It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!
Today is a bid of an odd theme. After I finished the puzzle, I stared at the circles and the unifier for a long time before the the light bulb went on. So, today we'll start with the Grid and Unifier:
38-Across. Act in a bipartisan way, and what the circled letters do Across and Down: CROSS PARTY LINES. The circled letters are common letters of words that Cross each other. Each of the "crossed" words describes a type of Party, hence the Circled Letters Cross Party Lines! Notice, too, the nice symmetry of the circle placement on the grid. Clever!
There are 4 sets words that Cross the Party Lines as we shall see below:
The word Pool crosses with the word Work at the letter O. Hence we get a Pool Party and a Work Party. A Pool Party sounds like fun. A Work Party ~ not so much.
Today is a bid of an odd theme. After I finished the puzzle, I stared at the circles and the unifier for a long time before the the light bulb went on. So, today we'll start with the Grid and Unifier:
38-Across. Act in a bipartisan way, and what the circled letters do Across and Down: CROSS PARTY LINES. The circled letters are common letters of words that Cross each other. Each of the "crossed" words describes a type of Party, hence the Circled Letters Cross Party Lines! Notice, too, the nice symmetry of the circle placement on the grid. Clever!
There are 4 sets words that Cross the Party Lines as we shall see below:
The word Pool crosses with the word Work at the letter O. Hence we get a Pool Party and a Work Party. A Pool Party sounds like fun. A Work Party ~ not so much.
16-Across. Game with cues and balls: POOL.
11-Down. Toil: WORK.
Two words cross Masquerade ~ Disco at the letter S and Theme at the letter E, giving us a Masquerade Party, a Disco Party and a Theme Party.
17-Across. Social event with costumes and facial covers: MASQUERADE.
3-Down. "Y.M.C.A." music genre: DISCO.
9-Down. Unifying feature of many escape rooms: THEME.
~~~~~~~~
Two words cross Tupperware ~ After at the letter T and Beach at the letter A. This gives us a Tupperware Party, and After Party and a Beach Party.
61-Across. Kitchen storage brand: TUPPERWARE. We've all probably all owned some Tupperware at some point in our lives.
50-Down. Chasing: AFTER. An After Party is a party that is held after another party of event. There are lots of After Parties following the Oscars, or so I'm told. I have never been invited.
52-Down. Surfer's hangout: BEACH.
The word Wrap crosses the word Stag at the letter A, giving us a Wrap Party and a Stag Party.
64-Across. Rolled-up sandwich: WRAP. A Wrap Party is a party for the cast and crew of a film or television program after the completion of the production. It could also be a party held for wrapping gifts. I belong to an organization that wraps gifts for children in the community at Christmas time. We call that gathering a Wrap Party.
57-Down. Without a date: STAG. The party for the groom before his wedding.
Across:
1. Rogues: CADS.
5. Is without: HASN'T. // Interesting to be right next to 10-Across: Possesses: OWNS.
14. Rose's Broadway love: ABIE. A reference to the play Abie's Irish Rose, which was also made into a movie. It was a comedy from the 1920s about a young Irish Catholic girl who fell in love with a young Jewish man and the obstacles they faced from their families.
15. Copier brand: RICOH.
Probably not for home use.
19. Gaelic tongue: ERSE. A crossword staple.
20. Defunct Amer. soccer competition: U.S. CUP.
21. Commented: REMARKED.
23. Footwear insert: SHOE TREE. Not to be used while wearing the shoe.
26. Slice of history: ERA.
27. Homebuyer's need: LOAN.
28. Accustom (to): ENURE.
32. Ron Weasley's pet Scabbers, for one: RAT. I initially tried Bat. Everything I know about Harry Potter, I learned from doing the crossword puzzles. At least I recognized that Ron Weasley is a character from Harry Potter.
35. The "S" in CBS: Abbr.: SYS. As in the Columbia Broadcasting System.
37. San Diego ball club: PADRES.
42. Major blood vessels: AORTAs.
43. Have a bug: AIL.
44. Northern Calif. airport: SFO. The code letters for the San Francisco International Airport.
45. Avow: SWEAR.
46. Lunch hour: NOON.
49. Nutrition fig.: RDA. As in the Recommended Dietary Allowance.
51. Native encountered by Crusoe: CANNIBAL. A reference to Robinson Crusoe, the 1719 novel Daniel Defoe. Hand up if you have read this book.
55. Large watchdogs: MASTIFFS.
59. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Cheri OTERI (née Cheryl Anne Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. She was on Saturday Night Live 2 decades ago, where she played a number of roles, including the Spartan cheerleader.
60. Rebuke from Caesar: ET TU.
65. Office communication: E-MAIL.
66. "__ hardly wait!": I CAN.
67. Internet transmission delays: LAGS.
68. Uses for a fee: RENTS.
69. Therefore: THUS.
Down:
1. "The Stranger" novelist Albert: CAMUS. Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913 ~ Jan. 4, 1960) was a French existentialist philosopher. He was born in Algeria to French parents. His father was killed in the Battle of Marne in 1914, so Camus never knew his father. In 1957, Camus was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was killed 3 years later in a car accident at age 46. I read a lot of Camus back when I was in high school.
2. Make self-conscious: ABASH.
4. Book that continues a story: SEQUEL.
5. Charlemagne's domain: Abbr.: HRE. As in the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither Holy nor Roman. The Holy Roman Empire was actually a group of territories in Western and Central Europe from the time of Charlemagne until the early 1800s. The largest territory within the HRE was the Kingdom of Germany, but included Bohemia, Italy and Burgundy. It's rulers were often referred to as the King of the Romans. The boundaries of the HRE were fluid over the centuries. The term Holy Roman Empire was first used sometime in the 13th Century.
Map of the HRE around 1000 C.E.
6. Balloon filler: AIR. Some balloons are filled with Helium, but they float away.
7. Hiccups cure, so they say: SCARE.
8. Lymph __: NODE.
10. Part of MO: OPERANDI. As in Modus Operandi, a phrase from the Latin, which means Mode of Operating.
12. Odor detector: NOSE.
13. Iditarod conveyance: SLED. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an annual event that runs from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The word Iditarod means "distant place" and is derived from a native Alaskan language. The original of today's race began in the early 1970. History of the Iditarod.
18. __ no good: scheming: UP TO.
22. "That's __ shame": A REAL. This wasn't the first word that popped into my mind.
24. Speaks in a gravelly voice: RASPS.
25. One-named "Only Time" singer: ENYA.
29. Caterer's coffeepots: URNs.
30. Snorkeling spot: REEF.
Great Barrier Reef
31. Gas brand in Canada: ESSO. A crossword staple.
32. Some TVs: RCAs. As in the Radio Corporation of America.
33. In __: lined up: A ROW.
34. Ripped up: TORE.
36. Mrs., in Madrid: SRA. Today's Spanish lesson
37. Traffic cone: PYLON.
39. Recipients of venture capital: START UPS.
40. Broadway restaurant founder: SARDI. The famous Sardi's restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District began as a modest little eatery in 1921. It was originally called The Little Restaurant. The founders were Melchiorre Pio Vincenzo Sardi and his wife, Eugenia Pallera. He was known in New York as Vincent Sardi (Dec. 23, 1885 ~ Nov. 19, 1969). Shortly after the restaurant first opened, it moved down the block under its current name ~ Sardi's. Because the restaurant is in the Theater District, Vincent Sardi hired a sketch artist to draw caricatures of actors and other celebrities, which adorn the walls of the restaurant.
41. "Mean Girls" screenwriter Fey: TINA. Tina Fey (née Elizabeth Stamatine Fey; b. May 18, 1970) was also a sketch writer for Saturday Night Live before her portrayal of Liz Lemon on 30 Rock.
47. __ about: roughly: ON OR.
48. Peabrain: NIT-WIT.
51. "Washington Journal" channel: C-SPAN.
53. Pianist Claudio: ARRAU. I am not familiar with Claudio Arrau León (Feb. 6, 1903 ~ June 9, 1991). He was a Chilean pianist.
54. Real estate claims: LIENS.
55. Whimper: MEWL. An interesting word.
56. Gillette brand: ATRA.
58. Do a slow burn: FUME.
62. Mango remnant: PIT.
63. Trains over the street: ELs.
Today is National Cat Day! QOD: Children, old crones, peasants and dogs ramble; cats and philosophers stick to their point. ~ H.P. Lovecraft (né Howard Phillips Lovecraft; Aug. 20, 1890 ~ Mar. 15, 1937), American writer
The Chicago Loop.
Today is National Cat Day! QOD: Children, old crones, peasants and dogs ramble; cats and philosophers stick to their point. ~ H.P. Lovecraft (né Howard Phillips Lovecraft; Aug. 20, 1890 ~ Mar. 15, 1937), American writer
35 comments:
A high-heel shoe has a stem, I see.
Which part do I plant to get a SHOE TREE?
Does living on a farm ENURE
To fertilizing with manure?
Horror movies keep a SEQUEL handy --
That's their Modus OPERANDI!
When a caterer dies, his body they burn,
The cremains are interred in a coffee URN.
The soccer tourney just gave up
Now Jockey provides the U.S.CUP!
In the jungle deep I saw
A man who liked his mother-in-law.
Another thought his disagreeable.
But that's life for a CANNIBAL!
A lycanthrope got quite a SCARE,
In fact it made him cuss and SWEAR!
A bowl lid clinched
And he got pinched --
The poor cur now is a TUPPER-WARE!
{couplets B+, quatrain B-, l'ick A.}
This appears to be a very interesting debut puzzle for Chase. I hope he will read our comments and stop by to introduce himself.
The concept was tricky, and I am not sure the circles were as helpful as they usually are, but it felt fresh. The fill was diverse and except for Pianist CLAUDIO ARRAU about whom I knew nothing until I read the article. I also, like Susan, read Camus when I was young as he was a favorite of my French teacher.
The few times I have been SARDIS it was a rather dark restaurant and had "celebrities" dining along with all the drawings.
Welcome Chase and thanks to you and Hahtoolah
Good Morning:
This was a fun theme that, despite the circles, remained hidden until the reveal. The symmetry of the themers was a nice touch, as Hatoolah pointed out. My only unknown was US Cup, although I guessed at Rat because Owl wouldn't work. My HP knowledge is limited to what I've learned from crosswords. We've had Arrau before, so that filled in nicely with perps. My only w/o was Abase before Abash. Seeing Mewl reminds me of CED, AKA, Mr. Meow. Happy National Cat Day, Dave! 🐱
Thanks, Chase, for a Tuesday puzzle solving party and thanks, Hatoolah, for your fun and fact-filled summary. You have a knack for finding the perfect visuals and links, which is much appreciated.
Have a great day.
Good morning!
LACKS/HASN'T was my only Wite-Out moment today. I.M. wrote, "This was a fun theme that, despite the circles, remained hidden until the reveal"--which also remained hidden for d-o. After spending several minutes trying to spell something with the circled letters, I sensed that perhaps I'd missed a reveal...again. Yup. Ah so. Partytime. Thanx Chase and Hahtoolah.
CAMUS: The Plague is the only book I remember reading.
RCA: After G-E bought the company it was broken into parts and sold off. The brand still exists, but now it's owned by a French conglomerate.
Cats: Our cats have never met a door that they didn't need to be on the other side of.
FIR, but had to fix ABASe (hi Irish Miss).
I used to have a plaque in my office declaring "the only person who got his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe".
I thought SARDIs was the object of Yogi's saying "nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded", but he was referring to Toots Shor’s. (He also stole that gag.) The one time I ate at Sardi's I didn't see any celebs. Boy's Market in Marina del Rey, CA was much more fertile ground for star sighting.
CSO to Big Easy at ELS.
Thanks to Chase for the fine puzzle, even though I didn't get the theme until Hahtoolah 'splained it. And thanks to Hahtoolah for 'splainin' it, and for the rest of your entertaining tour.
A little crunchy but still filled fairly smoothly. I got the horizontal PARTYs, but like D-O I didn't get the vertical ones until the letters SEOATA weren't making any sense!
AFTER party can also be like a WRAP party - the party after performing a show for the cast.
I went to SARDIS before a Broadway show once with my friends from growing up (The Fab Five) when we met in NYC for a celebration of our collective 50th birthdays.
Off to work - thanks Susan for an interesting write-up! and congrats to Chase on the debut!
Fun puzzle. I didn't get the theme until the reveal, but the puzzle was easy enough without it. After completing it, I saw the very clever crossing of the parties. Loved it. New and different type of theme. Thanks, Chase, and thank you, Susan for all the wonderful links and pics.
Unfortunately, except for this puzzle, crossing party lines is rare these days.
I wonder what an escape room is. LIU, I see it is a game. Huh??? I got THEME easily with perps and knowing that a unifying principle of many things is a theme. But, still I wonder.
Also wondering, OKL, what is a stem in high heels. There is a shoe brand called Stems. BTW, I liked your couplets.
Only misstep was 69A, ERGO. Knowing ARRAU quickly corrected that to THUS. I enjoy listening to Claudio ARRAU, a fine pianist, on NPR in the car.
Yes, I have read Robinson Crusoe several times. I know Camus is quite famous, but I have never read any of his books.
Our Japanese teacher was telling us she had a Ricoh businessman as a student in one of her Japanese classes. He was boasting in English of his extramarital conquests, not knowing the teacher understood English quite well. Oops! The father of one of my students was a Ricoh business man who was traveling to Japan. Moral is, "You never who might be connected to the object of your story."
Yes, Alan was ill on Saturday and worse by the time I took him back on Sunday evening. The manager of the group home took him to the doctor yesterday. He has a viral cold. She changed Alan's Halloween costume to being a doctor for today's party, so he could wear mask to to keep from spreading germs.
Very clever puzzle, with all the crossing parties. Not easy to create I’m sure. Fun solve!
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Chase (congrats on your debut) and Hahtoolah.
Wow, for once, I am early to the PARTY today. I enjoyed this CW but found it a little crunchy for a Tuesday, and actually FIWed. But I did see the theme.
I had Has No instead of HASN'T and could not remember the last letter in RICOH copier. Even an alphabet run using O_EME made no sense for the escape rooms; I chose N, giving me ONE ME. Duh! Then I arrived here to find out that I misspelled SARDI as Sardo (this Canadian has never been there), which gave me a new breed called Mastoffs. Double trouble today.
I did know RCAS, and Bat changed to RAT. I originally entered Masked Ball before MASQUERADE filled the spot. Thankfully, ARRAU also filled with perps.
Yes, I had a TUPPERWARE PARTY for one of my bridal showers ON OR about 38 years ago; I am still well-supplied with what is now "retro" Tupperware. Some has been replaced over the years (you do pay for that guarantee THUS you might as well take advantage of it!) but it is still used frequently.
I'll take a CSO with the ubiquitous (some constructor should use that lovely word!) ESSO.
MEWL does remind me of kittens (very appropriate for National Cat Day!)
I neglected to thank everyone yesterday for all the well-wishes for new grandson & DIL.
Wishing you all a great day. Stay safe in California.
An escape room is where a group of people pay money to be locked in a room and solve clues in order to "escape" in an hour, fun
Good morning everyone.
Only 3 squares white-out today. Got the theme per the reveal. I thought the puzzle would have WORKed well enough without it. I had 'serial' before SEQUEL. Otherwise, no issues. FIR.
Black squares kept the grid somewhat compartmentalized, but they were just under the preferred limit. However there were no cheater squares. (I don't usually comment on this, but was struck by how the blacked-out areas looked.)
Needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get CAMUS and ARRAU ... both complete unknowns and learning moments I will forget bu NOON.
As for the THEME I didn't get it until reading the write-up.
Hahtoolah, BTW Good job ... very informative.
Cheers!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Chase Dittrich, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.
Chase, if this is your first puzzle, congratulations! Great job!
Puzzle went pretty easily.
Had SERIES, before SERIAL, and then SEQUEL. Worked out.
ARRAU was unknown, peeped him. I liked his piano playing as Hahtoolah linked it. 80 years old, wow!
After I finished i found the circles and then saw what they crossed. Various types of parties. Works for me.
Cold and damp this morning while guarding the crossing. 36 degrees. Put my gloves on for the first time.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Musings
-I hope the thud of finally seeing the fun gimmick doesn’t leave a mark
-Someone recently posted here about single socks and TUPPERWARE lids looking for mates
-Lesley’s live version just HASN’T got it compared to her studio-produced version
-My $10 shoe inserts give me plantar fasciitis relief as well as the $50 ones my doctor prescribed
-Balloons are a “first score” Husker tradition
-“That’s A REAL SHAME” – Knee jerk party loyalty prevents today’s theme from occurring
-In honor of Cat’s Day, Lily will get whatever she wants. Wait a minute…
-Lovely job, Susan!
I just tried to comment on Sunday's puzzle on the blog for Sunday, and it would not take it. Strange.
Abejo
What a clever puzzle with fresh new fill. No, of course I didn’t get the theme, but I FIR anyway. Thanks, Chase, and congratulations.
Hahtoolah, I loved your links. Thanks. Did you have trouble with the recent storm? It turned out to be worse than anticipated for us.
Owen, I’m still laughing over the SHOE TREE. Good job!
Stay safe, Californians.
Thank you, Chase, and thank you, Hahtoolah.
Hand up for limited Harry Potter knowledge. First thought was that a cat. Then possibly a bat. Oh, RAT.
I knew ARRAU. Not sure why. The most probable reason is that must have been an answer in a puzzle I blogged.
Abejo, your Sunday comment has been posted.
Fun puzzle! I enjoyed it.
But how to post a silly link about it with sounding political?
I'm usually always a day behind,
but it this case, I sort of get to celebrate twice!
Well, Kudo's to me for finishing this puzzle!
And with that...
Jinx, New York "celebrities" are not as easily recognized as the ones out in California. There are many Broadway stars that are not known plus many soap opera regulars and athletes who can be seen in the Big Apple. Finally, you have your international jet setters - models, diplomats, and other sundry people. I like people watching whether it is a famous person or not.
Hola!
What fun! Thank you, Chase and Hahtoolah! Congratulations, Chase, if this is your first puzzle.
I, too, thought of masked ball but then MASQUERADE asserted itself.
It's good to see CAMUS in the puzzle. I believe I read one of his books more than a half century ago.
My supply of TUPPERWARE has dwindled over the years as people take leftovers and yes, the lids disappear. I probably attended a dozen of those parties. It's an intriguing system: friends or family volunteer to host a party for extra points and then we are obligated to attend because, well, it's a friend or relative.
Ron Weasley is from Harry Potter? He had not entered into my CWD world until today so now I know his pet was a RAT!
We have seen Claudio ARRAU in puzzles several times before this.
In Sunday Morning on CBS I learned that today is National CAT Day and also about escape rooms. I had not heard of them and it was interesting. Some of the staff participated in one.
Hahtoolah, you are so right about the HRE not being either holy or Roman.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
I almost, almost got this fun puzzle, but had exactly the same problem as CanadianEh. I started with HAS NO and had RICO but was stumped by the 9 down. And so I too put ONE ME, wondering just what that meant. Neat puzzle, Chase, but I sure wish there had been a better 9 down to help us out. Like Lucina, I too started with MASKED BALL--but 8 down had to be NODE, so I reworked it and got the MASQUERADE. Great to see CAMUS right at the beginning, and always nice to see Cheri OTERI. So, thanks again for a fun puzzle, Chase, even though the theme totally eluded me. And I love all your pictures and explanations, Hahtoolah--you make our Tuesdays a delight.
Have a great day, everybody.
SwampCat: we barely felt the effects of Olga. I see that Hammond is suffering more outages due a fallen tree during the storm clean-up.
I thought today’s storm was a bit obtuse. It came to me only after I had completed the puzzle and stared at it for a few minutes.
I messed up my google account the other day and can’t turn blue!
The Anonymous above is Hahtoolah.
I enjoyed this puzzle very much and am impressed by the theme concept and construction. Well done!
For some reason I thought an escape room was the same thing as a panic room so THEME made no sense to me. Thanks for the 'splanation, Hahtoolah.
Good day!
Misty, I wasn't sure about 9D either. But the "Park" clue helped me resolve it to the THEME fill. I appreciated that extra help, although it could be considered extraneous in a way, i.e., not part of the clues for either 9D or 15A.
I had the privilege of attending a Claudio ARRAU recital at Carnegie Hall back in the early '80s. A dynamic performance, including Chopin & Beethoven. He could play softer, to great effect, than anyone else I ever heard.
~ OMK
____________
DR: a 3-way on the near end.
A curious anagram today.
If I understand it correctly, it refers to the bruise one sustains from an unhappy listener when one has improvised jazz lyrics badly.
I mean…
“A SCAT ABRASION”!
OMK:
Your anagrams are entertaining, especially today's!
TY, Lucina. Kind of you to say so.
~ OMK
Hurried through the puzzle and never tried to parse out a theme. Only error was "torn" as a past tense to agree with "ripped" quickly corrected by the perps. The rest kind of just fell into place
Tina Fey is an incredible talent. Loved her on 30 Rock.
Thought Robinson "Caruso" was about an opera singer?? !!
Thanks for the feedback, Ol'Man Keith.
Hi all, thanks for the great feedback on the puzzle and for the warm welcome on my debut! Loved reading your comments! Lots of great learning for the next time around :)
I've had a few accepted by the LAT now so look for more coming down the pipe. Very excited to see reactions to them all and to keep working on making better ones.
I apologize if 9-D was too frustrating. I love escape rooms and knew there was a chance this stumped some people, but I really wanted to include this and was happy that they kept it in the final edition. Between that one and Harry Potter I think I got my nerdy fill. I may try to sneak in more of this stuff in the future.
Thanks again!
Chase
Chase:
Thank you for stopping at our Corner! I really enjoyed your puzzle and look forward to future ones. What fun!
Great to have you stop by, Chase. So glad we'll see more of your puzzles before too long!
Thanks Chase and Hahtoolah. I enjoyed the puzzle which I completed and the sparkling write up.
OMK, I enjoy your anagrams too. And Owen's verses. I'm embarrassed that I take in all of the thoughtful and clever stuff posted here, often without any comment from me, especially since I enjoy and covet comments about my input.
I've been worried tonight about the strong Santa Ana winds predicted for this area which can often lead to serious fire conditions. Our particular location on the Los Angeles coastline seems to be immune to most of these natural catastrophes, except for the occasional earth temblor. Even those we have luckily avoided the most serious ones. I have been changing channels whenever news coverage of the fires comes on. Watching people's homes burn is so sad...
Not enough coffee this a.m. I guess - never could get the connection of circled letters to"party" (ah, placement of the fills) until I read Hahtoolah's expo - duh. Thanks very much, Hahtoolah!
Bill G - thanks for letting us know you're safe. Seeing the nightly world news reports of the fires are truly unbelievable and equally terrifying! I've not been checking in so I don't know if other Cornerites are OK.
Bill G:
Thank you for checking in with us and I'm glad you are all right. Those fires are so worrisome and dangerous.
We decided to cancel our trip which was scheduled for next week. Our friends in San Rafael told us the power outages are really inconvenient though they are at the moment out of the range of the fire.
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