Theme Iceberg Ahead! The too-late Titanic shout from the Crow's Nest. Here we have a murder of crows:
17A. Crow: HUMBLE PIE. Eat crow, eat humble pie.
26A. Crow: BOAST WITH JOY. Be careful, because next week you might be eating crow. Be humble in victory, and gracious in defeat.
45A. Crow: SINGER SHERYL. She was the soundtrack to my first years in Los Angeles. Her "Tuesday Night Music Club" album was all over the radio.
60A. Crow: BLACK BIRD. All crows are black birds, but not all blackbirds are crows. The ravens at the Tower of London have their wings clipped so that they can't fly off. Why? Because a superstition tells that if ever the ravens leave the Tower, "the monarchy will collapse and Britain with it." I think the monarchy, and Britain, has been doing a pretty good job of collapsing on their own recently, no help required from absentee blackbirds.
So, a first collaboration from Kevin and Howard, no strangers to these pages individually and severally. I liked the theme; I think they may have sweated over "boast with joy" which doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but the end result was pretty good and uncovering each "crow" was fun.
Across:
1. Suffix for Wikipedia: ORG
4. Humiliate: ABASE
9. Network with a "Cameras in the Court" page: C-SPAN
14. Excessively: TOO
15. Where many watch the Beeb: TELLY. Formally, the British Broadcasting Corporation, "the Beeb" in common parlance. It's on the telly, it is, yer Royal 'ighness. When I was a kid, there were two channels - the BBC and ITV, or "Independent Television" which ran commercials. If you didn't like what was running on one channel, you tuned to "The Other Side" to see if there was anything better.
16. Get to laugh: AMUSE
19. Plug-in Chevys: VOLTS
20. Series-ending abbr.: ET AL.
21. Lightning __: ROD
22. "Settle down!": COOL IT!
23. Delete for security reasons, say: REDACT.
25. Alphabetize, e.g.: SORT
32. Lapped (up): ATE. Funny, as lapping is the act of drinking as a cat or a dog, and eating, is, well, eating.
35. Take to a higher court: APPEAL
36. Amana Colonies state: IOWA. Why did I try IRAN first? Wrong, obviously. What did "Homestead" do to offend the other Armanas? Armana, East Armana, High Armana, Middle Armana, South Armana, West Armana and .... Homestead. One is not like the others. Is one of these maypole dancers from Homestead? We should be told.
37. Copier pioneer: XEROX
39. Taylor of fashion: ANN
40. Likely 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee: JETER. Isn't he pretty much a shoo-in for Cooperstown? I can't think of anyone with better credentials right now.
41. Composer Satie: ERIK. If you've never been to Paris, you could do a lot worse than living vicariously with this
42. Taco sauce brand: ORTEGA
44. IRS identifier: SSN
48. In years past: ONCE
49. Range that contains much of the Mark Twain National Forest: OZARKS
53. Temple with an upcurved roof: PAGODA
56. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU. Speaking of which, why do auto insurance companies have such terrible commercials? The "LiMu Emu" is the latest abomination. Geico started the whole thing and should be ashamed of themselves.
58. "Allow me": MAY I?
59. Meter measure: USAGE
62. Electric car named for a physicist: TESLA
63. Kirin competitor: ASAHI. Beer! Cheers!
64. Zero, in soccer: NIL
65. Get to the point?: TAPER
66. Exorcist's target: DEMON. Could be "devil" so hold your horses (of the apocalypse) and wait for the crosses.
67. "Get how it's done?": SEE?
Down:?
1. "Some __ time": OTHER
2. Waze recommendation: ROUTE
3. Lose one's grip: GO MAD
4. Delta hub code: ATL. The tram that lets you off at the "D" gates at Atlanta Hartsfield announces that you are arriving at "D - David" because everyone flying Delta used to get off when they heard "D - Delta", which is actually the United terminal. So now it goes "A - Alpha, B - Bravo, C - Charlie, D - David, E - Echo" to avoid confusion.
5. Draft source: BEER TAP. I've never seen Asahi nor Kirin on tap. Must investigate.
6. Pet food brand: ALPO
7. Avoided a tag, perhaps: SLID. Baseball reference to sliding into the base to avoid being tagged "out".
8. "Queer __": revived style show: EYE. It used to be called "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" but I assumed the Straight Guy part was not inclusive. One of my favorite food show presenters, Ted Allen, was one of the original cast, as, aptly, the food and wine expert.
9. Frolic: CAVORT
10. Blended beverage: SMOOTHIE
11. Yank: PULL
12. Bubbly city: ASTI. I think we need a moratorium on ASTI for a while, it's been cropping up a lot.
13. Stick-y place to sleep?: NEST. I like the clue.
18. Spill the beans: BLAB
22. Slinky shape: COIL. The "Slinky" toy which was a big spring and "walked" downstairs. That was it. It was something of a fascinating one-trick pony which was quickly consigned to the toy box, never to be seen again.
24. Persuade with flattery: COAX
25. Title river in a Gershwin/Caesar song: SWANEE.
27. Like Wyoming's population: SPARSE. Alaska's got 'em beat - 1.3 people per square mile rather than the crowds in Wyoming - six to the square mile, no room to swing a cat over there.
28. Start of the back nine: TENTH. Golf, again.
29. Quickly writes: JOTS
30. Is in the red: OWES
31. It may get crewel treatment: YARN. Fun, play-on-words clue. Embroidery.
32. x, y and z, in math: AXES. The Z axis confused me when I first came across it, I don't visualize well in 3D and dealing with three variables makes my brain hurt.
33. Polo of "The Fosters": TERI. Thank you, crosses.
34. Shillelagh's land: ERIN
38. Words that activate an assistant: OK, GOOGLE. One of my friends made me laugh the other day - he told me "I'm in trouble, I called Siri "Alexa". She thinks I'm cheating on her".
40. "Empire State of Mind" rapper: JAY Z
42. White-bellied swimmer: ORCA
43. First name in comedy: GROUCHO. There's a private club in London, The Groucho Club, whose members are primarily from the fields of publishing, entertainment and the arts. It was founded as an alternative to the archaic and stuffy members clubs in London and took its name from Groucho Marx's assertion that "he wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member".
46. Make lovable: ENDEAR
47. Souvlaki meat: LAMB. Food! Count me in if you're making souvlaki, I'll bring the ouzo.
50. Comes down: RAINS
51. 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year __ Irving: KYRIE
52. Crab-walk: SIDLE
53. Miniature golf stroke: PUTT
54. Riding the waves: ASEA
55. [Oh no!]: GASP!
56. Besides that: ELSE
57. Word said with a tip of the hat: MA'AM
60. Evil: BAD
61. It's all relatives: KIN. Nice clue. All your relatives are your kin. I'm lucky, my relatives are a pretty fine bunch so I don't subscribe to the "you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives" maxim.
And with that, we reach the end, my friends. A quick grid-posting and it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, so let's have at it!
Steve
17A. Crow: HUMBLE PIE. Eat crow, eat humble pie.
26A. Crow: BOAST WITH JOY. Be careful, because next week you might be eating crow. Be humble in victory, and gracious in defeat.
"For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name,
he writes not that you won nor lost, but how you played the game".
Grantland Rice
45A. Crow: SINGER SHERYL. She was the soundtrack to my first years in Los Angeles. Her "Tuesday Night Music Club" album was all over the radio.
60A. Crow: BLACK BIRD. All crows are black birds, but not all blackbirds are crows. The ravens at the Tower of London have their wings clipped so that they can't fly off. Why? Because a superstition tells that if ever the ravens leave the Tower, "the monarchy will collapse and Britain with it." I think the monarchy, and Britain, has been doing a pretty good job of collapsing on their own recently, no help required from absentee blackbirds.
So, a first collaboration from Kevin and Howard, no strangers to these pages individually and severally. I liked the theme; I think they may have sweated over "boast with joy" which doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but the end result was pretty good and uncovering each "crow" was fun.
Across:
1. Suffix for Wikipedia: ORG
4. Humiliate: ABASE
9. Network with a "Cameras in the Court" page: C-SPAN
14. Excessively: TOO
15. Where many watch the Beeb: TELLY. Formally, the British Broadcasting Corporation, "the Beeb" in common parlance. It's on the telly, it is, yer Royal 'ighness. When I was a kid, there were two channels - the BBC and ITV, or "Independent Television" which ran commercials. If you didn't like what was running on one channel, you tuned to "The Other Side" to see if there was anything better.
16. Get to laugh: AMUSE
19. Plug-in Chevys: VOLTS
20. Series-ending abbr.: ET AL.
21. Lightning __: ROD
22. "Settle down!": COOL IT!
23. Delete for security reasons, say: REDACT.
25. Alphabetize, e.g.: SORT
32. Lapped (up): ATE. Funny, as lapping is the act of drinking as a cat or a dog, and eating, is, well, eating.
35. Take to a higher court: APPEAL
36. Amana Colonies state: IOWA. Why did I try IRAN first? Wrong, obviously. What did "Homestead" do to offend the other Armanas? Armana, East Armana, High Armana, Middle Armana, South Armana, West Armana and .... Homestead. One is not like the others. Is one of these maypole dancers from Homestead? We should be told.
37. Copier pioneer: XEROX
39. Taylor of fashion: ANN
40. Likely 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee: JETER. Isn't he pretty much a shoo-in for Cooperstown? I can't think of anyone with better credentials right now.
41. Composer Satie: ERIK. If you've never been to Paris, you could do a lot worse than living vicariously with this
42. Taco sauce brand: ORTEGA
44. IRS identifier: SSN
48. In years past: ONCE
49. Range that contains much of the Mark Twain National Forest: OZARKS
53. Temple with an upcurved roof: PAGODA
56. Blue-__: pain relief brand: EMU. Speaking of which, why do auto insurance companies have such terrible commercials? The "LiMu Emu" is the latest abomination. Geico started the whole thing and should be ashamed of themselves.
58. "Allow me": MAY I?
59. Meter measure: USAGE
62. Electric car named for a physicist: TESLA
63. Kirin competitor: ASAHI. Beer! Cheers!
64. Zero, in soccer: NIL
65. Get to the point?: TAPER
66. Exorcist's target: DEMON. Could be "devil" so hold your horses (of the apocalypse) and wait for the crosses.
67. "Get how it's done?": SEE?
Down:?
1. "Some __ time": OTHER
2. Waze recommendation: ROUTE
3. Lose one's grip: GO MAD
4. Delta hub code: ATL. The tram that lets you off at the "D" gates at Atlanta Hartsfield announces that you are arriving at "D - David" because everyone flying Delta used to get off when they heard "D - Delta", which is actually the United terminal. So now it goes "A - Alpha, B - Bravo, C - Charlie, D - David, E - Echo" to avoid confusion.
5. Draft source: BEER TAP. I've never seen Asahi nor Kirin on tap. Must investigate.
6. Pet food brand: ALPO
7. Avoided a tag, perhaps: SLID. Baseball reference to sliding into the base to avoid being tagged "out".
8. "Queer __": revived style show: EYE. It used to be called "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" but I assumed the Straight Guy part was not inclusive. One of my favorite food show presenters, Ted Allen, was one of the original cast, as, aptly, the food and wine expert.
9. Frolic: CAVORT
10. Blended beverage: SMOOTHIE
11. Yank: PULL
12. Bubbly city: ASTI. I think we need a moratorium on ASTI for a while, it's been cropping up a lot.
13. Stick-y place to sleep?: NEST. I like the clue.
18. Spill the beans: BLAB
22. Slinky shape: COIL. The "Slinky" toy which was a big spring and "walked" downstairs. That was it. It was something of a fascinating one-trick pony which was quickly consigned to the toy box, never to be seen again.
24. Persuade with flattery: COAX
25. Title river in a Gershwin/Caesar song: SWANEE.
27. Like Wyoming's population: SPARSE. Alaska's got 'em beat - 1.3 people per square mile rather than the crowds in Wyoming - six to the square mile, no room to swing a cat over there.
28. Start of the back nine: TENTH. Golf, again.
29. Quickly writes: JOTS
30. Is in the red: OWES
31. It may get crewel treatment: YARN. Fun, play-on-words clue. Embroidery.
32. x, y and z, in math: AXES. The Z axis confused me when I first came across it, I don't visualize well in 3D and dealing with three variables makes my brain hurt.
33. Polo of "The Fosters": TERI. Thank you, crosses.
34. Shillelagh's land: ERIN
38. Words that activate an assistant: OK, GOOGLE. One of my friends made me laugh the other day - he told me "I'm in trouble, I called Siri "Alexa". She thinks I'm cheating on her".
40. "Empire State of Mind" rapper: JAY Z
42. White-bellied swimmer: ORCA
43. First name in comedy: GROUCHO. There's a private club in London, The Groucho Club, whose members are primarily from the fields of publishing, entertainment and the arts. It was founded as an alternative to the archaic and stuffy members clubs in London and took its name from Groucho Marx's assertion that "he wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member".
46. Make lovable: ENDEAR
47. Souvlaki meat: LAMB. Food! Count me in if you're making souvlaki, I'll bring the ouzo.
50. Comes down: RAINS
51. 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year __ Irving: KYRIE
52. Crab-walk: SIDLE
53. Miniature golf stroke: PUTT
54. Riding the waves: ASEA
55. [Oh no!]: GASP!
56. Besides that: ELSE
57. Word said with a tip of the hat: MA'AM
60. Evil: BAD
61. It's all relatives: KIN. Nice clue. All your relatives are your kin. I'm lucky, my relatives are a pretty fine bunch so I don't subscribe to the "you can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives" maxim.
And with that, we reach the end, my friends. A quick grid-posting and it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, so let's have at it!
Steve
Kevin is collaborating with many people these days. I think the Corner is sleeping in, perhaps all the bad weather?
ReplyDeleteComing with four fill for a single word clue is never easy. I agree that BOAST WITH JOY is a stretch, the entire effort was fun. It made me think of REGIS PHILBIN .
But the highlight was Steve's continuing commentary about his life, his history and what he likes.
Thank you, guys.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWe got an evil omen for the 13th of the month. I liked it. Thanx, Kevin, Howard, and Steve. (Interesting about the terminal announcements at Hartsfield.)
ERIK: One of my favorite composers. My favorite of his is Gnossienne #4.
IOWA: When I lived in Cedar Rapids we'd take visitors to the Amana Colonies for their family-style restaurants. Steve, there's no R in Amana. Were you thinking Armani?
BEER TAP: I became acquainted with Kirin beer back in the '60s. It has an unusual flavor, but it's good when you get used to it.
TELLY: In my ute some folks bought TV sets when the only station was WTMJ -- 140 miles away in Milwaukee. My dad waited for WFRV, the second station to start up in nearby Green Bay, before he bought our first TV. About 1955, methinks.
OK GOOGLE: Do you suppose Google would respond to "OK, Boomer."
KIN: We don't worry about kin dropping in unexpectedly. The nearest relatives live at least 1,000 miles away. Could be why we don't see each other often.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thank you, Kevin and Howard, and thank you, Steve.
Yesterday Yellowrocks mentioned that she liked the "pitch" puzzle because she likes words that have so many varying meanings. And as if by magic, we get another today with Crow as the clue. Neat !
BTW, Yellowrocks, yesterday I did mean to write, "... riding with the Belgian girls..." Thank you for catching that. I was too tired. The whole paragraph was off.
Anyway, tackled this one from the SW corner to the NE corner first. Liked seeing SPARSE, CAVORT and SMOOTHIE on that ascent. COOL IT was fun too.
Because I was pattern solving, I didn't look at the clues that started or ended outside of the diagonals. So I didn't see the Crow clues until I started the SE and got BLACKBIRD. SINGER SHERYL was my favorite of the crow answers.
Steve, JETER got enough HOF votes a few weeks ago. In fact, he fell one vote shy of being a unanimous selection. He'll be inducted in July. No one has outed the one sportswriter that didn't have Jeter on their ballot.
Never heard of Blue-EMU. Some of those insurance commercials are so bad they amuse me.
What bugs me more are the TV Channels whose names belie their content. For instance, there is the Travel Channel. Today's lineup is episode after episode of "Ghost Adventures" and nothing about travel. The channel seems to never have anything on related to travel. I'll be glad when winter is over and I can start working the gardens again.
FIW. Can't believe I couldn't grok SIeGER SHERYL Crow and fix ERIe. My only excuse is I had never heard of Ms. Polo. But I won't fret - All I want to do is have some fun. ('Till the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.)
ReplyDeleteI USED to like a beer buzz early in the morning, but quit drinking before I learned of Kirin or ASAHI.
Had to erase Blue ice - Oh yeah, that's the stuff Delta drops before landing at ATL. HOF catcher Johnny Bench hawks the EMU puree.
Don't confuse DEMON with the denizen of the IT cave, the daemon.
I damned near filled in Joel before "rapper" registered. Then I realized it wasn't New York State of Mind.
I'm not only on life's back nine, I'm so old that the beverage cart has also made its last pass.
Thanks to Kevin and Howard for the fun grid, and to Steve for another fine review.
Fun, but pretty easy Thursday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMy one nit is Jeter has already been elected to the Hall of Fame, so maybe the puzzle was written before last month. But still a bit of an editing slip IMO. Jeter certainly deserves to be in, but not in the echelon of the greatest of the greats. His defense and “leadership” skills somewhat overrated.
I use Alexa and Siri as assistants, but haven’t used Google except from my keyboard. Can’t teach this old dog new tricks.
ReplyDeleteFun (and fast for a Thursday) puzzle!
ReplyDeleteA few shout-outs to my home state of Missouri with SHERYL CROW who hailed from Kennett in the Bootheel (and a Mizzou grad) and the Mark Twain Nat'l forest in the OZARKS which starts about 40 minutes south of me and covers much of the southern portion of the state!
My daughter has a GOOGLE asst in her house - and she uses it to turn the lights out at night - but my voice must not have the right tone to it as I can't get it to work!
Thanks to Steve and Kevin& Howard!
MAY I inquire as to "Who's going to be the first to CROW about how fast they solved this one?" Not me, as I leisurely solve in in the newspaper. Just a few unknowns today-KYRIE, JAY-Z & TERI. I only changed DEVIL to DEMON. I wasn't sure if it was a VOLT or BOLT; one is hybrid and the other EV. Neither car sells.
ReplyDeleteAMANA- where they make or made washers, dryers, and fridges
Kirin or ASAHI- I've seen them but never had one.
SWANEE River by Stephen C. Foster
OK GOOGLE- I say that to my phone when I'm driving to make a call. (I use wireless earbuds)
Yes, another puzzle with multiple meaning words! Fun. Steve, interesting expo, as always.
ReplyDeleteMy last fill was the Y in JOY and YARN. Boast with joy is not a common phrase, but it makes a lot of sense. "We won! We won!" ABC run. Yarn should have been obvious without the run.
I, too, remember having only one station on our first TV. I thought it was because we lived "out in the sticks."
Stick-y place/nest did not hold me up, but, seriously, stick-y?
TTP, I would not ordinarily have pointed out your mistake, but I found it humorous.
I liked having REDACT so close to HUMBLE PIE. Many times things are redacted, not for security, but to avoid pols having to eat humble pie.
I like either Kirin or Asahi with sushi. They are always served to me in a bottle. I, too, wonder, if they could be on tap.
We played with the Slinky a lot. Often we just mindlessly blooped it from hand to hand. Kind of like worry beads.The biggest annoyance was that it often got tangled in the toy box. I untangled it for my boys countless times.
Steve, interesting about D David. WV has exits for a state highway and an interstate with the same route number close together. They have had to erect signs to avoid confusion. Of course, the GPS has it right.
I thought of BLUE ICE, but it didn't match the crosses. Then I remembered BLUE EMU ads.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot most of it OK but was at an impasse in the central bottom. Had KIN early and was sure of it when BLACK BIRD loomed. Had DE__N but wanted 'devil'. finally the fog cleared and I tried DEMON; confirming GROUCHO, and I romped home. Liked the theme and accepted the Thursday difficulty.
JETER - Since, I assume the final copy is submitted for syndication several weeks before actual printing, I assume the editor had to couch the clue in appropriate weasel words because of the time factor. Even a certainty may not be fully certain.
Completely messed up NE. Had "govtv" (is that even a thing?) instead of CSPAN. The "g" perp led to a series of ridiculous errors for the Frolic clue including Gamble (wrong homonym) Gavott (spelled wrong)to Gavort (wha?) finally ....CAVORT.
ReplyDeleteAlthough that mess was finally straightened out I FIW. Had "Oh google" changed to "On Google" erroneously providing the "n" for Erin rather than "k" for Erik.
Thought the Beeb was an alternative spelling of the BIEB as in Justin whose fame evolved out of You Tube not the TELLY.
So in the end I ate HUMBLE PIE which likely tastes a lot better than CROW.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kevin, Howard and Steve! I also enjoy your keen observations, Steve.
Hah! I know of DEREK Jeter but my brain scrambled it to DETER and DAYZ seemed fine for a rapper! Oh, JAY-Z.
I also like the multiple meaning words as well as clever clues especially for YARN and TAPER. TESLA and VOLTS make a fine pair then CAVORT crossing AMUSE made me smile.
My great-grandson is named for KYRIE Irving and that is why I know of him. Normally I would say KYRIE means lord as in "KYRIE Eleison" (lord, have mercy) from the Greek but they are pronounced differently. One is kai-ree, the other is kee-ree-eh as used in the Catholic Mass. Kai-ree is heard daily in this house.
I had KIN, erased it, wrote DEVIL, erased that, filled KIN/DEMON.
A candidate named Daniel ORTEGA is running for mayor of Scottsdale. He is well known local architect.
This was fun!
Have a fine day, everyone!
Hi, this is Kevin Christian, I made today's puzzle with Howard Barkin. Thank you everyone for solving, and thank you Howard for collaborating.
ReplyDeleteI've made plenty of solo puzzles, but I like collaborating for many reasons:
- sometimes I have 5 or 10 different theme ideas, and by collaborating I have someone else to help me pick the best one to pursue.
- I sometimes build a grid and don't clue it and send it in, so it just sits on my laptop hard disk indefinitely, and if I collaborate, I know that won't happen.
- the puzzles almost always turn out just a little bit nicer than if I do it on my own.
- I almost always learn something new about constructing from my collaboration partner.
- it gives me a way to get to know another constructor whose work I respect and who I might not socialize with otherwise.
I'll see Howard at the ACPT here in about 5 weeks so I'm sure we'll talk about other collaboration ideas for the future.
BOAST WITH JOY started us BOAST PROUDLY but the editor Rich asked us to change it.
I'm happy with the long downs in this one: OK GOOGLE, BEERTAP, GROUCHO, SMOOTHIE. We did versions of this grid with both HARDY HAR and ME EITHER in the SMOOTHIE spot, but ultimately SMOOTHIE yielded the cleanest fill in that area.
I don't know how many versions of this grid Howard has on his computer, but I have 17, so we put a lot of effort into this one. But the 17 grids aren't all distinct. Some are the same grid but unfilled, or half filled, or filled but with no clues. But still, 17 is a lot.
See ya! - KevinC
Hey there, Kevin summed everything up, but glad you enjoyed it. Without all of you, there is no puzzle :).
ReplyDeleteYes, we had some very constructive and interestsing back-and-forths over this one. Working with others (in general!) really teaches you a lot and gives you a fresh perspective on things.
Best,
Howard
Thank you, Kevin and Howard! I love hearing from the constructors about how you arrive at your puzzles. This one was good and you should CROW about it!
ReplyDeleteFunny, I did not even notice Steve's use of an "R" in his colonies. For those of you like me who are Iowa challenged, here is a map.
ReplyDeleteAMANA COLONIES . If you are free, you may want to go to participate in the WURST FESTIVAL this year.
Lemonade - The fonts in the map you linked play tricks on my eyes to make Amana look like Armana. Maybe that's what affected Steve.
ReplyDeleteThursday toughie. Thanks for the fun, Kevin and Howard (congrats on your duo debut and thanks for dropping by), and Steve (thanks for the link for ERIK).
ReplyDeleteI had to work for the solve, but I FIRed and saw all the different Crows. (I have no problem with BOAST WITH JOY.) Only one inkblot where Gosh changed to the more accurate GASP.
Let me count the areas that delayed the solve:
-I agree with Steve that clue for 15A TELLY should have been "Where many watch the Beeb (with "on the"). I was raised on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
-I also agree with Steve that "Lapped (up)" refers literally to drinking, not eating. But in the sense of eating up attention, news, knowledge, ATE is acceptable.
-I had to parse between SING/SINGER (thinking of "Sing out of tune") before SHERYL perped.
-I saw the Lucille fit the spot for "First name in comedy" but I had no perps and waited to fill. Good thing - GROUCHO was needed.
This Canadian was not immediately familiar with the Amana Colonies, Mark Twain National Forest, Kirin, ORTEGA, CSPAN (as clued), Blue EMU, but with a few perps, the correct answer came to mind. But SSN fills in immediately now!
The Zed in OZARKS broke open JAY Z; I wondered about the -YL before I saw SHERYL.
Husker G wanted JETER yesterday with the baseball theme. Baseball theme could have continued today if 21A had been clued for Alex (A-ROD)
Yes, Lucina, the word CAVORT AMUSEs me.
I also LOLed at Steve's story about his friend - "I'm in trouble, I called Siri "Alexa". She thinks I'm cheating on her".
Wishing you all a good day.
Hi Y'all! Thank you Kevin & Howard for a great puzzle and for sharing your construction journey. Thank you, Steve, for another interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteOZARKS was a gimmee for me as I once hiked in the Mark Twain Nat. Forest by myself. After one scary spot where I slipped and almost fell down the mountain, I realized what a dumb thing it was to go in there alone. No one knew I was there. Only clue would have been my car in the lot.
OK GOOGLE took ESP: I have a new TV Cable box that I'm supposed to speak to. I refuse. I learned channel numbers. They want symbols and names of channels. I don't want to learn them. I'll go on poking buttons until they no longer work.
DNK: SATIE, CSPAN, ASAHI, TERI, ERIK. But I did know KYRIE. Saw a special bit of commentary on him the other day.
ORTEGA took a while. Jzee before JAYZ. Tell before BLAB.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Loved the puzzle and comments Kevin and Howard!!
-Me too, BOAST WITH JOY doesn’t seem to fit the criterion of being “in the language”.
-The interesting AMAN(R)A Colonies are near the Amish communities in IOWA
-Grackles are blackbirds who are gluttons and bullies and are very unwelcome visitors at our feeders from March to July.
-Movie fans know the scene where Joe Pesci says, “Do I AMUSE YOU?”
-A very famous, high-tech lightning ROD
-MAY I? Should I not open doors for females anymore?
-“Sticky” bird and squirrel NESTS are in my line of sight as I sit here musing
-Teaching waves with Slinky COILS is great as long as kids don’t tangle them
-The crab-walk SIDLE can be called walking with a YAW
Crows are a conundrum. They bully and kill other wildlife here in the big city -- and out in the burbs where they have moved with the expanding human population -- but they are clever, cooperative, and clearly survivors. I love and loathe them. It was fun to have them appear throughout the puzzle, and to be reminded of their many meanings. Thanks, Kevin and Howard!
ReplyDeleteSo cool to hear from both of our constructors today. HOWARD had his first published puzzle here on a Wednesday in 2013. He went on to win the ACPT in 2016, after which C.C. INTERVIEWED him. KEVIN began here at the LAT in 2010. He had his most productive year in 2019 and ramped up the collaborations. His INTERVIEW came in 2015. I know Kevin goes to the ACPT because he mentioned meeting one of his collaborators there KRISTIAN HOUSE but I see no tournament results for him. But he comes often to comment here so he is part of the Corner family.
ReplyDeleteFrom the other day: I finally had a chance to listen to Eres Tu. I knew the tune immediately but did not recognize the Spanish words.
ReplyDeleteI LIUed to discover that their was an English version, with totally different lyrics, called Touch the Wind. It was clued as such in the Dec 15 2019 Robin Stears LA Times CW. "18. Mocedades song covered by Eydie Gormé as "Touch the Wind": ERES TU. It's You."
That might be what I remember.
Here is a link to many versions of the song (Eydie Gormé version does not seem to be available)
EresTuTouchTheWind
Scroll to "Touch the Wind" First release by Mocedades (April 1973)
Scroll further down for an instrumental version "Eres Tu -Touch the Wind" by Percy Faith and his Orchestra.
Spitz, that is most interesting. My eyes do not work well enough to be tricked, but I do have my annual visit to the ophthalmologist to see if something new exists to help me see better.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that a flock of crows is called a murder.
ReplyDeleteWell, this was a Thursday toughie for me, but they generally are these days. I got my start in the south, with ORCA and ONCE, followed by PAGODA and TESLA which filled in that corner. Then back to the top where I got PULL and ASTI, and produced AMUSE which helped fill in that corner. And so it went. Never heard of KYRIE and didn't get JETER, but am so sorry that I also didn't get GROUCHO Marx even though he was a favorite of mine when I was young. Still, all around fun, Kevin and Howard, and your explanation was really interesting Kevin, many thanks for that. And thanks for your commentary, Steve.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day, everybody.
TTP I'm betting that the "one HOF voter" who didn't vote for Jeter was from Boston.
ReplyDeleteWell I am stuck again with a Sunny blue sky and 83 degree weather.
(Yup, winter is HELL here in Tarpon Springs, Florida.)
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Liked ‘boast with joy.’ Maybe I’m quirky like the word choice. Vigorous boasting might be better, so maybe it is the concept that inspires me to consider. Here are more: obnoxious braggery, enthusiastic self endorsement, prideful promotion. Okay, that’s enough. Thanks for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAs has surely been pointed out, Derek Jeter has indeed been unanimously minus one vote elected and will be enshrined this Summer. Ortiz soon.
ReplyDeleteSteve movies, TV and yes, commercials have test audiences comprised of a demographic that finds that Emu hilarious, doses ketchup and mayo on everything and finds nothing too sweet. *
Dizzy Dean referred to "Slud"(into third)
I just got NEST. Made of sticks(twigs)
Kyrie's stay in Boston didn't work out. We love Kemba though.
D-O, Steve thinks like a Bostonian: dropping and adding R's. PS, weather is just fine here in FLA.**
Hmm. As a Redsox fan I'd say Jeter's leadership was superlative, a Ten. Defensive metrics are overrated. I'll take my eyeball metric any day
Kevin, I loved "JOY". The organist at Fenway actually played "Ode to JOY" after Fisk hit game6-winner in '75. Humble pie after Game 7.
WC
** Having said that I like Monsieur EMU
*** AS Tin will surely point out
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Kevin Christian & Howard Barkin, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteKevin & Howard. Thanks for stopping in. Enjoyed your commentaries.
Puzzle was not a cake walk, but it is a Thursday. Should be a little tough.
I bounced around and picked all the cherries first. That gave me a couple footholds here and there.
Got BLACK BIRD at 60A first. Then the other made more sense.
Never heard of ERIK, JAY Z, SHERYL, TERI, KYRIE, perps to the rescue.
Well, I have to run. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Dora and WC, I. too, liked boast with joy, unconventional, but it paints a vivid picture. I also appreciate your other suggestions, Dora.
ReplyDeleteI am not usually turned off to their product by commercials I don't like , but the handler of LIMU emu surely does. Liberty is at the bottom of my list. The handler seems so ineffectual and untrustworthy. The spokesman for Allstate inspires confidence.
Another company at the bottom of my list is National Car Rental with the obnoxious control enthusiast, Patrick Warburton.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who doesn’t think Jeter belongs in the echelon of greats has no knowledge of what it takes.
Thanks to WC for stating that, and I agree.
However, there is no real reason why that clue wasn’t edited for accuracy, as stated, he WAS elected weeks ago. Weeks. So he’s not “likely” to be inducted, as he already is.
Sidebar/mini-rant.....I have no idea who voted against him, but that person did so just so it wouldn’t be unanimous...their voting right should be pulled. Along with the MLB Championship trophy from cheaters Houston and Boston...just vacate those championships and make both teams ineligible for playoffs for a couple years. Right now it looks like cheating plus 5 million bucks buys you a trophy.
On to the puzzle....
Write-overs....BEERKEG/BEERTAP.
ERROR CELL....I really should learn how to spell SPARSE...I had SPARCE, and CHERYL looked fine.
And so on to Friday.
Another DNF...
ReplyDeleteBut it was fun!
Starting with the acrosses, I had nothing thru 26A.
At that point, I gave up on Acrosses, & tried downs...
Pretty much got them all, (although, dunno why draft source & pet food brand were so easy...)
Hmm, 1,2,&3 down...
other, route, go mad...
(no wonder I had success!)
The bottom half of the puzzle however was like pulling teeth...
Got stuck on Sheryl, don't know JayZ, wouldn't get caught dead in the Ozarks...
( I hear Banjo's...)
(keep paddlin')
& my asahi was Asani, (which made me Grouchy...)
Fav Sheryl Crow video, & it's not even her song...
P.S. She turned 58 a couple of days ago...
&, of course, I have remarked on the Beeb b/4...
but still, I cannot get used to the idea that the Brits have to pay,
(get a license)
to watch TV. AND that they have detector trucks roaming the streets
to catch scofflaws.?.?.?
thank goodness this could never happen in America!
Hmm,
ReplyDeleteI just re-watched the
"it could never happen in America" link,
& I apologize...
not sure why, or to whom,
but apologies seem in order...
P.S., The huge red bomb in the apartment
was from an earlier sketch...
(it is an atomic weapon of some sort...)
& if you go further into this chaos to investigate,
again,
I apologize...
PVX defying the tradition, Jeter was popular in Boston. Gave him a rousing farewell. AROD, however...
ReplyDeleteI loved both xword and write-up.
WC
A neat pzl from the Christian/Barkin team!
ReplyDeleteI just got NEST. Thanks, Wilbur! (I don't think of lil' birds as sleeping on sticks. Around here, mama & papa birds use leaves, twigs, shed fur, and cotton wool. An up-scale 'hood, no doubt.)
I remember KYRIE from the one time I visited Greece.
I studied classic Greek in college & was a little surprised to see KYRIE in my modern phrase book as simply "Sir" or "Mister."
I wonder now if I went overboard when I tipped a cab driver and said, Efkaristo (Thank you), KYRIE (Lord)!"
~ OMK
____________
DR: Four diagonals! One on the near side and a 3-way in the mirror.
The main (near) anagram honors the modern research animal enclosure that does all it can to protect and preserve endangered species, the...
"IMPERILED ZOO"!
KIRIE - English church, German Kirche, L. German Kark, Dutch kerk all have their roots in KYRIE, meaning lord or master.
ReplyDeleteA romance language like French has 'eglise' for church. Eglise root stems from the Latin/Greek ekklèsiiá meaning 'gathering'. I find the comparison interesting
Groucho’s quote was a reply to a country club’s rejection when they found out he was Jewish.
ReplyDelete“I’ve Gotta CROW” is a song in the Styne/Comden/Green version of Peter Pan
A Sports Illustrated poll of Major Leaguers voted Jeter “Most Overrated” . A friend of mine (a Mets fan) calls him Derek Cheater.
Should we pull Gaylord Perry from the HOF for doctoring his pitches?
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteFun, doable, Thursday puzzle w/ a cute theme. Thanks Kevin & Howard [and thanks for stopping in at the Corner w/ inside baseball... 17+ drafts?!? Oy!]
Great expo, as always, Steve. Love me some ASAHI too (w/ sushi! Hi YR)
I was hoping you'd have some bit'o'info FLN for Ray-O-Sun re: Penny Lane's banker sans 'Mac'.
//Ray-O, methinks those are RAIN-slickers; the Mackintosh.
WO: ERIn b/f OK, GOOGLE
ESP: TERI
Fav: PAGODA. What came to mind was those fireworks from my ute that'd expand into those that made this fill fun for me.
FLN - I loved the 'Take the honey and run' clue. Not only was Steve Miller playing in my head, but what heist did Pooh-bear PULL? :-)
So much here at The Corner to catch up on. But first, it's sleep. Had to get up at 4a to drive from San Antonio to Houston so DW could get to her meetings on time. I got to work from home but, um, that meant I was online all day too!
Cheers, -T
Oh, for the Love of Pete...
ReplyDeleteI just clicked on CED's 'not in America' link to watch something to wind-down. CED, you just got +2 in my book. I love The Young Ones.
"It's a Toaster!"
-T
I liked this nifty puzzle, and I like the "definition" type of theme.
ReplyDeleteI remembered Teri Polo from a spectacular acting performance she gave several years ago as a mentally disturbed person on Criminal Minds. She definitely has excellent acting chops.
Steve, I really enjoy your writeups. It is interesting to learn your opinion about things.
So, shepherd's pie is made with lamb, cottage pie is made with beef. If I were to cook up a pie with crow meat would it be humble pie? (Is crow meat even edible?)
I like Kirin and Asahi beer, but I like Sapporo better.
"Are you in good hands?" I know I sure am when my wife hugs me. She is, also, when I hug her.
Good wishes to you all this day before Valentine's Day.
This is not a sports blog, but I caused some consternation by not genuflecting to Jeter. He is a great player, an all-time great, but not in the class of the super greats like Ruth, Aaron, Mays, etc. They all (including Jeter and dozens of others) should have been unanimous picks, but weren’t due to the various agendas of a handful of voters.
ReplyDeleteSo, CanadianEh, you were a "long drink of water", eh? So was I!
ReplyDeleteThere were three SS in the AL from '96 thru 2003: Derek, Nomar and AROD. Although, AROD dwarfs everyone, period, he was a steroid user.
ReplyDeleteFor eight years Nomar was superior both in the field and at bat. But…
Jeter just kept on excelling for eight more years. Nomar got hit on the wrist and was no longer Nomar. *
So for extended excellence there's Derek. Incidentally, looking him up I noticed he was named for Bruin, Derek Sanderson (Jeter)
WC
** Nomar, when the wrist reduced his superstar status was the object of negative polemics from the radio station (weei) owned by the Redsox. It successfully enabled his trade sans outcry. The chief critic was rewarded with a plum broadcasting gig.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, Joe DiMaggio didn't even get elected on his first year of eligibility.
ReplyDelete