It’s
May, ribbit, ribbit!
“Tra
la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear
It's
May, it's May, that gorgeous holiday
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes, the lusty month of May”
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes, the lusty month of May”
Recognize
those lines? I’ll confirm or inform later on.
On
to the puzzle with musical interlude #1. Today's cw is by our quasi-resident wordsmith, Paul Coulter. For this
mid-week effort, Paul placed all of the theme answers in the verticals,
because.....well, because the theme demanded it. The bottom word of
each theme answer is a type of bell.
As a lowly enlisted swabbie, I can relate to the naval connotation of the Bell Bottom uniform. Those pant-legs were actually more stove-pipe than bell-bottom. The trousers were stocked extra long by waist measurement, and were then shortened to fit the individual sailor. The 13 buttons may be traditional (they represent the 13 colonies), but they’re a real bother to deal with. I’d vote for a zipper fly any day.
As a lowly enlisted swabbie, I can relate to the naval connotation of the Bell Bottom uniform. Those pant-legs were actually more stove-pipe than bell-bottom. The trousers were stocked extra long by waist measurement, and were then shortened to fit the individual sailor. The 13 buttons may be traditional (they represent the 13 colonies), but they’re a real bother to deal with. I’d vote for a zipper fly any day.
The Reveal:
28D. Retro pants, and a hint to the answers to
starred clues: BELL BOTTOMS The bottom word of
each theme answer is a type of bell.
3D. *Many Northeast tourists look up to her: LADY LIBERTY. Lady Liberty isn’t nearly so welcoming today as in years past. But here we’re talking about the Liberty Bell. When did it get it’s famous crack?
9D.
*Bring-a-dish event: POTLUCK DINNER.
The
triangular dinner bell became popular in the early 1800s to call the
family and workers in from the fields at mealtime.
18D.
*Controversial educational institution: CHARTER SCHOOL.
Your school bell might have been a hand-held model wielded by a
bookish schoolmarm, but more likely it was an electric bell that
signaled the beginning and end of class periods. I thought “saved
by the bell” probably had a school connection. Nope, it originates
in the boxing ring.
26D.
*Real moneymaker: CASH COW. Cow bell. The company I worked for
served as a Cash Cow for the parent corporate holding company. After
the long recession in the “awl patch,” I wonder if that’s still
the case.
Across:
1.
Indonesian resort island: BALI. Just east of Java.
5.
Champagne flute part: STEM.
9.
Provide with lodging: PUT UP. Tried HOUSE first.
14.
Australian export: OPAL. Wool would also fit...but it
would be wrong.
15.
Hilo feast: LUAU.
16.
"SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Vowel-rich, but c’mon
guys, she left SNL way back in 2000.
17.
Lack of propriety: INDECORUM. I’ve been known to
resemble that remark.
19.
Link: TIE IN.
20.
Marshal at Waterloo: NEY. Why did I think it was Dey?
Oh, wait, that was L. A. Law.
21.
Solo played by Harrison Ford and Alden Ehrenreich: HAN.
Han Solo, Star Wars.
22.
Fly off the shelves: SELL.
24.
Producing a direct electric current: GALVANIC. Back in
the late 1700s Luigi Galvani discovered that muscle tissues would
contract when electricity was passed through them. He experimented
with frog legs, because he was prone to playing with his food.
27.
Colorado town that means "town" in Spanish: PUEBLO.
The USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea in January, 1968. The
ship was about 16 miles off the coast at the time. Here’s probably
more than you ever wanted to know about the incident.
31.
Tel Aviv's land: Abbr.: ISR. Israel.
32.
Pre-exam feeling, if you didn't study: PANIC. I wanted
ANGST.
34.
Brain scan letters: EEG. I wanted MRI. I had a brain
MRI last year. Contrary to popular belief, they found one.
35.
Clog kin: SABOT. This was actually my first thought for
this answer. Yay, me.
37.
Down with something: SICK.
38.
Short, for short: LIL. I really, really wanted IOU for
this one. You may have noticed that I didn’t get a lot of the
things I wanted in this puzzle.
39.
Brunch serving: CREPE. Because Mimosa and Omelet were
too long.
40.
"Huh?": WHA. With the W in place, I
immediately inked in the TF. Nope, not to be.
41.
Sweetly, to Solti: DOLCE. What do you suppose is the
musical meaning of Dolce Vita?
43.
Part of HRH: HER. Put in the H and wait for the ER or IS
to show up.
44.
Campus mil. group: ROTC.
ROTC
(Reserve Officer’s Training Corps). Back
in the day, orientation
lectures were required of
all male freshmen.
Those military instructors could stand the loud stamping of feet for
just so long. They usually kicked us out after 10-15 minutes.
46.
Out of favor: IN BAD. Also a sailor, missing his first
letter.
47.
"Dig in!": EAT.
48.
In one fell __: SWOOP. I always say it as one “swell
foop.” “If the shoe fits” gets similar treatment.
50.
Paleo- opposite: NEO. Also the hero of the Matrix
movies.
51.
Source of theatrical fog: DRY ICE. Dry ice is frozen
carbon dioxide. It “sublimes” (goes directly from solid to
gaseous state) when warmed. See, I didn’t sleep through every
chemistry class, just most of ‘em.
53.
"I'm qualified, too!": WHY NOT ME. Musical interlude #2 from this mother/daughter team.
57.
"Gotcha": AH SO. Apparently “facetiously”
is no longer required in the clue.
59.
Bonanza find: Ore.
Ben
would’ve fit, but Hoss,
Adam, and Little Joe were too long.
60.
1960s chess champ Mikhail: TAL. If you say so.
61.
Historic Texas landmark: ALAMO. Easy for this
pseudo-Texan to remember.
64.
Book's epilogue: AFTERWORD.
67.
"The Hobbit" hero: BILBO. Bilbo Baggins.
Bilbo’s cousin, Frodo Baggins, was the hero of the Lord of
the Rings trilogy.
68.
Hoops shot: HOOK. Basketball.
69.
French friend: AMIE. Glue.
70.
Creeping critter: SNAIL.
71.
__ Major: URSA. The big bear in the sky.
72.
Old autocrat: TSAR. “Old” tipped me off that it’d
be TSAR and not CZAR.
Down:
1.
Spring sound: BOING. I really liked this c/a. My first
thought was CHIRP.
2.
Sleep clinic study: APNEA. Is it really all that bad?
I’ve never heard of death by snoring.
4.
Paris's __ de la Cité: ILE. The had a fire there
recently. You may have read about it.
5.
"McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN. The oldest
“Irish” tavern in NYC is actually known as McSorley’s Old Ale
House.
6.
Root vegetable: TURNIP. I don’t believe I’ve ever
had one. How do you fix ‘em? Are they good? Do they get damaged
when they fall off the truck?
7.
__ Claire, Wisconsin: EAU. If it were in Florida, they’d
call it Clearwater.
8.
Rose Parade flowers: MUMS. Aren’t all flower types
acceptable as float decoration?
10.
Serving a purpose: UTILE. I’ve never spoken that word
in my whole life as a person.
11.
Links supporter?: TEE.
12.
Ocean State sch.: URI. University of Rhode Island.
13.
Debit card code: PIN. You also need a Pin from the IRS
if you’ve been a victim of identify theft when somebody filed for
your tax refund. (I think it’s safe to assume that nobody would
steal your identity for the purpose of paying your taxes.)
23.
Awesome: EPIC. Two of the most over-used words in the
English language.
25.
Brandy bottle abbr.: VSOP.
“Very
Superior Old Pale.” To
bear that moniker, the
youngest brandy in the
blend
must be at least four years old. In Wisconsin and Mini-Soda
the brandy Manhattan is a popular cocktail...and
only
there, so far as I know.
29.
German camera: LEICA. They’ve been at it since 1914.
30.
Eyed inappropriately: OGLED. When is it an ogle, and
when is it a leer? Discuss.
33.
Long of "Empire": NIA. Recognize her name, but
draw a blank at Empire.
35.
Timetable: Abbr.: SCHED.
36.
Backward, shipwise: AREAR. Gluey. Not to be confused
with arrear or arrears – dead horses which were severely beaten in
recent days.
40.
Geneva-based commerce gp.: WTO. World Trade
Organization.
42.
Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. Musical
interlude #3:
45.
Has to pay: OWES.
49.
Snaps: PHOTOS. Not ginger cookies.
52.
Frost-y feet?: IAMBI. Robert Frost-y poetic feet.
54.
California town wrongly thought to be named from a backwards "bakery"
sign: YREKA.
It’s
the county seat of Siskiyou County, but you knew that. wy-REE-kə
55.
"The Sound of Music" matriarch: MARIA. Von
Trapp – that flibbertigibbet, will-o-the-wisp, and clown. In case
you need a hint, the actress who played her in the movie also sang
the words at the top of this post.
56.
Church leader: ELDER. Also a tribal leader. I don’t
remember any elders in the church I attended.
58.
Maui neighbor: OAHU. Neighbor, if you ignore Molokai and
Lanai…
61.
Muscles seen at Muscle Beach: ABS. Does your muscle car
have ABS?
62.
Architect Maya __: LIN. Anybody else read this as
“Ancient Mayan?” No, just me.
63.
Montgomery's st.: ALA. Capital of Alabama.
65.
In favor of: FOR. As opposed to agin.
66.
Angkor __: Cambodian temple: WAT.
Quiz answer: Those lines were sung by Julie Andrews on Broadway as
Queen Guinevere in Camelot.
I
hope Melissa Bee is enjoying her time off. Desper-otto out. (With
luck, C.C. will find a visual of the grid to stick here.)
Rabbit, rabbit. (It's tradition, not superstition!)
ReplyDelete(C.C.: I guessed that opening song was Tom Lehrer, not Broadway!)
In Philadelphia, we know it well,
That's where hangs the LIBERTY BELL!
Go east and north
And in New York
There stands our LADY, the Liberty Belle!
Jimmy Dean Sausage, George Foreman grill
Celebrities add to the cash in their till.
Johnny, the singer
Had a real BELL ringer:
The CASH COW could cut your dairy needs bill!
Eat whatever you want and you'll never get thinner.
Here's a dieting secret that's really a winner:
Carrots in aspic and celery sticks,
Kale stuffed BELL peppers are tricks
To keep from pigging out at a POT LUCK DINNER!
Stay seated until the BELL rings is the rule.
Be smart and learn lessons, or become a fool.
And to make the best grade
At the map-maker's trade
It's best to matriculate to a CHARTER SCHOOL!
{A, A-, C+, A.}
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Paul, your cute theme rang a BELL with me (I got it). Fun start to May. Surprise, surprise, it's D-O chiming in this morning. I couldn't guess until your name was revealed. Enjoyed your expo.
ReplyDeleteHand up for "house" before PUT UP, Frodo before BILBO, "birds" before BOING.
GALVANIC was a new word for me. Got it with perps and WAG.
Solo played by those two guys gotcha-ed me. I kept thinking "but two playing would be a duet". Perped in HAN. Oooh! Not into "Star Wars" after taking the kids to see the first one.
DNK: TAL, SLOAN, NIA.
APNEA is not death by snoring, it's death by not breathing. However, my son who has APNEA snored like a houseful of animals at the zoo. He snored so bad I was afraid his wife would smother that noise hole with a pillow. He loves his breathing machine and so does she.
White rabbit, white rabbit
ReplyDeleteHow nice to wake up to Paul C. and a review by our own whimsical D-O. The puzzle was fun, I like the change of pace of down themers and the reveal was well done. WAT is the Anglicized word for temple in both Cambodian and Thai, so it was a gimme. The rest filled and we are off to a new month.
I am just back from visiting my youngest in Denver where I met his new girlfriend (+++++) and had mostly great weather 50-70 degrees until the last day when it snowed. The snow was cool, know we were leaving, but I had made the mistake four years ago of teaching Oo how to make and throw snowballs. It was perfect snow and she got me twice in the head. Who knew she had such a good arm?
Thank you, Tom and Paul
Rabbit, Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteFIR which means Finished it Right, which means I completed the CW on my own without help.
A Wonderful Wednesday Writers!
Thank you Paul Coulter for this crunchy CW. My last square was the "I" in the Natick at 67 A and 62 D. I did not know BILBO or LIN.
Thank you Desper-otto for covering so well for Melissa Bee.
12 D -- I didn't know that the Ocean State was RI.
Ðave
Good Morning, Desper-Otto and friends. Fun puzzle and fun write-up. The theme answers quickly filled themselves in before I got to the unifier.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite clue was Spring Sound. I initially tried Bleat, because I already had the B for BALI.
We hadn't seen Cheri OTERI in a long time. She used to make very frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
I learned of Marshal NEY from doing the crossword puzzles.
GALVANIC is a new word for me.
I liked how Link (TIE IN) and Link Support (TEE) crossed.
QOD: I always write in pencil, so I can erase. ~ Elsa Peretti (b. May 1, 1940), Italian jewelry designer
In bad? Indecorum? Hmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteHi folks, not much to say, straightforward theme and I'm traveling in England with my daughter this week, we just saw the Roman ruins in Bath and now we're off to Stonehenge.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI like Paul's puzzles and really enjoyed this one with the rare, all-down themers. (Enjoy your holiday, Paul.) I was clueless until I filled in Bell Bottoms, and that's just fine with me. Ney, Galvanic, Bilbo, and Yreka all needed perps. My favorite C/A was Frost-y feet=Iambi. In Bad was sketchy and Indecorum doesn't sound quite right, either. Oh well, no one is perfect.
Thanks, Paul, for some mid-week fun and thanks, DO, for pinch-hitting for Melissa. You did an excellent job and, as always, your mischievous sense of humor was on full display. Regarding turnips, they are one of my least liked vegetables, probably because they were my mother's favorite side dish with any roasted dinner. I couldn't stand the smell of them, let alone their looks. (IIRC, you have a similar aversion to butter (wax) beans, which I love.)
Owen, you're in fine form today.
FLN
YR, that is terrific news about Alan. I wish many happy, calm and contented days for you both. You've had an arduous journey and deserve a much-needed rest and respite. Best wishes for the coming days.
Misty, I hope your dental issue resolves itself positively. You're a trouper!
Jinx and WC, congratulations on your respective milestones.
Anyone have any idea where Tin is?
Have a great day.
Correction: I meant wax (yellow) beans which are not the same as butter beans, but I love both.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you Paul and Desper-Otto.
The bells didn't start ringing for me until I got to BELL BOTTOMS, and then it was instantly clear. Very nice Paul.
It was nice to see Desper-otto with all the bells and whistles on in his pinch hitting role for Melissa.
My only realy quandry was Yreka and I needed all the perps. Never heard of it. Wikipedia tells me it came from the Shasta language.
Irish Miss, the last I knew Tinbeni was in Florida.
This puzzle didn't 'ring a bell' FOR me. But for a Wed. puzzle it forced me to make a few changes. BOARD to PUT UP & RIU to URI, IAMBS to IAMBE, PRO to FOR. COAL to OPAL. Was it POT LUCK supper or DINNER- waited for a cross fill.
ReplyDeleteYREKA (misspelled eureka?), TAL, NIA- unknowns filled by perp.
DECORUM I knew of but INDECORUM was a new one for me.
NIA- Smollett wouldn't fit. Never heard of him or the show until he paid some people to fake his own 'hate crime'.
Hello Mr. Coulter. Have a nice time across the pond.
Agnes- I just cooked a huge batch of lima beans, aka butter beans, and shrimp. 2lb frozen beans, 2lb shrimp, one drop liquid crab boil, pepper, onions, celery, with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A fun puzzle to do while watching boys build furniture in shop class
-My DW thinks my CPAP machine is VERY UTILE!!
-This deranged tourist is my friend’s brother
-Unhemmed BELL BOTTOMS dragged in the mud when “hippie-wanna-be” kids wore them in the 70’s
-Day care centers are CASH COWS for churches in our town
-OPEL? Wait a minute, they aren’t built in Australia!
-12 “what were they thinking” movie TIE-INS
-The Netflix series The Crown about the current HRH is great!
-DRY ICE demos will engage JH kids for a long time!
-If you’ve struggled to get a TEE into frozen ground, you are a real golfer
- Connection #3 measures GALVANIC Skin Response in this device
-OWES – “If he hollers, make him pay, $50 everyday”
-Nice job, D-O
ReplyDeletePaul provided the bells with today's puzzle and D-O rang them admirably. Since we have the bells, we need some whistles now.
AHSO, WHA and TAL were pure perps. I wanted Australian LAMB before OPAL was filled in with perps.
I knew APNEA right away. My sleep study showed that I stop breathing a great many times during the night. My DW had been telling me that for years before I finally signed up for the sleep study. I now have to put up with a CPAP machine if I want to get any reasonable sleep. Using the CPAP restricts my motion during the night because of the 5 foot hose that limits me. On more than one occasion I have managed to roll over and pull the CPAP machine off of the nightstand and onto the floor which spills the water in the tank all over the place. I put up with the CPAP, but I don't like it.
Spring is here and so is the pollen.
Have a great day everyone.
I agree with KS. Often clues don't accurately indicate the form of the word theatre trying to elicit, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI live by that QOD, Hahtoolah. :)
"they are" not theatre 😏
ReplyDeleteWonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Paul and D-otto.
ReplyDeleteI moved through this CW quickly and almost forgot to go back and find all those BELL BOTTOMS. Then I arrived here and discovered I FIW; I had Sabat and since I don't drink brandy, VSAP seemed OK also. WHA!
My Links supporter was PGA before TEE.
Hand up for Iambs before IAMBI.
Another hand up for waiting for perps to decide between His and HER. HRH Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning British monarch back in 2015. She just celebrated her 93rd birthday last Sunday, but the official celebration is in June.
TwoBirthdays
I also waited for perps to decide whether it was a POT LUCK supper or DINNER. Either would have fit the BELL.
Merriam Webster says INDECORUM is a lack of decorum, impropriety. Legitimate word but perhaps not used much in modern speech. (Maybe nobody wants to judge another!)
Fly off the shelves=SELL seemed to be an understatement IMHO. I would think of it as a Real moneymaker=CASH COW perhaps.
I smiled at OAHU and LUAU. Too bad they did not cross.
I believe GALVANIZed was an answer on Jeopardy last night. My DH (P ENG) shouted it out immediately. Clue had to do with second meaning "to coat (steel or iron) with zinc (to produce an alloy)" (Merriam Webster). (Galvanize may also mean "to stimulate or excite as if by electric shock".) Today's GALVANIC current "occurs in the presence of two or more dissimilar metals in an electrolyte or saltwater environment. It is a type of electrical energy that can be measured." (Corrisionpedia)
DRY ICE was used in our performance yesterday of The Horse and His Boy. Enjoyable production for all ages in the audience.
Wishing you all a great day.
FIR and overall enjoyed the puzzle. I'm ok with "inbad" as I've heard/used the term. Some odd clues/answers for a Wednesday IMO. And didn't like "wha" at all and especially when crossing Nia.
ReplyDeleteInteresting puzzle. I learned from x-words a long ago that OPALs come from Australia. I also learned NEY from x-words.
ReplyDeleteDO, "swell foop" entered my mind, too.
YREKA was new to me.
I do not care for Lord of the Rings.
No nits today.
I see IN BAD is used, at least, informally. "I didn't want to be in bad with the boss, so I decided to laugh along with his rather offensive joke."
INDECORUM is found in many novels, but is not much seen otherwise. "The stately reserve, the personal dignity and decency of manners which distinguished the Prince, contrasted favourably with the gabble and indecorum of his father." John Richard Green.
INDECOROUS is more common and is found in newspapers, magazines and on the BBC, as well as in novels.
"Such accusations are becoming all too common as this battle for Hong Kong’s future builds to a indecorous crescendo. Time Dec 1, 2014
"It led to an indecorous row with a war widow." BBC Nov 2, 2017"
Many of the indecorous quotes relate to current politics.
Thank you to TTP and Gary, and C.C. of course, for solving the posting problem. By adjusting my Safari settings and unchecking “prevents cross-site tracking”, I can post from all my devices, including iPhone.
ReplyDeleteFLN
ReplyDeleteThanks to TTP and D4E4H for reminding me how to link to previous comments. I will try it out below. I will try the bold also.
YR - I'm happy to hear that Alan is happy in his new home. Merlot out!
WC - Congrats on 41 years!
Misty - Glad your tooth pain is relieved.
Welcome Steve 2 Thanks to AnonT for pointing out that you are not Steve 1 I hadn't checked the profile.
Special welcome also to my fellow-Canadian LfromAlberta. I am pleased to have some Canadian support here. Yes, I have often "ranted" about the "foreign language" American clues and answers.
ExampleOfRant
I think that more of our American bloggers here have been exposed to Spanish than French (as compared to Canadians who, because we are an officially bilingual country, know at least a smattering of French from their school days).
Delightful, if occasionally tricky, Wednesday puzzle--many thanks, Paul--and enjoy your trip. I almost, almost got this one perfectly except for one letter--had SABAT instead of SABOT. Like CanadianEh, I don't know brandy. Would never have gotten YREKA even though I live in California, but the bakery clue helped. I got SLOAN and assumed that was the name of a painter or artist unfamiliar to me? Is that right, or did I not not understand the clue? I got WHA but was amazed that it turned out to be right. Loved the theme and those long downward theme answers with the BELLs on the BOTTOM. Many thanks for the commentary, Desper-otto. I loved seeing the picture of the Bonanza guys.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, you work hard on those poems, Owen--many thanks.
Irish Miss, thank you for asking about the dental problem. After a grueling two hours in the chair, I have a temporary crown that fits perfectly and is comfortable. In two weeks I get the permanent crown.
Have a great day, everybody!
!st, from Yest...
ReplyDeleteWelcome LfromAlberta!
I hope to hear more from you,
you made me stop & realize that, yes I am biased...
My apologies to all French speaking peoples everywhere.
In my defense, pls note that my aversion to French in English
Crosswords is just a silly trademark of mine. Just like referencing Cats...
But your comment made me realize, that even though I thought using
French only in a clue was unfair, and that they might as well
post the clue in Sanskrit, that if they did post the clue in Sanskrit,
I would be feverishly researching to find the answer...
(French, Meh! Not so much...)
Why is this?
I thought deeply about this, & have concluded that it was
my 8th grade Spanish teachers fault by insisting that the entire
period was only spoken in Spanish. She scarred me deeply by making
me stand in front of the entire class to recite the meaning of
No Se Nada!
Then Canadian Provences insisted we speak French!
Then the French insisted we speak French!
Well, forgive me, I am suffering PTSD from their attempts to teach me
a foreign language.
My biggest regret is that I cannot respond in the proper language
due to this traumatic learning experience, and can only say
"Besa me Culo..."
(I am not sure what this means, so take it with a grain of salt...)
Then, on the other hand,
it is quite possible that I have just been watching too much Monty Python...
DO, if you don't think sleep apnea can cause death, look up the cause of death for football great Reggie White, the Minister of Defense for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best defensive ends ever.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to Paul Coulter and to Tom! Good show both of you.
I love starting with BOING which confirmed BALI over Fiji when I was wondering which to fill.
Hand up for BOARD before PUTUP.
And everything I know about The Hobbit I learned in CWDs so waited for FRODO or BILBO.
YREKA is new to me and though it sounds like Eureka mispronounced, there is a town by that name.
Omelet is the usual answer for brunch but only CREPE fit.
LEICA and PHOTOS, OAHU and LUAU denote some linking.
I agree that INDECORUM is normally found in print but I don't know, lately .. . . .
Misty:
What a happy outcome for your tooth problem!
WC:
Congratulations on your 41 years!
Have a day full of wonders, everyone!
CED:
ReplyDeleteOooh! Shame. Shame. I think you know very well what that means.
Rabbit Rabbit, OK? (Sheesh.)
ReplyDeleteA fine humpday treat from Mr. Coulter, neither too hot nor too cold, but ju-ust right.
I caught 2D, APNEA, instantly. My wife wears the whole mask apparatus to sleep. I am a fan of videos of baby elephants, so we joke about how the breathing hose turns her into my nightly elephant.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, NE to SW.
A curious anagram emerges.
We have heard of such dynasties as the York and Lancaster Roses, the "Chrysanthemum Throne," and now we have the...
"WISTERIA CALIPH"!
Lucina, isn't it Besa Mi Culo? I agree Dave know. The French counterpart is even nastier, I think. I wish Kazie was here to comment on the phrase Baise mon cul. Not something my mother or grandmother spoke about.
ReplyDeleteSo many foreign clues made my head spin. One or two ok but i counted 8. It is wednesday?? Anyway my favorite today was bell bottoms answer. I used to wear super bells lol
ReplyDeleteBoing! What a nifty word to start off with. I enjoyed solving this puzzle. The A crossing WHA and NIA was last to fill. I wish AREAR had been clued in the monetary sense because, if I recall correctly, we've had discussions before that a sailor would say ABAFT or ASTERN to refer to the back of a ship, but would never say AREAR.
ReplyDeleteFavorite clue was the Frost-y one. Was that yours, Paul?
I love your write-up, desper-otto. Thanks for doing it and allowing your wonderful wit to shine.
I like the word GALVANIC. I've used it quite a few times in my work.
If you take Interstate 5 from here north to Oregon you pass right by YREKA.
Sheesh, gotta go.
2nd,
ReplyDeleteI am only here to lighten up the Blog.
Pls take my posts for their entertainment value only...
(or, at least 80% of what I post is sheer silliness...)
Personally, I don't know how you people could read a Crossword
Blog without me... (no religion, no politics, no silliness? Why bother...)
3rd, I must protest at Inbad,,,
(1st it was A words, now it is "I" words??? This is Crossword Cursing at its worst!)
Iambi? (this is a low blow, even "I" would not resort to this foul language...)
on a lighter note:
In my "Ute"
the rumor was Bell Bottom pants were invented
so that sailors could just pull them up and still
keep their pants dry while they swabbed the decks...
Then it became a fashion statement?
Which led me to "unlimited horsepower?"
Lemonade and CED:
ReplyDeleteYes, that should be "mi" but I hate to repeat the rest.
In the 70s I wore BELLBOTTOMS and loved them until I didn't.
Hey Jayce, I read your clever puzzle yesterday about a seesaw and its fulcrum. My tired brain was all tensed up about a doctor's visit today. I got boggled and I wasn't sure how to attack it. I'm back from the doctor and am slowly untensing. I appreciate your posting it. It seemed confusing when I first looked at it last night. Maybe a little hint about how to start? Or is it simpler than it seemed?
ReplyDeleteI understood besa mi culo. I like the song, "Besa Mi Mucho," kiss me a lot. So Besa is kiss. Knowing CED and seeing that Lucina called him naughty, I guessed CULO, because coolie is slang for backside.
ReplyDeleteLike yesterday's certainment (cetainly), it is fun to relate foreign words to what you already know. That's why seeing them in crosswords is a worthy challenge.
I loved bell bottoms in the 70's, but not the extreme ones.They were great if you were young and slim. I still recall some of my favorite outfits. That horse haircut was awesome. These days the nearest thing is flared pants/jeans. I like boot cut, half way between straight leg and flared. These are still appropriate for any age.
I have heard sailors who were wearing bell bottoms say they were mocked by guys, but many of us girls thought they were cute.
I can't understand why teacher substitute providers for high school subs do not try harder to match teachers to subject. Why not list subs by discipline? For instance, if you need a sub for a Spanish class, why not have a list of subs who can teach Spanish? Of course, there are cases where none is available, but it seems the agencies do not even try. In elementary school there are plenty of subs who can actually teach the current lesson. They are in great demand and are asked for by name. Instruction is not limited to movies and "make work." If my actual lesson plan in my planbook was too difficult, sick as a dog, I would email in plans for a meaningful teacher/student interaction that moved the students forward. I guess this is important to me because my son spent three months watching movies and goofing off because of a prolonged teacher absence.
Gary, you seem to be a wonderful teacher. Couldn't the agencies be more exact in deploying you according to your great expertise, more interesting for you and more beneficial to the students?
No politics. I swear.
ReplyDeleteBut I mean, how can one not be glued to the TV today?
~ OMK
Let's hear it for vertical themes! I enjoyed this one today. Just enough Wednesday crunch and a clever theme! Also enjoyed the writeup by C.C.
ReplyDeletePicks and Pans:
AREAR - valid, but rarely used and somewhat archaic. Not a fan.
ONEO - I'm not a fan of partials, and this one is a big stretch. The O in O'clock? Ick.
Great, fun entries:
GALVANIC, PUEBLO,SWOOP, BOING, CASH COW, LEICA.
A really nice Wednesday!
Steve Out
CanadianEh! at 11:12 AM wrote "I will try it out below (linking to previous comments). I will try the bold also."
ReplyDeleteNine words in this post were bold, but the link words were not bold. Links are more obvious if they look like this ExampleOfRant.
To make them bold, start at the ">" at the end of the URL, and use the symbols to open, and close the boldness of the link words. Then close the "a" section.
Ðave
ReplyDeleteThis Wednesday puzzle got me, one cell wrong.
It was also the markover...
INDECENCY/INDECORUS ....and I knew that was wrong without the O, never went back.
When I saw INDECORUM in the solved grid, I went “Wha?”.
I found the clue for 46A a stretch.
And that’s it, see you tomorrow.
Just got back from a day trip to Capital District Land.
ReplyDeleteAREAR - - I have never heard it used in a nautical environment per the sense of the clue.. It's far worst than gluey. Aft means rearward on a deck; astern means 'backward' in a direction. We had 2 shafts and, so, 2 backing or astern turbines.
If anyone knows where AREAR is actually used in a fluent sense, please let me know.
Maybe another English speaking country uses it or maybe it is only seen in literature or cross-word puzzles.
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Paul Coulter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Desperotto, for a fine review.
ReplyDeletePuzzle was a little tough, but with perseverance I prevailed. Phew!
Caught the theme. Made sense. I have seen the LIBERTY BELL in Philadelphia. It is guarded is if you were entering an airport to fly.
I have been to both YREKA and EUREKA, California. The Samoa Cookhouse is near Eureka on the Pacific Coast. Best eating you ever experienced. Yreka is NE of Eureka in Northern California. I worked up near there.
Liked BOING for 1D. Clever.
I had a sleep test once, for Apnea. I passed and do not need that apparatus. However, the lady monitoring me assured me that I snored all night. I guess they tape all that. My wife always told me that too. I thought she was kidding.
BILBO was unknown. Perps.
I have been to many Potluck Dinners in my life. Love them!
Have to run. Meeting tonight. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Hi Bill G. Glad you are untensing from the doctor's visit. I hope that means everything checked out okay.
ReplyDeleteThanks for considering my little seesaw puzzle. When I first approached it I too was intimidated and didn't know how to start to solve it. Of course, as so often happens, it seems easy and obvious in hindsight.
Start by considering how far each end of the seesaw swings. The left end swings up and down across a span of 8 cm; the right end swings a total of 4 cm.
I'm not surprised you took me to be a registered Democrat, as you mentioned a couple of days ago. I suppose I would be if I weren't too lazy to switch parties. When I was old enough to vote I started off by registering Republican, probably because that's what my parents both were. Out of inertia I've just stayed with it. Whether or not I was particularly conservative in my views back then, over the years and as I've aged I've mellowed out a lot and am a lot more "laid back." I would not characterize myself as a liberal; I mostly have a "centrist" point of view. That is to say, I pretty much lean neither toward one side or the other, and consider tolerance and fairness to be most important.
Ol'Man Keith, yeah, wow. I was glued.
In honor of the international sailors I have met here in Hampton Roads, I must point out that I have heard many Italian guys point out that "she a-has a very nice a-rear."
ReplyDeleteFIR. A Paul C. Anything is possible.
Shout out to Anonymous T for your welcome yesterday! Looking fwd to participating on this great blog! Monty Python and Rock 'N roll!
ReplyDeleteWas it NEY who had the unfortunate incident of the horse and the nail (For wont of a …)
ReplyDeleteI think FRODO was BILBO'S nephew, his designated heir
FIW via the A vs O in SABOT/VSOP cross. Other great minds…(C-2eh)- I see Misty did too. Pure Natick
I like the expression “word theatre”. Evokes all sort of ideas
Thanks to y'use guys I watched a Jeopardy last night. GALVANIZE indeed may have been in there. I had DeMolay for the final not grok'ing Alex's clue
FLN, FIR/W =Right/Wrong
WC
BTW, re. Xword: I started we with WOOL< OPAL. ABEAM<AREAR. And misspelled AFTERWORD as WARD
Yellow Stuff, my dear little stuffed yellow duckie, is back in storage until next year. Thanks for the delightful CSO.
ReplyDeleteThank you for caring, Lucina.
ReplyDeleteI also thank Lucina. In my case, it is for your kind words yesterday. I always enjoy your posts. Canadian Eh, you are gracious and wise; a wonderful representative of our country. Lemon, you had mentioned hearing french in your childhood and I had wondered about that. You may have explained why today. No, your mother and grandmother would not likely have said those words. First because it is a transliteration of english, and secondly, because I am sure they were far too refined to say the actual expression we use. I live in southern Alberta, kind of in Montana's neck of the woods. My husband and I do the crossword and read the blog every day. He suffers from memory loss and it is a kind of brain calisthenics for him. I am always amazed at what he does remember though! We enjoy your comments and over the years feel like we have gotten to know you a little bit. Thank you to C.C. for hosting the blog, to those who write the daily analysis, and all of you for being a part of our world. It cheers us up.
ReplyDeleteWilbur, there's some question as to the relationship between Bilbo and Frodo:
ReplyDeleteIn the copy of TLotR (4th edition) that I am reading at the moment, on page 40 it says of Bilbo:
"But he had no close friends, until some of his younger
cousins began to grow up.
The eldest of these, and Bilbo's favourite, was young Frodo
Baggins."
Then on page 51, when Bilbo is giving his birthday speech, he says:
"For it is, of course, also the birthday of my heir and nephew,
Frodo."
Cousin? Nephew? Who knows?
CED - Your French phrase offering: Kinda makes me think of AREAR; notwithstanding Jinx's input.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Steve. The more the merrier.
Steve:
ReplyDeleteWelcome! I also assumed you were our Thursday blogger, Steve, and was surprised to see a comment from him. Thank you for joining our group.
Yr:
You understand the meaning all right.
Misty:
I can utterly relate to your dental pain because I went through that just a few weeks ago. Since the root canal last Friday I am pain free and I'm glad you are, too.
Fun puzzle - always a nice change for the theme clues to be vertical!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the blog - at first with all the music links I thought it was JzB - but no it was D-O guest hosting - amusing comments.
Thanks D-O and Paul!
I had family staying with me which was fun, but tiring while juggling work as well.
We went to Avengers: Endgame at the cheaper twilight hour yesterday - which was good because it is 3 hours long. I enjoyed it - but only go if you have been entertained with the prior movies because it ties in characters from all the prior ones - which would be confusing if you didn't know at least a little about them.
Now I can experiment with dinners. Today I made Coquille Saint Jaques, sauteed scallops, onion and mushrooms in a Greyere and white wine sauce. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteWait a sec here....
ReplyDeleteWe've got AFFRONT, right?
We've got ASIDE, correct?
Then why not AREAR? (This way we have quantum symmetry among the A-quirks ... )
Michael@7:29
ReplyDeleteI'm taken ABACK by your comment.
Lucina,
ReplyDeleteI forgot you might be listening,
(it was supposed to be a joke...)
(plus I spelled/spelt it wrong...)
I am in the middle of this 18:24 video trying to rectify my mistake:
Lo siento mucho.
LfromAlberta@5:59
Your post is indeed the antithesis of most Anonymous posts here,
very refreshing. Pls excuse my silliness...
(did I mention I was from Australia...)
Anonymous-T, "Get in Here!"
"I need some one to cover my Arears..."
Wendybird, you and your advisors have finally solved my long standing posting problems!! I had given up trying. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWonderful Wednesday puzzle. I must have been on the right wavelength. I avoided the problems some of you mentioned. No naticks for me. I didn’t like AREARS but perps insisted.
WC ~
ReplyDeleteNay, good sir, that was not Marshall NEY whose horse neigh-ed as it dis-enabled its shoe...
T'was the steed of Sgt. Nate Nathan, his old neighbor.
~ OMK
Sorry.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteDid I read someone needs a Wing-Man? CED? :-)
Crunchy bit of fun today, Paul. Thanks. Wonderful linky-expo D-O, thanks for stepping up today. Though, I thought you were going with Clapton at BELL BOTTOM [Blues].
WO: WAA?
ESPs: INDECORUM, EAU, SLOAN [there's some lucky WAGs in there] - many more [see: names]
Fav: GALVANIC - just fun with electricity/Chemistry. [RUSH* - 4:57]
I too was not keen on IN BAD as clued [I can see what YR said re: "IN BAD w/ the boss-man" but still]. If IN BAD is needed, c. - A way to be with a? eg. IN [a] BAD [way]. My $0.02 (& $4 will get you coffee).
Got YREKA from the clue. It's bAKERY backwards (like OPRAH's production is HARPO - the only way I can spell her name)
{A, B+, A, A}
DR is LOL OMK! BigE - you too @7:56.
LfromAlberta! - First, Welcome. How long you been reading us? The aversion to Fraunch is a running-gag started by Splynter years ago in his Saturday write-ups. It was Fraunch and GAMs every Saturday.
Since CED took the Python, I'll take the Spring BOING [Wile E. - 1:05].
YR - any leftovers? Sounds delicious!
WC - AFTER WaRD is one step closer to being out of the loony-bin :-)
Cheers, -T
*Let's see how far Steve2 goes w/ Rock & Roll :-)
OK, I finished the 18:24 Spanish lesson,
ReplyDelete& now I know that Lo Siento was not correct, even with the mucho...
It was around 4:30 that I learned perdoname,
but it was my mishearing of backpack as Butt, that made me
realize that Disculpame is the correct response to my rear end got in the way...
Tx Anon-T, My Wing Man...
My posts have been exactly as you described lately...
OMK, sans Google, wasn't Sgt Nate part of Ney's corps that was advancing towards the battle?*
ReplyDeleteI think entire lengthy books, TOMES in fact have been written about that battle.
Was Nate riding towards Ney? I will provide this re. The famous horseshoe:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
I can't get the details. This ditty implies that a message was being sent but wiki says Ney did get to Waterloo but was stymied. This time for lack of nails to spike the British guns.
WC
* Waterloo
WHA! D4- I can bold the link too!? I see that AnonT knows how. (Sorry I can't do it on my iPad; instructions are on my PC.)
ReplyDeleteLfromAlberta - Thanks for your kind words. We are happy that you and your husband have enjoyed the blog over the years and hope that you will continue to post.
YR- is that a menu for one? I'm sure you have leftovers. Wish I was closer.
AnonT- another Rush fan in Steve2?
I got your six CED.
ReplyDeleteC,Eh! - RUSH might be pushing Steve2 a bit too far - but there's hope! :-)
Cheers, -T
C,Eh! - I forgot to answer bolding links...
ReplyDeleteNormal link: <a href="url"> bluetext about URL </a>
Bold link: <b><a href="url"> bluetext about URL </a></b>
Cheers, -T
YR, Glad to know Alan is settling into his new place okay. Didn't get to the blog at all yesterday so had to go back and read your posts after the move was mentioned. Congratulations on a successful project to ensure Alan's future.
ReplyDeleteLucina, what a relief that you're no longer in pain from your dental problems. Take good care of yourself and let me know how things continue.
ReplyDeleteGood thing I was never a Navy navvy. I didn't realize there was anything amiss about arear.
ReplyDeleteCED: checked your youtube Wily E., thought it was going to be two versions by different animators, so watched it with sound off, waiting to see what was different. One thing was. At the end of the second run, a closeup of the catapult's tag: "Made by Road Runner Mfg, Santa Fe". Then I read the blurb explaining the difference was two different musical scores.
OKL - I know Chuck Jones did most of the RR & Wile E. cartoons but I need to do some research to find out if there was another animator.
ReplyDeleteI remember Tom & Jerry pre & post Chuck Jones... Post, with Jones, was much more 'hip' and angular. IIRC, Chuck Jones also did the original Grinch.
There's a Deco feel to Jones' work that, I for one, really appreciate when watching silly cartoons. IMHO, absolute brilliance in his illustrations.
Nite, -T
CED:
ReplyDeleteYou have my complete admiration for trying to express yourself correctly in Spanish. That is a fine thing to do and in Spanish, as well as in English, certain expressions are just not nice to use in a public forum. I know you know that.
BTW, that is a good video of a Spanish lesson. Backpack is mochila if you're still looking.
YR:
That dinner does sound delicious!