"Tiny Bubbles"
4. It's often worn with a hood and mortarboard: ACADEMIC ROBE. 10-6 or 0.000001
10. Computer screen array: DESKTOP ICONS. 10-12 or 0.000000000001
25. Longtime late-night host: CONAN OBRIEN. 10-9 or 0.000000001
26. Don Ho's signature song ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: TINY BUBBLES.
The circled answers are three of the twenty metric system "unit prefixes" used in the International System of Units (SI). The prefixes are used for multiples or fractions of the seven base units of measurements, which include second for time, meter for length, kilogram for mass, etc. In case you missed the news, big changes occurred yesterday, May 20, 2019 as the redefinition of the base units went into effect.
However, the theme is Tiny Bubbles, and we have:
- Microbubbles - Used in biomedical imaging and for targeted drug delivery.
- Nanobubbles - Change the characteristics of water molecules, with widespread potential uses.
- Picobubbles - Being studied to improve extraction in phosphate production.
If you aren't buying in, just count all of those zeros in the SI unit prefixes as Tiny Bubbles.
Moving on...
Across:
1. Fur-protesting org.: PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
5. Criminals, to cops: PERPS. Perpetrators. Perps, to cruciverbalists: perpendicular answers.
10. Idiotic: DUMB.
14. With, in France: AVEC.
15. Paying careful attention: ALERT.
16. Biblical twin: ESAU. The hirsute one that sold his birthright.
17. California county known for vineyards: NAPA.
18. JFK Library architect: I.M. PEI. As you are aware, he died last week at 102. Jackie Kennedy chose an unknown architect named I.M. Pei to design the Kennedy Library
19. Talked like a rat?: SANG.
20. Shoe brand with a three-stripe logo: ADIDAS.
22. Jabbing rudely: POKING.
24. Rescue helicopter: MEDEVAC.
26. Something for serving the English breakfast?: TEA TRAY.
27. Spanish hand: MANO. Anatomy. Mano a Mano: hand to hand.
28. Crushing on: INTO. Adoring on, or idolizing.
29. Fronton game word: ALAI. Didn't know the word fronton. Had the clue been "Cesta game word" jai alai would have come to mind. As it was, perps provided the answer. If you are looking for a venue where you can watch a match, here's a list: Frontons in the USA
32. Like about-to-be-toppled dominoes: ON END.
34. Surreptitious summons: PSST.
38. Branded wares, informally: MERCH. Merchandise.
40. American gymnast Raisman with three Olympic gold medals: ALY. Three Golds, Two Silvers and a Bronze in Olympic competition:
41. Magazine name: TITLE. Caught me thinking of masthead names.
42. Preface, briefly: INTRO.
43. Tip of a quill: NIB.
44. Ensure the win: ICE IT.
45. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO. Shakespeare. That's about all I know about it.
47. Send to iCloud: UPLOAD.
49. "Doctor Who" airer, familiarly: THE BEEB. "...a nickname originally coined by Peter Sellers...and popularised by radio DJ Kenny Everett."
50. Smoothie maker: BLENDER.
52. Gained altitude: ROSE.
53. "Survivor" faction: TRIBE. If interested, here's a list of the tribes of "Survivor" through the years. I think I've watched perhaps a total of 10 minutes of it in the 38 "seasons" it has been on TV. They must average about two seasons a year, since Wiki tells me it has been on since 2000. Apparently it's a very popular reality series.
55. Stud farm stud: SIRE.
56. Latin art: ARS.
57. Not yet sleeping: STILL UP.
59. Chicago ballplayer: CUB.
60. Show on which Tina Fey co-starred for six seasons: SNL.
61. Cooks' prep tools: PEELERS.
62. India pale __: ALE.
63. "Yo!": HEY !
64. Bar tender in Tokyo?: YEN. Two words for the currency clue rather than the singular word for an occupation.
65. For instance: SAY. FREX, as JzB would abbreviate FoR EXample.
66. Blanc who voiced Bugs: MEL.
Down:
1. Former Delta rival: PAN AM. Never flew Pan Am, but was a Delta frequent flyer member. The only thing I got from them in return was lost and misrouted luggage at Hartsfield. Still have my card
2. Give the slip: EVADE.
3. Lukewarm: TEPID.
5. Italian chum: PAISANO.
6. Massachusetts state tree: ELM. They also have a state rock. It's called Plymouth. And a state cream pie and terrier dog, both called Boston.
7. U.S. House member: REP.
8. Cursor beginning?: PRE. Precursor - a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.
9. Grad student's income: STIPEND.
11. Delta rival, as it was once known: US AIR. US Airways, nee Allegheny Airlines, merged with American Airlines. I remember the expansions of Pittsburgh International in the 70s and 80s, largely to support Allegheny / US Air. TWA was the other major carrier that had a hub at Pittsburgh.
12. Exodus food: MANNA.
13. Glitch-ridden, as software: BUGGY. Hopefully the bugs are caught in Beta Testing.
21. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.
23. Bread grain: OAT.
29. "What __ missing?": AM I.
30. "Stormy Weather" singer: LENA HORNE.
31. In a naive way: ARTLESSLY.
33. Giants QB Manning: ELI. The New York Giants of the National Football League.
35. Stabilizer for movie shooters: STEADICAM. Invented by Garret Brown. He also invented Skycam, "the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events."
36. Outmoded calculator: SLIDE RULE.
37. Hanoi New Year: TET.
39. Sharpen: HONE.
41. Shower wall piece: TILE.
46. Divan kin: SETTEE.
48. Thorax membrane: PLEURA. More anatomy. Thank you perps. The Crossword Corner's resident physician wouldn't need to look these up, but I had to. The last anatomy class I had was in high school...
- Thorax - "the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen, including the cavity enclosed by the ribs, breastbone, and dorsal vertebrae, and containing the chief organs of circulation and respiration; the chest.
- Pleura - "each of a pair of serous membranes lining the thorax and enveloping the lungs in humans and other mammals."
49. Garbage: TRASH.
51. Defy authority: REBEL.
54. __-at-ease: ILL.
57. MI6 agent: SPY.
58. "Gangnam Style" musician: PSY. The video, if you care to watch it. Now with 3,349,033,725 views and counting. That's 3.349 billion (109) or 3.349 gigaviews, if one were to use the SI unit prefix.
49 comments:
PERPS from PETA sure are DUMB.
They'd condemn humans to kingdom come!
They're POKING noses
Into ROSES
To protect aphids from the Sun!
B.B.C., A.K.A. THE BEEB
May have a secret up its sleeve.
The E.U. leaver
With Brexit cleaver
Comes to T.V. as "Leave It To The Beav."
{B+, B-.}
Hi Y'all! I went speeding thru this puzzle and enjoyed it, thanks Messers Levin & Chen. TTP thanks for the stellar expo.
No circles at Mensa. No idea of any theme at all. Glad I didn't know there was a theme because I didn't understand it even when TTP explained it. Sometimes ignorance is more tolerable than knowledge. I've reached a point where simple math is still doable on the far between occasions I need it.
PLEURA, I knew. I understand PLEURisy is very painful though. I think we have at least two resident medical doctors on the blog.
I'm a Survivor watcher, so I knew TRIBE. I'm not sure why I watch a show about people getting down & dirty on a beach somewhere exposed to the elements and conniving to send everyone else home so they can have a million dollars.
Haven't heard from my kids in OKC since yesterday afternoon. Looks like more scary weather all around them just an hour ago. Who knows what the communication systems are doing in all this? We're having a lull in the monsoon here but expectations are for an entire week of rain. I don't know if my crops got planted this month as they should have been or not. Might need to broadcast the seeds from a flock of drones. Too wet for heavy tractors.
I took the theme as...when the unfilled grid is viewed, the empty circles appear to be bubbles rising to the surface of the puzzle. When the answers are revealed, the prefixes, that refer to things tiny, materialize within the circles or bubbles then they become...TINY BUBBLES.
Or is it just me?
FIR in 34:24 min.
Terrific Tuesday Posters!
Thank you Jeff Chen, and John-Clark Levin for this delightful Tuesday CW. I noticed that the CW is symmetrical side to side rather than top to bottom.
Thank you TTP for your informative review.
Ðave
Good morning!
King Kamehameha, that's what I thought, too. My only misstep was calling that academic getup a GOWN. Cap'n'Gown sounds more familiar than Cap'n'Robe. Easily fixed. Thanx for the diversion John-Clark and Jeff, and for the expo, TTP. (Your "...died at 102" sent me to the grid to see what that clue/answer could be. D'oh!)
PAN AM: I used to fly them a lot. They lost my luggage on a flight to Dubai -- it never got on the plane in Houston. On that trip I learned you can buy most anything at the Suq, except underwear. Proof of the jetsetter's motto: Breakfast in New York, lunch in Paris, luggage in Timbuktu
MANO: Reminds me of Manos, The Hands Of Fate, arguably the worst movie ever made. Rotten Tomatoes give it only 7% on the tomatometer. The guys had lots of fun with it on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
As someone once involved in the travel industry, I find the evolution of airlines and all related minutiae fascinating. I had to memorize all domestic airport codes(international ones came through osmosis) and still remember most all these years later.
Anywho, there once was a service called the Eastern Shuttle that operated between DCA, LGA and BOS. It was an hourly service from 7am to 10pm and needed no reservations. It was ran by Eastern airlines until they ran into labor problems and eventually bankruptcy. Its complicated but it eventually was acquired by Donald Trump and became the Trump Shuttle before it was acquired by US AIR and became the US Airways Shuttle, although all of us in the biz just called it "the shuttle".
My memory fails me as to when but PAN AN at some time introduced a rival service that started earlier at 6:30am and ran on the half hour using the catch phrase "The First Choice". They sent us promotional items and I had one on my desk, a tiny plane with the slogan on one side and the logo of the beer, Samuel Adams, on the other. You see, the Eastern/US AIR shuttle had no service on board whereas PAN AM offered snacks and beer! Its nickname was "the flying nosh". Also PAN AM used stewardesses from their Hawaiian routes to staff the plane. Now, which shuttle would pre-PC businessman request to fly? Hmmmm. Bare bones, no service USAIR or PAN AM with beer and polynesian princesses? I would frequently advise travelers "US AIR has a shuttle leaving in ten minutes" and HE would say, "Naw, I'll wait for the 6:30. Could you have a driver for me when I arrive?" "Sure, Mr. Draper, will do."
So that is my long and convoluted attempt to tie PAN AM, US AIR and TINY BUBBLES together. I apologize in advance for the long story. Dont get me started on the nightmares introduced when the East Coast experienced STORMY WEATHER!!
Give/Gave, you get the idea.
TTP, Thanks for your link which led to prefixes for base units. I'd never heard of nine of them.
FIR, but erased ALi for ALY and otello for ALONSO.
I live about a mile from PETA's world headquarters. Great neighbors, but OKL is right - they do DUMB things.
Another potential reference to Jimmy Buffett - "..but there's booze in the BLENDER, and soon it will render..."
Anti CSO to Tin: ICE IT.
BUGGY, or as Microsoft says "that's not a bug, it's a feature."
My pet peeve is members of the U.S. House of Representatives who call themselves "Congressmen". Worse yet are talking heads on TV who don't use the correct title: "So, Congressman Kickback, what should we do about the decline of croquet in America?" Especially since we have a correct and gender-neutral title - "So, REPRESENTATIVE Kickback...".
Thanks t John-Clark and Jeff for the fun romp. And thanks to TTP for the informative and fun tour.
Fun morning with the TINY BUBBLES rising up the page! Not too many hold-ups though I had to change "elude" to EVADE when AVEC and NAPA necessitated it!
My PAN AM story: when I graduated from college I did a 3 month stint at with a charitable organization in India- PanAm flight 1 went around the globe one way and flight 2 went around the globe the other way. So those were my flights there and back. Hadn't flown them before, because being from Kansas City which was a TWA hub in those days, I didn't have much opportunity to fly PanAm, but I was leaving from California on that trip.
Thanks TTP, John-Clark and Jeff!
I tried ACADEMIC hood before gown.
Good morning.
You are probably right, D-O. I probably overthought the theme. The bubbles part bothered me, and knowing of microbubbles being used in medicine led me down the rabbit hole.
Que sera, sera.
PK, I was thinking of Dr Nena, but yes, we also have constructor Dr Bruce. Hope you hear from your family soon, and that your crops get planted in due time.
Another rainy day in Chicagoland. What did that guy say ? April is the cruelest month ? S/B May this year. This cool weather and rain is making the lawns thick and lush and deeply green. I mowed the entire yard Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, each time taking two or more inches off the top. Ruing my decision to sell John Deere.
Good Morning:
Between yesterday's mind boggling PRN or PNR (don't' remember which) discussions and today's Tiny Bubbles (whatever they may represent), my brain is in a tizzy! 🤕 I enjoyed the solve and had only one w/o by mistakenly spelling Medevac with an I. I needed perps (Big CSO to us all) for Adidas, Alonso, and Steadicam. I liked the Rep/Pre being side by side and the proximity of the Spy/Psy duo. It was also fun to see US AIR and PAN AM, and the timely I. M. PEI entry. Nice CSO, also, to Anon T at Paisano,
Thanks, John-Clark and Jeff, for a fun Tuesday and thanks, TTP, for the fun and fact-filled review and for your interpretation of the theme which made perfect sense to me, even if I didn't understand one word! 😇
Owen, both earn an A, IMO.
PK, I hope you hear from your family soon.
FLN
TTP, thanks for sharing that graffiti video. It was nice to see the enthusiasm of the children over such simple, but meaningful, encouragement.
Have lots to do to prepare for my luncheon guests so tally ho and enjoy your day! The Bloody Marys are beckoning, 🍹🍹🍹
King- You are exactly right about the circled squares representing the bubbles. An extremely clever idea! Big time kudos!
TTP- I always read your posts and enjoy them. However, for someone so brilliant as you I can't figure out how you missed the importance of "TINY BUBBLES" as a major part of the theme.
Good morning everyone.
Got it all without help. Circled theme had no impact on the solve. Favorite clue was for YEN - Bar tender in Tokyo?
SLIDE RULE - I have a Post Versalog in my desk. The bamboo construction helps it to SLIDE easily. I wonder; Are logarithms still taught as part of HS math?
BUGGY - reminded me of Anon -T's calling.
STIPEND - I had an NSF STIPEND in graduate school thus being a "professional student".
Art was a clue in 56a and part of the fill in 31d ARTLESSLY. Is that considered kosher?
I dont understand the theme at all. Pico bubbles? Never heard of them!
Interesting puzzle for a Tuesday. PLEURA and Thorax seemed above Tuesday level but perps were friendly. I had no problem with the solve but the theme EVADED me. Thanks John-Clark and Jeff for the fun, and TTP for ‘splaining the hard parts.
PK and others fighting the weather, I understand your misery. It stormed here with floods and tornados, but the next week promises to be gorgeous. Hope your Stormy Weather is over soon.
Owen, A !
Musings
-The content and construct made this an elegant Tuesday puzzle
-How many times do you suppose DON HO has had to sing his one-hit wonder
-After Henry Hill SANG/Ratted on his friends (portrayed by Ray Liotta in Goodfellas), he entered the witness protection program in Omaha
-They’ve worn ADIDAS for years
-STEAD_CAM and MED_VAC both required me to make a vowel movement
-To ICE IT in basketball, one usually has to make a clutch free throw
-A mixed drink in Tokyo requires around ¥800 ($8) in bar tender
-The skies now outside my window are a PRECURSOR of STORMY WEATHER this afternoon
-Unlike calculators, you had to have a lot of math ability just to use a SLIDE RULE
-Well done, TTP!
I use the MENSA site, so, no circles. It's obvious that I didn't need them to solve the puzzle from Jeff Chen and John-Clark Levin. TTP's tour explained what I missed by not having circles.
At first, I thought that today's puzzle was a tad harder than a typical Tuesday puzzle because it took me longer to fill in all of the blanks. After looking at the completed grid, I couldn't understand why it took me as long as it did. My coffee may not be strong enough this morning.
I wanted KNIVES instead of PEELERS but it was too short. Most chefs who I know don't usually use peelers. Knives are the primary tools that they use in the kitchen. They are very particular about their tools and don't let anybody touch them.
I don't watch any of the Survivor shows, so TRIBE didn't pop up immediately. PERPS (our kind of perps) were needed to fill it in along with a few other words.
I still have my slide rules (a K&E and a Pickett) and still know how to use them. Years ago, my 8 year old son asked his 10 year old sister (a math whiz) what a slide rule was. She tried to explain logarithms and the principle behind their use. Finally when he just wasn't getting it, she put her hands on her hips in disgust and said "Michael, it's a calculator without batteries."
WRT the Eastern Airlines Shuttle, I logged many trips on their bare-bones service because I worked in the DC metro area for a company headquartered on Long Island. DW would drop me off at the local METRO station when it opened at 6:00 am and I would take the train to National Airport (now Reagan National) for the 7:00 am flight to LaGuardia. I usually tried to get on the second section of the flight because the first plane would fill up and they would roll out another plane to take the extra passengers who didn't get on the first plane for the time slot. This was great because the second plane was less crowded and you could stretch out. We always had the same flight crew and got to know everyone on the crew and many of the usual passengers which made the trips a little more enjoyable. Here is the history of the Eastern Shuttle and how competition brought them down.
I know we're not supposed to discuss politics on the Blog, but it's time to go to the polls and vote in the Primaries here in PA. I figure this is a civic duty and not talking politics. And if I don't vote, I have no right to complain later. There is one race that is not a primary. Our local Congressional Representative resigned early this year, right after being sworn in, so the governor decided to add the replacement election to the primary to save some money rather than have a special election earlier. The problem with this is that most independent voters probably won't vote, which is sad.
So, Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to the polls we go.
Have a great day everyone.
This was a well put together Tuesday puzzle.
This went quickly, but I left blanks when unsure....like med_vac....waited for the fill. Glad I did, cuz I would have inked in the I. I know, it’s easy to make an E out of an I, but still.
And that’s that. See you tomorrow.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, John and Jeff, and TTP.
This CW filled in quickly with only one inkblot, and I saw the Bubbles.
Hand up for Gown before ROBE. (Perhaps my thoughts were guided by novel that I just finished, The Gown by Jennifer Robson. Interesting book about the seamstresses/embroiderers on wedding gown for Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II. I highly recommend it and there is a Canadian connection.)
ACADEMIC ROBE reminded me of the recent news of tech billionaire promising to pay off the student debt of graduating class and asking recipients to "pay it forward". STIPEND would not cover most of these loans, making this a game-changing stunner.
FuelInYourBus
Hand up for not knowing Fronton, but I learned Jai ALAI doing CWs and PERPS were friendly.
I smiled at AVEC and EVAC and others (and CSOs) noted by Irish Miss.
I also smiled at ARS - poetica, metallica, technical ?? after our previous discussion.
It took me a minute to parse ONE ND.
DH, the Eng, still has his SLIDE RULE. Not bamboo like Spitboov's. LOL, oc4, re "calculator without batteries"!
We saw Martha Henry play Prospero (David Collins played ALONSO) in gender-bending role in The Tempest at Stratford last summer. Excellent performance by a veteran performer.
TheTempest
PK, hope you hear from your family soon.
We are waiting for more consistently seasonal spring weather also.
Wishing you all a great day.
Anon- As I lousily tried to explain... The theme is not micro bubbles, pico bubbles, etc.
Pico is a way of saying, tiny. Pico is surrounded by a circle, which represents a bubble. So you have a word that means tiny surrounded by a bubble. Thus tiny bubbles.
Good Morning, TTP and friends. Not a fan of circle puzzles and really missed today's theme. (glad I didn't have to blog today!). With all the long down answers, I was hoping for some connection between them. Alas, it was not to be.
Hand up for the ACADEMIC Gown before ROBE.
PIASANO is definitely not a Tuesday word. Thank goodness for the PERPS (as in crossword perps, not 5-Across PERPS).
Interesting about the airlines, Piedmont. Now adays, the airplanes are flying sardine cans. If you aren't in the Priority, Platinum, Gold, Silver, or whatever else the airline choses to classify its consumers, you find yourself in a seat next to be bathroom with no overhead space left your your carryon. Bathrooms have shrunk, too. I can't imagine how some people can even fit into these tiny spaces.
I learned Fronton from doing the crosswords. J'ai ALAI appears often in various permutations of the cluing.
My grandfather was an early engineering pioneer in the telephone industry. I acquired his slide rule when I was in college. It was about 2 feet long. I knew how to use it then, but probably couldn't figure it out now.
I liked how the puzzle ended with SPY and PSY.
As TTP noted in his commentary, I.M. PEI died less that a week ago just 3 weeks after his 102nd birthday.
Louisiana has a State Rock (Agate), Dog (Catahoula Hound), Fruit (Strawberry), Donut (Beignet), and Drink (Milk).
I hope all who are in the tornado zone are safe. PK, keep us posted on your children.
QOD: As you move through life, it’s not going to be a bright, sunshiny day every day. ~ (May 21, 1923 ~ Aug. 2, 2017), American football coach
I liked the bartender clue. Mine used to be kited checks. Talk about “I'll gladly pay you Thursday…”
Isn't and hasn't it always been so, that”Survivor” is a metaphor for office politics? Duh?
Started to race through doing only the A's but got stuck on THE BEEB etc.
MERCH????
I remember, circa, ‘66-68 that DELTA had by far the best service and almost was worth a few more bucks.
Thanks for the story Piedmont
WC
Re: ADIDAS
I pronounce ADIDAS as most Americans I know do, uh DEE dus, with the accent on the second syllable. Once while watching the French Open I heard it pronounced, AH dee dahs, with the accent on the first syllable. Dont know which is correct. Dont care, really.
Interestingly the company's first athlete to sport the shoes was Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, John-Clark Levin and Jeff Chen, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.
This puzzle was a little tougher than most Tuesday, IMHO. Got through it, just not real quickly.
Had the circles and caught the theme.
Lots of long vertical fill. Some were tough: STEADICAM, ARTLESSLY
PLEURA, PSY, I M PEI, and ALY were head scratchers.
ALAI, MERCH, and ACADEMIC ROBE crossing caused me to think deep for a while. Especially not knowing what Fronton meant.
But, when all the dust settled it worked.
Starting to lightly rain here (again).
Band practice tonight. We have a parade in Wauconda to play in on Monday. Off to Ohio for the weekend. My grand daughter is graduating High School. Just seems like yesterday she was born in South Dakota.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Well, I breezed through the top half of this puzzle but ran into some problems with the lower part. But it was nice to get ACADEMIC ROBE and STIPEND in a puzzle, along with DESKTOP ICONS. And I really liked the bar tender YEN clue too. It frustrated me that I couldn't remember the name of Don Ho's song, and the singer of "Stormy Weather," even though they were somewhere in back of my mind. Anyway, thanks J-C and J, and you too, TTP, for your always helpful commentary.
Why PSI?
Hola!
Many thanks, John-Clark Levin, Jeff Chen and TTP! Seeing Jeff Chen's name made me think this would be much harder than it was. I guess he mentored JCL.
I loved the TINY BUBBLES theme with circles to illustrate them. In our many trips to Hawaii my late DH and I never went to see Don Ho and I can't imagine why.
Hand way up for GOWN before ROBE.
I've never watched Survivor but have heard the reference to TRIBE.
Ugh. I cringe at the name PETA, SPCA and all others who take extreme measures for their cause. I once found a card on my windshield with some vile accusations and please don't get me started on some of their other activities with which I'm sure you are all familiar.
Fronton is often used in CWDs in reference to jai ALAI and that's why I know it.
STILL UP is what unfortunately happens to me at 2 A.M. most nights. Last night I took three Melatonin tablets and that really helped. Today I awoke refreshed and rested.
PK:
I echo the wishes of our friends here with regard to your family and farm.
Have a pleasant day, everyone!
Our diocese, in another fit of lawyer- (or, insurance-) induced complication, has introduced a new ‘Transportation Policy.’
The key point is this: << Drivers must be between the ages of 21-65 .... >>
The priest responsible for this wrote back to me: “So I researched and came up with this about a decade ago. I can tell you it wasn’t random though I don’t remember exactly where I got the numbers.
It can be revisited and changed. It probably should be at some point. ”
Is there some valid reason for setting an age limit of 65? This seems arbitrary -- of course, I am biased, being 74, but I haven't run across any evidence that supports such a broad cutoff point. If there is, I need to learn of it.
Do any of the venerable Cornerites have thoughts or source for this?
Thanks. Michael
That policy was probably based on the policies of their insurance company. Many companies base employee policies on the requirements of their insurance company. Especially employed drivers.
And just as an FYI Stormy Weather was an Ethel Waters' hit before Lena Horne sang it.
Michael:
Age 65 does seem arbitrary. I've known people who drove at 90 though I realize not everyone has that ability. If an age limit must be set perhaps 80 although I'm 81 and have no problems driving. I keep myself fit but that is not the case for everyone. Other factors should be considered such as eyesight, reflexes, health, etc.
65 is still young!
Thanks for the complement Jerome. I try, but I sure overthought it today.
Good thing I don't blog Fridays or Saturdays !
If the insurance company says they wont insure an employee over a certain age then that's it. No ifs, ands or buts. If it just the employers policy then it may be discriminatory.
But facts are facts and the insurance companies have lots of research to back up their facts.
Not many 30 year olds accidentally push the accelerator instead of the brake and go crashing through the bank or hairdresser's front window.
Nifty puzzle; I enjoyed solving it. I too misspelled MEDIVAC. I also misspelled CONAN O'BRIAN.
PEELERS was the nickname for the London Metropolitan police force, created by Robert Peel, before they came to be called Bobbies. Now they're just plain Coppers.
Loved the clue for YEN!
I have worked on finding PREcursors for 15 years.
Good luck to you, PK, and good wishes to you all.
Except for the center bottom, I found this fairly easy going. I was led astray by the alternate spelling of King ALON[z]O at 45A. That threw me off in the entire section under the influence of SETTEE.
Anon T ~
From yesterday: OIC.
Today's Jumble features an anagram about Vincent Price. It reminded me of my encounter with Mr. Price--back in the day. (For any who may be interested, please go to Owen's Jumble site-- http://jumblehints.blogspot.com/ --and click on today's date in the right hand column.)
Ah, LENA HORNE, one of my very favorite singers.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals today, one on each side.
The near side (NW to SE) continues the anagrammatic negative trait of too-many-consonants. The far side offers better opportunities.
I'll go with the designation of special turnpike privileges reserved for those who can boast of noble Levantine heritage. (Just be sure to carry a copy of your birth certificate in case you're stopped by the highway patrol!)
I refer, of course, to the...
"KHAZEN LANES"!
(Keeping the "Z" from my preferred spelling of "ALONZO")
Hi there.
Late today! I enjoyed the puzzle--thanks to Mssers. Levin and Chen. My fave today was TEA TRAY because I sussed the English Breakfast Tea. I know it's not rocket science like some of today's discussions.
Thanks, TTP, for the excellently detailed review. Great info and links!
Thanks to all the contributors for such interesting discussions today. I am fascinated by everything about which I know nothing. The East Coast air commuter details were amazing in terms of today's travel times and availability.
PK: Good luck with the weather on all counts.
Have a good evening, everyone.
Lucina ~
Good for you, re. driving at your age. I gave it up voluntarily at age 76, a year after I retired. I realized the time had come after I smacked two cars in parking lots, a month apart. Fortunately, these were minor dents, but still...
I am glad you're keeping fit. But then, so am I. I'm afraid it's not a matter of personal discipline. I was a runner for many years and still keep up with my diet and exercises. But our genes have different timetables. I'm the longest living of any (known) member of my biological family, but pay a price as different physical mechanisms bail on me.
Our bodies (and minds) give out on completely different schedules. The only way the gov't will be able to legislate an age for pulling licenses will be when they can read our DNA/RNA interaction perfectly.
~ OMK
What interesting comments, Keith!! We age at such different rates. I have a friend who is 104 and going strong. (No! She doesn’t drive!). But other friends at 80 or 90 are feeling infirm.
I still drive but I am very much aware that I want to stop before I am forced to!! Actually I’m the only one of my close friends who still drives.. so I am the designated driver when we go out! Uber has become our best friend.
Age is such a moving target.
Hi All!
A little crunch in our Tuesday this morning but one always expects that with a Jeff Chen (co)creation. Nicely done John-Clark & Jeff.
Theme - I loved the theme as executed but not the sentiment [see: below].
TTP - can't win 'em all eh? Thanks for the expo and Argg!, now I have to re-learn all the SI I learned in EE!
[EE is one of the few engineering disciplines where all the units are SI; I had a hell of a time in Thermo with BTUs and what not].
WOs: hand-up for MEDiVAC [PVX, only three strokes of the pen to make an I -> E :-)), O'BRIaN (Hi Jayce!).
ESPs: ALY, ARTLESSLY (and I still needed TTP's aid to parse it!), ALAI, ALONSO, PLEURA (had PLEUlA 1st)
Fav: MEL Blanc - we all know his epitaph.
{B+, A}
You have some imagination OMK.
PK - Please pop into The Corner to let us know how your family is doing. I'm glad Eldest came home from OU last week!
Speaking of Eldest, she's on her way to SFO to hang out with Aunt Susie who was a PAN AM flt. attendant for many years; the stories she has from around the world...
In HS ADIDAS meant "All Day I Dream About Sex." And that is why I spelt it right the 1st time :-)
Puma @11:44 - I've heard it both ways too. No, I don't know which is right.
Picking up on last night's discussion of RPN, one with batteries and one w/o [funny oc4!]
Below:
In Basic Training we had an overweight white drill-sgt that would sing "TINY BUBBLES" as cadence [why I needed no PERPS to fill it]. It was awful - made the 3-block march to mess seem like miles.
Now, contrast that with the black Drill Stgs - they'd call cadence and 20mi seemed like a walk in the park we'd have so much fun.
I finished Eric Idle's "Semibiography" last week so THE BEEB filled sans thought.
Hahtoolah - you must be pullin' our leg; no way LA State Drink is milk --- unless South LA REPs were out drinking when the vote was cast(?) :-) //Bunch-a Baptists in North LA, folks.
Cheers, -T
Anon T... milk punch??? We coonAsses are creative !!!
Another day where I wrote a long post and never hit send, so I guess we will all survive without my comments today but I did want to chime in that when I was 68 I voluntarily stopped driving because the optic nerve in my good (left) eye is dying and I have no peripheral vision which is mandatory in the countries where we drive on the right. It is hard but I do not want anyone hurt for my pride.
Thanks for all the good wishes for my family. They are all okay as of last notice. However, tornado warnings were out earlier for a niece's family and my BFF. No reports of bad damage there. At 6 p.m. I went to the computer and was engrossed. Realized the tornado siren was sounding. Rain started coming down but could hear no apparent wind. I finished what I was writing then went into the other room. Sun was shining. ??? Then I looked out on the patio and there was a big limb with lots of green leaves down. Don't know what happened here. This all occurred within 15 minutes. Very strange. Supposed to be nice tomorrow.
The Senior Citizen Transport in my home county had a cut-off age of 65. One thing that was mentioned was a person young enough & fit enough was needed to help all the older in-firm patrons on and off the bus. I had a neighbor down here who drove a school bus which was parked in his drive every night. I was appalled when the man came home one night and dropped dead in his living room-- shortly after dropping off the last kid. They found him when he didn't pick up kids the next morning. He was 81.
Greetings!
Thanks to John-Clark. Jeff and TTP!
Partly perped were ALAI, ALY, LENA HORNE, PLEURA and PSY.
Thinking good thoughts your way, PK!
Have a good evening!
Above post: should have read " cut-off age of 65 for transport drivers".
PK - thanks for the good news on your family. Sounds like you had one of those "delta-strike-force" tornadoes that, thankfully, only had it out for that tree :-)
Imagine if you weren't blissfully ignorant for those 15 min - that would have been a long-scary 15 min!
Nice to see you Fermat; feeling better yet?
Cheers, -T
Almost forgot...
SwampCat - CoonAsses related to the Mongols? Airag.
//I remember learning that in HS and thinking "Humans will ferment anything!"
Cheers, -T
Just winding down with the comics says...
How'd no one link Pearls Before Swine theme for the week? (spoiler - PETA)
Nite, -T
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