it in these examples:
silent A
IRIS is my favorite flower. BTW, what ever happened to BLUE IRIS? I enjoyed her posts.
ANIMA - I took course in Jungian psychology for my MA. Anima is about all I remember.
We have ELIEL in many puzzles, but I needed 4 perps. V-8 can moment.
I found three quarters of this puzzle really easy, but I had those three sticking spots. EMT before ENT, but it had to be IAN. FIR.
We are expecting a low of zero or lower Sunday night and Monday night, thanks to a Canadian air mass. The wind chill will be even lower. I don't mind the average winter temps here, but this is way too low. Stay warm.
I really thought I was in trouble when I saw the constructor
ReplyDeletefor todays puzzle. However, I went ahead anyway, thought I would get my chops into
a JeffWech before lunch. And after a very sporadic run thru the acrosses,
and more so the downs, something amazing happened! I started Sussing!
Pretty soon I was Sussing like a skier on the easy slopes!
(or is that Shushing?)
Oh well, the theme really helped, but there were trouble spots.
KaBobs b/4 Kababs
& for some reason, Onions before Lemons in Veal Picatta?
(Hey! I don't know how to cook...)
But it took reading the Blog to realize I FIW'd.
I thought the 43a toon crime fighter was kiD, not Kim,
& the 33d concept was definitely an abstract idea to me...
My 18d Med Specialist was an EMT, making 20a actor=Iam Holm
(sounds the same to me. besides, who's that Liam guy???-Taken 1,2&3)
Anywho, this whole concept of having a Lumberjack on
a Pirate Ship does not make a lot of sense to me...
I thought, maybe carpenter, but that didn't work out well either...
What a nifty, jiffy Jeffrey puzzle! I was not STUMPED. In fact, I didn't even finish one cup of coffee before completing it.
ReplyDeleteAST and THI would have been problematic but thanks to ATLASES and SHERPAS they were perped. Thank you, Steve; you SPELLED it OUT for me.
Hand up for Aortic before ATRIAL. It's been a long while since ELIEL appeared in a puzzle and I thought all Norwegian kings were named Olaf or Olav. ERIC II is refreshing.
Luckily my first try was KEBABS and it worked! I've heard of KIMPOSSIBLE but never watched it. My granddaughters must have, though.
Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler and Steve.
Have a stupendous day, everyone!
Hen of the Woods is a renowned restaurant here in Vermont. Never knew it was named after a mushroom!
ReplyDeleteI loved this one!! Got the clever theme at SHIVER ME TIMBERS. I would never have guessed SILENT A, but crosses filled in the hard parts. Master word manipulator at work. Jeffrey at his best. Again, at 55A, a shoutout to us solvers for the second time. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteOwen, A’s!
Steve, thanks for the expo.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed this solve, I was a teensy weensy disappointed with the absence of the famous JW trademark-trickery of word play. That said, my w/os were: My before Me Timbers, A Man before A Map, and Rail before Road Bed. (Hi, BE). The misdirection of Hillary supporters=Sherpas was brilliant and slowed me up for a long time. We've had Eliel before but not often enough to remember. Kim, THI, Eric Ii, and Light Array were all new to me. Nice CSO's to CanadianEh (PEI) and Lemony (Lemons).
Thanks, Jeffrey W, for a fun and challenging Thursday and thanks, Steve, for the grand tour, especially your eagle-eyed observation of the musical trio, Eddy, Herb, and Ira; a singer, an instrumentalist, and a composer! How neat. BTW, your picket line comment left us hanging.
Misty, glad to hear your class went well and in line with Jinx, Mother Goose and Grimm, sending many T-rubs to Dusty and to Zoe and all the other Corner canines.
Have a great day.
Yes, Weschsler can give one puzzle PHOBIA, but this was a fun ride!
ReplyDeleteMy first fill was actually SHERPAS. I instantly anticipated the amusing misdirection and was rewarded with a running start in that area.
Here it was the more recent HILLARY who was in the SUPPORTER role along with me.
HILLARY was the SUPPORTER of UCSB Professor Walter Capps who was running for Congress. He went on to be our Congressional Representative. He died, most likely as a result of being hit by a drunk driver on a local mountain highway. But his wife Lois Capps served after that for many years. The story of why I was there is a bit complicated.
Steve thanks for the explanation about ARBY'S and about THI! Learning moments! Thanks for the amusing Star Trek bit about CAPTAIN SLOG!
Did anyone else get stuck with AS A RULE before MOB RULE?
CILANTRO will ruin any dish for me unless I can completely remove it. Many people must like it, though.
Last to fill was that area including ELIEL which looked wrong. I was wrong. FIR!
I was mystified about why a GLASS is a TUMBLER. No one knows for sure, but it seems that early drinking GLASSES had a rounded or pointed bottom. They could not be set down without them TUMBLing.
Big Easy I agree that TRACK BED makes more sense than ROAD BED. I never heard that use of ROAD BED. But it is correct. Learning moment!
Well, I love Jeffrey Wechsler puzzles but of course a Thursday will be a bit of a toughie for me. But I was delighted that I got most of it, including fun problems like finally figuring out that this Hillary needed SHERPAS and that the SAWYER was going to be DIANE. Given what a sad and early end he had, I'm so glad that ASHE appears in puzzles practically all the time--hope his family does them and that it makes them happy. Like Irish Miss, I had MY before ME and A MAN before A MAP. (Thank you for the kind words, too, and for Dusty's tummy-rub!). But the one that drove me crazy was SOLENTA since I too had HOHO before HIHO. When am I going to learn to think about the text of the clue rather than the meaning when I'm having trouble with one. Finally, I was delighted to see all those LUMBERJACK references shaking down at the end of the theme answers. Fun puzzle, Jeffrey, and fun write-up, Steve--many thanks to you both.
ReplyDeleteMy next class isn't until next month, so I'm going to take it easy today, even though it's a pretty gloomy day with rain just pouring and pouring down. But have a good one, everybody!
Sorry, I must have written that picket line sign-off on autopilot last night, I usually skirt anything that might be construed as "political". Since you asked, I'm standing in support of the Los Angeles public school teachers this week.
ReplyDeleteA typically crunchy and Silkyesque Wechsler puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteI have learned that even if I know the answer is some spelling of KEBAB to leave the vowels out until crossed.
I started and was then stumped in every section, had to keep going back everywhere to get it sussed out. Finally got the solve but it was a bit of a time.
Markovers....ESS/ELL, GREAT/TREND, GAG/MOB. Not that many due to having to go back again and again.
From yesterday:
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles thank you for taking the time to look at my photo with the SEAGAL family! I have moderate face blindness, so it is very difficult for me to judge family resemblances. Glad to know there indeed is one in the SEAGAL family!
A wonderful Thursday pairing of JW and Steve, with as mentioned a CSO to moi. Cool.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Steve, it is you. AESTHETIC IN THE DICTIONARY
Second, in addition to the musical trio, you left out a drummer TOMMY LEE a co-founder of Mötley Crüe and quite famous for his sex tapes, I believe. AXE toured with them.
The Hillary misdirection was priceless. It is nice to see Jeffrey branch out into other theme types. I would not want him to leave his other styles, but I think this was all I could have axed for.
I always enjoy a good Shakespeare quote
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI love a JW puzzle, especially when (if?) I nail one. I FIW but still enjoyed the journey from STUMPED to an inked grid. Thanks JW for a puzzle that put Python's song [see: billO @8:35] in my skull all morning.
Great expo Steve - and good on you for actively participating in expression.
FIW @AORTAL [sic] (Thought I learned a new word with SILENOA; has a Spanish-y Aesthetic, no?), xing TAM [sic] @20a which, naturally, crossed EmT. D'Oh! Close but no cigar.
WO: CAPTiaN [Untie!]
ESPs: let's just say about 1/4 the puzzle as clued. Seems silly, now, that I had so many troubles with TRIMS or ERIC or RIGA or... I still don't know what ANIMA* means
Fav: WEES - misdirection at SHERPA was wonderful. 'Wives' was short two squares... [we're talking '08, right? :-)]
Runner-up: A, as in Athens was brilliant.
{A, B}
D-O: ++John Bogle. May he RIP. Here's Wiki for those who don't know of him and Vanguard 500 [and best place to park one's IRA - Set it and forget it! :-)]
Lucina - I too watched a ton of Kim Possible on Disney with the Girls. At the office, KIM was in charge of the SupportDesk - her team got her an over-sized Kim Possible poster for her office. I thought it funny.
Gotta run, play latter.
Cheers, -T
*I LIU - Wiki: "The anima and animus are described in Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology as part of his theory of the collective unconscious. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, with each transcending the personal psyche." Huh.., new to me.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Jeffrey and Steve.
ReplyDeleteI was only a little STUMPED today with several inkblots. But I got the theme and smiled.
Like d'otto, I needed a lengthy alphabet run to get the T in ATLASES.
I had no problem with the SILENT A. Steve, this Canadian pronounces aesthetic with the ESS sound at the beginning not ACE.
I was afraid we were going to break the "No Politics" rule with Hillary supporters and Mex. neighbor (sic!). Lol re your axed, Lemonade@12:27
28D had exactly the right number of squares for my entry of StudFinder. Alas, nothing perped with that. LIGHT ARRAY was a learning moment. (I noted RIGHT crossing LIGHT.)
Kabobs changed to KEBOBS with perps. I debated between CHAR and Sear.
For 32D, How things are going=Great seemed like a good answer. TREND was forced on me with TRIMS. Similarly, hand up for A Man of the World changing to A MAP for 15D.
ELIEL is usually surpassed by his son Eero in CWs.
Our usual Norwegian king is Olav or Olaf. Eric II today.
That HEN mushroom reminds me of the succulents, Hens and chickens which are so named because "The "hen" is the main, or mother, plant, and the "chicks" are a flock of offspring, which start as tiny buds on the main plant and soon sprout their own roots, taking up residence close to the mother plant." (Wikipedia) This might be true with the mushroom also and hence the name.
Some Canadian disadvantage today. The "misspelling" of checks slowed me down again. SSS was unknown. (All those draft dodgers came to Canada.) HIHO crackers are also unknown. (Ritz would have fit the spot but wouldn't perp.) But I have been doing these CWs long enough to fill in IRA immediately. And to balance it all out, we had PEI in the mix today!
I have French's MUSTARD in my frig, but my first instinct was KETCHUP. Canadians had/have a Heinz boycott when production was moved from Leamington, Ontario in 2016, leaving tomato producers scrambling for a market. French's came to the rescue and won Canadian's hearts (and business) with their support of Canadian farmers.
French'sKetchup
billocohoes@8:35 - I see your hilarious Lumberjack Song with those Mounties and raise you with some classic Canadiana! I hope to hear from other Canadians here re this bit of nostalgia. Let's hear you sing it, eh!!
LogDriver's Waltz
I have overstayed my welcome today.
Wishing you all a great day.
YR@9:09- Hilarious that your expected cold weather is being attributed to a Canadian air mass! We are being told to expect a polar vortex and then a Colorado Low which will bring a large amount of snow!
ReplyDeleteC, Eh! - Lyrics go: "Any Girl in the Parish..."(?) Do y'all call counties Parishes like they do in Louisiana? I also noticed a note of Zydeco in the song... French Provinces only?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the link. I think the ANIMA side of me is Canadian :-)
Cheers, -T
CEh! there is no overstaying your welcome, especially as you represent so many of our constructors from north of the border.
ReplyDeleteTony, thank you for posting the link to JOHN BOGLE . He was pretty amazing not only a pioneer but as a survivor with a heart transplant at age 66 and then living til 89.
If you knew who was picketing in LA, you should have known where Steve was and since he did not expound, there is no reason for any of us to do so either.
Hen of the woods looks like a delicious wild edible!
ReplyDelete(has a longer season than the Blog Mascot, The Morel...)
Here is how to find it...
Yes, you heard it right here, on the Internet, Safe to eat...
Note: I am a big fan of wild edibles, and tout them every chance I get.
When I show my "wise" friend Jamie a new wild edible,
he always asks me, "have you eaten it?"
(The only thing I eat is roast beef sandwiches, and I haven't found any in the woods yet...)
CanadianEh! Loved the Log Drivers Waltz!
Only complaint is it sent me down the YouTube Rabbithole...
The very next sidelink was "The Cat Came Back!
Hey! You Started it...
Glad your class went well, Misty, and also happy for you in getting along so well with today's Wechsler!
ReplyDeleteI too thought it looked daunting at first, but am glad to report a complete Ta ~DA!
It was a fun run throughout. The theme was helpful in leading us to the the right lumber-related fills. Very enjoyable.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Four diagonals in all, one on the near side and a 3-way in the mirror.
In the anagram view, we find a sour commentary. The main anchor line seems to contain a verdict on a bummer of a fiesta, which featured a ...
"CRAPPY PINATA"!
CED, this is the version I remember: The New Christy Minstrels (2:47)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lemonade@1:45 - I'll try not to take advantage!
ReplyDeleteAnonT@1:44 - Parish probably refers to a church area (often Church of England or Catholic); we don't use the term to refer to counties. There is a heavy French Canadian flavour to the Log Driver's Waltz because a lot of the driver's were Quebecois. That might also explain the Zydeco flavour (I had to look that up!). Here is a little more history on the song.
StillCelebrating
CED - LOL re The Cat Came Back!
Oh the earworms we have created today.
AnonT - re your Canadian ANIMA side: Canadians will welcome you!
ReplyDeleteHas our most recent example made your American newspapers??
Asylum
C, Eh! - Yesterday I read how the Great White North stepped up... I oft miss US.
ReplyDeleteSo was the Log Driver's Waltz spawned by Canadian Content Laws? If so, I love it (the rule) because that's why Rick & Dave (aka Bob & Doug were born). [cite] -- TL;DR: Canadian Content Rules forced SCTV to produce 2min. of CA content. Bob & Doug stuck it to the man :-)
Cheers, eh? -T
Canadian Eh! - Back in the mid-60's when I was in Grad school at SUNY Buffalo,(and before Misty got there), my office desk was next to a very bright Hungarian (Canadian resident) grad student who had an outside consultant task to assist with the ice design for the Northumberland Strait bridge being built to PEI.
ReplyDeleteParishes. I believe Louisiana is the only state which calls their counties parishes.
I liked this puzzle. SHIVER ME TIMBERS made me laugh with delight. I'll try to remember it for the next Talk Like a Pirate Day. Years ago LW and I met and had conversations with several lumberjacks when we were bar hopping in Eureka, CA. It was right after the time logging was severely curtailed in the frenzy to protect the spotted owl, and the professional loggers were understandably upset. They were very friendly toward us, however, and a couple times even bought us drinks. Luckily we were within walking distance of the motel we were staying at so no driving or cars were involved. (We were staying overnight in Eureka because we were on a road trip up the California and Oregon coasts, which we dearly love.)
ReplyDeleteSpitz, I think you are correct that Louisiana is alone in caling counties Parishes. It apparently has to do with our Catholic Church history.
ReplyDeleteCEh, one of my very favorite mystery writers is Louise Penny, who writes of a small village in Canada near the US border. Many of her books involve people, good and bad, who cross the border from the US into Canada. Many who escaped during the Vietnam war. We share so much history.
To all you handyman (woman) types, all winter my attic fan has been running 24-7. It is my perception that it used to run only when the attic was hot. Is this running all winter normal? I would need to pull myself up by my arms through the attic access hole to check on it, which is impossible for me to do. Do I need an electrician?
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, are you sure your attic fan is running?
ReplyDeleteYR,
ReplyDeleteYes, you need an electrician.
Attic fans are designed for the sole purpose of moving hot Summer
out of the attic, and have a thermostat switch that shuts them of
below (usually about 90-to-100 degrees)
Your Thermostat has failed.
Curiously, this would normally stop the fan from running at all.
why it is running all the time is a mystery.
Ergo, the need for a professional...
Just saw the flurry of posts on this topic,
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it is the fan?
Hmm, Your Central Air Conditioner is usually in the attic,
if that is running 24/7, in winter, I would be concerned.
Get help...
P.S.,
ReplyDeleteEven if it is the attic fan,
they are not designed to run 24 hours a day year round.
I had to unplug mine last spring because it was making terrible noise.
The bearings had worn out.
If I had left it running in that condition, it would have
overheated and possibly become a fire hazard...
Safety first...
Thanks, guys. My central air fan was on, but not blowing cold air. The air conditioner is set at 90. I turned off the fan and the noise stopped. I think my electric bill may have been marginally effected. I was sure the whole unit was turned off.
ReplyDeleteThe day just got away from me but I did manage to get this fun puzzle done in the Kohl's parking lot. BTW, when your wife asks you "Do you want to go into Omaha with me?" It is not a question.
ReplyDeleteIt is for me, that is a long drive.
ReplyDeleteHG ~
ReplyDeleteIt is NOT a question, but a sign of something seriously wrong.
Extraordinarily so.
Neither my wife nor I know a soul in Omaha.
~ OMK
Ah, the central air fan run switch...
ReplyDeleteYou had me worried, glad it was no biggie.
Why do they have that switch position anyway?
Thank you for the kind words, Ol'Man Keith. And Spitzboov, I can't believe you were a student at Buffalo before I was. Who was your mentor?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWOW: A doable JW puzzle. I liked the theme and it made solving the puzzle easier than I expected. Steve's tour was enjoyable and informative.
Like others, I had problems with ATLASES, SILENTA, and ELIEL. Perps helped, but it took the V8 can head slap on ATLASES since I was sure I was looking for some electronic map or app. Like they say, when you are stuck, go back to basics.
AST was a gimme for PEI setting. I've spent some time in the Canadian Maritime Provinces and had to get used to the one hour time difference with EST.
At first I wanted PSI for barometric pressure, but THI came with the V8 can head slap.
I wrote this in the morning and never got to post it until now.
CED - Ever watch Phineas and Ferb? Dr. Doofenshmirtz puts a self-destruct button on everything -- even his Shark Tank Pitch.
ReplyDeleteGlad's all better YR. I have two units (up and down-stairs) and sometimes they fight it out [Girls turn on AC when the heat is on downstairs!].
C,Eh! - I found the real Bob & Doug [Cite - read the credits at 3:32] They go on for a while after that, eh?
Spitz & Swamp - I knew that about Louisiana being the only state that called counties/shires Parishes. I was just curious if any neighbour-to-our-North Provence carved up localities as Parishes too.
OMK - LOL Crappy Pinata.
HG - Omaha. I get what you mean... It's not an option, otherwise Hell to PAY TO (the order of...)
Cheers, -T
I have a cousin (first cousin once removed; her dad is my first cousin) who lives in Omaha but for me driving would not be an option! Especially in the current weather. We did go to Hastings several years ago when she got married.
ReplyDeleteAlaska has divisions named Boroughs in lieu of counties.
ReplyDeleteJerome D Gunderson said at 8:14 AM...
ReplyDelete"HIHO- greeting to Chi Minh" et cetera.
Uncle Ho's real name was Nguyễn Sinh Cung, but he used many Party aliases, among others Nguyễn Ai Quoc (the Patriot Nguyen), and Ho Chi Minh, "Ho the Light of the World.".
I put this off because I had a Sleep study at the VA. The C-Pap will get some getting used to.
ReplyDeleteSo . .. I slogged thru. Same detours as others. I did FIR. HOUSE=>HOURS completed it. I managed to recall Diane S. and KEBABS(sic) .
YR, it may hit 80 in Tampa Bay by tomorrow but we had our cold spell this week with night time temps in low 40s .
-T, INKED showed up on the J . I'll take a CSO on that .
WC in the dawning