17-Across. Embattled World War II city: STALINGR(AD). The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the major battles between Russian forces and Nazi Germany. The city, which is located in the confluence of the Tsaritsa and Volga rivers, was originally called Tsaritsyn. In 1925, the name was changed to Stalingrad in 1925 in honor of Joseph Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev had the name changed to Volograd in 1961. Just in case it's too subtle, the suffix GRAD means means City in Russian. AD moves up in 8D. Limited-access internet area: DARK WEB. Everything you wanted to know about the DARK WEB
19-Across. Absolutely bonkers: STARK RAVING M(AD).
Apparently, STARK RAVING MAD was also the name of a short-lived sit-com on NBC. AD moves up to 16. It holds water: DAM. Can you identify the dam in the background?
36-Across. Capital ESE of Kabul: ISLAMAB(AD). The capital of Pakistan. The capital city is located East-SouthEast of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Ad moves up to 27. Pat: DAB. Here's a DAB of butter on a stack of pancakes.
38-Across. College student: UNDERGR(AD). The difference in your social life when you transition from being an Undergrad vs. Graduate Student. AD moves up to 32. Tongue-in-cheek award eponym: DARWIN. Unfortunately, often times the recipient of the Darwin Award ends up dead.
38-Across. College student: UNDERGR(AD). The difference in your social life when you transition from being an Undergrad vs. Graduate Student. AD moves up to 32. Tongue-in-cheek award eponym: DARWIN. Unfortunately, often times the recipient of the Darwin Award ends up dead.
48-Across. Nation of Islam leader who was a mentor to Malcolm X: ELIJAH MUHAMM(AD). Elijah Muhammad (né Elijah Robert Poole; Oct. 7, 1897 ~ Feb. 25, 1975), was the son of a sharecropper and Baptist lay minister before developing the Nation of Islam, which is an African-American religious and political movement. AD moves up to 44. Stifled: DAMPED.
55-Across. Online annoyances needed to complete five puzzle answers: POP-UP ADS.
Across:
1. Foretold: PRESAGED.
9. Biblical spy: CALEB. As I am sure you all remember from your Biblical history, after Moses and the Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years, they came upon the land of Canaan. Moses sent out 12 men on a reconnaissance trip into Canaan and report back about its cities and inhabitants. Caleb was one of the spies Moses enlisted for this mission. Ten of the spies feared entering the land, but Caleb and Joshua thought otherwise. You can find out more about this mission in the Book of Numbers. Spoiler Alert: The land was deemed safe enough at the time for entry.
14. California resort island: CATALINA. Fun things to do on Catalina Island.
15. Let up: ABATED.
18. Lady of Las Palmas: SEÑORA. Today's Spanish lesson.
21. Source of a mole poblano ingredient: CACAO. History of Mole Poblano. The bitter-sweetness of the CACAO counteracts the spiciness of the peppers. You can get some Mole made with ants at Xochi in Houston, Texas.
24. "Now, where __?": WAS I. I was having a senior moment, there!
25. Spans often presidentially named: ERAs.
26. '60s Hagman co-star: EDEN. Think of I Dream of Jeannie. Barbara Eden (née Barbara Jean Morehead; b. Aug. 23, 1931) and Larry Hagmen (né Larry Martin Hagman; Sept. 21, 1931 ~ Nov. 23, 2012) starred in the television show.
28. Turn: GO BAD. How long has that milk been in the refrigerator? It has GOne BAD!
33. Rapper __ Wayne: LIL. His given name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (b. Sept. 27, 1982). I am not familiar with his work, but he seems to have a lot of ink.
34. Marble piece: SLAB.
35. Czech currency: KORUNA. Here are some Czech coins.
39. Partner of Marcus: NEIMAN. The high-end department store Or, as we used to call the store ~ Needless Markup. The store was originally founded by Herbert Marcus (Sept. 6, 1878 ~ Dec. 1950) and his sister, Carrie Marcus Neiman (May 3, 1883 ~ Mar. 5, 1953) in Dallas, Texas in 1907.
40. Zeno's home: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA was a pre-Socratic philosopher. He lived around 495 ~ 430 BCE. A little before my time.
41. Just out: NEW.
42. Log: ENTER.
43. Deal preceder: ANTE. Not as a business deal, but the dealing of cards in a poker game.
44. Place to nosh on a knish: DELI. Yum!
45. Musician Rundgren: TODD. For years, Liv Tyler (b. July 1, 1977), thought Todd Rundgren (né Todd Harry Rundgren; b. June 22, 1958) was her father. Her mother, Bebe Buel (b. July 14, 1953), was living with him at the time, but had a brief affair with Steven Tyler (b. Mar. 26, 1948) of Aerosmith fame.
Todd Rundgren is probably best know for his song, Hello, It's Me.
47. Braves slugger: AARON. As in Hammerin' Hank Aaron (né Henry Lewis Aaron; b. Feb. 5, 1934).
54. Edible oil: CANOLA.
59. More disturbing, as details: GORIER. Some of the recipients of the 32-Down Awards meet with very Gory endings.
60. Licorice-flavored brew: ANISE TEA. Anise tea is actual an herbal tea that is thought to soothe an upset stomach. How to Make Anise Tea.
61. Because: SINCE.
62. Demoted to the minors: SENT DOWN. Think baseball. A player who doesn't do well in the major leagues may be Sent Down to the minor league team.
Down:
1. Many Chrome runners: PCs. As in Personal Computers.
2. Muppet Rizzo, e.g.: RAT.
3. Greek vowel: ETA. Not the usual Estimated Time of Arrival we see in the puzzles.
4. Burrito seller's array: SALSAs. Yum!
5. Ginsburg associate: ALITO. Fooled me. I was going for Elena Kagan (b. Apr. 28, 1960). Ruth Bader Ginsburg (née Joan Ruth Bader; b. Mar. 15, 1933), Samuel ALITO (né Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.; b. Apr. 1, 1950) and Elena Kagan are all Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court.
6. Actress Gershon: GINA. As in Gina Gershon (b. June 10, 1962)
7. Many an RPI grad: ENGR. Hi, Spitzboov!
9. Honduran homes: CASAS. More of today's Spanish lesson.
10. He played Fish on "Barney Miller": ABE VIGODA. Abe Vigoda (né Abraham Charles Vigoda; Feb. 24, 1921 ~ Jan. 26, 2016) was a constant victim of death hoaxes beginning in 1982 when People magazine erroneously reported his death. He lived another 34 years after this fake news.
11. Legal scholar Guinier: LANI. Lani Guinier (b. Apr. 19, 1950) was nominated to be the United States Attorney General in 1993. Unfortunately for her, some of her writings were deemed too controversial, hence her nomination was withdrawn. She specializes in Civil Rights and is now a law professor at Harvard.
12. "The most private of private schools": Hugh Laurie: ETON. Prince William (b. June 21, 1982) and Eddie Redmayne (b. Jan. 6, 1982) were classmates at Eton.
13. Marine threat: BERG. As in an Iceberg.
20. Bled: RAN. Adding a cup of vinegar or a half cup of salt to the rinse cycle will help hold colors from bleeding in the wash.
21. 2010s Caesars Palace regular, familiarly: CÉLINE. As in Céline Dion (née Céline Marie Claudette Dion; b. Mar. 30, 1968).
22. Out of the sack: ARISEN.
23. "Heads or tails": CALL IT!
26. Vigorous spirit: ELAN.
29. Claim discovery, perhaps: ORE.
30. Phone in crime shows: BURNER. Lots of burner phones were used on The Wire.
31. San __, Texas: ANGELO. I am not familiar with this city in Texas, but here are some fun things to do in San Angelo.
34. Wisenheimer: SMART ALEC.
35. Proposal support?: KNEE.
37. __ Zion Church: AME. As in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
38. Last: Abbr.: ULT. As in the Ultimate.
40. Turn into: END UP AS.
43. Naval brass: Abbr.: ADM. Grace Murray Hooper (Dec. 9, 1906 ~ Jan. 1, 1992) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. She was a computer scientist and was involved in the development of COBOL.
46. Orchard Field, today: O'HARE. The main airport in Chicago was renamed O'Hare in honor of Eddie"Butch" O'Hare (né Edward Henry O'Hare; Mar. 13, 1914 ~ Nov. 26, 1943) who was a naval aviator in the United States Navy. He was shot down in the pacific theater during World War II. The name of the airport was changed from Orchard Field to O'Hare International Airport in 1949.
47. Not to be missed: A MUST. The musical Hamilton is a MUST SEE. I saw the show last weekend. It was fabulous!
48. Cardio readout: ECG. As in an ElectroCardioGraph, sometimes abbreviated as EKG.
49. Indochinese Peninsula nation: LAOS.
50. Cross letters: INRI. A crossword staple. From the Latin phrase: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. As we learned from last week's entry in a puzzle, different theologies have slightly different interpretations on how this phrase should be translated. So, let's just leave this alone.
51. Become part of: JOIN.
52. Refine: HONE.
53. Could hear __ drop: A PIN.
56. Volume One words, perhaps: A TO. Youch! This was an evilly tricky clue. Think of the letters on the spine of an encyclopedia (do they even exist anymore?). Volume One would contain articles beginning with A to perhaps B. Or, maybe the first volume of the OED would have these words on its spine.
57. Morning coat?: DEW.
58. Title of respect, in Tokyo: SAN. Today's Japanese lesson.
Hahtoolah here. As Lemonade noted last week, he'll be sharing the Friday blog spot. So, you got me today. Hope you had as much fun with this puzzle as I did. Fear not, however, Lemonade will be back (just like Arnold!). In the meantime, I will sometimes be sitting in for him on some Fridays.
QOD: The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution. ~ Stephen Sondheim (né Stephen Joshua Sondheim; b. Mar. 22, 1930)
Notes from C.C.:
1) As Hahtoolah said earlier, she'll sharing the Friday blogging duty with Lemonade from now on. Lemonade's workload has increased substantially the past few weeks. He does not have extra time for write-up. Each post often takes our team at least 3 hours. Thank you, Lemonade and Susan!
2) Happy
Birthday to dear Pat (PK on our blog), who
turns 78 today. Sorry, CrossEyedDave, I stole your cake again. PK was a
newspaper reporter before, hence her always keen observations.
56 comments:
A London girl named Lori Leena
Wanted to visit the isle CATALINA.
She at last made her way
With an insurance pay
From an accident involving a lorry leaner!
Some people yearn for the idyllic EDEN.
Others yearn for the prestige of ETON.
The obsessive-compulsive
Finds it repulsive
When there's nothing that comes out even!
{C+, B+.}
What an odd feeling to wake up to a Friday Hahtoolah write-up. Happy birthday and many more Pat; the coincidence bug continues with today's birthday puzzle created by another PK -Peter Koetters.
The puzzle filled quickly for a Friday, as the theme jumped out. As noted there were some very hard clue/fill combos. I doubt most know CALEB or the DARWIN AWARDS which do run on TV. Do you all know about MOLE POBLANO ? I represent(ed) a company marketing Ecuadorian Cacao so I have learned much about chocolate beyond how much I enjoy it.
Susan, you write up sent me down a few rabbit holes, in addition to MOLE POBLANO , such as the the world of TV TROPE and the DARK WEB which do seem to fit together.
Welcome to Friday and thanks to you and Peter I now know too much about NEIMAN MARCUS
Good Friday morning.
Thank you Peter Koetters for this CW that was crunchy in places, and easy in others. The central east cell was impossible, but somehow I filled it sans help.
I was able to FIR.
Thank you Hahatoolah for picking up the reins of the Friday review. I have only scanned today's review, but I can say you dun good.
Ðave
Whoo here: Back after a few years absence and relearning the language, idioms, and proper thinking of x-wording. (sorry) I got the "popupads" right off the bat but, I struggled through the rest of the puzzle. When I got here things became a bit clearer? (more clear?) Anyway, thanks for clearing up the answers for me. I am sure as time goes on I will get back into the thinking mode again. One question and an observation before I go. Does anyone do: "Classic Crosswords by Merl Reagle?" I ask because his three previous puzzles were quite challenging but, last Sunday's puzzle seemed as it was drawn up and edited by a beginning composer... Am I mistaken? Thank you for the write up today. have a great day everyone. (The Whoo)
Good morning!
Got the theme with STALINGR, but hesitated to put in GO BAD, thinking the AD should've been missing. Thanx for 'splaining AME, Hahtoolah. Tried KOPECK for that Czech currency -- didn't last. Thanx, Peter, and welcome to the Friday fray, Hahtoolah.
CATALINA: Prominently featured in 26 Miles by the Four Preps from '57.
BURNER: I catch lotsa flak about my "burner" flip-phone.
ADM: Hooper used to carry a piece of wire about a foot long in her purse. That was how far light (or electricity) could travel in one nanosecond. She used it for educational demos.
PCS: I think there's a PC moment in my future. The hard-drive in my all-in-one has suddenly become audible...constantly audible. The original drive failed, and I replaced it with the one I salvaged from my ill-fated IMac. Now it seems the replacement drive is on its last legs.
Happy birthday, PK! That cake looks good.
The "ad" is not missing, it just goes up at the up.
seareeferd; I was wondering when somebody would say something!
The "pop-up" AD got me started in the east, and the theme (I thought.) was necessary for getting some of the "crunchier" fills!
Great puzzle!
Tough puzzle, but gettable. ⭐️
Good Morning.
Thank you, Peter, for a very doable Friday. It helped that I found the theme on my first across run with ELIJAH MUHAMMad. That opened everything else. I was stymied at the WWII battle because I couldn't come up with a decisive action that began with ST, which I erroneously parsed as Saint. At this point in my CW career, I supposed I'm positioned to be SENT DOWN to the minors for errors such as that.
Hahtoolah, welcome to a more regular role. I enjoy your write ups. Glad Lemonade has a partner to share Fridays during this busy time for him. Thanks to you both, and all our tour guides, for filling the corner with so much wit, wisdom, and just plain old fun.
Happy Birthday, PK. You are quite an asset here. I hope you're writing that memoir!!! Enjoy your day!
Hope it's a sunny one--especially down river.
This was even more clever than I thought, at first. I saw the missing AD at the ends of the theme words, but didn't see that AD popped up around the corner. Great!
However, seeing the "missing" AD at the ends early on and knowing CALEB, and MOLE POBLANO didn't help me solve any faster. I thought GO BAD was too close to the theme to be legit.
DARWIN award, KORUNA, and GINA were unknowns, but easily perped and wagged.FIR.
Hahloolah, thanks for stepping up to the plate. I like your style.
"Needless Markup" LOL. Too rich for my purse.
DARK WEB, my bankcard was compromised last week. It was caught in time with only $0.79 involved. I am getting a new card. I used the card only at the home bank's ATM and it never left my wallet otherwise. The bank's records must have been compromised. A couple at the next desk at the bank had the same problem.
The Whoo, welcome back. Merl Reagle died in 2015, but it seems his old puzzles are being published again. I think that sometimes whether a puzzle seems easy or not depends on our life experiences and our attention span when we solve. Sometimes we Cornerites agree on which ones are easy and which ones are difficult, but sometimes that is not so.
Dear PK, a very happy birthday to you. I often think of emailing you. When you get your email up and running please let me know.
I have so many irons in the fire these days, I do not always post, but I solve everyday and read the comments.
Krijo, where are you to explain currency to us?
Great spring morning again ! No clouds and no wind . Snow disappearing and ditches and creeks filling with water. Some birds returning from their migrations South. Looking forward to hearing the meadowlark sing.
Great puzzle today thanks to Peter Koetter.
Enjoyed the review Hahtoola.
Happy birthday PK . Always look for and enjoy your posts. Like about seven or eight other regulars you often brighten the day with your witty comments. Have a great day !!
The puzzle was tough but fun . Saw STARK RAVING M and the game was on.
Filled the POP UP ADS theme and looked for the rest of the ads up.
FIR with a little help from google . Several Mid East capitals end in “bad” so checked the map on that one.
Knew MOLE POBLANO from a Spanish cooking class workshop that I took part in quite a few years back.
Liked the PROPOSAL SUPPORT clue. The KNEE was more flexable when I did that for traditions sake just over 51 years ago.
OwenKl I rated the last one at least as high as the first . Grandson #3 is quite a perfectionist bordering on obssesive compulsive. Photographic memories come not without their trials.
Cheers
Whoo- I'll do any Merl puzzle I can find. You certainly did a Merl puzzle. It just didn't strike your fancy. Most veteran constructors consider him the greatest puzzle maker ever.
R.I.P. Mr. Reagle
Good Morning:
I, too, missed the Ad going up so my opinion of the theme and execution rose considerably after reading the expo. I'm sorry that I can't say the same for much of the cluing and fill, however. Maybe I'm a bit of a grouch, so I'll defer to my good friend, Thumper. Nice CSO to Spitz, though.
Thanks, Peter, for a challenging effort and thanks, Hatoolah, for the thorough and lively write-up. Your visuals and links were impressive. Welcome to the Friday slot.
Happy Birthday, PK, hope it's a special day. 🎂🎁🎉🎈🍾 Nice to know your first name is Pat; if that was ever mentioned before, I missed it. I always get a kick out of your posts; they're humorous, pithy, and, often, quite astute.
Have a great day.
Forgot to say... Pete, fabulous puzzle! the "Aha" moment was wonderful!
The devilish clueing combined with
"where are the circles when you need them" made me throw in the towel
on this one... I just could not tell where those damn ADs would pop up!
23d heads or tails = "call it!" (*&^&%$&)
40d turn into, what the hell is an Endupas??? (I even Googled it looking for answers...)
Oh well,
Busy day, but I will try for some silliness later if I have time.
In the meantime, if you have not seen it, I highly recommend the Movie
"Enemy at the Gates" as a gripping rendition of the events at Stalingrad.
Full movie (with bad sound) can be seen here.
or just check out some clips...
I cannot seem to find Butch O'Hares gun camera film on YouTube anywhere!
It is a shame, because he became WWII's 1st fighter Ace because some one
forgot to top off his tanks before a mission. Everybody flew on but he had to return to
the Aircraft Carrier low on fuel, and accidentally intercepted a bunch of Jap Betty's (Bombers) on their way to bomb his ship. Shot down 5! And used his plane and propeller
to harrass the rest into leaving his ship alone all by himself!
The gun camera film was the proof! so where is it now?
Happy Birthday PK!
(Also the name of my Beloved Cat, Pretty Kitty..)
Note: The cake may be sloppy,
but note the use of "real icing!"
Not that computer generated stuff that Amateurs use...
(just teasing Ya CC!)
L8r...
Good morning everyone.
Happy Birthday to PK. Nice cake!
Pleasant solve. But I'm not fond of theme fill where part of a word is left out. Just not my thing.
CSO à moi @ RPI; also to IM's neighborhood.
KORUNA - Surprised that the Czechs are not in the euro zone yet. Koruna seems to be a Slavic form of "crown". Nor. and Swe. use the Krone or Krona, the Brits at least used to use the Crown to represent 5 shillings.
CATALINA - Steamed around it for 4 days in 1958 on the USS Greer County (LST-799) for training. One morning, at anchor, there was a harbor seal sleeping at the base of the ship's Accommodation Ladder. Greer County is in Oklahoma.
We're having our first Spring snowstorm today.
Have a great day.
Musings
-A fun scheme that revealed itself early. Nice job Hahtoolah!
-This DAM break in Nebraska last week hurt thousands of people
-KC has SENT DOWN a full roster to play for the Omaha Storm Chasers
-PE sub today and here come some 5th graders. Yikes!
HBDTY, PK. YR, I hope things are proceeding well, even if they are chewing up all your time.
FIR, but erased orca for BERG.
I loved sailing to Catalina Island for vacation or a weekend. The Isthmus is 20 NM from San Pedro, and about 30 NM from Marina del Rey. Avalon is quite touristy. The isthmus is mainly boat people and workers. Buffalo sometimes roam around the isthmus area, and can be dangerous if with calf.
San Angelo was the HQ for GTE Southwest. I knew a lot of people FROM there, but I have never BEEN there (or done that, or got the tee shirt).
Speaking of GTE, we bought Sprint and modernized its network to all-fiber optics. Unlike then-standard transmission methods, cross-country connections were so quiet you could hear A PIN DROP, a feature used extensively in our commercials. (The down side of fiber optics is that it made circuit costs insignificant, which led to offshoring customer service, robo calls and other woes of modern society.)
Remember the old joke about the nerd who checked out the Encyclopedia's fifth book because it was labeled HOW to HUG?
Helmetless crotch rocket riders who weave in and out of traffic at 80 MPH are Darwin Award candidates. They are also sometimes called "the donor class".
Thanks to Peter for the fun, easy-for-Friday puzzle (except that I also missed the "up" ads). And thanks to Hahtoolah for stepping up in relief of Lemony.
Don't know if is the case now, but the only two grocery stores on CATALINA were Fred and Sally's Market and Safeway. I once saw a lady walking around Avalon wearing a maternity shirt proclaiming "I got pregnant at Fred and Sally's Market because I didn't Know there was a Safeway". Corny but cute.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Peter and Hahtoolah (great to have you helping Lemonade). Just a little crunch today but it is Friday.
I saw POPUP ADS early in the game; since I was struggling with the GM at the end of 19A, I initially was looking for companies that might be having the ads. ISLAMAB gave away the AD, but hand up for not seeing that AD was going UP until I arrived here.
I needed Google help for KORUNA, TODD, and the G in GINA. I wanted an O instead of U in MUHAMMAD but there is another UP in the crossing END UP AS. (It also crosses the theme - cute)
We had the more common to me ECG today.
I was thinking of many rural and outlying areas with limited-access to internet before DARK WEB appeared.
Of course, my first thought was San Antonio, Texas but it would not fit. ANGELO did.
Those DARWIN awards are more than tongue-in-cheek; they are DARK. "Honoring Charles Darwin, we commemorate those who improve our gene pool--by removing themselves from it in the most spectacular way possible." Hahtoolah, I think the recipients All receive the award posthumously.
I was thinking of something like the Razzies.
Oas - I LOLed at your KNEE comment.
Happy Birthday to PK.
Wishing you all a great day.
Desper- Would you know who has the best deals on burner phones? How do you buy air time?
The tech dinosaur...
Thanks, Seareefred. I can't believe I missed the upward AD! I should have known from the reveal, which clearly said the AD was POPping UP!
Happy, Happy Birthday, PK. Go wild and get a pizza!
The clue for 56d is poor. I understand the need for a fresh clue for the frequently appearing ATO. I also get that is Friday and we should expect devilish clue/answers. But I think Rich is reaching on this one. Technically(and cruciverbalists are very technically accurate), in this use "A" is not a word. Just as for "Volume 3: E to G", E and G are not words and a clue for ETO saying "E to" are words would be incorrect.
Overly critical? Maybe.
I just found it as a blemish. The puzzle and the gimmick was fabulous, however, just as Jerome suggested.
Jerome, my phone is an AT&T GoPhone. I seldom use it, and carry it only for emergencies. $100 keeps it alive for a year and provides 400 minutes for the year -- about 350 more than I need. It's the only $100 annual plan that I've found.
Pedant, that ATO clue could've been TOM's rear end.
Withthe puzzle mostly filled already, I spent way too much time trying to figure out pop-u-pads..Lol!
Happy Birthday, PK, Enjoy your special day!
Well, this was a toughie for me, I'm afraid, and I didn't get the ADs going up theme while working on the puzzle. But very clever, Peter. Never heard of the DARWIN awards, and don't think I want to, after learning what they (dis)honor. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for your great help to Lemonade and to us. Enjoyed your write-up very much.
I did every single Merl Reagle puzzle book as they came out over the years, and was devastated when we lost him. I still work on the new volumes at night before going to sleep.
PK, have a wonderful birthday today.
And have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
Great puzzle Peter Koetters, and great review Hahtoolah !
Happy Birthday PK !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PK!
Hahtoolah: Excellent write-up. Nice links!
Peter: Thank you for a FUN Friday puzzle. I really enjoyed the theme.
Husker: Hope you survive the 5th graders. LOL
Hope everyone has a "Wonderful Weekend" ... I'll be watching the PRO's play golf.
Cheers!
I just got home from Guatemala where I explored most of the country, and I was surprised to see San Angelo and Catalina in today's puzzle. I honeymooned in San Angelo in 1962 but haven't been back since. The Concho River is lovely at times, I recall.
When I had my airplane, it was hangared in Santa Maria CA and I had more than one opportunity to fly to Santa Catalina Island's Airport in the Sky with an elevation of some 1,600 feet. Pilots are warned about the often fierce updrafts from the cliffs just off the north end of the runway. I always tried to approach and land from the south to avoid them but it wasn't always possible due to heavy traffic. Ahh, memories. The island is a real gem, and Avalon is a fun getaway. But the airport destination always has a degree of risk.
Yes, I miss Merl Reagle also. His Sunday SF Examiner puzzles were priceless. I, too, have some unsolved ones.
Thank you, Peter Koetters for a fabulous grid! And many thanks, Hahtoolah, for joining the Friday line-up! You do a splendid job.
I started out not liking this puzzle much but as the fill progressed I saw the cleverness, especially when the -AD appeared to be missing. I also failed to see -AD popping up to complete it. Really clever that.
SALSAS crossing CACAO caught my eye but I'm not a big fan of mole`, poblano or any other.
I'd never heard of San ANGELO, TX, so that took a while to suss and hand up for KOPECK before KORUNA. I would imagine euros are now used.
Just thinking of ABE VIGODA with his dead pan face makes me smile.
One small, very small nit at DAMPED. My mind wants it to be DAMPENed. That's just me.
PK, I wish you a very happy birthday!!
Everyone, have a pleasant day!
Lucina - Damp and Dampen seem to be somewhat interchangeable. Controlling the air flow on a stove flue, we would call it a damper, not a dampener. I was hoping YR could give us some further insight.
Don't know anything about Catalina Island,
so I thought I would take a (7:31) tour: I dunno, looks kinda crowded...
But I would like to check out a Buffalo Milk (@4:55)
Pop Up Ads?
It's like getting smoke in your eyes..
I think you would have to be an Idiot to get sucked into
those annoying, um, er, Aw Nuts!
Lucina I agree DAMPED kinda dampened my spirits but like in an IMAX movie I closed my eyes and the feeling quickly passed.
Prairie Woman You reminded me of an auntie of mine when told of a friend who was diagnosed with cancer had to GO FOR TREATMENTS asked hesitatingly,"what are GOPHER TREATMENTS?"
I see that I am in august company here -- missing the up 'AD's until Hahtoolah's write-up clarified things was not just my old age kicking in ... again.
I'm caught between posting this and watching the first round of NCAA playoffs over my shoulder. I am not a basketball fan, but my campus, UC Irvine, is playing Kansas State, and I must lend eyeball support.
Enjoyed this pzl. It's one of those that looks intimidating until you crack a few notches in each sector. I caught onto the clever theme with ELIJAH MUHAMM, but didn't appreciate the full reach of it (the "POPUP"s) until Hahtoolah's exegesis.
The differences between UNDERGRAD and grad school? It really depends on one's field of study. I agree with the monkish life based on the strictly literary focus of my grad study in England. Between classes (which were not graded; they were for your benefit) and private tutorials (in which your tutor helped guide your research) you had little "free" time. But back in the US, with a focus on artistic goals, I found the social life filled with celebration--parties to reward ourselves with each fresh production!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Sadly, no diags today.
CED....”Endupas”....”end up as”.
This was a fair Friday puzzle....despite the AD gimmick, which made it a bit “crunchier”. I personally dislike this particular gimmick, as soon as you get it there are “free cells” you can fill in.
Anyway.
Markovers....MOHAMMED/MUHAMMAD.
On to Saturday.
I liked this puzzle but sure had to struggle and resort to red letters to solve it. I did eventually see the missing ADs but, like many of you, didn't catch the ADs popping up at the end. (It would have made some of the solving easier if I had seen it.) Damn clever. I waited for the perp to reveal whether Malcolm X's mentor's name was MUHAMMAD or MOHAMMAD. It wasn't easy, because, like CrossEyedDave, I didn't recognize what the hell an "Endupas" is. I thought for sure the licorice-flavored drink would be SAMBUCCA, but no. And I drew a total blank at AME Zion.
I lived in San Angelo for three months. Well, I didn't actually live in the city and never got a chance to see much of it; I was stationed at an Air Force Base there. Same story with San Antonio; every new Air Force recruit got Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base there.
Hahtoolah, it is so good to have you some Fridays. It's nice to have the opportunity to see more of your writing than your usual brief blogs.
Happy birthday, PK! So you are about one year older than me.
I almost fell out of my chair the other evening while watching Death in Paradise on TV; one of the characters said "Totes" several times!
Good wishes to you all.
Hi All!
That, Peter, was a fun puzzle to noodle. It took a while to get going and I finished where I started - in the NW (what a mess). But I'm happy - completely doable (for me) sans outside help.
Thank you Hahtoolah for a sparkly expo; lots of good stuff including the QOD.
I thought I caught the theme at STARK-RAVING M [no AD] but never noticed AD POP'd UP. Very nice, Peter, very nice (and thanks for the extra AHA! Hahtoolah / seareeferd)
WOs: Portend @1a, adDOP[t]AS [sic] b/f END UP AS. MoHAMM[AD] (Hi PVX!)
ESPs: ELEA, EDEN (Oh!), LANI
Fav: DARWIN Awards - just too funny in a DARK way. [I see C, Eh! made the same observation]
Runners-up: Clue=Wisenheimer - Pop uses that all the time (on me :-0) and ABE VIGODA (I was going to share a Barny Miller last night! but thought it too late)
{B, A}
HBD PK! I always love reading your down-to-Earth posts and amusing observations.
Welcome back Rainman! I can't wait to hear of your adventures.
LEM - I didn't know CALEB but both DARK WEB and DARWIN Awards was obvious after a perp or two. Speaking of Awards, anyway watch the IgNobels?
D-O: I'm sure you know - back it up! Once a HD starts 'making coffee' (i.e. percolating), time is limited. Good luck.
OAS - Interesting observation re: OKL's #2. There was a segment on NPR's Think discussing 'Gifted' folk. [It aired today so maybe the episode will be there tomorrow]
[Nerd Alert] - Jinx - I forgot the 'Hear A PIN drop commercials. When you cut Sprint to Fiber, did y'all use ATM?
Oh, and Funny T-SHIRT!
Jacye - it was either Lackland or Randolph AFB where I took line-man school (and, Jinx, learned to splice fiber) when I was at DOD.
Jerome - WalMart for your BURNER. All cash; no questions :-)
Cheers, -T
Whew!
Well, my Anteaters just knocked off 4th-seeded Kansas State 70-64.
Zot!
~ OMK
Gosh, Jinx, how long ago was your visit to Catalina? The supermarket in Avalon is a Vons, and there's a Vons Express as well. And finally they seem to be building a bigger Vons on a nearby street.
D-O You want to look into a solid state drove (SSD). Best Buy had a 1 TB version on sale for about $150 a couple of weeks ago, and the 256GB was really cheap, maybe $50.
-T, No ATM yet in those days. 24 T0s --> T1, 28 T1s-->T3, about 12 T3s to the optical equipment (1 pair of fibers). All conversations circuit-switched at T0 level; data mostly nailed connections at T1 level with T3 switching on the horizon. Even equipment like Lucent's Optically Remote Module connected via electrical T3s in those days.
OMK - Congrats to you and your mighty ANTEaters.
Sandyanon, it was a while ago. Could it be thirty years? Boys Market was the big thing in Marina del Rey back then, and I think it has been gone awhile. West Marine had only been known outside of Northern California for a couple of years.
I hope Doug's Harbor Reef is still the great restaurant at the Isthmus, and that they still have the wonderful Sunday brunch. I've spent WAY too much time and money there.
Mr. Google says Boy's is now Ralph's.
Thanks for the review and the kind words, folks. This is Peter, the puzzle's constructor. I am also PK but it is not my birthday. Happy Birthday, PK. Glad most people saw the popup ADs... it was challenging to decide how to signal that was happening, and I decided on a Friday we might not want to signal it at all. I was lucky to find a way to incorporate the popups into down answers and still retain the symmetry of the theme entries. It was a fun challenge to make this one and I hope it was a fun challenge to solve it. Cheers!
Thanks y'all! for the many nice birthday wishes and kind words. Thanks also for the lovely cakes from C.C. & CED. Always a treat. Yes, Hahtoolah, I had already ordered a pizza AND a chocolate chip cookie delivered. Great expo too.
What are the odds that Peter Koetter would be the esteemed constructor on my PK birthday? I was even on his wave length and got the ADS POPping UP on the first one. Love it when a Friday cw comes challengingly easy for me.
Keith: boo hiss on your anteaters for disappointing my Kansas State. I was so interested in the game, I forgot to watch. I thought it was tonight. Oh well, I had a long talk this morning with my K-State engineering grad which was a better way to celebrate my day.
This was a great puzzle. I didn't see the ADs going up until the reveal, but that tied it up into a nice bow for the finale.
Happy Birthday, PK. You've always had the right combination of classy and sassy. It serves you well, don't quit.
PK ~
Sorry.
I didn't mean to put a dent in your day of days. I'm glad you spent time with your K-State grad & trust your mood was not too DAMPED by a mere game score.
~ OMK
Jinx, there's a Harbor Reef Restaurant in Two Harbors, but I read that Doug Bombard died not too long ago, so maybe it's under new management?
And the new, big, Vons just opened in Avalon last month.
(I have family on Catalina, so it's of special interest to me.)
Spitz:
According to my Random House Dictionary, DAMP is both an adjective and a verb so DAMPED is correct. It just sounds strange to my ears. Adj.: damp, damper, dampest. Verb: damped, damping
dampen, dampened, dampening v. is another word altogether
Damped or dampened
We dampened the sponge to wipe the counter. The early morning dew dampened our shoes. I have never read or heard damped used instead of dampened in this sense.LIU. I see that this sense of damp as a verb is archaic.
But I have read plenty of uses of damped in the sense of muffle, stifle, lessen in force. Damped the fire, damped one's ardor, damped one's excitement. In this sense damped and dampened are interchangeable.
Examples are common in print:
"The community was outraged on both sides,” said Wexler, who credited Manger’s leadership for damping down the differences. Washington Post, Jan 30, 2019
"...adding real estate to a portfolio of stocks, bonds and gold both increased the return and damped the volatility."
New York Times, Jan 11, 2019
There was no socializing when I was in grad school. I took as many night and summer courses as fast as possible (2 years plus one extra summer) to raise my income while I was teaching full time. I was chair of a search committee for our priest with many meetings, in charge of making the arrangements and editing a 20 page brochure. My dad was dying of cancer and soon succumbed. My mom was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's. Alan was having one of his worst episodes. I was getting a divorce, selling my home and buying another one. Grad school, reading requirements and my thesis were the sanest part of those years. I have fond memories of them. I have always liked school and paper writing. Good thing I was young back then.
YR: good grief, your life has been hectic at times. I, too, wish I could find someone to solve my email problems. I've thought of things many times I wanted to email you about.
Well, I blew it. I saw "licorice" and inked in ANISETTE and quickly followed it with the obvious SENT DOWN. I never fixed DEW nor even saw SAN*. Phil agrees on SAN. I missed the word "Brew"
I loved the Hahtoolah write-up
YR, good bless you. What a trooper you are and have been.
I had lots of trouble today but that's good for a well-crafted Friday Xword.
HBD PK. Raise those grades Owen, A- is your lowest.
WC
* I had a fella talk to the proctor and I can get that answer changed. Well worth the $20.00
PS. I posted at 730 this morning. So, I'll add that I did NOT see Henry Aaron play since his MLB career began in 1953.
Jerome: Thanks for the answer. In reply I must say I did 4 Merl puzzles in about 6 days. It was the latest one that seemed really off. The first three were head scratchers but, enjoyable. I located him at https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/daily/? under the heading of "Classic Crosswords" Where he has the last 4 Sunday puzzles posted. Check him out and see if I am paranoid and delusional (not again lol) The newest one seemed really strange. Thanks for listening. (The Whoo)
WC - your footnote re: proctor is one of the funniest things I've read all day. Cheers, -T
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