google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday July 10, 2019 Alan Olschwang

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Jul 10, 2019

Wednesday July 10, 2019 Alan Olschwang

 Theme:  DEUCES WILD (58. Card game declaration, and a hint to what can be found in the four other longest answers) - Anagram of "Deuce" are hidden in each theme answer.

 18. *Soft material: SUEDE CLOTH.

 23. *Supply support for a claim: PRODUCE EVIDENCE.

 36. *"Coming Home" and "Nebraska" Oscar nominee: BRUCE DERN.

 50. *Like many new job seekers: COLLEGE-EDUCATED.

Boomer again, filling another blogging gap.

Hello everyone. I can relate to this theme because I really like playing the deuces wild version of draw poker machines at the casinos.  You don't win a lot but also you can play a while without losing much. I did hit a royal flush (no wild cards) for $200, on a five nickel bet at Treasure Island. The one in Minnesota, not the one on the Strip in Vegas.

Boomer, Treasure Island, 2013
Across:

1. Chopped garden clods: HOED.  Easier than pulling weeds, but careful around the tomatoes .

5. Wash: BATHE.

10. Thailand neighbor: LAOS.

14. Basketball Hall of Famer Donovan: ANNE.  We met Lindsey Whalen once.  She was a star Minnesota Gopher and Minnesota Lynx guard.  She now coaches the Gopher women's basketball program and I expect will be elected to the Hall of Fame. She is from Hutchinson, MN, a city 40 miles west of Minneapolis and was founded by my great, great, great grandfather Asa Hutchinson.  Leader of the Hutchinson Family Singers, but no relation to the governor of Arkansas.  (I asked).  

Anne Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018)

15. Dislike to the max: ABHOR.

16. Foot part: INCH. Toe did not have enough letters and heel didn't work either.

17. Rose and ruby: REDS.  Cincinnati baseball team.  I wish they could have taken a game or two from Cleveland last weekend.

20. "Downton Abbey" actor Stevens: DAN.


21. Ph.D. hurdle: DISS. Dissertation.

22. Quarterback Manning: ELI.  Brother of Peyton.  "Nationwide is on your side." 

29. Absolute: UTTER.

30. Cork's land: Abbr.: IRE.

31. "Mazel __!": TOV. Congratulations and best of luck!!

32. Ancient city on the Nile: THEBES.  The Nile River does not get enough credit.  I believe the source is either the Red Sea or the Mediterranean and winds its way through Egypt.  It forms a few lakes south of Cairo, reminds me of the Mississippi in Missouri.

34. "That scared me!": EEK.  Monday we had EKE, now we are treated to EEK.

35. Many a map dot: ISLE.  Reminds me of Lake of the Isles, featured on the intro of many Mary Tyler Moore episodes.
Mary Tyler Moore House, August 16, 2017
39. West Point team: ARMY.  Hup, Sarge.

42. It's never free of charge: ION.

43. E-tailer: DOT COM.

47. Life story, briefly: BIO.

48. Spike TV, once: TNN.

49. Candle emanation: AROMA. That's odd, I never realize an aroma from a candle.  How about "Outhouse emanation"?

55. Filming site: LOT.  It is said his wife was turned to a pillar of salt.

56. Phnom __, Cambodia: PENH.

57. Ancient times, poetically: ELD.

62. Tire swing support: TREE.  Brings back memories.  I have not seen a tire swing for years.

63. "A Beautiful Mind" mathematician: NASH.  I have not seen one of them for years either,  My Mom drove a 1952 sedan.  (Not a Rambler).  I owned a 1975 Pacer before AMC went under.

64. Numbered market section: AISLE.  Home Depot has numbered aisles, and I swear every store employee knows exactly which number everything is in. 

65. Is in session: SITS.

66. Slow-moving boats: ARKS.

67. Old Renault: LE CAR.  Never owned or drove one of these.  Is Renault still in business?

68. 38-Down, e.g.: PEST. 38D. Orkin target: ROACH.

Down:

1. Barely able: HARD PUT.  Add a "T" and you have the Hard putt made on the 18th green by Matt Wolfe at the 3M Open Sunday.


2. The heck: ON EARTH. Peace ON EARTH finally, now that July 4th has passed.

3. Back-of-the-book explanatory comment: END NOTE.

4. Paris' Pont __ Arts: DES

5. Like 101 courses: BASIC.

6. Vituperation: ABUSE.

7. This and this: THESE.  Life Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness.

8. Brick carrier: HOD.

9. Prior to, in verse: ERE.

10. De Gaulle's birthplace: LILLE.  Charles De Gaulle was a key ally for the U.S. in World War II and was still President of France when I was in high school in the sixties.

11. Applies holy oil to: ANOINTS. Our sick parishioners receive this monthly in church.

12. U.N. Day month: OCT.  The 27th is my birthday.

13. "Be quiet!": SHH.

19. Relinquish officially: CEDE.  Hairlines must cede twice, because they RECEDE.

21. Engraver Albrecht: DURER.

24. "You Light Up My Life" singer Boone: DEBBY.  I see her on infomercials with Peter Marshall selling old time greats CDs.  Her dad PAT was a legend, now he sells bathtubs.

25. Competed: VIED.

26. Ticked: IRKED. See also 46. Superlatively 26-Down: MADDEST.

27. KFC title: COL.  Good old Colonel Sanders.  We visited the very first KFC in Corbin, KY about 17 years ago on our way to Myrtle Beach, SC.  A great historical stop.


28. Biblical garden denizen: EVE.  Please pass me an apple.

33. Acting litigiously: SUING.

34. Poetic twilight: EEN.  Oh I'm just eightEEN, got a ruptured SplEEN and I always carry a purse, (Draft Dodger Blues.  Chad Mitchell Trio)  

35. IV part: INTRA.

37. Cold Stone Creamery buy: CONE.  Former Mets pitcher David.

39. "The Rookie" network: ABC.  I don't watch ABC too much anymore.  Maybe if they had "Law & Order" reruns.

40. __ Grande: RIO.

41. Oyster or clam: MOLLUSK.

44. Social circle: COTERIE.

45. Brunch buffet station fare: OMELETS.  Great name!  I think it is Latin for three scrambled eggs, grilled flat, then rolled up around ham and cheese.

48. Beret's perch: TETE.

51. Highland waters: LOCHS. Home of the Ness Monster?

52. Protestant denom.: EPISC.

53. Street in a law office: DELLA.  I used to watch Perry Mason all the time.  Now I hardly ever tune in a rerun.

54. Sedated: UNDER.

58. Paternity identifier: DNA.  Had this on Monday.

59. Musical gift: EAR.  I have heard that a person might have a good ear for music.  What do they do with their other ear?

60. "Do the Right Thing" pizzeria owner: SAL.

61. LPGA golfer Michelle: WIE.  She was in Chaska Minnesota at Hazeltine several weeks ago.  However it seems she has injured wrists, and was not able to make the cut.


62. Dose meas.: TSP.

Boomer



36 comments:

OwenKL said...

All good men ABHOR child ABUSE!
To harm a child like Jo or BRUCE!
Such is the gravity
Of such UTTER depravity,
May those who do it go directly to the DEUCE!

There was an old cynic of THEBES
Who claimed that all women are thieves.
"Your home and your heart
They'll rip all apart --
The primordial example was EVE'S!"

A PEST can give rise to such IRE
That the IRKED one rages afire!
When they get MADDEST
The pest feels the saddest
And fears his situation is dire!

{B-, B, B-.}

Lemonade714 said...

A very nice reveal for one of the now common hidden word scramble puzzles. The hardest part was understanding ON EARTH as the answer to The Heck but my brain finally realized- WHAT THE HECK and WHAT ON EARTH are synonymous expressions.

Also, I was confused by Boomer's comments concerning ANNE DONOVAN a 6'8" star from Old Dominion who died at only 56. Finally, I realized he was writing about LINDSAY WHELAN an extremely successful player in college, the Olympics and the WNBA.

Once again, Boomer, you are the Manny Mota of the blog; thank you.

Alan P. Olschwang who gave us so many quip puzzles back in the early days of the blog, including this 2008 PUZZLE the 4th blogged by C.C.

D4E4H said...

FIR in 37:27 min.

Terrific Tuesday Fellow Travelers!

Thank you Alan Olschwang for this fun Wednesday CW.

Thank you Boomer for your excellent review.

Ðave

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Boomer and friends. This puzzle had lots of fun and misleading clues. Although, I agree with Lemonade that Heck = ON EARTH is the most confusing. I still didn't get the connection until I read Lemon's explanation.

I learned that a Foot Part is not an Arch, but an INCH.

I learned that a Filming Site is not a Set, but a LOT.

I also learned that Rose and Ruby are not Hues, but REDS. I usually don't get tricked by the Red wines.

My favorite clue was It's Never Free of Charge = ION.

John NASH (June 13, 1928 ~ May 23, 2015) was the recipient of the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. Tragically, he and his wife were killed when the taxi they were riding in crashed on the New Jersey Turnpike.

QOD: Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~ Marcel Proust (né Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Proust; July 10, 1871 ~ Nov. 18, 1922)

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Is it really only Wednesday? Alan put a lot of crunch into this one. Didn't help that I read the clue for 1a as a noun rather than a verb and put in SOIL. HARD PUT seemed awkward, and ON EARTH was way, way out there. The 101 courses weren't INTRO, but BASIC. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Got 'er done, but it was a Friday-worthy struggle. Thanx, Alan. And thanx for pinch-hitting, Boomer. (You may not have parted the Red Sea, but you managed to make the Nile run backwards!)

NASH: One of my earliest memories was my grandpa's blue Nash that he drove to Sarasota every winter. I was four when he died.

jfromvt said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle. Had a bit of a problem with the NW corner, but finally figured it out. As with others, thought the clue for ONEARTH was a bit weird, but loved the clue for ION!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Thanks, Boomer, for another fine intro.

Déjà vu all over again with AO's offering. He was a frequent contributor circa 10 - 15 years ago.

FIR. No searches needed. Had 'set' before LOT. Couldn't spell DEUCES at first. Good to see DÜRER clued; haven't seen him in a long time. Didn't care for the theme.
EEN - Could be clued as Rembrandt's one, or one in Gouda, etc.

Off to play some bridge. Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings¬
-Go ahead and ask me about tomorrow’s puzzle. The Omaha paper printed it (and I worked it) instead of DEUCES WILD which I had to do online
-Pro basketball star from my hometown, Brittany Wilkins (back right), towers above her players (and the general population) in Thailand
-DAN wanted out of Downton after only 3 seasons and how he was written out of the show shocked us and the fans of the show
-Does anyone really read PhD. DISSERTATIONS?
-The distinctive AROMA of candles permeates all churches
-Hilarious TREE swing cartoon
-LILLE was liberated in the first week of September in 1944
-Yesterday I got an OK IV from an RN at my GI’s office in the PM while I watched TV
-I wonder what puzzle the Omaha paper will run tomorrow

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Alan Olschwang, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Boomer, for a fine review.

It's a RED LETTER DAY. Cruciverb actually worked.

Got through most of the puzzle fairly easily. The theme was fine. Figured it our easily.

Tried EPILOGE before END NOTE worked much better. Most of my perps made no sense so I knew I had a problem. ON EARTH next to it was tough. I did eventually figure out that putting WHAT first made sense. Worked for me.

Had ARCH for 16A. Then I tried ANOINTS, which made sense. That gave me INCH. Then I seemed to remember that DeGaulle was born in LILLE. I am sure we had that before in a puzzle, probably more than once.

Did not know DURER. DISS helped a lot .

DELLA was easy. Perry Mason is my favorite show to watch late at night. As a youth I read many of the books. I also learned that Erle Stanley Gardner was the judge in the last episode of Perry Mason.

CONE was easy. I love ice cream and ice cream cones. It is funny, as a youth I never liked ice cream. Our family would go to the Dairy Queen, two parents and five kids, and all would get an ice cream cone except for me. I would get a plain cone. As a young adult, I woke up and realized how good ice cream was. Now I eat some several times a week. Go figure.

Supposed to hit 96 degrees today. I guess I will not cut the grass.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

TTP said...

Good morning.

Nice job, Boomer. Me too, about no longer watching programs I used to tune into. 30 or 40 years later, they don't seem as fresh.

The NW got me. I'd like to blame it on less than 6 hours of sleep, but can't. Like D-O, I entered soil after putting my focus on clods rather than thinking of chopped as a verb.

If that wasn't enough, the only basketball player Donovan I could think of was Billy, and I knew he wasn't a HOFer. Got REDS easily enough, but didn't know the Dour Abbey writer, had sheer where UTTER belonged, and didn't know THEBES.

The verticals in that area weren't giving me much to work with either. Les look ok for the Pont clue, wanted some form of epiloge for the back of book commentary, HARD PUT makes sense sow, but I was looking for an LY ending, and "The heck" as a clue left me clueless. Didn't care for that one.

I did like the INCH / arCH setup, and the clue for ION was my favorite, even though the answer practically perped in. Nice to see a word like COTERIE make its way into the fill.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Sorry to be Debbie Downer but I'll defer to Thumper this morning.

Thanks for your efforts, Alan, and thanks to Boomer for pinch hitting again. Enjoyed your photos and reminiscing; you have an amazing memory.

FLN

Tony, I think your birthday was a big success. That chess set is exquisite.

My sister, Eileen, came for dinner last night which was a mish-mash of Clams Casino and Bruschetta from our favorite Italian restaurant, Chicken Wings from the market, and fresh-picked corn from the farm stand. Everything was yummy, especially the corn! 🌽🌽🌽 (I have leftover Bruschetta that I'll enjoy for lunch.)

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

Good morning Boomer and the rest. I was HARD PUT to complete the NW. I wanted KARNAK for the ancient city and DAN & ANNE were unknowns and it took a while to realize that 'what' was missing from 'The heck'; what ON EARTH was I thinking.

The DEUCE was not noticed because I just try to finish the puzzle instead of looking for a theme. IRATE-IRKED, ROPE-TREE; only changes I had to make today.

Boomer, I'm glad your not related to Gov. Clinton. AMC- I had a used Hornet back in 1970. A POS. Renault- about 25% owned by the French government and Renault is the largest shareholder in Nissan.

That's enough of an END NOTE for today.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Alan, for the puzzle. I had COLLEGE graduate before EDUCATED so I struggled a bit in the SE until I took another look at my long response. I had most of the theme answers, but not the theme until Boomer explained it.

Thanks, Boomer for doing sub work. Nicely done.

FLN: Lemonade, your comment on D. Wade and J Butler explains whose running the NBA. ;-)
Abejo: LOL at your IL license plate comment.

Have a fine day today. I am preparing for the arrival of my 14 yo Dallas grandson on Friday. We're going from Midway to Galena for a long weekend with his Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Fun. He said, "Can we go to Dubuque? I want to add Iowa to my list of states." At least he can read a map! ;-)

Jerome said...

My nearest neighbor, a quarter of a mile away, has a tire swing hanging from a massive redwood. He's a stay at home dad. Three young kids. Mom's a dentist.

Unknown said...

The SOURCE of the Nile is the White Nile AND the Blue Nile. The MOUTH of the Nile is the Mediterian Sea. It runs from South to North, not the other way around.

CrossEyedDave said...

DNF,

had trouble from the get go because I parsed the
1A clue incorrectly.
(What DO you call a Garden Clod that has been chopped up?)

Lots of other devious clueing, but I was wise to most
of them. I.E. 16a foot part could have been Arch or Inch,
so I just inked the CH & waited...

Boomer, Here's a visual showing The Blue Nile & White Nile sources...

Had a little trouble finding a decent Deuces Wild link,
but it's all a crapshoot anyway...

Speaking of Crapshoot,
The Star Ledger put the Thought Of The Day back in the Almanac!
They still have not returned the Crossword Constructors name,
so I sent another Email, as follows:

Thank you for returning the Almanacs "Thought For The Day," which has been missing for two weeks.

Can you also pls return the constructors name to the CrossWord puzzle.



If space is an issue, you can always add it to the title "Across and Down" in smaller font.

I.E: Across & Down by:_______

& if this is too much trouble,

can you have some one email me the constructors name on a daily basis?


P.S.
The Thought for Today was:
"The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action in mind."

Frank Herbert, American Author (1920-86)

(I hate it when the Newspaper tries to improve our lives...)

Marc said...

I've always thought of the 'poetic' crossword clues as cop-outs; the author had a bunch of vowels and couldn't re-work it into a better word. First time I recall seeing three in one puzzle.

It's easy, anyone can do it. Poetic before = ERE. Poetic old = ELD. Poetic otis = ELEV. Poetic northeastern train - ACEL.

AnonymousPVX said...


This Wednesday puzzle was difficult, thanks to some, um, “inventive” clueing in the NW.

Yes, I am referring to 2D, “The heck”.....another candidate for the “worst clue” award.

Ok....2 choices for 2D...”The heck”, or alternatively, “What __ ___”.

I know which one I’d pick if I wanted folks to solve, and I know which one I’d pick if I wanted folks to fail.

As the NW was blank for a lonnnnggg time, no markovers today. Somehow.

From yesterday.....get the SHINGRIX shots.

See you tomorrow.

Misty said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle with a bit of crunch--many thanks, Alan. And Boomer, thanks for helping out--I always enjoy your commentary. I actually had no trouble getting WHAT ON EARTH in response to WHAT THE HECK. My struggle came in the Southeast, although I at least got that ROACH PEST. Nice to see both COLLEGE EDUCATED and DISS. And I always like getting DELLA STREET and remembering Perry Mason. Fun puzzle, many thanks again.

Have a great day, everybody!

Bill G said...

Hi everybody.

From yesterday, that chess set looked elegant but I would have a hard time playing with it; keeping track of what each piece looked like.

Our family had a blue Nash sedan about 1948 or so. As I remember, it was a satisfactory boat-like car.

~ Mind how you go...

OwenKL said...

I liked the heck, tho it could have been clued (What) the heck?

Tinbeni said...

Boomer: Great job "Pinch Hitting" ... something I will do at Sunset.

Husker @8:52 ... I really did enjoy the Tree Swing cartoon.

Well it is raining "Cats & Dogs" here today ... which is OK if you want to get a "Free Pet."

Cheers!

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Alan Olschwang and Boomer! Kudos, Boomer, for doing double duty.

This grid made me stumble a bit. My first fill was DAN Stevens, the handsome heir married to Lady Mary. He shocked us by being killed early on then went on to a more lucrative career in films.

ON EARTH is about the most awkward fill I've seen in a long time. HOED and ANNE, though I'd never heard of her, saved that corner for me.

BRUCE DERN is a really good actor but underrated, IMO.

ION is my favorite, too.

I have a photo of my dad next to his first car, a NASH.

Fourth grade geography lesson: the Nile River flows north.

I thought of Abejo at Della STREET because he often mentions watching Perry Mason.

TTP:
I hope you feel better soon. My friends who had shingles suffered for a long time, I'm sorry to tell you.

Have an excellent day, everyone!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF, not even close. Crashed in Seattle. Looked up ANNE, DAN, DES, and DURER. The only one I found remotely interesting was ANNE Donovan. I agree with IM: Thumper, thumper.

Husker Gary, just one question. How did I do tomorrow?

Thanks for filling in, Boomer. Nice review. Hopefully Rich will give us a fun puzzle tomorrow.

Wilbur Charles said...

I'm sure by now that someone has pointed out that the Nile flows North and empties INTO the Mediterranean. Finding the source was the goal of many 19th century explorers.

"I also learned that Rose and Ruby are not Hues, but REDS". And Lime and ? were HUES on Evan Birnholz' Post xword.*

I despaired filling NW. Didn't think of Chopped as a verb, knew ANNE and REDS and finally THEBES. The key was disecting DISS. UTTER and 1D fell. If I was to come complain it would be END NOTE.

BILLY Donovan will surely be in the HoF. He may like Calipari and Pitino have to return to College. As someone alluded to, coaching millionaire pros is not like college.

WC

** And I've been calling Him "Birnbaum". Aarrggghhh!!!!

Ol' Man Keith said...

The Egyptian THEBES is the site of the climax to the foundational story of King Œdipus. I once visited the Greek city of the same name and was disappointed to realize my error.

Boomer ~ Now, that's what I call a successful investment, a $200 dollar return on a nickel!
I once won $15 on a $5 roulette bet & thought I was a high roller. That was in Vegas. For a year or two after I experimented while visiting various casinos--until I dropped a lot in one play in a private London club.
It took my breath away--to lose so much so quickly. It was a good lesson. I thought I was James Bond, but found I am definitely not a gambler.
(And, ahem, not a spy.)

Very much enjoyed Mr.Olschwang's opus. Found a bit of a challenge in each sector & particularly liked the clever cluing, "The heck" being my fave.
I took pride in my final Ta~ DA!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the flip side. The central diagonal yields a shout-out anagram to a trash-talking venue, very likely a basketball court AKA a...
"SCOLD ARENA"!

Jayce said...

There were parts of this puzzle I liked and parts I didn't. I liked: the clues for HOED, ON EARTH, REDS, THESE, and ION, and seeing COTERIE and MOLLUSK as a fill. I didn't like: EER, ERE, ELD, DISS, and EEK. I got fooled by: ROPE before TREE, SET before LOT, and ARCH before INCH. I was not fooled by: REDS.

Boomer, I loved your comment "Hairlines must cede twice, because they RECEDE." I laughed out loud. Also that OMELET looks mighty good.

Ol'Man Keith, sorry you went to the wrong THEBES.

Good wishes to you all.

Lucina said...

WlburC:
Please check my post at 1:01 for the NILE information.

Mark bought me a Roku TV and it's the most complicated item I've ever had to deal with, almost two hours on the phone with a tech!

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Alan and Boomer.
Like others, I was held up in the NW. But I did get the theme and find all the WILD DEUCES.

Hand up for wanting a noun not a verb for "chopped garden clods". ON EARTH took a long time to fill.
Another hand up for Arch before INCH (but I did get REDS), and Intro before BASIC.
I wanted Orals for the PhD hurdle, but then realized it would be an abbreviation. Aha DISS.
My tire swing needed a rope before TREE perped.
Like others, the clue for ION was my favourite.

The Canadian equivalent to the EPISCopal denomination would be Anglican.

Hope you feel better soon TTP. Shingles can be terrible, but early use of antiviral meds can lessen the severity. I'll add my recommendation to others for the Shingrix.

Wishing you all a great evening.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Big Fat DNF. 14a, 20a, 32a, and 21d had at least a few letters missing. The heck==ON EARTH? Really? //doesn't matter because it was never going to parse... I had 'The heck' as ONE -RT-, what is a heck? orta? [for DoN], arti(?) [for DAN], urt-(?) [could it be DUN Stevens?]

Thanks Alan for the puzzle but most every name and location were out of my wheel-house. Some IdK's had friendly perps others, not so much - e.g. PaNH was a wrong guess with no clue who DELLE Street is [I do now, I Googled].

Nice write-up Boomer - took a bit of sting out my defeat. Thanks for taking the helm in a pinch.

WOs: PROvide EVIDENCE, irate b/f IRKED
Fav: I did like the clue for ION

{B, A, B+}
Cute DR.

D-O - I was thinking 'Is this Friday?' too. Because I had a D at the end of 5d, I even started thinking of elaborate names for banquets featuring 101 courses of food :-)

LOL card-comic, CED!

Back to work.

Cheers -T

WikWak said...

OMK, it’s a good thing you didn’t go to Thebes, Illinois! It’s in Alexander County, pretty much across the Mississippi from Cape Girardeau, MO. For reasons that always make sense at the time I hear them, far southern IL is called Egypt by many/most of its residents. A little time with an atlas (or Mr WikiPedia) will show quite a large number of towns named for Egyptian cities (think Cairo).

OK. On with the show. Mr O, you nearly did me in (but I still always enjoy yours). Boomer, you were in fine fettle today. I’ve seldom seen you fettler.

I had most of the same stumbling blocks others have mentioned, and I enjoyed the fresh fills of MOLLUSK and LECAR, and of course there was COTERIE.

I imagine most of us of “a certain age” remember Phnom Penh.

My vote for best clue / fill was “It’s never free of charge” = ION.

I’m with Abejo; tooo hot today to do anything outdoors. He was lazing about, enjoying the balmy temperature of 96; down here (maybe 10 miles away but probably less) it got to 98. Ugh.

TTP, I am very sorry to hear of your bout with shingles! My dad went through that in the ‘90s. No fun at all.

Well, a brief nap should set things right. See you later.

Picard said...

DURER came into my life as a nerdy math kid when I learned he put an interesting bit of math into one of his engravings.

This shows the amazing mathematical insight of DURER in creating this magic square.

Has anyone else seen this before?

Hand up the NW was fiendishly difficult. Hand up it became (barely) solvable when CHOPPED was seen as a verb.

Spitzboov said...

'Heck' is the Low German word for 'gate'. German would be Tor or Pforte. On our farm, as you would imagine, we had lots of gates so I heard 'Heck" used a lot. "Mook de Heck to" (Shut the gate!).

Anonymous T said...

Spitz, so I shoulda ink'd ONE GATE @2d :-)

Thanks for the info on what the Hell a heck is.

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

Picard, as you might well have also observed, the four middle squares, their neighbors, the four outer squares all add to 34. Like magic.

Lucina, you were one of many making the point. I spent 4th grade with the Sisters of St Joseph. Literally. They must have had five for us that year.

I remember this. A Sister asked: "What four words did Jesus say when consecrating the host?"

"Easy", we answered, "This is My body"
"Nope, wrong". "The answer is 'Do this in remembrance of me'".

"But that's six", we wailed. And that's all there was.

Talk about magic math.

WC

PS. I don't think any geography class taught the reverse direction of the Nile.

Bill G said...

That's a wonderful Magic Square!