Something's Rotten in Puzzledom! The last word of each theme answer can describe something that has SPOILED, or gone bad.
20-Across. * Do something in a whole new way: BREAK THE MOLD.
34-Across. * Clever twists in a story: NEW WRINKLES.
41-Across * Depressed, colorfully: IN A BLUE FUNK.
51-Across. Movie reviewer's warning ... or what the last words of each starred answer can be?: SPOILER ALERT.
Across:
1. Gallery event: SHOW.
George Rodrigue (Mar. 13, 1944 ~ Dec. 14, 2013)
5. 24 Hours of Le __: auto race: MANS. The Le Mans is an auto endurance event. The 87th race took place just this past weekend ~ Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, June 16, 2019. Fernando Alonso's Toyota team won for the second consecutive year.
9. Out in front: AHEAD.
14. __ Field: Mets' ballpark: CITI.
15. Frantically: AMOK. Amok also a style of steam cooking in southeast Asia. It is a traditional dish in Cambodia.
16. Prom queen's crown: TIARA. Also the headgear of married royals, or maybe not.
17. Geological age: AEON. A long, long time.
18. 10-Down princess: RANI. // And 10-Down: Diwali celebrant = HINDU. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights and is a very important celebration.
19. Chipped in a chip: ANTED. Think of playing a game of poker.
23. Chinese-born architect I.M. __: PEI. I.M. Pei (né Ieoh Ming Pei; Apr. 26, 1917 ~ May 16, 2019) died just last month at age 102. He was a very innovative architect.
24. Semisoft cheeses: GOUDAs. Gouda is a mild cheese from the Netherlands, often wrapped in red wax.
28. Accomplish: ATTAIN.
31. Fish caught in pots: EELS.
33. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Also the brand of a very expensive, luxury pen.
36. Sched. uncertainty: TBA. As in To Be Announced. It could just as easily have been TBD, which stands for To Be Determined.
37. Club used for chipping: IRON. As in a golf club, not to be confused with a Flat Iron, which could help with today's WRINKLES.
38. Narc's org.: DEA. As in the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is housed within the United States Department of Justice.
39. "Beauty __ the eye ... ": IS IN.
40. Line of work: Abbr.: OCC. As in an Occupation.
45. Teachers' org.: NEA. As in the National Education Association.
46. Like dried soil: CAKY. More often this would be spelled as Cakey, but both are acceptable.
47. Dictation takers: STENOs. Short for Steographer. This is probably an occupation that is pretty much obsolete now. There are still court reporters, but even they used electronic recordings.
50. Summer in Lyon: ÉTÉ. Today's French lesson.
58. "Prince Valiant" queen: ALETA. Prince Valiant was a comic strip created in 1937 set in the days of King Arthur's England. Apparently, Aleta was the love interest of Prince Valiant.
61. Most burger meat: BEEF. Non-beef burgers are becoming trendy.
62. Scottish hillside: BRAE. Today's Scottish lesson.
63. Trig function: COSEC. Raise your hand if you remember all the trig functions from high school geometry. Cosec is the abbreviation for Cosecant. It's the reciprocal of sine. I'm sure that clears things up.
64. Slight advantage: EDGE.
65. Not supportin': AGIN'.
66. Smooth and glossy: SLEEK.
67. Shock, as a perp: TASE.
Anatomy of a Taser®.
68. Doofus: DOLT. Anyone else remember the old Goofus and Gallant cartoons instructing children on manners? Goofus was a Doofus.
Down:
1. Natural wound protection: SCAB.
2. Yesterday, on the French Riviera: HIER. More of today's French lesson. Today is aujourd'hui, and tomorrow is demain.
3. Native Nebraskan: OTOE.
4. Capture the first piece in chess, typically: WIN A PAWN.
5. Bond order: MARTINI. Shaken, not stirred.
6. Indian nurse: AMAH. This word used to be a crossword staple.
7. __ of the above: NONE.
8. Take off the top: SKIM.
9. Completely flummoxed: AT A LOSS.
11. Consume: EAT.
12. "We __ Marshall": 2006 football drama: ARE. Matthew McConaughey was one of the stars in the movie.
13. Pop: DAD.
21. Actor Dullea of "2001" films: KEIR. The name Keir Dullea (b. May 30, 1936) did not immediately come to mind, but he played the astronaut Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
22. Look at creepily: OGLE.
25. Nissan brand relaunched in 2013: DATSUN.
26. One lacking pigment: ALBINO. When I was in grade school, we learned about Snowflake, the albino gorilla. He lived in the Barcelona zoo from the time he was a youngster until his death in 2003. He was believed to have been about 40 years old at the time of his death.
27. Swats on the rear: SPANKS.
28. Negatively charged particles: ANIONS.
29. Half a sestet, in an Italian sonnet: TERCET. According to Webster, a Tercet is "one of the two groups of three lines forming the sestet in an Italian sonnet". All clear?
30. Like a good-sized garage: TWO CAR. Is your garage attached to your house, or a stand-alone?
31. Barely manage: EKE BY.
32. Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL.
35. Fargo's state: Abbr.: N. DAK. As in North Dakota. The 1996 movie, Fargo, however, actually took place in Minnesota.
39. Words of regret, perhaps: I FEEL BAD. The opposite of how James Brown felt.
41. Treatment for swelling: ICE PACK.
42. Defense acronym: NATO. As in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
43. Highway toll, e.g.: USER FEE.
44. Soul singer James: ETTA. Etta and I have become good friends. This is the third time she has been my guest when it's my turn to provide blog commentary.
49. Lauder with fragrances: ESTÉE. Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer; July 1, 1906 ~ Apr. 24, 2004), was the founder of the cosmetics company that bears her name.
52. "Fat chance": I BET!
53. Mother of Castor and Pollux: LEDA. They're all Greek to me.
54. Hosp. brain tests: EEGs. As in the ElectroEncphaloGraphs. These tests can detect electrical activity in the brain and are useful in diagnosing such things as brain tumors, strokes, and sleep disorders.
55. "Logically, then ... ": ERGO.
56. Train wheel guide: RAIL.
57. Camp shelter: TENT. Roughing it in the wilderness.
58. Window cooling units, briefly: A/Cs. As in Air Conditioners.
59. "Gr8 joke!": LOL. Textspeak.
60. Legal conclusion?: -ESE. As in Legalese.
Here's the Grid:
I'll leave you with a QOD: Every great film should seem new every time you see it. ~ Roger Ebert (né Roger Joseph Ebert; June 18, 1942 ~ Apr. 4, 2013)
34 comments:
Good morning!
Hmmmm. Comments are conspicuous in their absence.
Zipped right through this themeless puzzle. Oh, there was a theme? Just as I was writing SPOILER ALERT, Noel King was saying those words on NPR's Morning Edition. Weird. Didn't care much for OCC, but enjoyed the outing, Jeff, even if I didn't "get it." Hahtoolah, I always learn something from your forays into blogdom. (My garage is attached.) Thanx to both of you.
BRAE: Gimme. I used to live on Braewick in Houston.
ANIONS: Hahtoolah's illustration brought home that ANIONS and cations are named similarly to anodes and cathodes.
ALP: Mont Blanc wasn't the only classy pen. Parker Pen was another. Parker was once one of the major employers in Janesville, Wisconsin, along with General Motors. Neither company has a Janesville presence today.
I didn't care for this puzzle today, and not just because it took nearly 11 minutes. I didn't see the theme, and now that I do, it still doesn't add anything to the experience. Although I'm in favor of increasing the difficulty of Monday & Tuesday puzzles, I was surprised (and didn't know) hier, anions, amah, and tercet.
I don't like: OCC, ACS, ESE, and the always dreadful, Agin.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
FIR, but erased sale for SHOW and as if for I BET. Crunchy for a Tuesday I thought.
SPANKS, or as it is now known, BIDENS.
Kraft's masseuse says "I FEEL BAD". Cops say "so we see".
Since when do WRINKLES equal "spoil"?
In 2011, the Nissan CEO announced that they were going to launch a new brand in 2013. The Operations VP said "dot soon?"
When I moved to Atlanta I felt sorry for myself because I had an attached two-car garage, and I was used to three-car models (all attached). Now I live in a 100+ year old house and park on the street. Even a driveway is a valuable commodity in my neighborhood.
Thanks to Jeff for the fun (if testy) puzzle, and to Hahtoolah for the fun visuals in your review.
Good morning. Thank you Jeff stillman and Hahtoolah !
Fun puzzle, but the write-up was even better.
Had to change IN A BLUE mood to FUNK.
I don't recall ever seeing a Goofus and Gallant cartoon before. It would be pretty difficult to not listen in on some telephone conversations these days. Worst of all was being in a commuter car on the train with one of those loud talkers. A few times I'd have to move to another car or stand in the vestibule.
Attached 2 car. Insulated, dry walled and heated, with a TV, bookshelf stereo system, a refrigerator and a sink with hot and cold water. Table and chairs. Man cave. The Highlander and F-150 dwell there as well.
James Brown can get the blood moving this early in the morning.
This guy didn't BREAK THE MOLD, but he did break the record.
Meet Poncho Via - Longhorn.
FLN Madame, I don't care for coconut, so you can always have my share. Except in the case of a Mounds bar. There's just something about that taste combo that I like. Did you make it to Walgreens ?
Great info, Hahtoolah. Thank you.
In all these years I never looked up EEL POT until your clip. My grandpa caught eels, but I never knew how. I see now that some eel traps look like my dad's minnow trap. He trapped minnows and used them as live bait for larger fish.
Marge's church clothes reminds me of my youth. We actually had specific church clothes.
Also thank you to Jeff for a fine puzzle. I had to look back at the starred clues to find the theme.
When your outfit wrinkles too much, it spoils your neat appearance. When you crumple a piece of paper and unfold it, the wrinkles really spoil it.
This cheese loving family likes smoked gouda. It has a little added zing.
I remember ALETA because I know a woman by that unusual name.
I am surprised that DATSUN is being revived. I thought it was kaput.
I liked algebra and geometry, especially the latter. I didn't care for trig, so never tried calculous.
Goofus and Gallant were staples in Boys' Life, the Boy Scout magazine.
KEIR was totally new to me.
I took two and a half months of French when I was 14. Then we moved to a new school where I had to switch to German and Latin. I haven't heard or thought of HIER since then. I got it with two perps.
As you can see I prefer language to math. My math loving fellow senior and I were tied for the math and foreign language rewards at graduation. Of course, I received the math award and she received the foreign language reward. Go figure.
Have a nice day.
Good morning everyone.
Opened the paper this morning and there was no puzzle page. Quel dommage! So, after triple checking to make sure I hadn't missed it, I called the paper, and asked for and got a credit for today. Then I came to the Blog and downloaded a copy from C.C.'s link.
Great intro, Hahtoolah. So many visuals.
FIR. No searches needed. Figured out the theme after finishing. Only write-over was I had PTA before NEA.
Fargo - I've driven through it on our way to Medora, NDAK.
OTOE - Wanted Husker but then realized he probably wasn't a native.
ALETA - Always wondered where the Misty Isles were. (CSO to our Misty?). I've been reading Prince Valient for 70 odd years.
CAKY - I believe the opposite would be 'friable'.
……MOLD - The Navy used to have a rating called MOLDER whose job it was to prepare molds for casting of replacement parts for ship's machinery. They were usually assigned to Tenders or shipyards, and perhaps to very large combatants.
EL AL - אל על - - Reading Hahtoolah's visual, I wondered why the 'ל' symbol for 'L' was in the front of each Hebrew word verses the 'L' at the end of the English transliteration words, and then the light went on and I realized I had to read it from right to left. (I hope I got that right.)
Garage survey: Ours is a two-car attached garage.
Thanks, YR. I guess I took WRINKLES personally. I'll cancel my Botox appointment now. We called them "Sunday go to meeting" clothes. My dad had a "weddin' and funeral" suit.
I had French in 1st and 2nd grade, Spanish in 3rd and 4th, and I took Latin two years in High School. Took more Spanish when I lived in Dallas and Atlanta. Fun, but it is like learning Microsoft Access - if you don''t use it, your skills fade quickly.
Hi Y'all! The theme didn't SPOIL this little gem by Jeff for me. Thanks.
Hahtoolah, always enjoy your expos. Just looking at that colorful piano would get you out of a BLUE FUNK.
The NW gave me fits not knowing HEIR/CITI/AEON. The W central also was blank 'til last with ANIONS/TERCET/TWO CAR. My garage is one CAR attached to the house. It is so narrow, I just can squeeze by sideways without a mastectomy from the mirror if I'm careful. I need to clear off the side shelves with stuff I no longer use because I don't do my own yardwork.
DNK: KEIR, LEDA. "Club for chipping" = IRON, golf -- not "pick" for ICE which I had entered just prior.
Didn't know DATSUN was affiliated with Nissan.
Prince Valiant was my favorite Sunday only newspaper comic strip as a girl. Lay on the floor on my stomach to read it every week. Couldn't do that now.
YR: hand up for preferring words to math.
Musings¬
-¬SPOILER ALERT - Ilsa gets on the plane with Victor and leaves Rick in Casablanca
-AEON and La MANS have an extra letter for some reason :-)
-In The Da Vinci Code, detective Bezu Fache calls PEI’s glass pyramid a “scar on the face of Paris”
-Many colleagues opted out of the NEA because of their politics
-You can call a tofu veggie burger a burger, but c’mon…
-Playing at home is supposed to give a team an EDGE but in the 2019 NBA championship the away team won four of the six games played
-Here the lowly PAWN (backed by the king) accomplishes a checkmate
-Attached three-CAR garages are the norm for new houses here
-We math-heads know that a triangle can mean ERGO
-Only those of us who grew up w/o AC’S can really appreciate them
-Yeah, Spitz, I erased GARY too :-)
We have a one car garage with no basement and no usable attic space in our condos, so almost all of our neighbors use the garage soley for storage. I like to bring my car in at night and on stormy days during the winter so as not to have to clear off frost, ice and snow. David helped me set up shelving in the garage. Now the garage will hold only a compact car which I have to "skinny" out of and into. (Hello, PK) Otherwise, during the three other seasons I prefer to park my car in the driveway.
While the car is in the garage the only part of the garage that is accessible is the garbage can and recycle area.
HG, I can heartily relate to your AC comment.
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff and Hahtoolah.
I FIRed and got the theme, although like Jinx, I immediately thought that WRINKLES do not equate with spoiled! But I can concede the point for wrinkled fruit or even clothes. I embrace my wrinkles as "laugh lines"!
I believe Tinbeni is OK with ICE in a PACK (not in a drink).
I noted NEA and DEA.
Interesting that IN A BLUE FUNK crossed I FEEL BAD.
Back safely from celebrating the Raptors' win. Unfortunately, some of the crowd ran AMOK with a shooting at one corner of the square causing panic. Fortunately, only minor injuries in the crowd apparently, but 4 with serious injuries (but not life-threatening) from the shooting (3 arrested). Credit to Matt Devlin, the emcee, who took over the mike and calmed the crowd. The celebration went on! (Yes, it is a sad commentary on society, but when you have more than a million people in a small area, anything can happen. Fortunately, nothing terrorist-related.)
Thanks for the link to the rules about TIARAs, Hahtoolah. I didn't know there were rules! I think Queen Elizabeth can wear her TIARA whenever she pleases. I don't own one, ERGO I don't need to worry about the rules. Granddaughters don't care about the rules; they enjoy wearing princess TIARAs when playing.
Re survey: We have a TWO CAR attached garage.
I took French and Latin from Grade 9 to Grade 12, math (including calculus & geometry) right into University. I enjoy languages, literature, math, science almost equally, and had trouble deciding on a major to study. Math & science won!
Yes, I grew up without AC (until into my teens) and I remember those hot, sticky summer nights!
Enjoy the day.
Good Morning:
Sad to say but this was a rare early week FIW due to the Anions/Tercet crossing. I confidently entered Obtain instead of Attain and as Anions and Bercet looked feasible, I went blissfully on my way until the absence of the Tada "alerted" me to errors. In line with yesterday's observation, the difficulty level has definitely been raised, IMO, with some non-Tuesday fill: Hier, Aleta, and Leda, to name a few. Again, this is merely an opinion and not a complaint. Personally, a puzzle with some crunch is much more enjoyable to solve than just a wimpy, fill in the blanks exercise. Despite YR's defense of Wrinkles, I still find it an outlier compared to Mold and Funk. Again, just an opinion.
Thanks, Jeff, even though I messed up and thanks, Hatoolah, for the cheery and informative review. Your numerous visuals just jump right off my screen with spectacular colors and brightness. They are especially welcome on this yet another gloomy and rainy day. ☔️
CanadianEh, congratulations on the Raptors achievement. Too bad that the celebration was marred by some idiots.
I have an attached garage which I believe is referred to as a one and a half car size. In my town house development, the one level units, like mine, have this size and the two level units have a two car garage. I have no attic space but I have a 1500 sq. ft. basement which is completely empty except for a no longer used filing cabinet. My garage is spacious, with plenty of room for my needs. My car is on the small size, Toyota Corolla, so that helps, also.
Have a great day.
Hola!
Thank you, Jeff Stillman for yet another great grid and Hahtoolah for a splendid review!
WEES about the added crunchiness today but it was completely doable. Most of the fill was familiar except, of course, for French HIER and ANIONS. I've seen KEIR Dullea before in some puzzle.
I had no idea about Snowflake, the ALBINO ape but I once saw an ALBINO man and it was hard not to stare at the stark whiteness of the person, even his hair.
ALETA, Arn and the rest appeared in our comics page for years and I liked reading about their adventures.
In Scotland I saw heather growing on the BRAE just as the poems describe.
Our townhouse carports are either for two or four cars. Two story ones have two car spaces and single level ones have four spaces. I have the latter which are well used when my family or friends visit. When unused I allow neighbors to park there.
I'm waiting for a repairman for my clothes washer. Yesterday when I washed, the water continued to flow even when the washing stopped. That is so inconvenient since I am preparing for a trip and need to do laundry!
Have a delightful day, everyone!
Hello.
Thanks, Jeff, for a great puzzle. I had lots of erasures, but I finished it right in the end. I had many of the same conflicts already mentioned. I needed my perps in lots of spots.
Hahtoolah, what a fine overview of today's puzzle! I really enjoyed all the photos and links. And I enjoy your daily quotes. Sometimes they are so pertinent for me that it seems eerie. Merci.
Great discussion and comments today. No wonder I like hanging out here. You are all so interesting. Anon -T: I mean Y'all are so interesting!
Well, TTP, I decided to behave myself,so I didn't go to Walgreen's in search of Almond Joy and Mounds bars. I went to the Jewel to get a few items for dinner, and, lo and behold, there they were at the checkout. BOGO. So now I have four packs. Only one missing piece from yesterday. Still trying to behave. Having chocolate in the house is exactly how I exercise my self control. I think that's a brain muscle. . . . Knitting also helps--who ever wants chocolate covered yarn!!?
Have a sunny day. It's looking like we may have an afternoon of it here. Yay!!
This Tuesday puzzle seemed easier than yesterday.
No markovers today.
From yesterday....
Jayce....it seems we agree on our coffees. I just finished a Sumatra and a Peruvian before starting in on the Kona. I had some Sumatran before that as well. I get my coffees mail order from the place I used to get them from when I was still in CT..it’s called WILLOUGHBY’S COFFEE AND TEA...Google them and take a look if you like. Whole bean shipped to me and then ground up before brewing...yum.
And on to Wednesday.
I just posted Monday comments*. I've been away and I'm trying to catch up
WC
* On Mon. blog
I dunno. I thought this was a lot tougher than yesterday's. Completely do-able, but chewier.
I guess it's just my brain; the Ol' Walnut gets tired now and then.
I see there's a discussion of various coffees today. I used to care a lot about my beans, but now I'm content to get whatever my local market stocks. As long as the beans are fresh (and hazelnut flavored), and as long as I get a fresh grind from my machine every morning, I'm OK.
I need my coffee, but only a little bit. If I drink half a cup, that's a lot.
Usually, I'm sipping a quarter cup. And this is my beef with coffee served in restaurants. It is way over-priced, especially because I never drink a full cup. For me, a little goes a lo-ong way.
~ OMK
____________
DR: We have two diagonals today, one to a side, forming a perfect “X.”
Curiously, both anagrams offer references to the metaphoric “Seats of Learning.” Specifically, they point to two of the reasons students fail to matriculate satisfactorily, for we have the…
“DOODLER’S SEAT” for those who waste time scratching ‘toons and scrawlings all over their worksheets,
and the…
“INSOLENT SEAT" for those who — well, you know!
Thanks Jeff, for a fun puzzle and Hahtoolah, for an excellant writeup.
I generally do red letters and was able to get it all with perps.
I will just mention that I was able to see Keir Dullea in the flesh at a showing of 2001 at Case Western Reserve University. This was many years after the movie came out.
I learned how they shot the part where Keir was running upside down in a circular tube , supposedly weightlessly. The big circle was rotated while Keir ran in place. The other man at a desk was strapped to his chair and did go upside down.
Live Well and Prosper,
VS
Proofreaders of the world untie.
Sorry.
We had our very popular A Night at the Movies at last night’s square dance. Instead of our usual 25-30 dancers, we had 72, a big boost to the treasury. About one third of the attendees dressed as movie characters and competed for Oscars. We chose the best animal character, best cartoon character, best child star, best actor, best actress and best costume. This year most of the contestants were lovely actresses, making it hard to choose just one. Our male caller,who does not compete, dressed as two believably lovely divas and sang as both. He is a great entertainer. Between the star parade and the judging and during the last half of the evening we danced. It was so much fun and was so well received. My job was to manage the evening so that it moved along quickly, leaving time to dance, and I was one of the judges. As co-president I am the administrator, including doing the computer work, scheduling callers, writing contracts, and being class coordinator, all behind the scenes jobs. The other co-president is the front man, announcer, manager of door prizes and booster visiting other clubs to drum up our attendance. All of our officers have served for quite a few years. No one wants to step up to replace us.
Long ago I had written a letter to our superintendent of schools. Kahlua, my now dearly departed cat, sat on it and wrinkled it. It was ruined and I had to type it over in the days before saving things in WORD.
I believe I have commented before that every culture has its festival of lights. In addition to DIWALI CHANUKAH CHRISTMAS and more, in Thailand there is a two-part overlapping Festival which we have attended each of the last two years with plans to go again in 2019 LOY KRATHONG and YI PENG . Lots of fun.
I lucked out with the hard stuff; as an English minor, I studied Italian and other forms of SONNETS and the French was easy.
Thanks, Susan and Jeff; I guess I will go iron my wrinkles. I have no garage other than the great ourdoors as our condo is near enough to the ocean for land to be precious.
Learning moment that the DATSUN name is being revived. Nissan Motor Company made nasty weapons that were used in World War II against the Allies. That association made it difficult to sell with the Nissan name in the US after the War.
It was only in the 1980s that the executives at Nissan thought it was safe to use the Nissan name in the US. It was phased in over a few years with cars bearing both the Nissan and DATSUN names.
Here I took my friends Paul and Kira for a ride in my brand new Nissan Sentra that also had DATSUN on it.
I have only ever owned two cars. I replaced that with a Toyota Corolla wagon which has proved far more reliable. I wish small wagons would come back again!
Remember: The opposite of progress is fashion!
Hand up I do remember my TRIG and used it this week. We are preparing for our annual Solstice Parade and I have been helping in the costume shop. They needed a fabric cone of a certain size. TRIG to the rescue! The costume designers were very grateful!
Here are some of my Solstice Workshop photos with more coming soon!
Good Afternoon, Crossword friends. Thank you for your kind comments.
Yes, Spitzboov, the Hebrew letter ל is the "L" sound in El Al, and, as Hebrew is read right to left, is actually at the end of the word.
I wasn't too bothered by Wrinkles, as wrinkled clothes can SPOIL one's appearance. Apparently Princess Diana's wedding Dress was wrinkled, which caused some, including the designers, some anxiety.
We have a 3-car, unattached carport, but only 2 cars. The space for the 3rd car houses the garbage cans.
Picard ~
Talk about WWII product associations brings to mind that venerable Japanese automaker, Mitsubishi.
Lest we forget, they produced the G4M Attack Bomber, known to our guys as the "Betty Bomber."
But most memorably, they were the proud parents of the infamous "Zero," the long-range carrier-based fighter that led raids from Pearl Harbor through the final Kamikaze assaults.
~ OMK
Owen, sorry to hear you are not feeling well.
Come back soon because my poetry really stinks...
Yes, it seems to be one of those tough weeks for humor.
I have been doing all the puzzles, but must spare you whatever
I found to make fun of them. Yesterdays was the worst, "No Entry..."
(Do not look up images...)
I actually posted a link to something similar once saying "don't click on it!"
(as a joke)
But they did, & a reader wrote back saying I was the worst person
imaginable & would never read the Blog again...
(Boy, do I rue that day...)
So, even though it has been done before,
I am going with the Tiara was too much...
Of note:
21d Kier Dullea of 2001 fame...
I was a fan of his way back when he appeared in a B-Rated Sci-Fi TV show
called The Starlost that had a great plot, just bad production values.
So bad, in fact, that the writer, Harlan Ellison, disassociated himself
with the production. (now listed as his pen name Cordwainer Bird.)
I liked the Sci-Fy plot though, and it can now be watched on YouTube.
PSA (Public Service Announcement...)
I have a 2 car Garage,
but it only has ONE DOOR...
Massive heavy thing that requires heavy duty springs
just to balance the load.
About 15 years ago, I had the whole wooden mess replaced with a lighter
one piece door, that still requires heavy duty springs.
The installer said "let me put safety wires thru the springs,"
I didn't see the need, but he talked me into the additional expense.
Couple of months ago, we hear a loud crash!
The spring had rusted out and the open door fell!
Anyone underneath would have been killed.
The spring would have flailed all over the garage and done serious damage
if it had not been for that simple wire running thru the middle that
prevented it from moving.
This completes the PSA for today...
Re garages and garage doors. I'm glad to see that Irish Miss characterized her garage as "a one and a half car size" because that's what I think the size of our garage is. Because we just recently had the garage door replaced I happen to know the width of the single door is 18 feet. Like CED we had a one-piece door with those massive, dangerous springs and after 30 years of living in this house that door finally just came unattached on one side and collapsed heavily with a great crashing sound. Fortunately we were outside, just coming home and pulling into the driveway -- it seems my hitting the remote button to open the door triggered the failure -- so we and our car were outside, not inside, thus not hurt or damaged and we could still use the car. As I thought about it later, I think 2 things contributed to the failure: (1) when the garage door opener would start it would yank on the door pretty hard, and (2) that very heavy door, plus the strong tension of the springs, was supported by and attached to the house at only two spots, namely the right side and left side swivel points, the fulcrum as it were.
We headed for Home Depot, bought a large plastic tarp, and stapled it over the opening to sort of cover it until the garage door repair guys could come the next day (they responded very fast). It took three of them and some special tools to cut the springs without them whipping around and attach the door to the house in a temporary way until we could arrange to have it entirely replaced with a new one. They were fast and very competent, but expensive. Worth every penny.
Our new door is steel, not wood, and is in four "partitions" so it doesn't swing up in one piece like the old door did but rolls up and down on rails. Lighter weight door by far, and supported by multiple wheels to rails that are fastened to the house at multiple points, sort of like a roller coaster car follows the rails; a much better design.
The new opener starts slow when first activated, then speeds up as it raises or lowers the door, and slows down to a gentle stop. No yanking or jerking. No shuddering and shaking. Much gentler on the door. (Plus, it's battery backed up so we can open and close the door a couple of times if we need to during a power outage.)
Both of us are very satisfied and much more confident. That sucker is gonna outlive us!
Apologies for the long post. I hope some of you found it interesting.
Spitz, I am a native Nebraskan but not a native American.
HG @ 1833 - That's what complicated the answer; it called for a native Nebraskan. A native American of Nebraska worded clue would have narrowed the choices.
Actually,
While the spring failed, ( & would have failed eventually)
the premature demise was caused by lack of maintenance...
If you examine your garage door system,
you will notice that the spring is attached to a wire
that goes over a pulley before it connects to the door.
(disclaimer)
(your door may vary depending on manufacturer)
The grease in the pulley axle dried up,
causing the bearings to seize.
When the pullet froze, opening and closing the door
caused the wire to be dragged over the pulley in a sawing motion
until it cut it in half.
At this point the spring mounting failed...
I recently sprayed mine with WD-40, thinking
it would lubricate the bearings, but now
I am not so sure.
My neighbor tells me that WD-40 while being a lubricant
is actually designed as a water remover and degreaser.
Judging by the squeeking, screaming, protesting sounds
my door makes opening and closing, I am thinking I need
a professional lube job...
(no jokes pls re: professional lube job...)
Hi All!
So it's not La MoNS... FIW (Hi IM!)
Thanks Jeff for this 'rotten' puzzle and thanks Hahtoolah for a sparkly review. Hahtoolah - I know exactly where that Blue Dog piano is on Royal STREET.*
My garage is semi-detached - there's a breezeway connecting it to the house and utility demarcs are in the garage and run through the breezeway's roof.
WOs: obTAIN, PTA b/f NEA (Hi Spitz!), DATSoN
ESPs: oMAH, TERCET, KEIR, HEIR, ALETA, LEDA
Fav: Don't see COSEC oft, I'll go w/ that.
{Get well soon buddy} //Nice OMK.
Mirrored Diags with corresponding messages? Only OMK knew.
I've asked in the past "who the heck reads Prince Valiant" to crickets... And now today PK & Lucina admit to it :-)
Picard - I had a Nissan / Datsun Z back in college (it was used and cheap). I thought it was funny to have both name-plates in various places; now I know why.
CED - those wires are a safety feature. At my old house, I had a spring pop (bent the bracket that holds up the garage door, it did) and you'd a thought someone had fired a gun.
Funny get-well card!
I found it interesting, Jayce. My garage is semi-detached - there's a breezeway connecting it to the house and utility demarcs are in the garage and all the wires run through the breezeway's roof. It's 2 & 1/2 car with an extra 3' in the back for shelves and such. The Alfas fill the bay and my 8' workbench fills the 1/2.
CED - This is what I use... (and WD40 may attract more dust too). Cheers, -T
Cheers, -T
*Royal St. is one block from Bourbon Street. Let's see if a link w/ StreetView works. Can y'all (Hi MdF!) see the piano?
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Jeff Stillman, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.
Started the puzzle late. Was busy all morning at the MD. Got into the puzzle tonight during the Cubs/Sox game. Top of the ninth and the Sox are winning 3-1.
Puzzle went fine. Theme added up. Spoilers.
No real tough words. Had to wait for a perp for CAKY.
ALETA was unknown. Perps.
Well, I am heading back to the game.
Abejo
( )
Oh, hey, I found a picture of what my garage-workbench looked like before I moved everything into the house's loft (to help me quit smoking). //I got two 4' standing desks for my stuff but I need more light.
Oh, on the no-smoking front... Sigh,... I made it 11 & 1/2 days but broke down Friday. I'm giving myself a short reprieve this week (DW & Youngest are going to be in NYC this weekend - I know I'm going to smoke) b/f shooting for 21 days starting Monday.
Cheers, -T
Did I re=registor?
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